Hardgainers Struggle To Gain Weight Is Real

As i started going to the gym, being a hardgainer was the ultimate obstacle i faced. I didn’t understand what it takes to coupe with my body type. I didn’t know it’s a thing i have to deal with not to change.

Nutritionists always gave me that HUGE list of food to consume with a lot of unhealthy and sugary food in my opinion. I tried to do it and barely ate half of it. One day i thought: “if i’m not going to get thick at least i’ll be more healthy”. yes, i thought it’s impossible for a hardgainer like me to eat so much food in less than 24 hours/day,EVERYDAY !!

As you can imagine (you maybe this position right now) i was the weakest in the gym. i lefted less than everybody, my weight was lower than everybody and hardly catching my breath. everyone in the gym asked if i went to a doctor/nutritionist or it’s just my genes. imagine how i felt back then. No One understood my problem. they always guessed i’m not eating enough food while i was eating twice what they eat. No one, except my coach. She studied sports nutrition and fitness and i followed her steps. she said that i can be both strong and healthy, but i have to do it step by step with her guidance.

Now, let me tell you what i did and the main guidelines for beginner hardgainers and remember, There is no magic steps for everybody to follow. Sports nutrition is a prescription that differs from one athlete to another.

#1. Know what your body is missing

Before doing anything you should go to a doctor, get your tests done to know exactly what’s missing your body to be in a better health state. If you have any type of anemia you should take your treatment from both medication and food. otherwise take your vitamins and you’re ready for the next step.

#2. General Fitness Training

Almost every article, video or whatever reference you looked into missed this step although it’s essential for every beginner not just hardgainers. The main idea is strengthen your body muscles so you can lift heavier weights. You can’t just go the the gym and lift 20 kilos out of nothing. Some athletes actually stick with this method for a whole year, not hardgainers though. You will need 2-3 months of general training before stepping into the big game.

#3. The Food Journey

Most people will calculate their calorie intake and the calories they should consume, BUT no one can consume +1500 more than what they already eat overnight. Just like weight lifting, the food journey is gradual. start by tracking your current calories/day for a week then add 500 calories to your food to the average. Do this weekly until you reach your calorie goal. also your stomach needs time to adjust to bigger amounts of food to digest without discomfort. you should know that when you gain some weight you will need more calories to get bulkier.

Don’t feel overwhelmed with the numbers. 500 calories is easily added in a healthy way: check these meals and snacks to get some inspiration

2 of Chicken sandwich clip taco = 512 calories

Grilled Salmon Steaks with Lime Butter = 410 calories

Grilled Burger Lettuce Wraps = 418 calories

you should also consider protein shakes and fruit smoothie shakes as a post workout meals or a pre workout boosters.

#4. Know What’s Best For Your Body

Carbs is your new best friend

Every athlete needs carbs to be a part of their dietary to avoid fatigue.In hardgainers’ case carbohydrates will not only make you bigger, it will also boost your power in pre workout meals giving you a lot of energy for high training sessions.

Compound exercises

Aim for complex, compound exercises that recruit more of one muscle group like deadlifts, pull ups, squats and bench press. This method will pump food nutritions through your whole body. Don’t worry about isolation exercises now, they will come in an advanced stage.

Take longer rests

rest for 1 – 2 minutes between sets. the regular 48 hours before training the same muscle again to give your body enough time to recover through food, specially protein. Skinny hardgainers always need to rest and eat more.

Gaining some fat with your muscles is okay!

At the beginning your main goal is calories intake. Track your calories everyday and always prepare your meals through the day to make sure you get enough protein to build those muscles. If you’re still short on calories add some peanut butter to snacks or some nuts and dry fruits or a fruit smoothie which won’t take too much effort to take.

But realize that you will gain some fat with your muscles, if you’re going to eat as much calories as you should. and that’s easy to solve once you hit your targeted weight gain. Cut some of the carbs and replace it with low GI carbs*, cook with less oil/butter, or check our recipes and get inspired!

Don’t Forget

• The  more you understand your body and know it’s needs, the more you’re going to get better results in the quickest possible way so, read more and watch more videos about “skinny to fit” journey to make use of what other people did to feel good about their body.
• Know that eating junk/fast food (dirty bulking) with neglecting training will make you gain weight, but trust me you don’t want to have cellulite or be a skinny fat buddy.
• Stretching and warm ups are essential before every training session as your training get more intense over time.
• Don’t start taking supplements before 3 months of training and eating your calories so you don’t have health problem because as i said before; your stomach needs time to adjust to greater amounts of food and calories intake, and some supplements can’t be taken without a professional advice.
• Every good thing takes time to reach but it’s totally worth it.

That’s all you want to know as a beginner. i will write some more for advanced hardgainers soon. Feel free to ask about hardgainers’ in the comments below.

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Elrefai

A cook with a nutrition degree, Specialised in nutrition for sports and fitness. you can see cooking in a whole new perspective when you jump out of the "weight loss" box