5 ways for skinny guys to build muscle

Here's a quick summary:

1. Most naturally skinny guys need to train more often and use proven exercises that provide the most value for your efforts.
2. The key to high frequency training is to limit your daily volume with shorter, more intense workouts.
3. Your biceps can wait until after your pull-ups with added weight, your squats and your deadlifts.
4. Incorporate jumps and throws into your training program to recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibers that contribute the most to strength gains and muscle mass gains.
5. Hardgainers need to stress their bodies beyond what they're doing right now - whether that's through more weight, higher training density or higher overall volume.

Damn genetics

The following five laws of training, combined with a proper training plan, will help any hardgainer build muscle.

1 - Train at a high frequency

Would you be stronger if you performed squats for 52 or 104 training sessions per year? Logic tells us that this would be the case with 104 workouts per year, but why? Consistent stimulus is crucial for learning new movement patterns. If you're a skinny guy struggling to build muscle, then you're probably not much stronger than when you started your training career. Even worse, your workouts are likely to be long, inefficient and involve a lot of exercises that won't give you many benefits until you're substantially stronger. Most skinny guys need to focus on a higher training frequency on the exercises that will give you the most value for your efforts.

Here are the reasons why:

This approach increases strength and muscle hypertrophy.

In 2000, a study compared 1 and 3 days of training per week at the same weekly training volume (McLester, et al 2000). 25 experienced subjects were randomly assigned to one of these two training groups.

Group 1 trained one day per week with 3 sets to muscle failure using repetition ranges that ranged from 3 to 10 repetitions per set. Group 2 trained three days per week with one set per training session to muscle failure using the same repetition ranges.

The volume was exactly the same for both groups, but group 2 saw greater gains in lean body mass and also increased the maximum weight for one repetition (1RM weight) more. With the same volume, splitting the training into three training sessions therefore resulted in superior results in terms of strength and hypertrophy.

This approach leads to a more positive nitrogen balance

A 2010 study investigating the anabolic processes in human skeletal muscle found that repeated periods of positive nitrogen balance, which can be generated by repeated periods of resistance training and protein consumption, support muscle hypertrophy (Phillips, S., & West, D., 2010).

This study was able to show that regular training increases the rate of protein synthesis at the cellular level, leading to greater gains in muscle mass. Clearly, nutrition is crucial for muscle growth, so adequate calorie intake and consumption of the right macronutrients are a must.

More frequent training sessions promote faster development of sport-specific skills

Moving heavier and heavier weights requires better technical skills and practice. Hardgainers are usually weak at the exercises that matter. Focusing on improving at the big basic exercises through more frequent workouts is a surefire way to increase your strength and build muscle.

More frequent workouts are a regular reminder of your goals

Dan John once said "The goal is to have the goal as the goal." Scrawny guys are known to like jumping from workout program to workout program, freaking out at the thought of any kind of fat gain, and abandoning a workout program if they don't get quick results.

In addition to a kick in the butt and a lesson in persistence and perseverance, skinny guys need a constant reminder of what their goal is. Frequent training sessions anchor this goal of building muscle mass deep in your memory. Every day is a positive step towards the actual goal.

Potential strategies: Everyone has their own obstacles to overcome when it comes to the optimal training frequency. Factors such as time available for training, individual recovery ability and easy/quick accessibility to the gym come into play.

Regardless of the nature of potential problems, there are always ways to deal with difficult situations. Get yourself a pull-up bar, a kettlebell and some dumbbells if you need some extra training at home. Here are a few short workouts to increase your training frequency if you can't make it to the gym.

Push/Pull

(You'll need a pull-up bar that you can attach to a door frame).

	Exercise	Sets
A	Pull-ups	3	8-10
B	Push-ups	3	20-25

Perform this workout with minimal rest.

Full body kettlebell circuit

This 20 minute workout can be performed with a kettlebell in a limited space. It can replace a conditioning session.

	Exercise	Sets
A1	One-arm kettlebell press	3	6-8
A2	Kettlebell split rowing	3	6-8
B1	Kettlebell goblet squats	3	10
B2	Plank	3	45-60 sec.
C1	Kettlebell swing	3	15
C2	Loaded carries with a kettlebell	3	50 steps

Conclusion: Train at a higher frequency - 4 to 6 training sessions per week with the large multi-joint exercises.

2 - Stop prioritizing smaller muscles and train at a lower daily volume

Unfortunately, hardgainers have a tendency to prioritize smaller muscles and often spend hours in the gym pumping up their pencil-thin biceps.

Of course, the key to training at a higher frequency is to limit your daily training volume and perform shorter, more intense workouts where you spend less time in the gym. The lower volume will not only aid your recovery, but will also limit your time in the gym and leave you more time for what is just as important to you - eating.

Conclusion: To train successfully at a higher training frequency, you need to reduce the volume of each training session. This will lead to better performance during your training sessions, and a high quality, regular workout.

3 - Don't plan isolation training

I too loved a skin-bursting pump, but being a skinny hardgainer, one thing was clear: isolation training is a waste of time and another example of prioritizing unimportant things.

You won't get much out of isolation training unless you've built significant strength. Give up your 10 kilo bicep curls and aim to tie 25 kilos around your stomach to do pull-ups. This will have a much greater impact on your muscle growth.

Lean hardgainers don't need isolation training. Focusing on isolation exercises will only unnecessarily increase your overall training volume and potentially hinder your ability to train for fast and maximum gains.

If your pump is so important to you and you want to give your biceps, shoulder muscles or calves some love, then you can dedicate 10 minutes of your time once or twice a week at the end of your training sessions to adding some training volume to your program. This will help you have more fun while training, making it easier for you to stick to your training program.

Bottom line: minimize your isolation training, but reward yourself for being conscientious about your training and nutrition with a few 10 minute isolation training sessions for your beloved biceps.

4 - Performance is everything

Building the perfect body is all about being able to handle anything life throws at you. This is where performance comes into play - you need to increase the capabilities of your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and nervous system.

At least once a week, you should add jumps or throws to your training after your dynamic warm-up to improve your body's neuromuscular capabilities. This will recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are most responsible for increases in performance and strength, as well as building muscle mass.

Box jumps are a great option to improve solid landing technique and reduce the stress on your bone and joint structure if you are not used to jumping. Overhead medicine ball throws or explosive push-ups are a great option for the upper body and build a resilient core.

Sprints are another great option to boost your performance as they stimulate a strong release of anabolic hormones.

Just like training with weights, sprints also cause strong muscle contractions, which trigger the release of growth hormones and testosterone and prepare the nervous system for strength gains.

Sprints also improve anaerobic fitness and increase work capacity. Perform low-volume sprints so as not to interfere with recovery after your weights workout, but don't neglect conditioning completely.

Your performance with weights may suffer a little in the beginning, but the long-term benefits will more than make up for these initial performance losses.

Bottom line: don't neglect sound and proven principles because you want to build mass. Perform 3 sets of 5 at least once a week to increase the efficiency of your nervous system and maintain a certain level of athleticism.

Plan sprints conservatively before training sessions with 4 to 5 sets of 10 to 20 meters or after training with 4 to 8 second sprints uphill for a duration of 10 to 15 minutes once or twice a week.

5 - Progressive overload

It's sad to see how many guys train for years and are still as lean as when they started and continue to bench press 3 sets of 10 reps with the same 65 kilos year after year.

To make progress, you need to push your body beyond what you're doing right now - whether that means more weight, higher training density or higher overall volume.

Pick a program, stick with the same exercises and increase the weight on the bar. Whether it's 5 x 5, Starting Strength or 5/3/1, the principle remains the same - stress your body beyond its current capacity to generate a higher stress level. As a result, your body will build stronger muscles, store more energy and grow.

Example hardgainer training

Week 1-3

• 2 warm-up sets
• Work sets: 3 x 8, work your way up to heavy sets of 8 reps for the main exercises

Week 4-6

• 1 warm-up set
• Work sets: 4 x 7, work your way up to heavy sets of 7 reps for the main exercises

Week 7-9

• 1 warm-up set
• Work sets: 5 x 5, work your way up to heavy sets of 5 reps on the main exercises

Week 10-12

• Work sets: 8 x 3 (early work sets count as warm-up), work your way up to heavy sets of 3 reps for the main exercises

Example training week

Monday

	Exercise	Sets
A	Sprint	5	10-15 m *
B	Squats	3	8
C	Floor press (bench press lying on the floor)	3	8
D	Dumbbell lunges	3	8

* 60 seconds rest

Tuesday

	Exercise	Sets
A1	Box jumps	3	5
A2	Planks	3	45 sec.
B	Trap Bar Deadlift	3	8
C	Pull-ups	3	8
D	Dumbbell rowing	3	8
D	Farmers Walk	3	50 steps

Wednesday

A) Sprint fitness training followed by active regeneration and work with the fascia roller

B) Sprints on the treadmill uphill, 5 to 6 sprints at 3% incline, 10 second sprint at maximum speed, 40 second break

Thursday

	Exercise	Sets
A	Medicine ball throws overhead	3	5
B	Front squats	3	8
C	Close bench press on the incline bench	3	8
D	Bulgarian split squats	3	8

Friday

	Exercise	Sets
A	Romanian deadlift	3	8
B1	Rowing bent over with an underhand grip	3	8
B2	Pallof Presses	3	12
C	Lat pulldown with parallel grip (neutral grip)	3	8
D	Optional 10 minutes free time for biceps, shoulders, calves

Saturday

Kettlebell training at home or sprint training

Sunday

Work with the fascia roller, stretching exercises, recovery

Conclusion: Whichever program you follow, understand this program and increase the weight on the bar. Progression guarantees progress.

By Eric Bach

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/5-ways-skinny-bastards-can-add-muscle