Help for Hard Gainers: Building Muscle for Ectomorphs

Help for Hard Gainers: Building Muscle for Ectomorphs

The plight of the hard gainer is not that they can't lose the weight; it's that they feel like they can't gain any no matter what they do. Few people who struggle with being over weight sympathize with hard gainers. But the hard gainer's struggle is just as frustrating as losing weight is to someone who is overweight. Well, fear not hard gainers. Help is here!

Hard gainers are people who are naturally thin. They might appear to eat large quantities of food without gaining any fat, or any muscle for that matter. Often hard gainers are young and male. But there are also some females who struggle with being too thin also. 

In some cases being too thin is a result of hormonal problems (e.g. overacctive thyroid). However, in many cases being a hard gainer is really a combination of having higher than 'normal' caloric requirements, often combined with a perception issue.

Being a Hard Gainer is Often a Perception Issue

I don't mean to imply that hard gainers don't struggle to gain weight. They absolutely do! And many of them eat what they perceive to be 'normal' or an above normal amount of calories. But often times hard gainers don't eat as much consistently as they think they do. 

Sure, we've all seen the skinny guy who eats a whole pizza and breadsticks in one sitting and we think, "Where does he put it?" But that's only one meal out of the day. I'd be willing to bet if he did that 5 times a day every day for a couple of months then he wouldn't be the skinny guy any more.

I would argue that the hard gainer's plight is really more consistency over anything else. How many hard gainers do you know who track their macro nurtient intake or even their calories on a daily basis? Probably none or VERY few. 

Tracking Your Diet Keeps You Accountable

If you are a hard gainer reading this and you are not tracking your diet daily then I suggest you start. Consistently hit your macro numbers every day. If you don't gain weight then increase your calories [check out Reverse Dieting to see how]. And since you are a hard gainer then you might want to increase by a larger amount, like 200 calories. You might have to eat a little more than what you percieve to be normal. But over time with enough increases, you will begin to gain weight.

Tracking your diet keeps you accountable and consistent. It ensures that you are doing what you need to do to make the gains you want. You didn't choose to be a hard gainer. But you can choose to do what's necessary to overcome it.

What About Exercise?

As a hardgainer, I suggest you minimize cardiovasular exercise if you want to gain weight. Don't eliminate it all together. Cardio has a lot of health benefits. But perhaps limit it to short sessions a couple of times per week. If you have trouble gaining weight then you aren't doing yourself any favors by running every day.

As far as lifting goes... the same rules apply to you. Use progressive overload [see Achieving Overload] and train for your goals. 

Some sample training plans are Creating a Training Program Part I: Beginnner and Creating a Training Program Part II: Intermediate

Be consistent, be patient, track your diet and your progress and over time you will see results.

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Posted by Clayton Long