HardGainer's Tips
Muscle Gaining Workouts
I believe, that you should really make an agreement with yourself about what you want and then go for it. Building muscles isn´t something that just happens from one day to the other. It takes time and hard focused, and a many decisions every day. As a hardgainer you even need to be more focused, since you will take longer to observe the results.
Make a mental picture of the realistic body you really want. You need to be realistic about the fact that hardgainer or not, average persons might not be able to put on muscles like Mr. Olympia. “Paint” that picture of your desired dream body in your mind. Look at the internet and magazines, and whenever you see a body like your realistic dream body, then print it, cut it or whatever, and begin believing this is your new body. You are going to do what you need to do to gain muscle. You will learn how to put on muscle and with your dream body in mind, it will be easier. Set up goals, for example in one year from now, I will do 8 reps of xx pounds in bench press, the size of my chest will be xx and so on. Go further, set up quarterly goals, use the example from before, this is actually the road to your one year goals, which will be the road to your dream body. Take action, read blogs, join forums, learn how to eat, sleep, train, live to get your results. Write everything down. Learn how to put muscle on your body and keep your dream body in mind and even though you are a hardgainer you will see results and celebrate this. Believe in yourself – Believe that you can gain muscle and that you can put more weight on your body – And work hard in mind and in the gym.
Hardgainer – Stay with me and learn more about how to put on muscle on that body of yours.
Hardgainer Workouts and Music
Hardgainer Workouts and Music
I feel like posting this today, as I have thought about how to be motivated in the gym, at home or running, when doing your Hardgainer training.
First, of course it’s easy to say, that you should be motivated just by the goals that you have set out to reach, and the fact that you will put more muscle on your body each day, following a great training routine. Moreover, I am serious when telling you, that I believe this is true.
Even though you are focused about gaining muscle, and normally feel motivated when going to gym, it still takes focus and discipline not to hang around and chat with the nice people and just forgetting about really doing a tough, rough and a sweaty training routine with the most painful squat and dead lift sets.
I enjoy my muscle building hardgainer training workouts, with or without music. But – When I really need to go heavy I put music in my ears. This is just my experience and what works for me. You can of course do what fits you.
I prefer putting MP3 in my ears or being able to play the music loud in the gym prefer some “tough” music, that would be Hip Hop or Heavy Metal, somehow this gets me a little “pump up” and ready to do the heavy training workout that follows.
This works for me because I concentrate 100% on my workouts. I don’t waste time and focus talking with the nice people. I get pump up and ready to do the tough sessions. The result is, that I will do the work that I planned to, and that I put stress to my muscles and after this, I will eat, sleep, enjoy life and the great people around me.
Taking a day off
Taking a day off
Is it ok to take a day off and relax or will this destroy your muscle gaining when you are a hardgainer? These are questions that are normal and will pop up now and then – Even when you are an experienced hardgainer with great muscle gaining results.
First, it is important that you learn, understand and listen to your body, so you know when your body is reacting to something. This is important, if you are a hardgainer, but also if you are not a hardgainer.
There are times when you feel tired and then you go to gym, do a great workout routine, take a good shower, get some great food to eat, and you feel great. This was just a thought in your mind that wanted you to stay home.
Then there are times, when you feel tired and your muscles are hurting a bit, and you do not feel like going to the gym, but you really want to. You go there, you try to beat your hardgainer workout records, and you fail. It seems like your body is weaker than last time and you get negative about this.
The last part might be a time where your body (and perhaps mind) would be stronger if you took a day or two off from the gym. Hardgainer or not – I know that it’s tough to make the decision to stay home, because you feel that you need to do your workout routine to gain muscle and get stronger – You might be on the road to over training or even over trained.
Therefore, if you listen to your body and you take the rest when it is needed, your body will actually love you for this. You will let your body muscles repair totally and they will be stronger and more happy to do the next workout.
This is a balance, that is really important – And difficult.
What is the best way to gain muscle and build muscle?
What is the best way to gain muscle and build muscle?
The best way to gain muscle is not some miracle supplement and I will let you know that it is not easy. You should follow some simple rules in gaining muscle, and then focus mentally on gaining muscle, building your body.
1. Train hard – Workout hard! Use iron, use what is possible on the bar and dumbbells and use your body as much as possible. It is important to do 6-8 reps with slow controlled movements to achieve maximum gains in the gym. Also decrease (you should try to do this different and experiment) the resting period between sets instead of 2-3 minutes try 30 seconds in between sets – Work your body hard – and feel your muscle growing bigger – you are gaining muscle now. This is first rule is crucial if you are trying to achieve the best way to gain muscle.
2. Eat more calories and eat often- The best way to gain muscle and building your body is to eat nutritious foods throughout the day (4-6 times. This means to have a well balanced meal of protein, carbs, good fats, veggies and fruits. Good fats include olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower seed oil, nuts, and fish. Some examples of good carbs are brown rice, oatmeal, potatoes, wheat pasta, and 100% whole wheat bread. Eat natural foods as much as possible.
3. Eat Protein / Supplement- Without the correct amount of protein your muscles will not receive enough nutrients to repair. Protein provides the necessary branched chain and essential amino acids to repair and gain muscles. A good rule of thumb here is to eat roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Fish, turkey, chicken, lean beef, eggs, low fat cottage cheese, and plain yogurt. This goal of 1 gram per pond is difficult for some people to achieve through diet alone. Protein bars and shakes can help these people reach and maintain the goal of 1 gram of protein per day. To allow you the best way to build muscle eating this amount of protein is key. I believe in eating as natural as possible and I have a recipe for my own protein shake – I will somewhere describe that later.
Important - To Gain Muscle Drink Water
4. Get water during the day – This often over looked but is very important to gaining building. 80% of lean muscle is water so it is very important to keep you body hydrated. To give your body the best way to gain muscle it is important that you stay hydrated.
5. Rest and stretching - It is important to get the proper amount of rest when weight training. The main misconception is that people think that they grow in the gym, when it is the opposite, your body grows and you gain muscle when you are outside the gym and are resting. Flexibility is often over looked as a key element in becoming fit and obtaining maximum performance. On your rest days, I suggest yoga or a light stretching routine.
6. Track your reps and power - You may use push fitness trackers that work in conjunction with heart rate monitors to track your movements and calories consumed. Some of the activity trackers and apps give you recommendations on how many repetitions you should do and how much weight you should lift based on your needs. Some fitness monitors come with arm bands that track your precise speed and movement to calculate your power. Based on your speed it may suggest you try more weight or if you are slow and unsteady, you could be close to your max. AllfitnessWeb - Compare Fitness trackers and Heart Rate monitors to track your activity levels and daily fitness goals.
We are all different – And we should do different things in and outside the gym, to reach our goals, building our body, putting on weight, gaining muscle and feeling better. These simple rules should be followed, and then find your way.
Hardgainers Workout – Use Straps?
Hardgainers Workout – Use Straps?
I just want to share my opinion about using straps when training weights and building muscles. First - I train to build muscle, to gain weight, to build my body as I want it – And I am a Hardgainer – Actually – Im a quite normal guy.
I find that working with heavy weights, really is best to my muscle gaining. That means when I go for my hard gainer workout, I want to go heavy – I put lot of iron on the bar.
Some do argue, that when building your body/gaining muscle – You should go all natural – And only using your hands and then let your muscles in your arms (that’s from the smallest ones to the biceps and triceps) do the work. I understand the point – But I do not agree.
When building and gaining my muscles, I totally want to go as heavy as possible – That means I do use straps. Here is my hardgainer workout argument.
I believe and experienced:
- To really grow your muscles, you need as much weight as possible – Remember this is the hardgainers workout advice.
- Dead lift, and some dumbbell and bar exercises – Will let you put more weight on – If you use the straps – Because your small muscles in your arms won’t stop you. Your fingers and hands can carry the weight, because it gets help. The result is that you train your bigger muscles with bigger weights – You go heavier to them and your muscles will grow bigger.
- The result is a bigger hardgainer body, with bigger hardgainer muscles.
- And in the end, I experienced, that my small muscles in the arms did grow bigger and stronger. Because they did grow as the rest of my body did.
- I do cycle my hardgainer training a lot. Therefore, when I can, I do always go without the straps – But I won’t let this stop me – When I go for the heavier workouts.
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