willgetyoufit

1. Weight train only 4 to 5 days a week. If growing is your primary concern then rest is paramount. Schedule breaks between intense sessions. For some, you may only need to workout 4 days and on your off days do absolutely nothing (no cardio or resistance training). Even if the gains don’t come right away this is not an indication that you need to workout more days a week. Be patient, stick to the formula and the gains will come.

2. Cut back on all the reps and sets. As a hard gainer, doing too many reps and too many sets is a recipe for overtraining. Heuristically, it seems better to train bigger body parts (legs, chest, back) with a 3 – 4 exercise per session rate and the smaller muscles (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) 2 – 3 exercises per session.

3. Emphasize compound exercise where more than one muscle group is used at one time i.e. squat and military press.

4. Reduce cardio. Cardio done too often can burn too many calories over time. Use cardio sparingly to control fat stores but keep pace with your calorie intake to insure proper growth.

5. Keep it short and sweet. Hard gainer workouts shouldn’t last more than about an hour. Beyond that, excess cortisol (a catabolic hormone) can be released inhibiting growth of the muscles.

6. Consume more complex carbs to energize your intense workouts. Carbs are important because they provide energy and they control insulin, an anabolic hormone that forces energy into the muscle stimulating growth. Once again complex carbs should be your primary target in carbo-loading. For more info see “Summary of Macronutrients”.

7. Eat adequate high quality proteins. These are the building blocks to your muscles. For a breakdown of quality protein see “Summary of Macronutrients).

8. Use things like Echinacea and Ginger Root to increase appetite. An increased appetite will lead to the consumption of more calories which in the long and short term help you reach your goal.