Hardgainer Workout - The Quick Action Guide
Hardgainer Workout Plan
Before going into the actual workouts and programs we need to create a plan, that you need to
strictly follow to get the results as soon as possible. As it is a quick action guide, its going to be
short and to the point without any fluff or filler. So here are the hardgainer workout plan that you
should follow -
1. Cut your workout volume. Keep it short and intense. If you are training more than one hour
and 6 days a week, then you are dead wrong! You need to only train less than one hour (45 min
is optimal) and not more than 3 times a week. Training more than one hour produces the
catabolic hormone cortisol, which kills any muscle gains you make. You need enough recovery
time to build muscles. So do not train more than 3 times a week to ensure that you are getting
enough recovery.
2. Compound exercises should be the foundation of your workout program. Compound exercises
works several muscle groups at once and it is the best mass builder. Some compound exercise
that you should include in your routine are Squats, Bench Press, Deadlifts and Dips. It doesn't
mean that you should completely avoid isolation exercises, it has its own part in building
muscles.
3. You do not need to do endless sets and reps to build muscle. Doing this will only lead to
overtraining and the end result - zero muscle growth. You only need to do 2-3 high intense set
for 6-10 reps for an exercise and a total set for each muscle group in a workout should be 6-10
sets.(it is 6 sets with 2 or three exercises, not 6 exercises or 6 sets for each exercise). Smaller
muscle groups needs only smaller sets or 5-6 sets, and sets for larger muscles should be around
8-10.
4. Eat six meals a day. Eating 6 meals spaced two to three hours helps you to pack on lean
muscles fast. Each meal should contain a portion of high quality protein and carbohydrates. Also
take essential fatty acids three times a day. Some foods that you must take into consideration are
chicken breasts, fish, steak, eggs, brown rice, bread, oats, fish oil, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
5. Supplement your diet with protein shakes and creatine. It may be very difficult to eat six solid
meals a day. What you can do is, substitute any three meals with protein shakes or MRP's (Meal
Replacement Powder). You can also supplement your diet with creatine. Creatine is known as
the most powerful and popular bodybuilding supplement. Be sure to drink plenty of water when
taking creatine.
6. Track your progress. Write down all your body measurements and weight in a book or
spreadsheet. Each week enter your new measurements. So you can see if you are moving on the
right direction or not and can adjust your training and diet whenever needed.
Sample Hardgainer Workout Routine
By now you have understood the basic principles behind the training, and a little about nutrition.
It will not be complete without a sample workout routine. So here it is -
Day 1: Legs / Shoulders and Forearms
Legs
Barbell Squats - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Leg Extension - 1 set , 6-10 reps
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls - 1 set, 6-10 reps
Shoulders
Standing Dumbbell Side laterals - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Standing Front Dumbbell Raises - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Bent Over Lateral Raise - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Forearms
Barbell or Dumbbell Wrist Curls - 2 sets, 10-12 reps
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Chest / Triceps and Abs
Chest
Barbell Bench Press - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Wide Grip Dips - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Triceps
Cable Pushdowns - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Lying Triceps Extension - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Abs
Crunches - 2 sets, 10-12 reps
Leg Raises - 1 set, 10 -12 reps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Back / Biceps and Calves
Back
Deadlifts - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Bent Over barbell Rows - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Chin - Ups - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell Shrugs - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Biceps
Barbell Curls - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 2 sets, 6-10 reps
Calves
Standing Machine Calf Raises - 2 sets, 10-12 reps
Seated Machine Calf Raises - 1 set, 6-12 reps
Motivation
Motivation is the No.1 factor most hardgainer's are missing. They think that building muscles or
gaining weight is not possible for them. This is far from the truth. I will show you a real life
example of a "skinny hardgainer". Take a look at the picture below
His name is Vince Del Monte and he was a "true hardgainer". He tried everything he could do to
pack on muscles, but he had no luck. Later he discovered the truth that hardgainer's should train,
eat and 'live differently' to gain weight and build muscles. Look at him 6 months after
implementing his own program.
and that was only a beginning, within months he packed on 210 lbs of rock solid muscle with
only 10% body fat.
He also started a muscle building program called No-Nonsense Muscle Building to help other
skinny guys and hardgainer's to achieve the same results he got within months . This program is
mainly aimed at hardgainer's and skinny guys.
You can take a look at the program here - No-Nonsense Muscle Building