So-called hard gainer routines are a myth!

[Ronnie Rowland]

The hard gainer training philosophy is a myth! Here's how it works: If someone has great genetics like ronnie coleman or dorian yates they both grow by using either higher volume or lower volume. If someone has poor genetics they grow slow whether they use low volume or high volume and higher volume over a period of time ruins their joints-hence slowing down their progress. Both ronnie coleman and dorian yates were forced to retire due to injuries. Ronnie over did the volume and it eventually caught up with him and dorian trained beyond failure which eventually caught up with him. Both of these men would have maxed out their genetic potential using moderate volume (6-12 intense work sets) and i believe they both would have still been competing if they had followed that approach and yes they would have been just as big and probably even a little bigger due to keeping injuries at bay.

So, the whole hard gainers routine is a myth. Training with high volume will not benefit hard gainers as much as easy gainers but neither will moderate or low volume. It's not their training routines but rather, diet, drugs and genetics that makes them huge (mostly genetics). Coleman and Yates would have been massive doing 8 worksets sets for quads once a week and they both would have been massive doing 12 sets twice a week. Moderation is the key for all genetic types and it saves time in the gym and prevents injuries. BODYBUILDING IS BEST APPROACHED LIKE SPRINTING NOT A MARATHON RACE, REGARDLESS OF ONE'S GENETIC MAKE-UP!

[dirtysouth]

Thank you for all the info, cant wait to try out the slingshot method along with the workout routine. Way to go Ronnie!!

[|2ogue]

Good post, straight to the point and true.
I remember in my younger days reading the routines these giants used to follow, I even tried a few. I tried a routine similar to Dorians once, doing 1 warm up set, then 1 all out set max 6 reps as heavy as poss with a forced rep or 2. Didn't work. I have always been a hard gainer, and always will be no matter what routine I try. I eventually found that a basic 4 days per week, conventional routine, doing 6-9 sets for smaller body parts and 9-12 for bigger ones worked best.
To anyone starrting out in bbing, never try any of the pro's routines, as Ronnie says, they were born that way. They can do 50 sets with 5 forced reps per set and grow huge, the average guy can't.

Judgeing by your pic Ronnie, you obviously know what your talking about. I've also read a few of your posts, some real good helpfull info. Cheers.

[xnotoriousx]

Good insight and it's trust worthy advice from looking at the people you've trained, along with you and your wife. Great asset to this community. Thanks for the advice.

I'm a hard gainer, and it's easy to think you need to train more when you don't get the result you're looking for, but you're right. It's only asking for injury when you train 5-7 days straight and are having you're buddies push you 5 reps beyond failure on big lifts.

I have never done the sls system, but I have read through it and implemented alot of your ideas from it into my workouts and diet. Thanks again.

[bass]

thanks Ronnie, i am 51 and get injured easily, i do push myself or i should say i push my joints to the limit, i can't do heavy weights due to passed injuries like shoulder cuffs, lower back and elbows! i understand that if you want to gain mass you have to lift heavy, but in my case i can't lift heavy, i probably do half of what i could do if my joints were in good shape. my question is, do you think i can still grow with moderate weights and workout?