Realize that as a hardgainer, your body does not respond very well to weight training, however, this does not mean that you can’t build impressive muscle size and strength in a short time period.
1) Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. Consuming enough protein on a daily basis is essential because it will help you gain weight, by helping you to recover from your workouts faster and increase your muscle size by repairing damaged muscle tissue.
2) Eat at least 18 calories per pound of your bodyweight every single day. This will ensure that your muscle have everything they need for re-building and for workout energy.
3) Don’t do cardio more than 3 days per week. If you’re performing high intensity cardio in the gym or you’re playing sports that are intense and burn a lot of calories, then your muscle gains will be poor because your body will not have enough energy to support muscle growth and recovery form weight training.
4) Eat at least 2 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight per day. Carbohydrates are an essential part of the muscle building process because they spare amino acids in the body and supply you with energy needed for intense weight training workouts.
5) Eat 1 gram of fat per pound of bodyweight per day. Dietary fat supplies your body with calories needed for muscle growth and recovery. Stay away form eating too many bad fats such as saturated fats and focus on eating plenty of omega-3 healthy fats which have numerous health benefits including the reduction of muscle inflammation.
6) Get plenty of rest and sleep every night. In order to gain weight and increase your muscle mass, you’ll have to give your body and your muscles plenty of rest time in-between workouts. Aim for 8 hours of sleep every night to recover from workouts and to have enough energy for intense weight training.
7) Do bench presses, squats and deadlifts. These exercises are proven to stimulate muscle growth when they’re done properly and consistently. To gain weight and muscle fast, you should perform these “big 3” compound movements every week.
8) Avoid isolation exercises. Isolation exercises such as dumbbell flyes, dumbbell side raises and cable curls are far less effective at breaking down muscle fibers. These exercise are only meant to be done once you’ve already packed on some good muscle size and strength and you have at least 1 year of consistent weight training experience.
