Gaining weight for hardgainers can be tough- very tough. But it can be done! If you want to gain 5-15 pounds, and you have not maxed out every (natural) angle for gaining lean body mass, then read on . . .

REST

Hardgainers need rest. Squeeze all your working out into 2 consecutive days, and rest for 5 consecutive days or more. Eat more on rest days.

Hardgainers tend to overtrain more easily, which is why we need to be generous with the 'rest' part of our schedules. Overtraining more or less puts the brakes on gaining muscle. Some judicious overtraining can be very useful, when followed by enough 'undertraining'.

No sleep= no muscle gain- no matter what is happening in the gym or the kitchen!

TRAIN SMART!

Lift heavy and hard. Get strong in the gym. Sissy training gives sissy results, so lift the tough stuff- big deadlifts, big squats, big barbell rows, and big standing presses. All with a free weight. Machines  are  for those who don't know better. Be in the know, and do the right thing for your muscles! Freeweights and kettle bells are the undisputed champions of gaining strength, power, and mass! See the 'superlinks' page or 'about me', for more on kettle bells. Leave the machines for the "I don't want to sweat and strain" crowd. You gotta put out in the gym to get results!

EAT like a SNAKE

We have all heard about the 5-6 small meals a day, space out your meals into roughly equal portions, blah, blah, blah

Why would we the hardgainers eat like people who want to lose chub? It is counterproductive for the same reasons that it helps the overweight; it stimulates metabolism. If we had a slow metabolism, then we wouldn't be on this page, looking to gain weight!

When I lived in Rome, and weighed 199 glorious pounds (the pics on this site are me at my usual 175ish), I ate like a snake. I had read a well researched paper on weight gain, and decided that it sounded good, and I tried the suggestions in it, one of which was to eat 2 ginormous meals a day, plus the odd snack, if desired. Happily, I quickly shot up 20 pounds in about 2 months.

Also suggested was to train hard, heavy, and short for 2 or 3 days in a row while eating lightly, followed by a stretch of at least 7 consecutive days with no training, but much eating.

It worked like a charm! To this day, I still eat like a snake, and find it easier to manage, logistically. I am not doing the lighter and heavier eating days as much- though it worked well. I found it to be too disruptive and stressful.So now I eat heavy every day, except fasting days, where once a week I'll go one to two days eating fruits and veg only. It is good cycling of calories, as outlined in the Italian mass article, and as also used to good effect by researchers like Akerfeldt, who has done much work in the study of muscle gain.

Periodic fasting is great for overall health, and really really helps ensure you are always lean and ripped.

Hardgainers are not famous for thier appetites- the one to two days off really help to reset my appetite, I find. If I wake up with no interest in food, I take that as my body signalling me it wants a break. See the detox pages for a lot more info on detox methods, including fasting.

FATS are more anabolic than carbohydrates. Consume both, but go heavy on the fats.

Hardgainers especially- eat lots of monounsaturated and saturated fat.
Monounsaturates (like olive oil) are recognized as being cardioprotective.
Rx; Virgin Olive Oil, Avocados, Macadamias, Almonds, Pecans, other Raw Nuts

Rx; Natural saturates are definitely good for mass- use organic butter, and for frying-coconut oil. For frying, coconut oil is the best choice. Probably go heavier with butter and olive oil since large quantities of coconut oil are metabolically stimulating, us hard gainers need to slow down, not rev up!

Be sure to also include some omega 3’s, for growth and health, say 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of fish oil per day.

PROTEIN

Be generous here, particularly right after training, and in the morning; use a protein shake if it makes it easier for you.

CARBS

Be generous here, too- but keep it in the "Zone", by accompanying your carbs with generous amounts of fat. Use the usual healthy carbs, like quinoa, millet, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, whole rye bread (no rye if you are type B blood), whole spelt bread,brown rice, and other wholesome unrefined starchy foods.

Right before, as well as during, and then again after training, consume big quantities of simple carbs plus protein. I like some kind of juice like carrot or apple, that I often juice myself, mixed with whey or rice protein powder, and a little flax oil if I have it. Then

Enzymes

Take them with every meal, to increase absorption/ assimilation, and appetite. I really like Pancreatin Plus, by Natural Factors. I like the brand, and their Pancreatin Plus has a great array of enzymes, including plenty of pancreatin. It also contains bromelain (from pineapple), and papain (from papaya), in useful amounts. I also use Supreme Digestive Enzymes, by Trophic- another solid Canadian brand.

Glutamine

The most anabolic amino- use it by the spoonful (powder),
first thing in the morning, and post workout. Use tons on rest
days.

Liver function

- support digestion, absorption, and serum albumin levels

optimise with antioxidants        -clinically proven to increase albumin
liver cleansing                         -boosts digestive and absorptive power
optional use of milk thistle        -specific liver support

fish oil supports albumin production in the liver (anabolic)- it's mentioned above, in the fat section

Liver function Rx

Cleanse- Epsom salt/olive oil flush, and/or majic lemon shake (see detox pages)

TESTOSTERONE

Testosterone is super-important for mass, for men. It helps women gain muscular mass, as well, but natural testosterone production in women is severely less than men's, which is a good thing, unless one thinks thick body hair, no curves, and a booming voice are desirable in women.
Men, take notice- you can raise your natural production of testosterone naturally, and powefully! First; eat enough monounsaturates and saturates. Do not eat a low fat diet, as it depresses testosterone levels in men! Train heavy and hard, and be sure to rest for at least 3 consecutive days a week. Otherwise, 'test' levels are likely to drop. There are useful herbs and products geared towards increasing our own testosterone production. Some work, others do not. Universal makes a stack for testosterone boosting, which includes tribulus, and other proven substances. My uncle, Mauro DiPasquale makes TestoBoost, sold through his website, metabolicdiet.com, which has loads of testosterone boosting herbal and nutrient substances, in useful amounts. I speak of it in the newsflash pages, as well, because I am going back on it, to reach new levels of muscular growth.

Alternately, get some testo-boosting herbs in bulk, like tongkat ali, sarsaparilla, ginseng, muira puama, and others at good herbal stores, like Thuna's, or Herbie's herbs, both in Toronto.

How do you know your testo-booster is boosting your 'test', for real?

Women (or men, if you're gay) will start to look more attractive to you! Instead of liking 2 out of 10, you'll find something hot or sexy in suddenly 5 out of 10, or even 8 out of ten! You will likely get more spontaneous erections- in the morning, or anytime, really.
Should women use testosterone boosters? With caution. Discontinue or at least reduce dosage if your clitoris starts to grow, or your facial and body hair gets thicker. Unless you like those side effects, in which case- hey- it's a free country!

No Steroids   

For God's sake, do not use steroids. They will shrink your testes if you're male, and may enlarge your jaw, and deepen your voice if you are female (see also above). They give you artificial, hormonally dependant muscle. Hormonally dependant muscle disappears within weeks of stopping the steroids, no matter how hard you train or what you eat! Be smart- raise your own levels, follow the advice on this page, and you will gain natural, rock-solid, lasting muscle mass! And keep your cojones too!

Women- if you want big muscular arms- naturally- it ain't gonna happen- sorry! BUT if you want freaky deceptive strength and a decent amount of feminine muscle mass- that you CAN do, naturally.

Steroids are mostly made in clandestine labs with counterfeit labels- of course, quality control is more or less non-existent here. Even good, real pharmacy steroids tend to make you an angry SOB and have all the side effects mentioned above. One acquaintance threw a lazy-boy chair out of his living room window- for real- out of 'roid rage. He now has health problems that I would expect to see in a man at least 20 years older than him.

People in the know, know that ALL professional bodybuilders in regular bodybuilding, and often even the ones in "natural" bodybuilding are on the sauce (steroids). In addition, most olympic athletes and even most fitness models are also "on". That is their choice, and it's their God-given free will to do so. I just do not want you to see these guys in promotional materials, claiming or implying "I use product 'XYZ' and it has helped me get to my present condition". NO natural product is going to make anyone into a freaky looking bodybuilder, or a ripped fitness contestant, OK? If you see an ad like that, think about this line on this page- they are on "juice". End of story. Now, don't get me wrong- things like protein powders can help- but at best, they are just helpers to an already solid weights and diet program- nothing more.

Adrenals are important

The adrenals make DHEA, as well as small amounts of other sex hormones. Their production of DHEA and metabolites (like andro) influence/ support testicular output.
In Chinese medicine, our 'Chi' or Qi, our very life force resides in the adrenal area. In western medicine, we know that burnt out adrenals means a burnt-out feeling person. I believe adrenals are massively important for mass, as well as general metabolism. Stress burns out our adrenals, as do stimulant drugs, like caffeine, ephedrine, and others, like cocaine, and heroin. Drinking multiple cups of coffee per day is a huge stress on the adrenals.
THE GOOD NEWS
is that you can rebuild the adrenals- two of my favourite supplements for that are Ortho-Adapt, by AOR. Man, the feedback I have had from that stuff is KILLER. Another good one, if you are on a budget, is adrenal extract- I am using the New Roots one right now- it's about 1/4 the price of the AOR stuff. Not quite as potent, but I am not burnt out, so it's good enough right now.
So rebuild your adrenals- you will likely have more test, and that means more muscles. Happy adrenals means products like Testo-boost would work better on you, as well.

TRAIN YOUR LEGS

When I am asked how to train to get big arms, I say "First, train your legs". Training legs heavy and hard is a lot more anabolic than just training arms. Training legs will actually result in bigger arms, due to the whole body anabolic effect. So, go ahead and train arms. Just be sure to dilligently train legs, as well, to get the most gains from your arm training. Besides, a strong upper body would be totally useless in real life without a strong foundation, to be able to use that power- that means a strong back, glutes, and legs.