I know first hand what it feels like to be skinny and unable to gain muscle. Believe it or not, gaining muscle could be a lot less complicated then you think. Ive written a few articles for guys like us who are naturally skinny, but what i skipped was this; i never actually mentioned what NOT to do. There are a lot of small things we could change when trying to bulk up and fortunately i found someone who created a great break down of those things.
Are you a skinny guy making these 5 mistakes that are stopping you from gaining muscle?
MISTAKE 1 - Isolation Workouts
This is the main reason skinny guys stay small is because their entire workout consists of isolation workouts. What they don't realize is isolation workouts work the smaller muscles.
If you want to stay small and skinny, carry on doing isolation workouts. If you want to be big and muscular, do compound workouts!
Compound workouts work several muscle groups at once, and allows you lift heavier weights, then what you can with isolation workouts.
Here's a couple of examples of some good compound workouts
Deadlift
Squats
Squatting and Deadlifting are responsible for increasing power and building muscle mass.
These two exercises alone, work out about 75% of your entire musculature, including your traps, shoulders, arms, back. glutes, hamstring , calves and core muscles.
Here are some more examples of good compound workouts
Bench Press
Dips
Chin Ups
Pull Ups
Barbell Rows
Clean and Press
Compound workouts also build the most muscle within the shortest time!
MISTAKE 2 - Machines
Most gym machines will not build muscle mass the same way free weights can! The main benefits of machines are... that they make gyms look pretty and high tech. However, this is no benefit to you?
MISTAKE 3 - Relaying to heavily on supplements
A lot of skinny guys relay too heavily on supplements to gain muscle and weight, you'll find that 80% of their diet is protein shakes and weight gainers.
Supplements don't have the same anabolic effect as REAL food! Foods such as Chicken, Steak, Tuna and eggs will help you build muscle and gain weight faster than any protein shake, or weight gainer.
Remember supplements are there to supplement your diet, not be your main source.
MISTAKE 4 - Working out too much!
Skinny guys need to realize that spending 10 hours in the gym doing 7 million sets and reps WON'T help you build muscle. In fact it'll start to make you smaller.
Keep you workout short, about 45 min, and intense. Do as much as you can within the shortest amount of time. This stresses the muscles, and gives them a reason to grown bigger.
MISTAKE 5 - Following Workouts in bodybuilding magazines
Following the workout routines in bodybuilding magazines won't help skinny guys build muscle.
Unless you're on steroids, trying to do the same workout as Mr Olympia will only cause you injuries. These workouts are not designed for skinny guys!
If you're a skinny guy and want to gain weight and build muscle visit muscle and weight gain, it's a free step by step guide to help you build muscle fast!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Haz_Ansari
MISTAKE 1 - Isolation Workouts
This is the main reason skinny guys stay small is because their entire workout consists of isolation workouts. What they don't realize is isolation workouts work the smaller muscles.
If you want to stay small and skinny, carry on doing isolation workouts. If you want to be big and muscular, do compound workouts!
Compound workouts work several muscle groups at once, and allows you lift heavier weights, then what you can with isolation workouts.
Here's a couple of examples of some good compound workouts
Deadlift
Squats
Squatting and Deadlifting are responsible for increasing power and building muscle mass.
These two exercises alone, work out about 75% of your entire musculature, including your traps, shoulders, arms, back. glutes, hamstring , calves and core muscles.
Here are some more examples of good compound workouts
Bench Press
Dips
Chin Ups
Pull Ups
Barbell Rows
Clean and Press
Compound workouts also build the most muscle within the shortest time!
MISTAKE 2 - Machines
Most gym machines will not build muscle mass the same way free weights can! The main benefits of machines are... that they make gyms look pretty and high tech. However, this is no benefit to you?
MISTAKE 3 - Relaying to heavily on supplements
A lot of skinny guys relay too heavily on supplements to gain muscle and weight, you'll find that 80% of their diet is protein shakes and weight gainers.
Supplements don't have the same anabolic effect as REAL food! Foods such as Chicken, Steak, Tuna and eggs will help you build muscle and gain weight faster than any protein shake, or weight gainer.
Remember supplements are there to supplement your diet, not be your main source.
MISTAKE 4 - Working out too much!
Skinny guys need to realize that spending 10 hours in the gym doing 7 million sets and reps WON'T help you build muscle. In fact it'll start to make you smaller.
Keep you workout short, about 45 min, and intense. Do as much as you can within the shortest amount of time. This stresses the muscles, and gives them a reason to grown bigger.
MISTAKE 5 - Following Workouts in bodybuilding magazines
Following the workout routines in bodybuilding magazines won't help skinny guys build muscle.
Unless you're on steroids, trying to do the same workout as Mr Olympia will only cause you injuries. These workouts are not designed for skinny guys!
If you're a skinny guy and want to gain weight and build muscle visit muscle and weight gain, it's a free step by step guide to help you build muscle fast!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Haz_Ansari
Sponsored Links
9 comments:
This is a great post. I really appreciate it. I have some questions:
- Do pushups do any good?
- Besides getting bigger, I particularly want my shoulder muscles to be bigger too. Should I do some isolations for them?
I appreciate the comment.
Yes, push ups are a great workout but mainly target your chest and triceps. If you have a set of dumbbells i have posted a whole shoulder workout u can do for every part of your shoulders, from home, with just 2 dumbbells. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me at musclemonsters@gmail.com
Thank you very much.
I'm skinny (about 160 lbs at 6 foot) and have never been able to gain muscle. So thanks for the tips. I have just starting following some of your routines and can't wait to see what the outcome is. Thanks alot.
Thats awesome, my email is on one of the comments above, feel free to email me for any extra tips. Good luck
Hi, I am the author of this article, thanks for posting it on your website, just wanted to say, you have a grate website.
Anh, if you want big shoulders I would recommend you target all 3 heads of the shoulder the front, side and rear delts.
For the front delts I would recommend clean and press, it also hits the side delts too. This is a though exercise because it’s regarded as a power training exercise. However, this is one of the quickest and best ways to big shoulders, especially for beginners.
Not only does it build muscle mass in the shoulders it also builds strength too, the benefits don’t stop there… the additional movements used in the clean and press also work the Biceps, Back, Triceps, Traps, Hamstrings, Calves.
So you end up with a more overall muscular look! It’s also important you get the form right, practise without weights first, until you get your form right.
For your side delts I would recommend seated lateral raises, there’s less opportunity’s to cheat, compared to standing lateral raises.
And for the rear delts, seated bent over dumbbell laterals, the same rule applies, by doing these in a seated position there’s less opportunity’s to cheat.
Shoulder workouts will require some isolation workouts.
Clean and Press – Compound
Side and Rear Raises – Isolation
In my article when I say do compound workouts, what I mean is the core of your workout should be compound workouts.
There will be some body parts that require isolation workouts to get the best results.
Just don’t make the mistake of doing an entire session of isolation workouts.
Hope this helps
Ansari
Hey Ansari, Thanks for the comment and the useful information. Thanks also for the article, i do a lot of writting for people who are hardgainers and trying to get big, this was just up my alley. If you have a website or blog, feel free to email me at the address posted in a previous comment on this post. Maybe we can help eachother out.
Will getting size also get you the shape? Or is getting the shape revolve around diff exercises or technniques or what?
Great question, ill assume your a smaller guy. You probably already have atleast a decent shape right? The answer to your question is this; getting the shape is going to depend on everything from how your lifting to diet. I have written an article for that exact questions. Copy and paste the link.
http://www.musclemonsters.com/2009/07/get-big-and-stay-lean-right-way.html
This will explain how to lift, what to eat, how to rest, and cardio/circuit training. Please feel free to ask any further questions and Thanks for reading.
Post a Comment