Even if you were at the end of the line when the good bodybuilding genetics were handed out, disciplined diet and training can do wonders your physique.
Quality weight gain is not impossible. Even if you were at the end of the line when the good bodybuilding genetics were handed out, disciplined diet and training can do wonders your physique.

Whether you're a seasoned bodybuilder trying to pack on more mass or an ectomorph tired of carrying rocks in your pockets on windy days to stay earthbound, chances are I'll be able to help you. However, while it may be necessary for an extreme hardgainer to drink whole milk, eat the eggs with the yolks, and consciously go for the high-fat products in the store, that's obviously not what way to go for the endomorph looking to gain a few pounds lean mass.

Therefore, I have divided this page into two sections aimed at calorie-conscious trainers. Feel free to check both out, but you'll have to make a judgment call depending on your situation.



If you are not sure what body type you have, take this quiz first!

When we talk about weight gain, I think it's safe to assume that what you want is muscle, not fat. Gaining 10 lbs of fat and no muscle is hardly what you're picturing when you think about next summer at the beach, right? Good news! Even though it may seem like you're doomed to be scrawny for the rest of your life, take comfort in that you WILL gain weight (trust me on this), and that the majority of it will be muscle!

To make it simple, your body simply isn't wired for being fat. It's not wired for being the next Arnold Schwarzenegger either, but that you can change through a combination of smart eating, training, and - sleeping! Granted, you probably will never have those huge pectorals of Arnold, but you can take it to the limits of your genetics. I can assure you that you'll feel pretty good in the end even if you don't have a sandow over your fireplace.

As for the part about fat, this is hardly even a concern to you at this point. That doesn't mean that you can take on a diet of peanut butter, but it means that you don't have to compromise with your muscle gain-goals in order to dodge the dreaded love handles, like many other people have to. Or to put it simple: While they have to take two cautious steps forward and then one back, you can happily leap three steps forward, time and time again.

The mechanism behind weight gain is just as simple as weight loss. If you consistently make sure to eat more calories than you burn, you WILL gain weight. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it - it works, just like I can be sure about people losing weight if they eat 500 calories less per day, I can assure you that you will GAIN weight from consistently eating 500 calories MORE. The problem, as you probably know yourself, is that your metabolism seems to be stuck in high gear. There's not all that much you can do about that, except counteract it by eating more and working out with weights.

It is obvious that weight training is your choice of workout if you wish to gain muscle mass. Likewise, as you want to use the calories you eat to gain weight, keep the cardiovascular training to a minimum. That means enough to keep your heart, lungs, and circulation system in shape, but not more than necessary to achieve just that. The training will burn extra calories, so you will have to eat enough to not only support your body, but also the added drain of strenuous training AND the calories necessary to allow muscle growth!

I imagine that you're rolling your eyes at this point. If it was only a matter of eating more, then you'd have succeeded long ago by yourself, right? Well, yes and no. You need to apply a certain strategy to make the most of the calories you eat. Your first step is to establish your base metabolism. Read how in the Nutrition Basics section. I have a crude but perfectly functional diet log on this site your can download for free.

Then, knowing your metabolism, you can start planning your weight gain strategy! Aim to take in AT LEAST 500 calories more than your base metabolism each day. On the days that you work out, make that another 200-300 calories to offset the extra calories burned. This gives you low-limit numbers for each day, and the more you exceed it, the better. Now, here are some tried-and-true tricks to boost your calorie intake and make the calories come to full use:

Gainer Protein Powders

The gainer drinks are different from the all-protein drinks by containing a majority of carbohydrates and some fat. A single gainer drink can boost your daily intake by up to 800 calories!

Eat Lots Of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, and insulin is the king of weight gain! Eat lots of carbohydrate-dense foods, preferably in the mid-zone between simple and complex carbohydrates as determined by the Workouts further down on this page.

Get Plenty Of Sleep

Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. It's when you sleep that your natural growth hormones are released, so if you want to get big, you have to let your body do what it needs. It's not a bad idea to get a nap during the day either. You won't see the same rush of natural growth hormones, but you'll at least get a quick recharge of the batteries before the gym.

Eat At Least 1 Gram Of Protein Per Pound Per Day

Keeping the protein intake up will help you gain muscle mass. Going skimpy on the protein will make it harder grow, but here's the good news: 2-3 gainer drinks per day will give you the extra protein AND the carbohydrates you need!