Hardgainer

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If you are one of the unlucky ones that can’t seem to put on weight no matter what you do you are most likely a hardgainer. If you are trying to bulk up and build muscle you will need to start eating a hardgainer diet. Here is a sample of one that will definitely help you.

Meal 1 (7 AM)

1-1/2 cups of dry oats mixed with water
1 banana
1 cup of egg beaters

Supplements:

* Multiple Vitamin/Mineral formula (I use Prolab Training Pak)
* Chromium Picolinate 200 mcg
* 1 tsp of Glutamine

Meal 2 (10 AM)

Low Sugar Weight Gainer such as Prolab’s N-Large 2 (2 scoops) mixed with 16 ounces of skim milk and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil or Natural Peanut Butter

–or-

Meal Replacement Powder with complex carbohydrates such as Lean Mass Complex mixed with 2-3 scoops of Prolab’s Carb Component and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil or Natural Peanut Butter.
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1-1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (5:30 PM)
1-1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Pre-Workout Supplements (6:30 PM):

* 1 tsp of Creatine
* 1 tablet of 200 mg Caffeine (optional)

Weight Train (7 PM-8 PM)

Post Workout Supplements (8 PM) – Have as soon as done w/ workout

* 12 capsules of BCAAs
* 1 tsp Creatine
* 1 tsp Glutamine
* 2 grams of Vitamin C

Meal 6 (8:30 PM)
1/2 cup of cream of rice
1 banana
2 scoops of whey isolate

Meal 7 (10:30 PM)
2 scoops of Prolab’s Protein Component or preferred slow released protein mixed with 3 scoops of complex carbohydrate powder such as carb component
(Note: If you wish to consume as a pudding, mix w/ 4 ounces of water; and stir with a spoon)

Supplements:

* 1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (can mix w/ shake or pudding)
* 1 tsp of Glutamine
* ZMA

NOTE: On non-workout days, trade the post workout meal for a solid meal consisting of chicken, 1 cup of brown rice and green beans or any other lean protein source, complex carb source and green vegetables. Also, for Meal 7 of the hardgainer diet, eliminate the use of the carb component.

Meal 1 (7 AM)

1 cups of dry oats mixed with water
1 banana
1 cup of egg beaters

Supplements:

* Multiple Vitamin/Mineral formula (I use Prolab Training Pak)
* Chromium Picolinate 200 mcg
* 1 tsp of Glutamine

Meal 2 (10 AM)

Low Sugar Weight Gainer such as Prolab’s N-Large 2 (1 scoop) mixed with 8 ounces of skim milk and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil or Natural Peanut Butter

–or-

Meal Replacement Powder with complex carbohydrates such as Naturally Lean Mass Complex mixed with 1-2 scoops of Prolab’s Carb Component and 1/2 Tablespoon of Flax Oil or Natural Peanut Butter.
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
1-2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
3-4 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (5:30 PM)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
1-2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
3-4 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Pre-Workout Supplements (6:30 PM):

* 1/2 tsp of Creatine
* 1/2 tablet of 200 mg Caffeine (optional)

Weight Train (7 PM-8 PM)

Post Workout Supplements (8 PM) – Have as soon as done w/ workout

* 6 capsules of BCAAs
* 1 tsp Creatine
* 1/2 tsp Glutamine
* 2 grams of Vitamin C

Meal 6 (8:30 PM)
1/4 cup of cream of rice
1 banana
1 scoop of whey isolate

Meal 7 (10:30 PM)
1 scoop Prolab’s Protein Component or preferred slow released protein mixed with 2 scoops of complex carbohydrate powder such as carb component
(Note: If you wish to consume as a pudding, mix w/ 4 ounces of water; and stir with a spoon)

Supplements:

* 1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (can mix w/ shake or pudding)
* 1/2 tsp of Glutamine
* ZMA

NOTE: On non-workout days, trade the post workout meal for a solid meal consisting of chicken, 1/2 cup of brown rice and green beans or any other lean protein source, complex carb source and green vegetables. Also, for Meal 7, eliminate the use of the carb component.

Courtesy of Hugo Rivera & About.com

As you can see this is probably way different than how you have been eating so far, but you have to keep feeding the fire that is your metabolism. If you don’t it will just keep eating your muscle, which is why you are staying the same size.

The hardgainer diet is sometimes hard to get used to but once you do it for a few weeks you will be doing this in your sleep. You will be amazed at how much energy you will have compared to before. A strong will and determination will overcome your genetics.

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Don’t you hate it when you have a workout partner and they are increasing in size and weight and you don’t seem to be keeping up? Or they are adding weight every 2 to 3 weeks to their workouts and you are still struggling with the same weight you already have?

Well my friend, you most probably are a hardgainer, that’s all. A hardgainer is a person genetically predisposed to have trouble putting on weight no matter what they eat and also putting on muscle when they follow the basic workout advice from the crowd. You need some hardgainer workout tips.

Don’t worry, its not the end of the world. You just have to make some adjustments to your workouts and your lifestyle to overcome your genetics. Easily done with the right plan and attitude. First thing to do is to stop doing what you are doing now and make some changes.

One of the first things to do is to change up your workouts in a dramatic way. We want to wake up your body and get your hormones and testosterone pumping. A simple technique is instead of doing a few sets of heavy weights switch it to a few sets with a 20 to 30 repetition count.

This will shock your muscles into growing. Add them to the end of your workout and then next week add them to the beginning. Change is good, especially when weight lifting. Your body had been designed to adapt to change and plateau, mixing things around overcomes that.

Another thing that is extremely important is to not do the same exercise all of the time. We need to add new exercises to the mix. This uses different muscles and also it uses the same muscles at a different angle, which is different to the body so it wants to grow.

Hardgainer workout training requires you to be diligent about not resting too long between sets. You need to keep the blood flowing and the pressure on if you want to get past your hardgainer tendencies. Too little rest is bad also so strive for about 45 to 60 seconds between sets.

Just because you are working to get a bigger body doesn’t mean all of your exercises have to be with weights. Every once in a while throw some push-ups and some pull-ups in the routine, or do hand stand push ups. You will be amazed how hard these are even though you are stronger.

But the most crucial part of the hardgainer workout tip that I can give you is actually about your diet. You have to make major adjustments here since your resting metabolism is faster than most people. You must be getting more carbohydrates and protein than the average person that is trying to gain weight and strength.

Supplements are very important for the hardgainer. You are processing your food faster so you need to replenish it with supplements to make up for the difference. You couldn’t eat enough to get your protein needs without supplements. So if you want to grow you must take supplements.

I don’t know what you have heard about building muscle but the most important thing, well, after you’ve actually worked out, is to get plenty of rest, and I mean sleep. You grow your muscles when you are sleeping. My hardgainer workout means getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night and so should yours.

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If you are one of the people that can’t put on weight or muscle no matter how hard you try, than you are a hardgainer. Even though people will be jealous of you because you can eat whatever you want and not gain a pound, I know that you really do want to add weight and build muscle.

One question that I am constantly asked is, “Is there anything that I can take to help me get bigger and gain weight”? This is especially true for teenagers who are growing so fast that can’t seem to eat enough to keep up. Specifically they are talking about hardgainer supplements.

As long as the conversation is about lifting weights and eating healthy I also suggest supplement implementation. Supplements are a great way to add to our nutritional needs and to keep us healthy and recover faster from our workouts.

I’ve made a quick list in no particular order of what I usually suggest. Over the years these have been the most beneficial to the hardgainer athlete.

1. Creatine

Creatine is a metabolite produced in the body composed of three amino acids: l-methionine, l-arginine and l-glycine. Once it reaches the muscles, it is converted into phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate), which is then used to regenerate the muscles’ ultimate energy source, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) thus allowing for more repetitions at any given weight. Also, creatine increases lean body mass by pushing water inside the muscle cell and enlarging it. Best of all, these effects can be seen in as little as two weeks!

2. Weight Gainers

Weight gainers are protein shakes whose protein source consists mainly of whey proteins (mostly concentrate with some isolate as well). Some also include other proteins such as milk proteins and/or egg. These products have a high carbohydrate content; typically in the form of maltodextrin (a high glycemic complex carb) and fructose (simple sugar originating from fruits). For gaining weight they are very useful since they help you get in the amount of quality calories required to gain quality muscle.

3. Spectrum Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil is a polyunsaturated oil that is high in the Omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFAs); one of the two essential fats that the body needs. “Essential” means that the body cannot produce it on its own and therefore must be obtained from diet. The other kind of EFAs the body needs are the Omega-6 oils. Flax oil is high on the Omega 3, which help improve immune system, energy production, insulin sensitivity, and hormonal production. In addition, 1 TBSP of Flax Oil adds 120 calories, which are useful for weight gain.

4. Glutamine

L-Glutamine the most abundant amino acid in muscle cells. It is released from the muscle during times of stress (such as hard weight training workouts) and dieting. This amino acid not only has been shown to be a great anti-catabolic agent (protects the muscle from the catabolic activities of the hormone cortisol), and to have immune system enhancing properties, but it also speeds up recuperation and helps to increase muscle volume. It is the most overlooked hardgainer supplements.

5. Multi-Vitamin and Mineral Pack

Essential to insure that our body will operate at maximum efficiency. Why? Because on a very simplistic level, without vitamins and minerals it would be impossible to covert the food that we eat into hormones, tissues and energy. Vitamins enhance the actions of proteins that cause chemical reactions such as muscle building, fat burning and energy production. Minerals assure your brain receives the correct signals from the body, balance of fluids, muscular contractions and energy production as well as for the building of muscle and bones.

6. Liver Tablets

These tablets are a great source of beef liver and bodybuilders have been using them for decades in order to obtain the values offered by beef proteins. The key thing for liver tablets to be useful is that they need to be manufactured with the highest grade of beef liver and they also need to be purified from the fat, cholesterol and other impurities that are contained in the liver.

If you combine a good exercise program with these hardgainer supplements and get plenty of rest you will succeed.  Overcoming the hardgainer genetics is hard, but with a strong will and smart decisions you will grow bigger.

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Defining a Hardgainer

A hardgainer it typically a person that consistently works out with weights but can’t seem to add bulk and muscle. No matter how much they work out or how long, they have trouble achieving any gains, as far as size goes.

If this is the true definition than the majority of the population would fit under this category, because it is difficult to put on muscle and weight. As with a lot of things the easiest time to be able to add muscle is during puberty when we are growing and we are filled with hormones and testosterone.

As we get older it becomes much more difficult especially after the age of 25 to 30. That’s when our hormonal production starts declining on a yearly basis.

Did You Just Call Me an Ectomorph Somatype?

If you ask me a hardgainer is a person who is born skinny and no matter how much he/she eats they can’t gain weight. I’ve known a few in my day and its gets to be frustrating as I get older and they stay skinny. But back to the hardgainer names.

A Dr. William H. Sheldon referred to as an “ectomorph” somatotype when he came up with the theory sometime in the 1940′s. Sheldon’s theory states that human bodies are divided into three main somatotypes;

the ectomorph, the endomorph and the mesomorph. In a nutshell, the ectomorph is the naturally skinny person who has trouble gaining weight, whether in the form of muscle or fat. The endomorph on the other hand has the opposite problem, it is too easy for a person with this body type to gain weight. While endomorphs are easy muscle gainers, provided they diet and train correctly, they are cursed with a slow metabolism, which makes it imperative that they be strict with their diet year round if they wish to have any abdominal definition. The mesomorph, however, is the naturally muscular person, who also has a higher metabolism than the endomorph. Mesomorphs make excellent bodybuilders and for them, gains in muscle and reduction in body fat come rather easily provided they maintain a great training and nutrition program; life is not fair.

If You Think That You Are in Hardgainer Hell, Keep Reading

I know that if you have been trying to get out of Hardgainer Hell and so far it hasn’t worked you are probably pretty frustrated. Are you stuck there forever? No. But you are going to have to make some serious changes to beat your genetics.

You are made differently than others so your diet must be different too. Forget everything you’ve read before about nutrition because it doesn’t pertain to you. This is what you must do to overcome your metabolism.

You have to take in at least 50% of your nutrition in carbohydrates, 25% in proteins and the other 25% in good fats. That is different from what most people need for their diet, but you have to fight your genetics.

This is the tough part. A typical person can get results on a caloric intake of 12 times their lean body mass, but you must shoot for 24 calories per pound of your body weight, not your lean body mass. At first this will be difficult.

As an example lets say you weigh 150 pounds. You will need to eat 3600 calories (150 x 24) per day. Now break this down by the percentages I gave earlier and you will have to get 450 grams of carbs, your protein and good fats will be 225 grams each. You must break this down over 6 to 8 meals so that you are eating every 2 to 3 hours while awake.

As you may have guessed by now your best strategy is to maximize your caloric intake while minimizing your caloric expenditures. This is essential if you want to overcome your hardgainer genetics. Your metabolism is like a furnace that doesn’t shut off, even while you sleep you are burning calories and when the fuel source is gone your muscles must pay the price.

Finding the Road Out of Hardgainer Hell

As you can see being a hardgainer isn’t the end of the world nor the end of your chance to get big muscles. There are several hardgainers who have overcome their genetics and even participated in bodybuilding competitions. Vince DelMonte is a great example of this.

He went from 147 pounds to 189 pounds and won a competition. It will take a lot of work and a willful determination but you can achieve whatever it is that you believe. That is the truth. Look on the bright side, whatever weight you put on will be muscle so you won’t have to diet to get ripped like the rest of us.

It is essential, the most important aspect of your plan that you eat regularly and that you eat the proper foods. You must plan out your meals and always have a back-up plan in case you have to work late or stay at school longer than you thought. Carry with you protein bars and shakes and always have fresh fruit at the ready. Eating is the key to overcoming the hardgainer life.

Tags: bodybuilding, build muscle, gaining mass, Hard Gainer, Hardgainer, muscle building, Vince Delmonte, weight gain