Hardgainer? Can't gain weight? READ THIS!!!

[vot]

Nice post but is there any sample diet plan or weight training plan here which can help can weight in case of a male 28 years old weight 62 KG ?

[Newguy4it]

Just AWSOME thanks....

[nevko]

great post. very informative thanks

[UserX44]

this post was exactly what i was looking for....thanks dude

[jakk9011]

thanks for the great info...

[muhammad1185]

Great Post, Thanks

[rnb83]

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. Eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight; eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. The kind of weight you gain or lose is dependent on your macronutrient breakdown, timing of meals, training, cardio, etc. Try adding up your calories using the links at the bottom of the page, many people who think they "eat all the time" actually eat under 3000 calories per day, which is very low for a bulking diet. Get used to eating frequently also, like every 3 hours tops. The only time I was hungry on my last bulker was right when I woke up in the morning. Remember: an appetite is not necessary to eat. You need to get used to eating what/when you MUST, not what/when you want.

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. Hell, when I'm bulking I drink a milk/casein shake when I get up to piss at night.

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? They don't just appear out of thin air. Calories are the bricks that are building your house.

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.

If your diet is "all that and a bag of chips", and you STILL weigh 140 pounds dripping wet, either you have a SERIOUS thyroid problem or your training sucks. Remember "The Big 5" - Squat, Deadlift, Row, Bench, Military.

GET BIG!

-A&F-

tanks

[rnb83]

great post av so much info to take in, im a hardgainer 135lbs thought i was always eating right, wat an eye opener, keeping away from the steroids give this a try instead

[dezza6969]

great sticky

[urbanbody]

Ive gained 20lbs from following this great post

[Relax007]

These links and post really helped me get an idea of what to do! Thanks. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions.

[bucks_243]

I'm a beginner to the boldybuilder world so any information is great. However for me now useless. Right now I'm in Kuwait and have very limited diet options plus I can only eat certain hours of the day. To help out I have upped my Calorie intake and protien by drinking whey by the gallons! eating clean is impossible plus the food is crap. Even when we do get chicken it's horrible. So if anyone knows of a good weight gainer supplement that has some good protien intake and you don't have to eat with a spoon lemme know.

[Lex87]

I've read a lot of different takes on how to gain but this is some excellent info and I am going to implement some of these tips and do it right!

[jrufs]

great post thanks, did the equation and realise i gotta stuff my face some more!

[bigz1017]

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? They don't just appear out of thin air. Calories are the bricks that are building your house.

Try eating 300g protein, 400g carbs, and 150g fats.

You will grow.

-A&F-

kids looking for size should try drinking a gallon of milk on top of thier regular diet, it is a great way to add 2000 calories and 144g protien. gaining weight fast is a must especially for highschool athletes. in combination with milk they should be focusing on deadlift and squat primarily, and cant forget bench and shoulder press

[jrun]

Bookmarked! I've always had a tough time gaining weight, and it wasn't till i wrote down all the specs of what i was taking in before i realized i was getting crazy low calories from trying to eat too clean. Adjusting my diet to double my caloric intake and bam.. i start growing almost over night!

[Pkk]

thanks for this shed a new light

[A010011000111]

hey this post has some great info... extremely useful! thanks a bunch!

[missionone]

great post...i am definitely a hard gainer. This will help a lot with my diet planning!

[mrd0t]

I appreciate this thread very much! Thank you for the links, will definitely use all of the advice given!

[Gucks]

just wondering what is the final say on dextrose/maltodextrin PWO. ive had so many people and articles tell me different things, trainer told me not to, guys on here told me i should and george farah (one of the most renouned trainers in the world) said in an article never to use either PWO. wanna know what guys on here think

[MasterKevin]

Awesome post good read

[slimshady01]

WHats a good source of dextrose to throw in my PWO shake.


Ive been doing this in my PWO now,

2 scoops ISO pure 50g Tein
1 cup of Oatmeal 54 carbs
1 cup of frozen blueberries 18 carbs

[Cedric247]

Im going to follow this.

thanks!

[lovbyts]

Simple but great advice for clean bulking from the OP.
NEVER eat carbs and fats together.
Thank you

[ravid32]

I'm 19 year old 5'8 135 pounds trying hit 155 within 4-6 weeks. Any recommended diets?

[jamotech]

never heard of seperating fats and carbs, makes perfect sense since those are our two sources of energy. Great hard gainer info!

[Valeron]

Thanks a lot for this great post. Best post ever. Everything a gainer must know can be found.

[Patrickthecool]

Thanks for the post! I realize how much I need to eat. about 3 times as much as im eating now

[Twin]

I thought Maltodextrin was a simple carb? Is it really a complex carb?

[jergens007]

thank you!!!

[al_capone]

Ectomorph here. Great info. Much appreciated.

[Lil man]

Damn. First time I ever heard of not eating crbs and fats together. To hell with cutting. Shit I can't gain like I want but I never even considered cutting fats or carbs outta meal. I eat about 5-6 times a day and have really learned over the last couple of years that fat and carbs are just as crucial to gaining lean mass than protein. It's all essential. Ty for that advice. I will be trying this now. Problem is I don't like carbs anyway. I have to force myself on em. Usually supplement maltodextrin powder.

[Skyrinegt]

Bump this is my favourite stickie so far

[bobsyouruncle]

A 1000kcal Mass gainer definitely helps. That + a slight increase in portions of my normal meals have finally made me start gaining.

[BurntRbr]

Growing from 140 to 185 at 6' 1 was my hardest challenge as well as very pricey. But if you "cant gain weight" your simply not eating enough. To those hardgainers alike dont give in to the temptations of gear, just give a good strong diet and i assure you that gains will be coming your way.

[ADSONE]

Good post ...your body is the shot caller at the end of the day...good tips but calorie wise...you have to really dial in what is working for you or not working...pictures/mirror/scale/energy.... All tools for any "hardgainers" to make progress...lastly, use your body to its advantage..if your superlean, keep in mind thats your natural composition, and if your naturally bulky , use these things to your advantage..

[Polish]

I'm 19 year old 5'8 135 pounds trying hit 155 within 4-6 weeks. Any recommended diets?

I was in your shoes. Eat and lift, rinse and repeat, you should fill out quick. Eat chicken and rice often.

[KarsenH]

I just read a few lines and already had to come down here to comment on what a useful post this is. Thank you!

[BigGuns89]

Good post and well explained