How to gain weight for a skinny guy: nutrition and training

Ways to get pumped up

First you need to make a firm decision to pump up. Remember, shabby is not a death sentence . This is a stage of development. After a year of training, you will no longer be one. Of course, it will be more difficult for a skinny guy to gain weight. However, do not rush to get upset. You can gain weight and achieve your goal. The main thing for this is to follow some rules:

1. Perform only basic exercises.
2. Do 6–8 repetitions in each approach.
3. Eat properly. If you are thin, you need to eat a lot.

Basic exercises include:

1. Barbell deadlift.
2. Bench press.
3. Squats.

For a beginner, three will be enough

workouts per week. That is, for each workout you should have one basic exercise.

Before you start working on gaining weight, you need to experimentally determine your working weight. This is a weight at which you can do 6 to 8 repetitions. The first week of training will take you to determine your working weights.

After that, start working. Perform 2-3 warm-up approaches and four working approaches for each exercise. In warm-up sets, you work with light weights and do high reps (around 20). In working approaches you need to do 6-8 repetitions.

The main condition for muscle growth is increasing working weights. If you can do 10 or more repetitions, that's a sign that it's time to increase the weight.

In the first 3 months of training, only these exercises will be enough. Your workouts will be quite short - up to 40-50 minutes. This is fine. Beginners should never overload themselves.

After 3 months, when you gain some experience in training, you can also include the following exercises in your training program:

1. Wide grip pull-ups on the bar.
2. Dips.
3. Standing barbell press up.

Each of these exercises must be added to the appropriate muscle group. That is, when deadlifting, we work with the pulling muscles. Therefore, after this exercise you should do pull-ups.

After the bench press, you can do overhead presses and dips. And after squats with a barbell, you can do an auxiliary exercise for the leg muscles. The principle here is the same: four working sets of 6–8 repetitions.

If you do more than 8 pull-ups and dips, use extra weight. In gyms there are special devices that help you hang a weight plate from the barbell to your belt.

Sample workout plan for skinny guys

Training should be done three times a week. Rest between workouts - 1 day. A sample training program plan looks like this:

Monday:

1. Deadlift: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
2. Pull-ups: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.

Wednesday:

1. Bench press: 4 sets of 6–8 reps.
2. Standing barbell press: 4 sets of 8–10 reps.
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

Friday:

1. Barbell squats: 4 sets of 6–8 reps.
2. Any exercise you wish for the leg muscles: 4 sets of 8–10 reps.

Since you are a thin man, there is no need to constantly work on your abs. In your situation, it will be enough to perform 2 sets of crunches for each workout.

Diet by day

The food eaten should correspond to the following proportions:

• 45-60% carbohydrates (3-6 g per 1 kg of weight).
• 20-30% proteins (1.5-2 g per 1 kg of weight).
• 9-20% fat (1-1.5 g per 1 kg of weight).

You should eat 6-8 times a day, depending on your daily routine. An example of a skinny man's diet for weight gain:

• 7:00 - breakfast (preference should be given to foods rich in slow carbohydrates): 150 g of oatmeal in milk with 30 g of almonds.
• 10:00 - small snack (consumption of carbohydrates is also encouraged, but it is necessary to satisfy the body's need for protein foods): 100g of boiled buckwheat with fish and vegetables.
• 12:30 – lunch: 100-150 g of wheat porridge with 100 g of fish or boiled meat.
• 15:00 – snack: protein omelet with fresh vegetable salad.
• 18:00 – dinner (mainly protein foods): 100 g of fish or meat with 50-100 g of any type of porridge (buckwheat, wheat, rice, etc.).
• 21:00 – snack (it is advisable to avoid consuming carbohydrates as much as possible): several boiled eggs with meat or fish.
• 22:30 – snack or night light (you should eat exclusively protein foods at night): 150 g of low-fat cottage cheese.

Here is another daily diet option:

• 7:00 – breakfast: 100-150 g of yogurt.
• 10:00 – small snack: 50 g of almonds.
• 12:30 – lunch: 100-150 g buckwheat with chicken.
• 15:00 – snack: cottage cheese 5-9%.
• 18:00 – dinner: 100g of wheat porridge with chicken or fish.
• 21:00 – snack: 3-4 egg whites.
• 22:30 – night light: low-fat cottage cheese.

The proposed lists of dishes can be alternated (for example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, eating according to the first option, on other days - according to the second). This diet will need to be followed forever (and not just for the first month!).

Gaining weight for a man at home

At the initial stages, you can gain weight at home. But this is only in the first year of classes. As your body becomes much stronger, you will have to further increase the load, which is impossible to do at home.

For example, if you are a very thin man and cannot do pull-ups and push-ups, then you first need to master these exercises. At first, you will be able to do a very small number of repetitions. That is, your approach will be considered working. This means it will bring results.

You can also practice on the horizontal bar and parallel bars. After all, they are on every playground. Your first goal will be to master pull-ups, push-ups and parallel bars. When you can do more than 10 repetitions, you will have to use additional weight. The following items can be loaded into the backpack:

1. Books.
2. Water bottles.
3. Bottles with sand.
4. Stones.
5. Pancakes from dumbbells or barbells.

While performing the exercises, you need to wear this backpack on your back. The principle is the same as in the gym: four working sets of 6–8 repetitions.

Gradually increase the weight so that there is at least some result. To train your legs, do single-leg squats. There is no way to increase the weight here, so do it as many times as possible.

In the first few months, you will grow considerably in strength, and home workouts will no longer bring you the desired results. Therefore, after the first year of training, you will have to go to the gym.

A little about nutrition

Gaining muscle mass for thin people is a very labor-intensive process . When you work out in the gym, you will shed rivers of sweat. If you don't get tired, it means you're training with little weight, or you're lying to yourself.

But you shouldn’t limit yourself to just exercises. If you don't eat and rest properly, exercise will have little to no effect. An incorrect lifestyle will reduce the effectiveness of the exercises performed, and training may be harmful to you.

So, you need to eat right. Let's start with the foods that you should avoid forever:

1. Alcohol.
2. Smoking.
3. Sweet carbonated drinks.
4. Products from fast food cafes.
5. Sweet products.
6. Products containing large amounts of oil.
7. It is advisable to drink tea or coffee without sugar.

Why can't you eat these foods? After all, people who are far from sports constantly feed on them. Firstly, these products contribute to the deposition of excess fat. Secondly, they reduce the level of the main male hormone in the body - testosterone. It is this that stimulates muscle growth, as well as an increase in potency. Therefore, if you want to build a beautiful and powerful body, you will have to stop consuming the above products.

Now let's move on to the foods that need to be eaten to achieve our goal:

1. All types of meat.
2. Fish.
3. Vegetables and fruits.
4. Various cereals.
5. Chicken and quail eggs.
6. Cheeses and dairy products.
7. Nuts and dried fruits.

Naturally, you don’t need to eat all these foods interspersed. It is necessary to create a proper nutrition plan. At certain times of the day you need to eat certain foods. If your body is very thin, then you will have to eat 6 times a day. In this case, the portions will not be small, but the same as for your usual meal.

You need to eat more carbohydrates in the morning. Now we are talking about long-term carbohydrates. These include cereals, vegetables and fruits. The ideal breakfast option is a bowl of oatmeal along with berries or bananas. Don't forget about protein. Oatmeal contains a decent amount of protein, so if you don't have it, you can have scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. Again, you should remember that you need to fry these scrambled eggs in a special frying pan that does not require vegetable oil.

For lunch you should eat approximately the same amount of protein and carbohydrates. The best option is 250 grams of meat with rice or buckwheat. You can also add a sandwich with bread and cheese to lunch.

In the evening you need to eat as much protein as possible. It could be fish or lean poultry. Red meat is best eaten for lunch. You need to add vegetables to fish or poultry. Eating only protein is quite hard on the stomach. Therefore, vegetables are needed to help the stomach digest meat faster.

In between main meals, you can nibble nuts, or eat chocolate and fruit. You can also drink a milk or protein shake.

If you want to gain muscle mass as quickly as possible, sometimes you will have to eat at night. There is no need to eat meat or other heavy foods at night. And also, you don’t need to consume long-term carbohydrates, because this will not allow you to get a good night’s sleep. It's best to drink a protein shake at night. They are sold in sports nutrition stores. Believe me, 50 grams of protein at night will not be superfluous for gaining muscle mass.

General advice is to try to eat as much food as possible that increases testosterone levels in the body. This will speed up the process of gaining muscle mass .

Ways to increase body mass

The body grows through the process of absorbing nutrients. Therefore, in order to gain muscle mass, you need to eat more, thereby providing:

• a constant supply of calories to the body from high-quality and healthy food,
• a large number of calories, which should exceed daily energy expenditure,
• if possible, 100% digestibility of the foods eaten.

The body mass index helps determine how far your weight is below normal.

BMI table for different ages

Naturally, a man dreams of gaining weight not in order to gain weight and get an authoritative belly or a double chin. The masculinity of his figure is given by sculpted muscles, not fatty tissue. And in order for them to become visible, diet alone is not enough - you need strength training. So, a thin man can gain weight quickly and effectively only through proper nutrition and increased physical activity.

Common mistakes

Many novice bodybuilders want to gain weight very quickly. And for this reason, they chase more weight, not realizing that this can only do harm. You need to increase weight according to your feelings . Only if you feel that this weight has become light for you. The desire for progress is commendable. Moreover, it is very important for a man. But don't rush ahead. Staying healthy is much more important than pleasing your ego.

Neglecting warm-up is the second dangerous mistake. It is also caused by the desire to get quick results. Very important advice for men - there are no quick results in any business. And bodybuilding is no exception. If you want to achieve results, work and don’t quit. And also take all necessary actions in order not to harm your body.

It is a mistake to believe that only exercise will help you get better. Without proper nutrition, nothing will work. At best, you will grow slowly. Do you need it? You want to achieve results faster. If so, please eat right!

The stupidest mistake is made due to belief in one myth. It is that after training it is useful to drink beer. Supposedly this causes breasts to grow. Yes, it's really growing. This is due to the effects of the female hormone contained in beer. But it is not the pectoral muscles that grow here, but the so-called female breasts. This is not at all what we need.

Sports nutrition and supplements

Almost any sports nutrition is classified as dietary supplements. Protein or gainer is another source of protein other than food. If your body receives a sufficient amount of protein food, you should not use sports nutrition. The reason is obvious: excess protein can cause serious gastrointestinal problems.

Gainer

Gainer is one of the most common nutritional supplements. Due to the lower protein content and more impurities (for example, carbohydrates), the price of a gainer is an order of magnitude lower when compared with protein.

Protein

Another dietary supplement rich in protein is protein. Unlike a gainer, the entire composition of the product is pure protein. Depending on your acceptable price category, quality and desired proportions of BJU, you can choose one of many types of protein: casein, egg, whey and others. Each of them has its own characteristics that should be taken into account when purchasing.

Homemade protein shakes

Cocktails made at home can easily replace any dietary supplements. As already noted, it is worth using sports supplements only when there is a clear deficiency of protein in the diet. You can supplement your protein intake with homemade smoothies.

Additional recommendations

It is necessary to maintain a sleep schedule. Remember that muscles do not grow during training, but during rest. They recover best during sleep. Therefore, if you sleep less than 8 hours a night, you will immediately slow down your progress. The ideal sleep duration for gaining weight is 9–10 hours.

You need to drink plenty of water. The minimum is 35 grams per kilogram of your body. Water cleanses your body of unnecessary substances and also increases the absorption of substances that you eat. In order not to disrupt your diet, you need to drink water half an hour before meals, and half an hour after it.

Add exercises to your training program according to your preferences. If you like a particular exercise, for example, barbell curls. Do it. The main thing is to do it after completing all the basic exercises.

Proper nutrition, healthy sleep, and well-chosen exercises will completely change your body, and therefore your life. If you've thought about getting pumped up, then you're great! Our thoughts are already quite a strong motivator. And if you have already started practicing, then you are already doing very well. After all, the main thing in any business is to take the first step. Move towards your goal and don’t give in to emotions on days of unsuccessful training, and then you will pump up your body and love yourself even more!