Reasons You Are Still Skinny

REASONS YOU ARE STILL SKINNY

(and How to Fix Them)

You eat like a bird

Skinny guys who can’t seem to gain muscle (or weight in any form) think they eat a lot. They usually don’t. If you aren’t gaining weight you are not eating enough. You must put yourself in a calorie surplus.

1.     How much should you eat? Start with at least 16 to 18 calories per pound of body weight. If you start gaining somewhere around one pound per week you’re on the right track. If you’re not gaining after two weeks eat more.

2.     Include lots of carbs. Carbs are mandatory if you are trying to gain weight and muscle. Your carbs should be 50% of your calorie intake at a minimum. Carbs are easily broken down into glucose which is your body’s primary source of energy. Carbs contain 4 calories per gram.

Meal Planning 101 for Hard Gainers

  Afraid of losing your visible abs? Under nourished people in some third                  world countries have visible abs. Is that the look you’re going for?   

Frankly, if you have biceps the same size as my ten year old granddaughter, nobody is really going to care if you have visible abs.

        

3.     Never skip breakfast. You have been “fasting” all night. Your “fuel” (glucose/glycogen)is depleted. Calories eaten when you first get up are used most efficiently to refuel your muscle cells with glycogen.

4.     Eat a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Protein also contains 4 calories per gram.

5.     Don’t worry too much about fats in the beginning. If you feel like you are gaining too much fat cut back on the fat (9 calories per gram) to about 20% of your total calories and increase the carbs and protein.

6.     Track you macro’s. How are you going to know if you’re eating enough if you don’t keep track. It’s much easier than it used to be. I suggest myfitnesspal.com . It’s free, it’s easy and their database of foods is huge. There are others but myfitnesspal.com seems to work best for most people. 

Eating for Your Fitness Goals

You’re doing the wrong workout

1.     Cut out or minimize the cardio. There’s nothing wrong with cardio. But this is not the time. It burns energy and calories that can be put to better use to increase the intensity on your resistance training.

2.     Stop with the barbell curls, already! If you’re skinny your whole body is weak. You have bigger problems than small arms.

Every workout in the beginning should consist of compound lifts. Squats, dead lifts, bench press, overhead press, pull ups, dips, rows and weighted carries, in some of their many variations, should make up almost your entire program.

Here are your priorities:

1.     AIG (Ass in Gym)-Be consistent

2.     Form- Don’t try to go too heavy at first. Leave your ego at the door and work on proper form in the beginning. It will pay huge dividends down the road. Lifting too heavy with bad form doesn’t get you stronger. It gets you on the injured list.

A Future Champion

3.     Progression-As a relative beginner (a Newbie) you will see faster gains in the first few months than you will see for the rest of your life. Take advantage of that and don’t waste the opportunity. You should be able to progress (add weight) almost daily at this stage.

Progression and Why You Need to Understand It

Other Related articles and useful calculators:

Using a Workout Log

The Process of Building Muscle

Several useful calculators are located in the Calculators/Resources tab at the top of the page.