In a world of weight loss fanaticism, one individual stands as a lone crusader. This is the 'hard gainer' (one who finds it hard to gain weight). Think of someone .you know, who can eat 'like a horse' and yet struggle to put on weight. With scattered bits of advice and plenty of hearsay as the only guiding medium, they unfortunately find themselves in a minority. While weight loss generally involves higher caloric expenditure (exercise) and lower calorie consumption (meal planning), the reverse is certainly not true for a 'hard gainer'. For the hard gainer, the desire is to put on lean, muscular weight and not the 'soft' 'pudgy; look associated with indiscriminate high calorie foods. The dilemma of an individual who would like to gain muscular weight and not just fat weight is distinctive and multifaceted. Such individuals find it difficult to improve the size and strength of their muscles, and are scientifically referred to as 'hard (or slow) gainers'. Generally speaking, a hard gainer is generally tall, thin and lean from childhood, with fast reflexes and a high metabolism. He/she has a tendency to burn incoming energy (food) for fuel rather than utilizing it to build muscle.
The challenge lies in ensuring that a hard gainer gains muscular weight and not fat weight.
So how does a skinny man become bigger and stronger? Try
the following guidelines
1. BE REALISTIC - Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Recall your previous experiences with exercise and muscle gain. Are you a tall person that rarely changes weight, a "hard gainer?" Are you one of those who an 'eat like a horse' and yet not put on weight?
When your aim is to gain mass, it's helpful to keep your body type in mind, and set your goals accordingly. Hard gainers-set longer times for gaining!
2. INCREASE YOUR OVERALL CALORIC INTAKE - Be sure to eat three nutritional meals per day with at least one healthy snack between each. Eat more of fresh fruits and dairy products.
3. EAT MORE PROTEIN - Eat more protein foods like chicken, red meats, whole eggs, low fat cheese, curds, beans and rice. Eat a well-balanced and filling meal prior to bedtime. Use a good multivitamin/mineral supplement. Remember to eat high protein foods (egg whites; protein powders in milk) and high carbohydrate foods (fruits such as bananas) 15-20 minutes after training.
4. AIM TO GAIN THE RIGHT KIND OF WEIGHT - Aim for quality, not quantity. When you're trying to gain weight, strive to gain muscle and not fat mass. Having your body composition (body fat ratio) checked regularly will help you know if those extra calories are going to good use. You can get this assessed at a neighborhood gymnasium. Alternatively, keep track of your chest and arm measurements with a measuring tape .every fortnight.
5. TRAIN HEAVY - If you want to gain muscle, the best way is weight lifting, focusing on exercises such as the bench press,shoulder press, and squats. Developing -"" these areas will add the most to your reflection on the scale and in the mirror.
Keep the weights heavy enough so that you generally lift the weight between 6-8 repetitions. This is important to develop size and strength. Rest for 2-3 minutes between sets. 3 to 4 days a wee at a relatively high intensity is sufficient.
6. HOW LONG ?- Avoid long workouts, lasting 45 minutes and above. Remember, you want to save your energy for high intensity efforts in the gym, not waste it excessively on the treadmill/going for long walks. 20 minutes of walking 3 days a week is adequate.
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