How skinny guys can get big!

“Dude, you look bigger!”

Just about any guy loves to hear those words. Most men want to obtain that ripped, big, muscular physique that the manly movie stars have. But if you aren’t blessed genetically with solid muscle tone, and your body type naturally is that of Edward Cullen, it is easy to get discouraged.

But, be encouraged! Just because you haven’t been dealt the best hand, doesn’t mean that you can’t pack on some serious muscle with time, knowledge and hard work.

Growing up, I always had nicknames like “Lanky”, and “Bones”. At the time they fit me pretty well. Entering high school I was barely 6 foot, and maybe 120 pounds – soaking wet. Four years later, I was graduating at 225 pounds!

Below are some of the tips and reminders I used (still use) to build solid muscle.

“I can’t, I’ve got a fast metabolism”

Don’t believe this! This is what you hear from plenty of people, and it is the excuse they have that limits them from seeing some good growth. Believe it or not, you actually WANT a fast metabolism when trying to bulk up.

Your metabolism simply refers to your body’s ability to take in foods, strip the nutrients for growth and energy, and discard the unneeded matter (poop). If you are training hard, you are going to need a great deal, and I mean a great deal, of nutrients everyday to ensure muscle growth. Embrace your fast metabolism as an advantage. The more food you can eat, the better. Also, with a fast metabolism, your are less likely to store up fat on your journey to look like the hulk. Eat up!

How much should I eat?

A good answer to most guys would be “MORE!”. Ha-ha, but really, you need to eat a lot. You should feel pretty full all day. Here are some tips for gauging your food intake.

1. Always eat breakfast, always.

2. Drink at least 0.5-0.7 oz. of water per pound of body weight, everyday.

3. Take a multivitamin.

4. Eat good clean foods for the majority of your calories, things from the outer edges of the grocery store. Ex: Chicken breast, fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, seafood, etc.

5. Try eating 15-20 times your body weight in calories. Ex: 100 lb. guy will eat 1500-2000 calories daily. If after doing this you for a week or two you have not seen ANY weight gain, move up about 100-200 in total calories in your daily intake each week until you begin seeing the scale change. This is the process of finding your metabolism.

6. Eat lots of protein, lots of carbs, and a good amount of fats – good fats. Try eating some where close to 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and 2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. Fats may make up a lower percentage of your calories with protein and carbs as your two main macro-nutrients.

7. Shoot for eating every 2-3 hours. Your body can take in nutrients often.

8. Consider a discussion with a Registered Nutritionist for further information and specifics about nutrition for you specifically.

9. Eat – A lot!

Training

You grow larger by tearing down muscle tissue, and then taking in nutrients (food) to help repair those muscles to be slightly bigger and stronger, every time. But first we have to tear them down, that comes from our training. Here are a couple of tips to get more from your training.

1. Dedicate time to your workouts. Train each body part at least once a week. Starting the week off with the body part you want to improve the most. Try training on a 4 or 5 day “split”.

2. Stick to somewhere in 8-15 reps on most exercises. Legs may go up higher on reps. This excludes drop sets, and other training additions.

2. As always, develop strong mind-to-muscle connections with each body part. Intentionally stretch and squeeze your muscle with each and every rep.

3. Rest periods will be a little lengthier (60-90 seconds). When adding muscle, our idea is not to burn a bunch of calories, but to tear up our muscle and then take in more calories.

Mindset

“You will not always do what you should do, but you will always do what you must do. The secret to making your dreams become a reality is to make them a must” – Tony Robbins (motivational speaker)

Believe it or not. Your mindset is going to determine your success. You need to embrace a mindset that forces your goals to become a “must”.

“I must get bigger.”

“I must get my workout in.”

“I must eat my breakfast and meals.”

These thoughts will ensure that you do not sacrifice your progress to simple laziness.

These simply, yet effective, tips will do wonders if you follow through with practicing  them. Work hard, train smart, eat big.

Hope this helps,

Braxton

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