Looking to buff up, Skinny?

Skinny guys are all the rage right now, with so much emphasis placed on slim and skinny fashion. But the truth is skinny guys look less healthy and less attractive as compared to a relatively well built guy, holding all other factors constant.

If you’re a skinny guy who wants to put on some bulk, chances are that you are one of those who have a high metabolism rate and anything that go down into the digestive tract disappears almost immediately to power the body’s processes. Hence when it comes to body building, a skinny guy cannot use the same training regime as any other person in the gym.

Diet

The basics of body building is essentially the food that a person consumes. There are three types of food, mainly carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Proteins are of the highest concern in body building as it is the food needed for muscle building. Natural protein sources are eggs, white meat (e.g. fish and chicken) and whey. If you are working out intensely, artificial protein sources such as manufactured whey protein and protein shakes would be beneficial for your workout schedule.

Fats are also essential for body building, but the type of fat that we are targeting here is non saturated fat, which is present in almost all types of food. As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid consuming saturated fats as it would hinder your body building process and it is generally unhealthy.

For a hardgainer, the fundamental principle is simple. The more you eat, the more weight you are going to gain. In order for your muscles to grow, it should be in an anabolic state which requires you to eat several small meals a day, between intervals of 3 hours.

Your caloric intake should increase as well with increased number of meals per day. There would be little effect if you were to just divide 3 meals into smaller meals and not increase the intake of food your body is taking in.

This might seem very difficult at first as you would not be accustomed to eating more, but gradually over time your body would learn to expect meals at certain times of the day and you’ll soon feel hungry during your meal times. If you still find it difficult to increase your intake of food, you should aim to consume calorie dense/rich food such as lean red meat and eggs(it is actually one whole animal). As a skinny guy, your metabolism rate would be higher and thus burn calories much faster, hence you must increase your calorie intake.

It is essential that you increase your food intake as to put it simply, there would be no output if there is no input.

Exercises

The exercises involved in body building also play a part in muscle building. There are a few different types of exercises, power exercises, cardiovascular exercises and resistance exercises, just to name a few.

Common exercises such as running and cycling are cardiovascular exercises aimed at fat loss and increasing stamina and effectiveness of the heart and lungs. Power exercises focus on specific muscle groups and are those exercises that most people use free weights at a gym for.

As a skinny guy, you should be focusing on power exercises to produce the best results. The intensity of the workout is more important than the duration of the workout. Avoid doing excessive cardiovascular exercises so as to achieve visible muscle building results faster. Note the word excessive, one to two hours a week is still alright just to maintain cardiovascular health and stamina.

When choosing the weight needed for your workout, first determine your maximum load by testing the weight at which you can lift for just one time and no more than that. This means that you would have the strength to lift that load just ONCE, and if you try to lift it for the second repetition, there would not be enough strength for you to do so.

Once you’ve determined your maximum load, use 80% of this load for your power exercises. However, as a skinny guy, you should aim to do increased amounts of sets, about 5 sets of 5 repetitions per set. To know if you are actually using 80% of your maximum load, the last few repetitions of a set should be achingly painful and you would need a partner to give you that slight boost in order for you to complete it. It is best to workout with a partner for mutual encouragement.

Hardgainers and skinny guys have to adopt different practices when it comes to muscle building due to differences in metabolism and muscle types. The most important guideline to follow is that you must increase your food intake and keep workouts intense with a higher amount of sets in order for your muscle to adapt to the workout.

Muscle building for skinny guys might seem to be an impossible task at first and many would give up in the first few weeks as results are not seen immediately. Therefore, it is crucial that you find a training partner or a source of motivation such as a goal, for example, to fit into a shirt without loose hanging arms. Training partners need not be physical and real, even online ones that serve to motivate you would be good.

After all this talk, it boils down to your attitude and perseverance to keep going and maintaining a regular schedule and diet, in addition to a source of motivation, be it a real person or a personal goal.