Top Ten List: For Hardgainers Looking To Bulk Up

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What is a “hardgainer”?
In my mind, a hardgainer is someone who is always struggling to add mass on, someone who has to earn every last bit of muscle. A hardgainer can’t sit back and wait for muscle mass to appear. He has to eat tons of food, lift balls out in the gym while staying away from cardio, and have the right attitude. If you’re gonna do something half-assed, why bother? Go play video games or watch TV… That is, unless you’re ready to do what it takes to get big.

All these mags want you to think it can happen overnight. **** just last week I read an article that said you can gain an inch on your arms in one day. Sure that ’ll sell. Why? Because a lot of guys want to buy into the notion of a quick fix. They continue to buy these magazines over and over looking for some special answer that’ll finally clue them in on how to get huge. They’ll never reach their true potential unless they get the right attitude and focus on what it really takes to add mass on. For these guys, I’ll clue you in on what I feel are the top 10 things hardgainers should know when bulking.

1. Calories.
If you’re not taking in enough calories, your gains will suffer. In order to maximize gains, shoot for 20 calories per pound of bodyweight. The truth is, no one will ever gain muscle without the proper amounts of food. It all starts with food. Muscle gaining is simply a matter of eating. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to learn. Stuffing your face with the wrong type of food, or just eating 1 or 2 large meals a day isn't the way to gain muscle. You can't lift like a horse and eat like a bird and expect to gain weight–it just doesn't work that way. Eat every 2-3 hours. You might think you’re taking in enough calories but one or two meals throughout the day won’t cut it. No matter what society taught you, don’t buy into the notion of 5-6 meals is too much for the body to handle. Bull. It’s no wonder the average person is so damn small. Everyone thinks they’re an expert, but they don’t realize what it takes to add on mass if they’ve never put the effort into it. You have to consume several large meals throughout the day.

2. Cardio.
Limit cardio to less than 2 times per week and sessions should last no more than 20 minutes. If you notice that you’re not putting any weight on you should completely cut out the cardio. Save cardio for when you’re cutting.

3. Protein.
Of all the macronutrients protein is probably the most important. High quality protein should be the center point of all your meals. Intense exercise increases demand for protein, which supports muscle growth and repair. When you train with weights you should take in at least 1.5 grams of protein/lb. of bodyweight or 30% or your calories from protein.

4. Fats.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are absolutely necessary for adding lean muscle mass. When bulking, you should take in at least 20-30% of your calories from fat. The main use for fat is that it increases the digestion and use of protein. It can increase the bioavailability of the protein, which makes sure you get more in your blood and muscle. Too much protein can damage the liver if there isn't enough fat to process all of it. The best sources of essential fats are found in fresh meats, nuts and oils. An easy way to add extra fat is to add a few tablespoons of flaxseed oil to your protein shakes. You can add up to 3 tablespoons a day of this essential fatty acid.

5. Carbohydrates.
Lately carbs have been getting a bad rap in the news. Don’t buy this . Carbs are essential for hardgainers. You need a high glycogen storage to function at your optimal capacity and deliver energy for your workouts in the gym. But every time you expend energy, like with training, you lower glycogen storage by burning ATP. So you need to replenish those sources if you want to keep adding mass. Carbs are essential in fueling your muscles and they should make up at least 40-50% of your calories. When selecting carbs, choose those that have a low glycemic indexes so your weight gain will primarily be muscle.

6. Lift Heavy.
You should keep your reps in the range 6-10 on most lifts. Don’t do more than 3 exercises per body-part and no more than 3 exercises per muscle group. Stick to the basics: squats, deadlifts, rows, and presses. Stay away from using cables and machines as your sole base behind adding mass. You use barbells and dumbbells if you really want mass.

7. 1 hour workouts.
You may think that you have to spend hours in the gym in order to gain mass. Not true. Your body becomes catabolic (muscle breakdown) if you spend too much time in the gym and you limit your growth potential. Gaining mass is not about the time spent in the gym but the intensity during your workouts.

8. Rest.
In order for your body to repair itself from intense workouts you need sleep. Sleep is essential in repairing your body from the strenuous workouts. Remember when you workout your muscles are broken down and they then repair and grow while you sleep. So cut back on the partying.

9. Attitude.
You can’t go about gaining mass half-assed. In order to successful in life or lifting you don’t want to go about it just getting by (going with the flow). You have to put all you got into your life and your lifting. Grab life by the balls and give yourself a wakeup call. Most people when starting a lifting program unless they lay the whole program out and make a true commitment to it will lose their motivation within a few weeks. Don’t let this happen to you. Keep track of your progress by using a log. Find a training partner who has the same goals as you so that you have someone’s who’s got your back and can pick you up if you lose sight of your goals.

10. Supplements.
Once you have your diet other points in check, you can move onto supplementation. Here are a couple of popular supplements out there:


Creatine:
Creatine is a solid bodybuilding's supplement, and for good reason. For one thing, creatine can significantly increase lean muscle mass and strength in a matter of weeks. It is also responsible for improving performance in high-intensity exercise, increasing energy levels, and speeding up recovery rates.

Meal replacement powders and weight gainers:
These are important for people who go to school or work and cannot fit in 5-6 square meals a day. These powders make sure you don’t have an excuse to miss a meal. Just don’t rely on them too much. Look for MRPs and weigh gainers with high protein levels and minimal sugar, like UniSyn and Real Gains.

Protein powders:
You know how much the body needs protein. Protein helps in repairing your muscles from strenuous workouts. Essential times for protein powder are after a workout and before bedtime. Look for a protein that contains fast-releasing and time released proteins so that you’re able to maximize your protein synthesis and promote nitrogen retention. A great protein that hardgainers should look into is Specialized Protein for Lean Mass.

Multivitamin Complex:
These are very important as athletes and bodybuilders use up a lot of vitamins and minerals, which you lose when you sweat. Multivitamins help replace these lost vitamins and minerals. Animal Pak would be a great multi to look into. It’s what I use. It’s what the pros use. It covers all your bases. Just pop a pack a day and you’re ready to go. What so great about Animal Pak is that you get joint and bone support, antioxidants, electrolytes, EFAs, digestive enzymes, a boost of amino acids and performance optimizers. The optimizers get you cranked up so that you can perform at your optimal in the gym and circulate all those nutrients into the muscle cells where you need them.