I get told a lot that my writing is hugely based on weight loss. This is admittedly true since more and more individuals are getting overweight and are even becoming obese. But what about the other side of the coin?
I get emails all the time saying that I’m leaving out the skinny guys/girls out who want to bulk up or put on a few pounds. Say no more. This column is for the hard gainers. If you are a skinny guy/girl looking to build some muscle, this one is for you.
The secret to gaining is contained in these tips:
1. Eat
The main reason that skinny people fail to build muscle is not their training but their diet or lack of it. You have to eat big to get big. This doesn’t mean you have a free licence to eat lots of junk food. Instead you need to eat lots of healthy foods and maybe a little junk just to boost your calorie intake.
Commit to eating three meals and three snacks a day that all contain decent amounts of protein, carbs, and healthy fats and accept that it’s okay to gain a little body fat too. You can’t build a house without bricks and you can’t build muscle without food. You are going to have to eat like you mean it.
2. Sleep
All newborn babies do is eat and sleep, right? And you see the growth they make in a short period of time, right?
Amazingly, doing literally nothing can help you gain muscle. Sleep is when your body flips the anabolic switch and repairs the damage of your workouts. Too little sleep can significantly impair muscle growth.
Studies have shown that you need a good 7-9 hours of sleep in a 24-hour window, so make sure you go to bed early enough and turn off the TV or your social media notifications, so you actually sleep soundly and aren’t kept awake. If you can, also spike your days with 15 to 30-minute power naps, which can further enhance muscle growth.
3. Work your legs
Fifty per cent of your muscle mass is in your legs and yet most newbies only devote 25 to 30 per cent of their time to leg training. If you are serious about bulking up you MUST work your legs with at least the same exercise volume and workout frequency as your upper body.
Very few people ever manage to build impressive amounts of muscle without serious leg training so go and make friends with the squat rack, leg press, and deadlift platform if you want to get bigger and stronger throughout the rest of your body.
4. Get stronger
If you want to get bigger, you need to get stronger and that means either adding weight to the bar or making your workouts more intense. You can reduce your rest periods, add a few more reps, and do more sets too. Whichever way you slice it, if you want to grow, you have got to work a little harder from one week to the next – progressive overload. Strong muscles are big muscles.
5. Save energy
Sports, lots of cardio, late night partying, and otherwise being very active can rob your body of energy it could otherwise be using for muscle growth. You need an energy excess to put on muscle (also called a calorie surplus).
6. Be consistent
Making gains doesn’t take a week or a month – it takes years of consistent effort. Every time you take a break from training, skip a workout, miss a good night of sleep, or fail to eat properly, you are undermining your potential for success. You need to commit to the process if you want to get results.
As a skinny person, you are not genetically blessed to build muscle easily. That doesn’t mean you can’t – you’ll just have to work harder and longer to do it. Knuckle down, stick to the plan, and you will gain muscle. It’s just not going to happen overnight. I hope you skinny people put the above into practice.
