I assume most are "HARD-GAINERS"

[gibberj2]

no it isn't a myth. there are many skinny people who try to train like what they see in the magazines and end up with nothing. i know for a fact that being a hardgainer is not a myth because i tried lots and lots of ways to train and never got any kind of results until i started training in a hardgainer style. fewer sets, lots of intensity, lots of rest, lots of food. i see how there are people who have a lot more carbs than protein and very little fat in their diets and they grow. people like jay cutler. i use more protein, then carbs and then fats but almost as much calories from fat as carbs. that's what works for me and i was skinnier than death when i started training.

[cauthon]

I think it could work if it's done slow and strict. There really isn't any other way to completely isolate the center of the back.

Sure there is, Cable rows, wide grip T-bar rows. That shrug thing wont do squat for ya.

[Sculpter]

Hardgainers=People that don't eat enough!Or get enough rest also.

[gibberj2]

are you saying everyone has the same capacity for gaining muscle and the same metabolism? of course there is such a thing as a hardgainer. there are people who work out hard 6 days a week and do cardio and still grow. that's impossible for a hardgainer. when most people start bodybuilding they try to copy the routines of pros because they dont know any better and end up with no results. a true mesomorph can handle that kinda work but if you're a real ectomorph you can't do that. different people work out differently according to what works for them and a hardgainer needs to work out a certain way to get results but the results will never be as fast as someone with better genetics. Would Mohammed Makkawy, Chris Dickerson or Frank Zane ever have been as big as Markus Ruhl or Ronnie Coleman? Impossible. They have different kinds of bodies.

[Xecutioner]

With regards to hardgainers and how one should train when he is one. I've been small my whole life, I have a metabolism that is terribly fast and I bust my ass in the gym. My training partners and I do about 16-20 sets per body part, supersetting certain exercises, it's not out of the question to throw in the occational tri-set when we are doing arms. I don't grow. I'm 160 and 6'0, a few months ago I was 150, needless to say, I'm eating everything in sight and my diet is spot on. My problem is that, I don't feel as though I am doing enough if I don't work in the range of 16-20 sets. It's always been this way for me. I have been at this for well over a year straight now and have been off and on for years. My genetics for building muscle suck, I'm not a naturally muscular guy to begin with. I take it, from the sounds of things, I'm doing too much? As I said, I just don't feel like I'm doing enough if if I'm not doing as many sets as I have been. The two guys I train with are naturally well over 200+ pounds so obviously this training style is suited to them. I've gotta get back to work right now but I would appreciate any thoughts or theories. I will get back to that which is said, as soon as I can.

[gibberj2]

how many times a day do you eat? how many grams of protein? how many calories. I've gone from 108-187 without steroids.

[Xecutioner]

I eat between 6-8 meals a day. What is happening is that my training partner and I bought a house together, we split on all the groceries, and prepare all our meals together, we eat the exact same all throughout the day. He weighs 210, I'm 160 lol, his weight is going up, so too has mine, recently.  My caloric intake is where it should be, protein, carbs and fats. I'm really curious as to whether or not I could make gains in muscle size and shape through the usage of fewer sets. My 16-20 is never a struggle and I would do even more if I wasn't told that I'm already doing what could be seen as too much.

Back to work I go, I'll check back throughout the day.

[GET_BIGGER]

There is definitly a difference in Hardgainers vs. Easygainers. 

[gibberj2]

your caloric intake is where it should be according to whom?

[GET_BIGGER]

your caloric intake is where it should be according to whom?

and for what purpose?

[Xecutioner]

According to me and others I have spoken to about it.


To gain weight, size.

My issue lies in the fact that I've always been ignorant to low set workouts, perhaps that isn't my issue, either way I'm curious as to how others feel about it.

[gibberj2]

so how much DO You eat and what do you eat?

[Samourai Pizzacat]

Sure there is, Cable rows, wide grip T-bar rows. That shrug thing wont do squat for ya.

You are so far of, latshrugs or latshrugs done standing back i  a 45 degree angle, are excellent innerbackbuilders. It isolates the upper innerback more than wide (or smal) T-bar rows. I like the T-bar rows aswell, and weighted chins with wide grip for some extra V-taper.

[Samourai Pizzacat]

Hardgainers=People that don't eat enough!Or get enough rest also.

A BF of 12-15% is ideal for putting on mass, but I don't feel comfortable, I'm at 8-10 % year round. This means it's harder for me to put on mass. So hardgaining is besides a genetic nondisposition to bodybuilding and massgaining it's also a kind of dieting style one chooses.

[gibberj2]

i never gained significant mass until i started eating 2 grams per bodypound.

[G.R.H.]

i was only 5'5 & bout 120-125lbs when i got out of high school.  i started on weight gain powders and just a little lifting after that.  i slowly gained, but i took a while.  no kidding, when hmb first cam out, i used that with protein shakes and creatine, and i gained!  i'm 190lbs total now, and i'm almost 38. i think you just gain as you age bro!  it's all about metabolism too! my appetite seems to be bigger now than when i was just 18! strange, huh?!

[Samourai Pizzacat]

When you're 18-20 you stop growing in length, but you broaden somewhat for a year or five. Late teens and mid-twenties can be a big difference.

[Ursus]

When you're 18-20 you stop growing in length, but you broaden somewhat for a year or five. Late teens and mid-twenties can be a big difference.

definately agree on the broadening, thats y so many men look large etc despite never doin weights etc. you do just fill out.

also i know a lot of strong young people who lack that thick muscle look you can only achieve in ur 20s and 30s. i have never seen a thickly muscled 18 or 19yr old natural lifter

[Xecutioner]

Thanks for the comments from those of you who posted in response to that which I had written. 

[Acerimmer1]

edit

[Sculpter]

Ok gibberj2 i'll tell you what I think towards hardgainers & we'll see what you think of my way of thinking.Remember however that these are my own personal views after watching so called hardgainers & having a friend or 2 that said they were hardgainers.
Hardgainers in my opinion are ppl. that don't eat enough like I previously stated & don't get enough rest but also do everything wrong when they first start training.Just from your replies to some statements I wouldn't doubt that you yourself made some or if not all of them same mistakes.These are workouts of the pros from the magazines,not enough rest,not enough protein & other variables (supplements).
I'll put it this way.Let's take a friend I had as an example.When we were younger (now 38 btw) he had a classic Zane type of body (he weighed 140 lbs).Always was bitching about gaining etc.This guy was hyper beyond belief!!Always running around to do something or get to a meeting for school or some other "thing".He also partied on the week ends & during these week ends was always trying to score himself some poontang.Now, if he had taken the time used to score some poontang & go to a party & put that time to use eating & resting do you think it would have done his body good?That same guy today is now over a 200 lb person & he agrees w/me telling him when we were younger that he had too many things going on at once & if he had rested & eaten like myself & others told him he would have gained.
Also I believe that anyone can build muscle except for maybe a very few rare individuals of which I have never met.The thing is do they gain muscle the right way?This is in reference that not everybody can have great genes & place muscle how they want it.Some ppl. just have the genetic shape for bb'ing while others no matter how hard they train will never get the look that wins bb'ing contests.Some ppl. can build a great chest yet other places on their body can be abolsutely resistant to muscle.Others can just train & it all falls in place.So many different variables to the great state of bb'ing & so much info & styles of training can confuse even the most well knowledged person in this hobby.

[gibberj2]

so you still say there's no hardgainers? that guy who said he couldn't gain size but was always running around didn't gain any because of all the running but there could be a big guy that did a lot of running around and did gain because the other guy was a hardgainer and he wasn't. a hardgainer can still reach the goals of having decent size but it's just harder for him and he must follow the rules or will never gain. what you're saying sounds like anyone can gain if they do the right thing. i agree. but the right thing is different for each individual and some gain easier than others, some much easier. i knew a guy in high school who was curling 135 on the preacher, benching 240 and was totally shreded at 185 5'9" this kid was like 16 years old doing this stuff. He also ran track and played soccer. He hardly ate protein and trained bodyparts 2 or 3 times a week. i said he hardly ate protein... he actually didn't take any supplements at all. today he has 18.5 inch arms (23 yrs old) and trains on and off and only drinks protein sometimes. he was a marine and in iraq until recently. this shows the difference between a hardgainer and someone who's not. when i talk to him on the phone now he's amazed that I weigh 189 because in high school my highest weight was 137 and he met me when i was 108.

[Oliver Klaushof]

I don't "run around" at all. I work at a desk. I'm the opposite of hyper. I would still classify myself as a hardgainer/ectomorph. It could be that I'm young though(21). Point is, just because you haven't met someone like that doesn't mean they don't exist.

[gibberj2]

The whole idea about hardgainer is that some gain much faster and easier than others. THAT'S IT! No denying that.

[body88]

eat and train

hardgainer

psh i started at 145

i got over 200 at under 10 percent in 3 yrs

strap on a set and lift