If you wish to go from scrawny to brawny, the plan sounds easy: Lift hard and heavy. Eat more. But, for some guys, like our client John, it’s more complicated.
John was a busy pre-med student uninterested in feeling skinny and slim. He desired to add size. And he desired to feel strong. The challenge is that John is what we call a “hardgainer.” Long and lean, with lower than optimal genes for constructing muscle quickly.
But being a hardgainer isn’t a muscle-building curse. While genetics inevitably do make a difference, your genetics are not stopping you from adding on kilos of muscle. With our help, John layered on 20+ kilos in only over seven months. Throw the justifications out because that’s incredible progress.
How did John finally break through for more growth – and how will you achieve similar results? If you wish to transform your body there are two muscle growth breakthroughs you should know.
Muscle Growth Breakthrough #1: Focus on Progression
We kept John’s training easy. But don’t mistake easy for effective. If you wish to construct muscle, it comes all the way down to getting stronger and progressively doing more work month after month.
And if muscle-building is the goal, then variety is your friend. This doesn’t mean altering up your workouts every single day, nevertheless it does mean going through cycles where you rotate your reps and the movements you perform.
In John’s training plan, we alternated between strength-focused plans for one month, emphasizing lower reps and increasing weight each week. Then, the subsequent month, we’d emphasize higher sets and reps, but with moderate weight (as a substitute of max).
To help illustrate what these plans might appear to be, here’s a simplified example of how you would arrange each training month:
Month 1 – Lower Reps, Increasing Weight
Week 1:
- Exercise 1 – Squats: 4 sets x 6 reps (70% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 2 – Bench Press: 4 sets x 6 reps (70% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 3 – Deadlifts: 4 sets x 6 reps (70% of your one-rep max)
Week 2:
Increase the load by 5-10 kilos (depending in your strength level) for every exercise in comparison with Week 1.
- Exercise 1 – Squats: 3-4 sets x 6 reps (75% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 2 – Bench Press: 3-4 sets x 6 reps (75% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 3 – Deadlifts: 3-4 sets x 6 reps (75% of your one-rep max)
Weeks 3 and 4 would proceed this progression, eventually ending at 85% of your one-rep max.
Month 2 – Higher Sets and Reps, Moderate Weight
Week 1:
- Exercise 1 – Reverse Lunge: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (60% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 2 – Dumbbell Incline Press: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (60% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 3 – Prone Leg: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (60% of your one-rep max)
Week 2:
Increase the load by 5-10 kilos for every exercise in comparison with Week 1.
- Exercise 1 – Reverse Lunge: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (65% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 2 – Dumbbell Incline Press: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (65% of your one-rep max)
- Exercise 3 – Prone Leg Curl: 4-5 sets x 10 reps (65% of your one-rep max)
Weeks 3 and 4 would proceed this progression, eventually ending at 75% of your one-rep max.
It’s an excellent reminder that multiple rep ranges can result in growth, nevertheless it’s essential to concentrate on a particular goal and make it easy to see progress. Dramatically changing your workouts each session might appear to be an excellent idea, but not if it makes it hard to trace progress and improve within the ways in which help you pack on muscle.
Muscle Growth Breakthrough #2: Pushing the Calorie Threshold
Like most hardgainers, John’s biggest challenge was eating enough. If your goal is to construct muscle, you should eat more calories than you burn (plus eat adequate protein). These are the raw materials for brand new growth.
Sounds great, right? You get to eat more food!
But, this isn’t all the time easy or as fun because it sounds if you’re naturally very lean like John. “Hardgainers” like John often feel full before hitting their goal calories for the day. Eating becomes a chore.
That’s why you should change the principles of eating for muscle constructing. You might must eat past your hunger to placed on recent muscle. (Note: this may be very different when specializing in fat loss and body recomposition, which is shifting your body fat percentage.)
High-quality foods should form the bottom of any good weight-reduction plan, think your protein, produce, and fiber-rich carbs). Yet, we frequently suggest adding higher-calorie foods traditionally labeled as “unhealthy” for clients struggling to eat enough.
Finding ways to sneak in extra calories in ways which can be fun and enjoyable could make eating less of a chore, and help pack on the vital calories.
Little wins might be healthy-ish behaviors, like adding extra peanut butter to your smoothies or having a second serving of pasta. But, it might probably also mean hitting up Shake Shack and having fun with a milkshake.
We’re not encouraging a free for all, but these foods provide a ton of calories and take up less volume within the stomach (meaning you’re feeling less full). And that gets the job done and presses the correct buttons so your training turns into muscle. And, when done right, it means more muscle without much added fat.
Ready to create your individual muscle growth breakthrough?
With Born Fitness Online Coaching, you’ll haven’t one, but two dedicated coaches – one for fitness and one for weight-reduction plan. Say goodbye to generic muscle-building workout plans and cookie-cutter meal plans that don’t work. We’ll enable you create a customized plan that challenges you and helps you construct muscle effectively. You can apply here if interested.
B.J. holds a B.S. in Health and Human Performance and multiple certifications, including Precision Nutrition Level 1 and BioForce Certified Conditioning Coach. Over his 14-year coaching profession, he’s been fortunate enough to educate a big selection of clients. From online clients seeking to get in great shape to CEO Nate Checketts (Rhone) and CEO Marcelo Claure (Softbank), and skilled skateboarder Sean Malto. Before starting his training profession, he was a sports science lab research assistant.
