Fitness & Muscle Building Know How for Hard Gainers

by Indy Stewart

Hard gainers are individuals who train equally hard as other people but somehow fail to make any gains comparable to others. They need a lot more than hard training. Hard gainers need to incorporate many different principles in order to achieve their muscle building ambitions and goals. Many bodybuilders get to discover this through the hard way of personal experience, which results in wasted time, energy and money.

Majority of bodybuilding aspirants go to the gym with a well set belief that there is no such thing as training too often, too much nor too long. They do not bother to spend respectable amount of time in constructing an effective training regimen for themselves. Then there is this myth that if some is good, more would definitely be better. This misconception is the driving force behind most youngsters and hard gainers who weight train for stamina, strength and size.

Training on these principles ultimately, results in lack of muscle growth and to counter this problem they put in more training and the results go from bad to worse. Therefore it is good time to face the truth.

In the sport of bodybuilding; effort and effect do not show any evidence of a linear relationship. On the contrary, our bodies are fuel burning entities which are very complex and depend upon delicate balances. Improper and excessive training breaks downs these balances. Simply put, if you burn your energy reserves faster than they get replenished, you'll deplete the entire mechanism of strength, stamina and ability to recuperate.

In case you are a beginner bodybuilder, you must get your body conditioned to handle increased levels of stress rather that jump into the drive to achieve your goals quickly. It is wise for the beginners to keep their workout schedule to a maximum of three days per week, training the whole body in each workout and training each muscle group with a maximum of three sets per exercise. Each set should be taken to total failure, not mental failure but physical failure. In other words, don't quit mentally before your body says by itself to quit.

Bring variety in the types of exercises employed. If you take up exercise "A" for a muscle group in one workout, then take up exercise "B" for the same muscle group in the next workout.

Split training is suggested for the advanced bodybuilders. If your workout schedule comprises of training four days a week Monday, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, separate body parts so that half of the body is worked on Monday and the other half on Tuesday.

As a muscle building addict you need to increase your protein intake with significant amounts than you take up in a normal active life. As soon as you substantially increase your protein consumption, your muscles size will increase gradually. In fact, if you are a hard gainer then this may be your root problem. As per modern standards you need at least two grams of protein per pound of your body weight. A 150 pound individual, for example, needs at least 300 grams of protein a day, to increase muscle size, but most bodybuilders don't even take fifty percent of this requirement.

Lastly, your training program should emphasize more on the use of free weights over machines. And always be sure that you have warmed up adequately before you start lifting weights for muscle building.

About the Author
Indy Stewart
Indy Stewart is a bodybuilding freak who took up this sport for weight loss and to build muscle and has achieved great success in health and fitness. You may visit his website for muscle building-fitness related information at: http://www.BigMusclesBuilding.com