Hardgainer? Impossible to get bigger? READ THIS.

[AandF6969]

Diet is 75% of bulking up IMO. You can lift like Ronnie Coleman, but bottom line you will not grow any muscle without the calories behind it for bulking. Simple biology and one equation---->

Calorie balance=Calories in - Calorie expenditure

If you aren't gaining weight, you are not in a positive calorie balance so you need to either cut out all cardio, eat more, or both.


There are two ways to bulk: A clean bulk (slower, but leaner gains) and a dirty bulk (faster gains, more fat storage if metabolism isn’t fast) The main difference is that on a clean bulk, you NEVER eat carbs and fats together. Milk is bad for this reason. Eating carbs and fats together causes almost all of the fat to get stored instead of used for energy. Don’t eat carbs in your last 2 meals of the day because they get stored as fat while you sleep. Eat at least 40g protein with every meal, and make meals either protein/fat or protein/carb.


PWO=Post Workout, the most anabolic (muscle building) time in anyone’s day is the half hour following a workout. It is best to use a fast-acting protein like Whey. Your muscles soak up protein like a sponge. It is also useful to eat twice as many carbs as protein to help shuttle the proteins to the muscles. The PWO shakes I use are

---50g Optimum Nutrition Whey
---50g Dextrose (Corn sugar, causes an insulin spike to increase absorption of protein)
---50g Maltodextrin (Powdered complex carb supplement)

Some people prefer to drop the maltodextrin and just do 100g of dextrose. Try both and see what works for you.


Eating approximately every 2.5 to 3 hours is good for 3 reasons…
1. You can eat more calories in a day if your meals are smaller. Its easier to eat 600 calorie meals 6 times a day then it is to eat 1200 calorie meals 3 times a day.
2. Your body can only digest so many calories at a meal, and the rest gets stored as fat. Lowering the amount of food eaten at one time reduces the “extra” over what you need.
3. Muscles start to catabolize (break down) if they are without protein for 3-4 hours unless you are sleeping.

For all you 130-150 pounders thinking about taking steroids... re-evaluate your diets. If you can't gain weight naturally, steroids aren't going to do anything for you except shrink your balls. Think about it... raw materials to form muscles have to come from somewhere right? Try eating 300g protein, 400g carbs, and 150g fats.

You will grow.

A couple useful links

1) www.fitday.com <----Huge database of foods, can look up pro/fat/carbs and calories on them.

2) http://www.ntwrks.com/~mikev/chart1.html <------Basically the same

3) http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi41.htm <----- An equation that you
plug in your weight and bodyfat percentage and it will tell you how many calories you need to eat every day to grow.

[Polska]

It's true. I'm a hard gaining ectomorph myself. Never really gained weight until I started eating like a horse. I mean 7 or 8 clean meals ed.

Most small guys go in to the gym to lift weights, get a pump, then leave.

They know nothing about diet.

Good post AandF6969...

[andrewthomas]

see my problem is i dont have time to eat all day long
i wake up at 7 am go to work dont get home till 8 im lucky i get to go to the gym
i get 30 min for lunch thats iT!!!

i work like a slave

[Polska]

see my problem is i dont have time to eat all day long
i wake up at 7 am go to work dont get home till 8 im lucky i get to go to the gym
i get 30 min for lunch thats iT!!!

i work like a slave

Well, you gotta get your priorities straight. Do you want to be huge, or do you want to be a slave? Either one is fine if that's your choice. Bodybuilding will always be available to you; a job may not so easily be.

But if there's a will there's a way. Everytime

[andrewthomas]

well i do need to work to pay for my food and my juice ahha

[AandF6969]

well i do need to work to pay for my food and my juice ahha

Protein shakes take about 10 seconds to drink... peanuts are fast, you can eat them while youre working. A can of tuna takes what, a minute to eat? Excuses are like assholes..

[Danbrooks2k]

tuna comes in pouches now too, no more draining and can openers... I wish chicken breasts came in individually wrapped pouches too... LOL

[ACAZORES]

I drink tuna, chicken, meat shakes with anykind of beverage, the stronger the taste of the beverage it is better cause it will take out the taste of the food, first mix the tuna, etc in a machine so it gets like paste than put the beverage and paste in a mixer and mix.

[symmetry101]

Nice read, some jump the gun on taking sauce wothout knowing why they wern't growing without it.

[bonsey]

Really nice read. Thanks for sharing. I found out I need to eat about 700 more calories from now on too substantially put on weight.

[AandF6969]

Don't forget, these numbers are estimates... Trial and error is the best way.

[ddoublevision]

yes excuses are getting old people

heck, If I was'nt allowed eat at work, I'd still have chicken breasts in my pocket - ready to take a bathroom break every 2 hours

or just find a new job

[***xxx***]

great posting, bump!

[flabbywussy]

this is one of the best posts yet! i'm saving this one...good job bro!

[j martini]

Protein shakes take about 10 seconds to drink... peanuts are fast, you can eat them while youre working. A can of tuna takes what, a minute to eat? Excuses are like assholes..

I wish i have an unbelieveable metabolism.
Right now i am eating 6500 cals a day and i am not bulking just maintaining ny current condition i have to eat that much food, that it takes me ages eating my food.

[***xxx***]

I wish i have an unbelieveable metabolism.
Right now i am eating 6500 cals a day and i am not bulking just maintaining ny current condition i have to eat that much food, that it takes me ages eating my food.

throw in some weight gainer.

[j martini]

throw in some weight gainer.

Yeah will be adding some n large in a couple of weeks when i start bulking will go up to about 7000cals.
The lowest i have went with my cals was 5400 and that was pre contest 3 weeks out, that was 18 months ago so i dont think i will ever go that low again.
Bodybuilding has put me off food for life i hate the site of it and just see it as a tool to get where i want to be rather than something to be enjoyed.

[BOBBY D]

The first thing i told my boss at my new JOB was that I EAT ALL DAY LONG WHILE I WORK, IS THIS A PROBLEM. you have to be clear that ur workout & health life is just as important as ur job. GOOD READ, THANKS