This article’s special for you guys who are just starting out who want to gain lean mass but aren’t sure exactly where to begin. I was where you were, making every mistake that could possibly be made, but I guess that’s how you learn, right?
Here are a few steps that helped me gain 30 lbs of lean muscle.
1. Expand your library.
There isn’t one “be all end all” way to train. There are some things that make a lot more sense than others, and there are also a lot of “fads” that come and go in the fitness industry. The number one thing that helped me gain muscle was learning. I read a lot, tried a lot of different workouts and began to form my own opinion. I don’t use one training method but rather mix a bunch of different methods to get the best results I can possibly get. I’m always up for trying something new if it makes sense.
Expand your library, try different programs, read different thoughts and opinions, and understand who and what makes sense and who’s just blowing smoke up your arss.
2. Make every program work.
Not every program is going to get you the results you want, some of them are pretty useless, but if you really work hard, add weight every week, and truly push yourself in the gym you can make even the worst programs yield some kind of results. Hard work pays off. I’m all about getting the most out of my time in the gym and the best way to do that is to not waste a set. Bust your butt on every set you have in there and you should be fine.
3. Don’t go overboard.
Recovery was one of my biggest issues and why I was originally failing. I worked out too often for too long and didn’t sleep enough. I thought more was always better. It wasn’t until I figured out that quality was much better than quantity that I began adding size. Start off with 3 days a week, then move to 4 but don’t go over that. You need rest as much as you need to workout.
I was over-training for years and as a result I’d be worn down, my workouts wouldn’t be as intense as they should be, and I wasn’t resting enough to fully recover for my next day of training.
4. Stop blaming your high metabolism.
I was guilty of this big time. I was eating a lot of calories, but I was burning even more everyday. Once I managed to lessen how many calories I’d burn daily, and increase the amount I was consuming, the pounds began to add on.
5. Don’t worry about getting fat.
Focus on eating enough and working your butt of in the gym, don’t worry about getting fat. As long as you’re eating “clean calories” and working hard, you’ll be fine. But make sure you’re eating enough. One of the biggest problems for skinny guys trying to gain mass is getting enough calories in their body on a daily basis.
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What would you add to the list?
