How to Build Muscle (For Skinny People/ Hardgainers)

Welcome to the second edition of Resistance Training Club Newsletter. If you haven't been to the gym yet, it's been really crowded. If your goal is to become proficient at the gym you are at the right place.

Today's topic will be on building muscle for skinny people. Of the many groups I've trained in the past, the ones I enjoy the most training are the skinny people aka the hard gainers.

Why?

It's the challenge. Through my experience it's harder for someone to put on 20lbs of muscle than someone losing 20lbs. It takes a lot of commitment, sacrifice, and discipline. Especially those with high metabolism and longer frames. I'll share with you some key frameworks I use to help my clients get the body they've always wanted. Before we get started,

Here is one of my clients who recently put on 25lbs of muscle using this simple framework

The Key Principles for Muscle Growth

1.) Train Muscles By Their Function

Muscles grow and strengthen in response to the demands placed on them. When you train a muscle in a way that aligns with its natural function, you're effectively stimulating it to grow and adapt. Maintain constant tension throughout the movement and refrain from using momentum.

Example: The Pec Major - a great humeral adductor with attachments from the clavicle, sternum and humerus. If your goal is to grow this muscle, don't get cute. Focus on creating tension all the way through by bringing the arm towards the midline. Time under tension principle. (humeral adduction)

2.) Progressive Overload

Why does it matter? Muscle growth (hypertrophy) occurs when you consistently challenge your muscles. As a rule of thumb, the technique needs to be solid before there is any progression. But the basis of progressive overload is doing more weight, reps attempting to create micro tears within the muscle. Think about going until 3 reps until failure. That is usually the sweet spot. However, in the beginning focus on the quality of the reps (maintaining control) than going until failure.

3.) Nutrition

One of my clients once said, "I need to eat more calories. So, I goto McDonalds and order a much as I can." This is wrong in many ways. First, not all calories are equal and following this will get you myriad of problems in the future. Yes, you need a caloric surplus, roughly around 500-750kcal each day is sufficient. But where you get those calories is more important.

Do research on foods especially what's inside. Look at the protein, fiber, carbohydrates, fats amounts in the labels. You can use a free app called Myfitnesspal to log, track your foods. For muscle growth you'll need to aim for 1:1 ratio body weight per gram of protein. Each meal should contain around 30-40g of protein. Creating sustainable habits is key for muscle growth. Figure out which healthy meals you like the best, then double down on those.

Animal proteins like steak, are high in calories, proteins and fats. For plant based people, eating lentils, chickpeas, eggs, tofu are all also high in protein. Again, the building block of muscle is protein so make sure to get adequate amounts.

4.) Stretch Mediated Hypertrophy

This research is still new but the key basis from the research is mechanical tension induces protein synthesis and training muscles in a stretched position allows for greater hypertrophy.

Some exercises I like for stretch mediated hypertrophy training.

a.) Overhead tricep extension

b.) Preacher Bicep Curl

c.) Seated Hamstring Curl

d.) Behind the back cable lateral raises

P.S - (More volume, less weight, with good form on these.)

5.) Sleep, Recovery, & Stress Management

Muscles grow when you're asleep. If you don't have adequate sleep your muscles will never get the chance to grow. Cortisol aka the stress hormone, known for muscle breakdown, and disruption of metabolism. Cortisol can interfere with muscle protein synthesis and promote protein degradation. This is the main reason why many people are

6.) Mindset

This is one of the least talked about but most important aspect when it comes to any transformation. They must believe this is possible and buy in. Helping people overcome self limiting beliefs is part of coaching and what inspires me to become a better coach. There will be some days where you don't feel like it. Those that show up time over time usually gets the best results. Consistency over Intensity.

If you enjoyed this article please share and subscribe. It would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you and see you again next week. Happy Training.

In Health,

Alan

Resistance Training Club - Training Information Accessible to Everyone

Next Article: How to Build Muscle & Burn Fat, Lose Weight or Resistance Training Programming : Stability Training

Research Citations:

Stimuli for Adaptations in Muscle Length and the Length Range of Active Force Exertion-A Narrative Review

Annika Kruse?1,?Cintia Rivares?2,?Guido Weide?2?3,?Markus Tilp?1,?Richard T Jaspers?2

Physiology of Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy and Strength Increases: A Narrative Review

Konstantin Warneke?1?2?3,?Lars H Lohmann?4,?Camila D Lima?5,?Karsten Hollander?6,?Andreas Konrad?7?8,?Astrid Zech?9,?Masatoshi Nakamura?10,?Klaus Wirth?11,?Michael Keiner?12,?David G Behm?8