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What does it take to gain weight if you are naturally thin? Are we limited by genetics or is healthy weight gain achievable by anyone?
The purpose of this article is to outline the most important elements of healthy weight gain together. The other sections of the site will give you more specific details should you want to do some more in-depth research into each topic.
If you take all the material out there, on and offline, relating to weight training, nutrition and gaining weight, Health, probably 20% of that will make 80% of the difference…
If your goal is simply to gain weight and muscle (and look good for the beach) then there’s absolutely no need to analyse and debate every issue to the nth degree. We’ll leave that to the world of bodybuilding. Instead we want to find and adopt the core principles and techniques that show up time and time again and that are appropriate for people who find it hard to gain weight.
One important point before we move on. What hinders naturally slim people from gaining weight and muscle? It’s almost certainly genetics. The reason I say “hinders” is because I believe genetics makes things less difficult or more difficult rather than possible or impossible…
Although I’ve managed to gain the weight I want I am still naturally slim. Genetically I probably have a faster metabolism than most, a less than ideal muscle fibre makeup, an unfavourable level and combination of certain hormones, and I know I have a small body frame.
What that means is that all the elements below, that are important to gain weight and muscle, become essential for me. I can’t afford to cheat or cherry pick the most appealing strategies. And if you are naturally thin you can’t either…
Nutrition
In my opinion and experience diet is more indicative of weight gain success than training. What I mean by that is that it’s possible to train sloppily, break a few rules and still gain weight and muscle. However, if you consistently break a few key nutritional rules, gaining weight becomes unachievable. And what are the cardinal rules for muscle building nutrition?
- Consume More Calories Than You Expend
Regardless of how many times it’s recited the onlyway to gain weight and muscle is to eat more calories than you burn off. This simple law of human biology has been complicated no end and it’s one we’ll discuss in more detail in the nutrition section of the site. - Consume Adequate Protein
Scientifically speaking there is no evidence to suggest you need to eat large quantities of protein to gain weight and muscle. However, even though I’m employed as an Exercise Scientist on this occasion I have to disagree. Everything in the real world tells me naturally thin people need to eat large amounts of protein to gain weight and muscle… and they won’t store it as fat. - Eat Smaller More Frequent Meals
Consuming 5 or 6 smaller meals as opposed to the “3 squares” has become fashionable in the last few years. Bill Phillips introduced the idea to the masses with his Body for Life program but bodybuilders have employed this strategy for years. Its biggest strength is that it allows you to comfortably consume more calories and gives your body (and your stomach) a chance to absorb them.
Obviously there’s more to nutrition then these 3 points and you’ll find more details in the Nutrition section of the site.
Supplements
Regardless of your genetic makeup supplements will not affect how much weight and muscle you gain. There isn’t a single product out there you can class as a magic bullet (assuming you would never consider steroids an option or a supplement).
A few and only a few supplements can reduce the time it takes you to gain weight and muscle and some may benefit your long-term health. However, the overwhelming motive for using weight gain supplements is to save time in the kitchen and visiting the grocery store. This is something we’ll discuss in more detail in the Supplements section along with which supplements to consider and which to give a wide swerve.
Weight Training
Training to gain weight and muscle is relatively straightforward. Far more so than the countless number of routines, techniques and latest developments would have you believe. In fact it’s my belief that if your diet is right then the majority of heavy weight training programs out there will be effective.
Still, if you’re a slim build or if you find it hard to gain weight or build muscle then there are a few principles that become more relevant and important than most…
- Lift heavy weights for fewer reps.
- Train only 3 to 4 times a week.
- Keep your workouts short and intense, 45-60 minutes at most.
- Train each muscle group only once per week.
- Perform only a few sets and a few exercises per muscle group.
- Follow a periodizedrather than progressive routine.
Again we’ll look at these guidelines and others in more detail in the weight training sections of the site.
Weight Gain Programs
Understanding what to do and why you should do it is one thing but putting it all together in a weight gain program that is both effective and feasible is an entirely different ball game.
Like learning any new skill, following a program to gain weight and muscle is hard at first. It takes effort. It takes persistence and it takes more than a little discipline. But just as driving a car becomes second nature after a while so does training and eating to change your physique…
There are quite a few programs on the Internet designed to help you gain weight and muscle. Some focus only on training, some just on nutrition. Too many are nothing more than adverts to lure you into to buying expensive supplements. A few however, are comprehensive, genuinely effective systems for gaining weight…
I’ve reviewed some of the best on a separate section of the site. They are complete programs for weight and muscle gain developed by experts who practise what they preach. If you don’t have the time or inclination to research and then design your own system consider one of these…
Note – If u Want reducing Weight Than Follow These steps.
