How to Gain Weight & Muscle

What does it take to gain weight if I am naturally thin?
Can I gain weight in a healthy manner and is it achievable by anyone?

To put it simply yes it is possible, however it’s almost certainly genetics is what hinders naturally slim people from gaining weight and muscle. The reason I say “hinders” is because genetics makes things less difficult or more difficult rather than possible or impossible…

If your goal is simply to gain weight and muscle (and look good for that next party or beach) then there’s absolutely no need to analyze and debate every issue to the ninth degree. If you take all the material out there, on and offline, relating to weight training, nutrition and gaining weight, probably 20% of that will make 80% of the difference.

We’ll leave that to the world of bodybuilding. Instead we want to adopt the core principles and techniques that are appropriate for people who find it hard to gain weight.

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?

• Eat regularly throughout the day (every 2½ to 3 hours)
• Always eat breakfast, even if you can’t eat much
• Homemade milkshakes blended with bananas, eggs, yoghurt, fruit and a whey protein supplement are an excellent between meal source of nutrition
• Eat plenty of protein (fish, red meat, chicken, salmon, eggs) throughout the day (1.5-2g protein/kg/day)
• Eat sufficient carbohydrates to sustain intense training (6-8g carbohydrates/kg/day)
• Optimise muscle glycogen replenishment by consuming at least 1-1.5g/kg immediately after training (select foods with a high glycemic index) and approx 25% of your daily protein requirements. Repeat your intake of carbohydrate of around 1g/kg every 2 hours thereafter
• Eat no sooner than 2 hours before training for comfort and optimal energy levels
• Don’t be paranoid about eating fat, but minimise saturated fats (e.g., fat from red meat, chicken skin, butter, deep fried foods)
• Keep well hydrated throughout the day and during training to promote protein synthesis

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.

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.

Weight Training
Training to gain weight and muscle is relatively straightforward. If your diet is right then the majority of heavy weight training programs out there will be effective. 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 periodised rather than progressive routine.

Sample - Three Day Alternating Weight Gain Program
This is one of the best weight training programs if you're pushed for time during the week. Alternate the 2 sessions over any 3 days and try to leave a days rest in between workouts. In effect you're doing each session 3 times every fortnight.

For each exercise complete 3-4 sets of 6-10 repetitions. Choose a weight that allows you to perform a maximum of 8-10 reps. When you can do more than 10 reps increase the weight next session. Warm up thoroughly before starting any weight training session.

Session 1 (Chest, Back, Triceps, Abs)
If you don’t have previous knowledge of how to use your equipment, you may want to enlist the help of a fitness professional who should be able to help you with all of the above and also ensure you get the most out of your home gym and workouts.

• Bench press
• Incline bench press
• Lat pull Downs (wide grip)
• Seated pulley row
• Triceps push down
• French press
• Crunches
• Decline sit ups

Session 2 (Legs, Shoulders, Biceps, Calves)
• Leg press
• Leg curls
• Seated shoulder press
• Lateral (side) raises
• Barbell curl (EZ barbell)
• Hammer curls
• Standing calf raise
• Seated calf raise

Remember building muscle can not be done over night; it can take 3 to 12 months before you start to see major changes in your body. Keep to the core principles of diet, heavy weights for fewer reps, train only 3 to 4 times a week and keep your sessions short and intense and you will be well onto your way to building that six pack.