5 Ways Skinny Bastards Can Add Muscle

7/26/2019 5 Ways Skinny Bastards Can Add Muscle

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5 Ways Skinny Bastards Can Add MusclebyEric Bach |Today

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Here's what you need to know... Most naturally skinny dudes need to train more frequently using proven bang-

for-your buck exercises. The key to training with a higher frequency is to limit your daily volume with

shorter, intense sessions. Your biceps can wait until after your weighted pull-ups, squats, and deadlifts. Add jumps, throws and sprints into your plan to recruit the fast-twitch fibers

most responsible for strength improvements and muscular gains. Hardgainers must stress their systems above what they're currently doing,

whether it's via more weight, more dense training, or a higher total volume.

Genetics Be Damned
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These five training laws coupled with a firm nutrition plan will help any

hardgainer build muscle.

1. Train With High Frequency

Would you be stronger performing squats in 52 workouts per year or 104

workouts per year? Logic says to go with 104, but why?


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Consistent exposure to stimuli is vital for learning new movement patterns. If

you're a scrawny guy struggling to put on muscle, you're probably not much

stronger than you were when you first started lifting.

Even worse, your training sessions are long and inefficient with exercises that

won't yield much benefit until you're substantially stronger. What most skinny

guys need is a focus on greater training frequency of the big bang-for-your

buck exercises. Here's why:

It improves strength and muscular hypertrophy.

Back in 2000, a study compared 1 day and 3-days per week of equal-volumeresistance training (McLester, et al 2000). Twenty-five experienced subjects

were randomly separated into training groups.

Group one performed one day per week of strength training with three sets to

failure, using rep ranges moving from three to ten reps per set. Group two

performed workouts three days per week with one set to failure per day, while

working in the same rep ranges.

Volume between the two groups was exactly the same, yet group two had

greater increases in both lean body mass and improved one-rep max

strength. With total volume held constant, spreading the training frequency to

three doses per week produced superior results in both strength and muscular

hypertrophy.

It leads to greater net-protein balance.

A 2010 study on anabolic processes in human skeletal muscle found that

repeated phases of net protein balance, which can be a generated response

to repeated bouts of resistance exercise and protein ingestion, underpins

muscle hypertrophy (Phillips, S., & West, D., 2010).


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This shows that frequent exposure to training increases protein synthesis at

the cellular level, leading to greater amounts of muscle growth. Obviously,

nutrition is key for muscle-seeking munchkins, so getting significant calories

and the right macronutrients are a must.

Related: More on workout supplementation

Frequent training stimulus yields quicker skill development.

Like anything else, moving heavier and heavier weight requires increased

technical skill and practice. Hardgainers are usually weak in the exercises that

matter.

Placing an emphasis on improving the big lifts with more frequent sessions is

a surefire way to increase strength and build muscle.

It's a frequent reminder of the goal at hand.

As Dan John says, "The goal is to keep the goal the goal." Skinny guys are

notorious for program hopping, freaking out at the thought of any fat gain, and

abandoning training when results don't come fast.

Besides needing a swift kick in the head and a lesson on perseverance,

skinny guys need constant reassurance of what the goal is. Frequent training

engrains the message to stick to the goal of building mass. Each day is a

positive step towards the big picture.
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Potential Strategies:Each individual faces his own obstacles when it comes to

optimal training frequency. They have to consider time available to train, gym

convenience, and recoverability.

Regardless, there are ways around difficult situations. Grab a pull-up bar, a

kettlebell, and some dumbbells if you need extra work at home. Here are

some brief workouts to increase training frequency if you can't make it to the

gym:

Push/Pull

(This requires a pull-up bar fixed to a doorframe.)

Exercise Sets Reps

A Pull-Up 3 8-10

B Push-Up 3 20-25

Perform with minimal rest.

Total Body Kettlebell Circuit


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This 20-minute drill can be performed with one kettlebell and limited space

and can replace a conditioning session.

Exercise Sets Reps

A1 Kettlebell One-Arm Press 3 6-8

A2 Split Kettlebell Row 3 6-8

B1 Kettlebell Goblet Squat 3 10

B2 Plank 3 45-60 sec.

C1 Kettlebell Swing 3 15


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C2 Kettlebell One-Arm Carry 3 50 steps

Bottom Line:Train with higher frequency4-6 workouts per week with major

multi-joint exercises.

2. Stop Majoring in the Minor, Train with a Lower Daily Volume

Unfortunately, hardgainers have a propensity for majoring in the minors and

spending countless hours in the gym pumping their pencil-thin biceps.


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Of course, the key to training with a higher frequency is to limit your daily

volume with shorter, intense sessions that get you in and out of the gym. Not

only will the lower volume keep your recovery up to par, you'll limit time in the

gym and leave more time for what you need to be doing, which is eating.

Bottom Line:To successfully train with a greater training frequency, you have

to drop the volume in individual workouts. This leads to greater performance

in training sessions and high-quality, frequent training. Yeah, crippling

soreness may get you a hardcore badge, but that doesn't mean anything for

the skinny guy.

3. Don't Plan Isolation Work


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I love a skin-splitting pump too, but after being a scrawny dude, the picture

was clear: isolation work is a waste of time and another example of majoring

in the minors.

You won't get much out of isolation work until you build significant strength.

Put down the 20-pound biceps curls and instead strive to hang 50 pounds

around your waist for chin-ups. That will have far greater effects on growth.


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Seriously, scrawny guys don't need isolation work. Focusing on isolation

exercises increases your total training volume and potentially disrupts your

ability to train for high performance gains.

That said, if you find yourself craving a pump and needing to give your biceps,

delts, or calves some love, allot 10 minutes one or two times per week at the

end of your workout to add some training volume. This will help you enjoy

training more and improve adherence.

Bottom Line:Minimize isolation work, but if you've been diligent with your

workouts and nutrition, reward yourself with a couple of sessions of 10-minute

isolation training for your beloved biceps.

4. Performance Over All

Building a body is about being capable of handling what life throws at you.

That's where performance comes in you must increase the capabilities of

your muscles, joints, ligaments, and nervous system together.

At least once a week you need to add jumps or throws in after your dynamic

warm-up to increase the neuromuscular capabilities of your body. This will

recruit the fast-twitch fibers most responsible for performance, strength

improvements, and muscular gains.

Box jumps are a great option to reinforce solid landing technique and lessen

impact if you're not used to jumping. Overhead medicine ball slams or

explosive push-up variations are a great option for the upper body andbuilding a resilient trunk.

Medicine Ball Slam

Modified Plyo Push-Up from Knees


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Bench Plyo Push-Up:

Sprints are another great option for improving performance because they

stimulate a huge influx of anabolic hormones.

Like weightlifting, sprinting requires high-impact muscular contractions that

cause the release of growth hormone and testosterone as well as potentiating

the nervous system for strength gains.

Sprints will also improve anaerobic conditioning and work capacity. Perform

sprints with low-volume to not negatively affect recovery from weight training,

but don't neglect conditioning altogether.

Related: Sprinting for Muscle

Your lifts might suffer a bit in the beginning, but in the long-term the benefits of

increased work capacity and athleticism keep you from getting crossed overby a 15-year-old at your local YMCA. What fun will that muscle be if you're a

walking ball of fail when you try to be athletic?

Bottom Line:Don't abandon sound principles because you want to gain mass.

Throw and jump at least once per week for 3 sets of 5 to ramp up your

nervous system and keep a level of athleticism.

Program sprints conservatively before sessions for 4-5 sets of 10-20 yards, or

after sessions on a hill for 10-15 minutes of 4-8 second sprints with full

recovery once or twice per week.

5. Progressive Overload
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It's sad how many guys train for years yet remain the same size, still benching

135 for three sets of ten, year after year.

To make progress you must stress the system above what you' re currently

doing, whether it's via more weight, more dense training, or a higher total

volume.

Pick your program, stick with the same lifts, and add weight to the bar.

Whether it's 5 x 5, Starting Strength or 5/3/1, the principle is the same stress


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the organism beyond its current capacity to create a higher level of stress. As

a result, the body creates stronger muscles, stores more fuel, and grows.

Related: More on 5/3/1

Sample Hardgainer Training

Weeks 1-3

2 warm-up sets

Work sets:3 x 8, ramping to heavy 8's with major exercises

Weeks 4-6

1 warm-up set


Weeks 7-9

1 warm-up set


Weeks 10-12

Work sets:8 x 3 (early work sets count as warm up), ramp to heavy 3's with

major exercises

Sample Training Week
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Monday

Exercise Sets Reps

A Sprint 5 10-15 yd. *

B Squat 3 8

C Floor Press 3 8

D Dumbbell Lunge 3 8

* 60 seconds rest


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Tuesday

Exercise Sets Reps

A1 Box Jump 3 5

A2 Plank 3 45 sec.B Trap Bar Deadlift 3 8

C Chin-Up 3 8

D Dumbbell Row 3 8

D Farmer's Walk 3 50 steps

Wednesday

A. Sprint conditioningfollowed by foam rolling, active recovery

B. Treadmill InclinePerform 5-6 sprints, 3% incline, 10 seconds on, 40

seconds off with the fastest speed you can run with good form.

Thursday

Exercise Sets Reps

A Overhead Medicine Ball Slam 3 5

B Front Squat 3 8C Incline Close-Grip Press 3 8

D Bulgarian Split Squat 3 8

Friday

Exercise Sets Reps

A Romanian Deadlift 3 8

B1 Supinated Grip Bent-Over Row 3 8

B2 Pallof Press 3 12

C Neutral-Grip Lat Pull 3 8

D Optional *

* 10 minutes free time for biceps, delts, calves


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Saturday

Kettlebell-at-home workout or sprint

Sunday

Foam roll, stretch, and get rest.

Bottom Line:Whatever program you follow, see the damn thing through and

add weight to the bar. Progression guarantees progress.

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5 Ways Skinny Bastards Can Add Muscle