For many thin guys around
the world, gaining weight
without using illegal steroids
has been a challenge. For
thousands of lean young men,
the dream is to gain weight,
but no matter how much they
eat they remain thin. Some
people are naturally thin;
that means their genetic makeup
is in such a way that the
body burns more calories than
others. The very basic method
of weight gain is to eat more
calories than your body burns
off. By providing the body
with more calories, this balance
can be altered and body mass
can be increased. Weight training
is of great importance in
this context, which enables
the body to absorb more nutrients
from the food by increasing
the level of certain hormones
and increasing the muscle
mass.
There are many incorrect beliefs
and theories bout building
muscle. The type of food to
be eaten is an important factor
which decides the type of
weight gained, whether it
is muscle mass or mere accumulation
of fat. Some types of calories
are not equal to others for
gaining muscle; because most
processed junk food contains
empty, totally nutritionless
calories. These foods promote
accelerated fat storage, and
do not provide the body with
the correct nutrients essential
for gaining muscle. High quality
protein, which the body breaks
down into amino acids, should
be the centerpiece of all
your meals. Intense exercise
increases demand for amino
acids, which support muscle
repair and growth.
Another factor is the selection
of the right type of weight
training. Resistance exercises
will help with muscle growth.
Whereas aerobic exercises
can result in the reduction
of weight. For maximum muscle
gain, the focus of your workouts
should consist of free weight
exercises, rather than machines
or bodyweight exercises. To
get a very effective workout,
you must stimulate as many
muscle fibers as possible,
and machines do not do this.
The main reason for this is
a lack of stabilizer and synergist
muscle development. Stabilizer
and synergist muscles are
supporting muscles that assist
the main muscle in performing
a complex lift.
The results of weight training
can vary from person to person,
and will usually depend on
your consistency and commitment
to your program. You should
have the patience and motivation
for building a powerful body
with a consistent diet and
exercise schedule.
Exercise Guidelines for building
muscle:
Weight training involves the
use of equipment that enables
variable resistance. This
resistance can come in the
form of free weights like
barbells and dumbbells, machines
that use cables or pulleys
to help you lift the weight,
and bodyweight exercises like
pull-ups or dips. The more
stabilizers and synergists
you work, the more muscle
fibers stimulated. The exercises
that work the large muscle
groups are called compound
(or multi-joint) movements
that involve the simultaneous
stimulation of many muscle
groups. These compound exercises
should be the foundation of
any weight training program
because they stimulate the
most amount of muscle in the
least amount of time. Multi-jointed
free weight exercises like
the bench press require many
stabilizer and synergistic
muscle assistance to complete
the lift.
Free weight exercises like
the dumbbell press or squat
put a very large amount of
stress on supporting muscle
groups. You will get fatigued
faster and not be able to
lift as much weight as you
did on the machine. But you
will gain more muscle, become
stronger very quickly and
have a true gauge of your
strength.
If you use machines in your
program, they should be used
to work isolated areas and
only after all multi-jointed
exercises have been completed.
Beginners should begin with
a limited combination of machine
exercises, bodyweight exercises
and multi-jointed free weight
exercises. Before increasing
the weight levels, they should
work on becoming familiar
with the proper form and execution
of each.
The following are some proven
basic exercises to encourage
muscle and strength gain unlike
any other exercises.
Bench Presses - works the
chest, shoulders, triceps
Overhead Presses - shoulders,
triceps
Pull-ups/Barbell Rows - back,
bicep
Squats - legs, lower back
Dead lifts - legs, back, shoulders
Bar Dips -shoulders, chest,
arms
To build mass, you must weight
train with heavy weights.
To consider a weight heavy,
you should only be able to
do a maximum of 4-8 reps before
your muscles temporarily fail.
A weight is considered 'light'
if you can do more than 15
reps before muscle fatigue
sets in. Heavy weights stimulate
more muscle fibers than lighter
weights which result in more
muscle growth. Heavy weight
training puts a huge strain
on your body, so adequate
rest and recuperation after
your workouts is essential.
Eating guidelines for building
muscle:
A high protein diet is an
inevitable part of any weight
training programme, importantly,
protein derived from animal
sources. Proteins you need
to be concerned with are those
found in whey, casein (cottage
cheese), eggs, beef, poultry,
and fish. Soy protein, tofu
and bean curd are some alternatives.
Eating the right amount of
foods consistently will force
your body to grow beyond what
you may think possible. The
diet also should contain an
adequate amount of carbohydrates
(potatoes, sweet potatoes,
yams, oatmeal, cream of wheat,
cream of rice, rice, beans,
bread, pasta, all cereals)
and fat. Green leafy vegetables
and fruits also should be
included.
When you train with weights,
you should eat a minimum of
1 gram of protein per pound
of body weight. You also must
have protein at every meal.
To enable your body to actually
assimilate and use the all
the calories you will ingest,
you have to reduce your meal
size and increase your meal
frequency. Splitting your
calories into smaller, more
frequent portions will enable
food absorption and utilization
of nutrients.
During the past 20 years there
have been great developments
in the scientific understanding
of the role of nutrition in
health and physical performance.
Studies shown that adequate
dietary carbohydrate should
be ingested (55-60% of total
energy intake) so that training
intensity can be maintained.
Excess dietary saturated fat
can exacerbate coronary artery
disease; however, low-fat
diets result in a reduction
in circulating testosterone.
So the balance between protein,
carbohydrate and fat should
be maintained.
So the focus on weight gain
programmes must be on two
components, lifting heavy
weights, which will stimulate
the largest amount of muscle
fibers. Your body responds
to this stimulus by increasing
your muscle mass and secondly
eat more calories than your
body is used to. When you
overload your system with
plenty of protein and fats,
your body has no other choice
but to gain weight.
A Mass Gaining program is
incomplete without the timely
measurements to monitor your
progress. Without it, you
won't know how exactly your
body is responding to your
diet and training routine.
Just looking in the mirror
and guessing is not acceptable.
If you want to start getting
great results, you must develop
the habit of accurately tracking
your progress. This also provides
the motivation to continue
with the weight gain schedule
and for the further progression.
So even though you have a
very thin body type, and haven't
been able to gain weight no
matter what you try, you will
definitely succeed with a
well planned weight gain programme.
References:
1) http://www.fastmusclegain.com/part1eating.htm
2) http://www.fastmusclegain.com/part2weights.htm
3) http://www.fastmusclegain.com/part3muscle.htm
4) http://www.fastmusclegain.com/part4suppl.htm
5) http://www.fastmusclegain.com/part5monitor.htm
6) http://www.skinnyguy.net/tips.html
7) Lambert CP, Frank LL, Evans
WJ. Macronutrient considerations
for the sport of bodybuilding.
Sports Med. 2004;34(5):317-27
About the Author
Former "skinny guy" Anthony
Ellis is the author of Gaining
Mass. The most widely used
weight gain program in the
world. This unique program
designed to help people gain
weight and build muscle, is
currently being used in over
90 countries. For more information
on how to gain weight and
build muscle, check out his
website at http://www.fastmusclegain.com
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