If you think you're a "hardgainer", post your situation here

**User4543432** · 02-07-2009, 05:12 AM

Originally Posted by ptwa9

The next guy that claims to eat 3-4k calories per day, can't gain, and is a "hardgainer" is required to post 2 weeks worth of fitday.com logs. Or shut your guestimating drama mouf up (except for food).

Hey, tiny, are you serious right now dude?!?! Why don't you stop acting like such an as*hole to people and worry about yourself man, just a thought! I literally eat 3-4k before lunch time dude, doesn't make gaining easy! The longer training and diet go on, and the more the body adapts to what you throw at it, the more challenging putting on mass can be! I have gained over 100lb. since I began training almost 10 years ago...if you think a measly 3-4k calories a day will pack mass on someone like me you're outta your head!

Now go do some bicep curls or bench press, with poor form, neglecting to ever train your legs, trying to show off for the fellas, and let us real weight lifters and bodybuilders be!

**waynelucky2** · 02-07-2009, 06:11 AM

Originally Posted by JustinSulham

My situation is a unique one, in terms of being a hard gainer! And, not to dispute what was said about there being no such thing as a hard gainer out there, that is not true. Almost all ectomorph builds are hard gainers, they have a high level of difficulty packing on lean mass, or even fatty mass for that matter.... Also, as for the "put anyone on a 4,000 calorie a day diet and they will gain fast", well most days I have 4000 calories by lunch time, gains don't always come easy man!

Anyways, my situation, not one you would expect. I am 6'5", 292lb at 10-12% BF. My goal is to hit 340lb.+ at no more than 12%BF, this makes gaining very difficult.

That's it, no need to drag on about this, I just wanted to chime in and show you guys who are having trouble that no matter how big you think somebody is, they may be feeling small or inept or having the same trouble gaining that you are (suppose it's one of those "never judge a book by its cover" things in a way). It doesn't matter if your 5'5" or 6'5", 92lb. or 292lb., some threads are more common in others than you would think!

Keep your heads up dudes, and stay in the game! The results don't come over night, they're to be earned, and later respected! Enjoy the ride!

See you are 292 pounds at 27, how much do you think you gained by way of training ??? If you was to eat as much as I do, at my lighter bodyweight, you would have to eat 7000 calories every day, or maybe far more, as your have a lot more muscle than me, thus you are burning far more at rest.

Wayne

**Orlando1234977** · 02-07-2009, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by knowles.ja

I was joking around. Basically poking fun at the people that classify themselves as "hardgainers" but in reality, they just don't eat nearly enough because they're worried about losing their crappy little six pack.

Originally Posted by waynelucky2

Are you trolling ??? If not you will just have to lose some of your 6 pack, add calories very slowly, until you have gained.

I upped my calories from about 14 calories per pound of bodyweight, to about 24 calories per pound of bodyweight, and with Johns program, gained 30 pounds of muscle and 10 pounds of fat.

You are NOT hard gainer, its just that no person that?s got a fair amount of muscle just eats two little meals a day

Wayne

see above, that answers that.

Originally Posted by waynelucky2

Hi Kelei,

You told me you were slow twitch, you wrote the below to be;

Wayne I also believe that lifting as fast as possible is the best way to train, even though I am slow twitch dominant I still perform my reps as fast as possible, I simply increase the rep range to around 15-20.

You also said to me you train from 20 to 80 sets per body part, twice to three times per week, thus these kind of sets could be no where near your 3RM.

So whats up ???

Wayne

Notice Kelei's post is from 2007. He has alot of conflicting stories from then and now. He told me there was someone else using his account, so there's your answer, take that however you wish.

**ptwa9** · 02-07-2009, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by JustinSulham

Hey, tiny, are you serious right now dude?!?! Why don't you stop acting like such an as*hole to people and worry about yourself man, just a thought! I literally eat 3-4k before lunch time dude, doesn't make gaining easy! The longer training and diet go on, and the more the body adapts to what you throw at it, the more challenging putting on mass can be! I have gained over 100lb. since I began training almost 10 years ago...if you think a measly 3-4k calories a day will pack mass on someone like me you're outta your head!

Now go do some bicep curls or bench press, with poor form, neglecting to ever train your legs, trying to show off for the fellas, and let us real weight lifters and bodybuilders be!

Que?

You're one of the 150 pound "hardgainers" whining about how difficult it is to put on mass?

Next up is the anorexic posting 'what bitch, you calling me fat?'

**User4543432** · 02-07-2009, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by ptwa9

Que?

You're one of the 150 pound "hardgainers" whining about how difficult it is to put on mass?

Next up is the anorexic posting 'what bitch, you calling me fat?'

Hey bro just wanted to be sure I got a reply from you, thought that post would work, it did!

What I'm saying is it isn't easy gaining for many people, and regardless of how big someone may already be (myself), it doesn't mean I'm having a lot of trouble gaining to where I want to be.... Trust me bro, 292lb may seem heavy, but not when your goal is to be at least (bare minimum) 340lb, and want to be heavier than even that...

**ptwa9** · 02-07-2009, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by JustinSulham

Hey bro just wanted to be sure I got a reply from you, thought that post would work, it did!

What I'm saying is it isn't easy gaining for many people, and regardless of how big someone may already be (myself), it doesn't mean I'm having a lot of trouble gaining to where I want to be.... Trust me bro, 292lb may seem heavy, but not when your goal is to be at least (bare minimum) 340lb, and want to be heavier than even that...

Well there's been a flood of kids posting lately how they're 150, and no matter how much they eat they just can't gain weight. But it's that they have the nerve to post "I'm eating 3500 calories per day, so it's not my diet". But when prodded, we find out that that 3500 calories is just an estimate (they think they're eating a lot).

To top it off, when you suggest they use fitday.com and track their calories, since yes, even us bodybuilders who do have things figured out pretty well, are surprised by how little calories is contained in healthy foods, they act like you're an idiot for even suggesting something so tedious. Give them mass now!!! What did they ever do to God to deserve being a hardgainer question mark question mark 111

So when someone posts that they're 150, eating 3500 calories per day, not gaining, and can you suggest a routine that will put mass on them, I'm quite inclined to call bull**** and tell them that it's not scientifically possible for them to be 150lbs, eating 3500 actual real calories and not putting on weight. And when they hit 180-190, maybe then they legitimately say the scale isn't budging anymore, to which any right-minded, sane individual will reply, gee bump it up to 4000 calories now that you need that much to grow.

End rant

**NIguy** · 02-07-2009, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by kitarpyar

My case is almost exactly the same. Seem to be putting on a hell lot of fats when I increase my food intake. Don't know how to get round this, but I guess I will soon start to cut down my calories, train with shorter rest intervals and try to lose some fats for about a couple of months, and then again switch over to bulking.

Has anyone tried cutting down after reaching a plateau and then tried bulking?

Guys you need to get out the idea of bulking and cutting back because it doesnt really work, better is a continued routine of lifting and eating right. Eat when you are HUNGRY and eat healthy too, if you have a tendancy to put fat on work in a cardio session once a week or something. Overloading of calories doesnt result in an increase in muscle above and beyond what the body is cable of so why bother?? any additional calories are simply pilled on as fast, protein is another issue which most people are completely ignorant about. An average lifter of about 80kilos or 175lbs needs only about 130-160grammes of protein per day, your body automatically uses protein more efficiently when your muscles need repairing, eating a ridiculous 300grams a day + plus for an 80kg guy is just expensive piss, your body doesnt need it so why worry if you dont eat half a kilo of protein per day. Next time just have a look at the amount of meat on your plate... imagine if you could actually use all that protein to create the equivalent amount muscle in that 24 hours, you'd be massive and the reason why you arent is because it doesnt work.

When you lift, go heavy in the early sets and work reps for speed on the later sets, perform isolation exercises after your compounds for 3 sets and work with high intensity on every set and for every rep. Most people arent hard gainers, its just they train ****ty. Now I do know a few hard gainers who have trained hard/smartly for years and no matter what they do they can't add much muscle, its simply beyond their means. The thing to get out of this is that you can only know if you are a hard gainer after several years of training, dont diagnose yourself after the first few months because its bull**** and you'll just be giving yourself an excuse to give up. Remember the upper limit of muscle a natural bodybuilder can in a year is 22lbs (there are exceptions), most guys wont add that much because they dont train hard enough or smart enough, but anything from 10lbs upwards is good. Use that as your yard stick. Furthermore in my experience muscle is added in stints, I could lift for maybe 2-3 months and not increase or decrease a pound, then suddenly over the course of 1-2 weeks I will add 4-5lbs of muscle. This is the way most people add muscle, it tends not to be a progressive increase in weight for reasons nobody understands, so stick at the weights and dont be disheartened when the muscle doesnt immediately add. It takes time.

**bro1127** · 02-07-2009, 06:09 PM

hey all, Ive been weight training for just over a year now and im really struggling to see results, i way 184pounds, am about 6foot 3inches. I eat 3 solid meals a day and about 3 snacks.
The meals are:
Breakfast
3 weetbix
1/2 cut oats/muesli
1 tlbe spoon honey
3 tble spoons yogurt
2 round tble spoons whey protein (training days)
morning snack
2 pieces fruit
Lunch
2 sandwiches with sliced ham/turkey and tomato
1 penut butter sandwich
-or-
1`chicken breast with veg and 1/2 rice
pre workout
1 Banana
post workout
40g whey protein
1 teaspoon creatine
1teaspoon glutamine
dinner
piece of meat (steak/chicken/fish)
3 veg(broccoli/corn/carrot/tomatoes)
rice or pasta
before bed
40g whey protein with milk

i train 5 days per week:
Mon: arms/cardio
weds:Chest
Fri:shoulders
sat:legs
sun: back

Im not 100% what my weight was when i first started to train, but i kno for the last 9 months i have been around the 180-188 pound mark( my weight is always changing)
What am I doing wrong??

**GuyJin** · 02-07-2009, 06:19 PM

Try training less often. Just because Johnny Superstar trains five days a week doesn't mean you have to.

Five days a week for most is overkill, unless they've worked up to it and have excellent recovery ability. I'm leaving steroids out of it as some naturals can train five or six days a week including cardio, but they're pretty rare. Most guys I know do no more than four days a week when bulking up.

FWIW, I'd try cutting down to four days a week at most, doing chest/shoulders and tris Monday and Thursday, and legs, back and bis on Tuesday and Friday. Or, as another way, if you like to really trash each bodypart only once a week, do arms on Monday, legs on Tuesday, Wednesday off, Thursday chest and shoulders, and Friday would be back.

If you cut back and rest a bit more, then you might find yourself gaining. Less is usually better for guys who want to bulk up. Just my two yen, here...

**NIguy** · 02-07-2009, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by bro1127

hey all, Ive been weight training for just over a year now and im really struggling to see results, i way 184pounds, am about 6foot 3inches. I eat 3 solid meals a day and about 3 snacks.
The meals are:
Breakfast
3 weetbix
1/2 cut oats/muesli
1 tlbe spoon honey
3 tble spoons yogurt
2 round tble spoons whey protein (training days)
morning snack
2 pieces fruit
Lunch
2 sandwiches with sliced ham/turkey and tomato
1 penut butter sandwich
-or-
1`chicken breast with veg and 1/2 rice
pre workout
1 Banana
post workout
40g whey protein
1 teaspoon creatine
1teaspoon glutamine
dinner
piece of meat (steak/chicken/fish)
3 veg(broccoli/corn/carrot/tomatoes)
rice or pasta
before bed
40g whey protein with milk

i train 5 days per week:
Mon: arms/cardio
weds:Chest
Fri:shoulders
sat:legs
sun: back

Im not 100% what my weight was when i first started to train, but i kno for the last 9 months i have been around the 180-188 pound mark( my weight is always changing)
What am I doing wrong??

A year of working out is too soon to judge, you training is most likely off, if you are not sore the next day after a workout for a couple of weeks change what you are doing. Basic principle heavy compound exercises followed by isolation exercise, for instance, heavy bench, weighted dips followed by dumbells flies, high intensity all the way.

Your split isnt good, legs and back (if you are doing squats and deadlifts and you should be for mass) should not be on days directly after one another. Better in my experience is to base your split over two weeks and in those two weeks do chest and back (deadlifts only 2/3 workouts) 3 times each, legs and shoulder/arms twice. Worked well for me.

**NIguy** · 02-07-2009, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by GuyJin

Try training less often. Just because Johnny Superstar trains five days a week doesn't mean you have to.

Five days a week for most is overkill, unless they've worked up to it and have excellent recovery ability. I'm leaving steroids out of it as some naturals can train five or six days a week including cardio, but they're pretty rare. Most guys I know do no more than four days a week when bulking up.

FWIW, I'd try cutting down to four days a week at most, doing chest/shoulders and tris Monday and Thursday, and legs, back and bis on Tuesday and Friday. Or, as another way, if you like to really trash each bodypart only once a week, do arms on Monday, legs on Tuesday, Wednesday off, Thursday chest and shoulders, and Friday would be back.

If you cut back and rest a bit more, then you might find yourself gaining. Less is usually better for guys who want to bulk up. Just my two yen, here...

This guys right, some people dont respond well to my split, i just recover very quickly.

**mac520** · 02-07-2009, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by ptwa9

Well there's been a flood of kids posting lately how they're 150, and no matter how much they eat they just can't gain weight. But it's that they have the nerve to post "I'm eating 3500 calories per day, so it's not my diet". But when prodded, we find out that that 3500 calories is just an estimate (they think they're eating a lot).

To top it off, when you suggest they use fitday.com and track their calories, since yes, even us bodybuilders who do have things figured out pretty well, are surprised by how little calories is contained in healthy foods, they act like you're an idiot for even suggesting something so tedious. Give them mass now!!! What did they ever do to God to deserve being a hardgainer question mark question mark 111

So when someone posts that they're 150, eating 3500 calories per day, not gaining, and can you suggest a routine that will put mass on them, I'm quite inclined to call bull**** and tell them that it's not scientifically possible for them to be 150lbs, eating 3500 actual real calories and not putting on weight. And when they hit 180-190, maybe then they legitimately say the scale isn't budging anymore, to which any right-minded, sane individual will reply, gee bump it up to 4000 calories now that you need that much to grow.

End rant

Well I am 164 lbs and I eat 4000-4500 calories/day and the scale is hardly budging. I gained 2-3 lbs really fast in the first week of my diet like this, but over the past 2 weeks the scale has not budged any perceptible amount.

I'm not even that active. I lift 3 days a week. The only other additional exercise I get is walking several miles a day around campus and playing the occasional game of football.

Why is it impossible for me to gain weight?

And 4000 is not "just an estimate". It is pretty accurate. I consistently eat the same thing every day. If anything, I am eating more than 4000 calories since I don't count condiments like butter or ketchup towards my total calories.

**User4543432** · 02-07-2009, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by ptwa9

Well there's been a flood of kids posting lately how they're 150, and no matter how much they eat they just can't gain weight. But it's that they have the nerve to post "I'm eating 3500 calories per day, so it's not my diet". But when prodded, we find out that that 3500 calories is just an estimate (they think they're eating a lot).

To top it off, when you suggest they use fitday.com and track their calories, since yes, even us bodybuilders who do have things figured out pretty well, are surprised by how little calories is contained in healthy foods, they act like you're an idiot for even suggesting something so tedious. Give them mass now!!! What did they ever do to God to deserve being a hardgainer question mark question mark 111

So when someone posts that they're 150, eating 3500 calories per day, not gaining, and can you suggest a routine that will put mass on them, I'm quite inclined to call bull**** and tell them that it's not scientifically possible for them to be 150lbs, eating 3500 actual real calories and not putting on weight. And when they hit 180-190, maybe then they legitimately say the scale isn't budging anymore, to which any right-minded, sane individual will reply, gee bump it up to 4000 calories now that you need that much to grow.

End rant

I liked that rant FYI! I even feel relieved now haha!

**ptwa9** · 02-07-2009, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by NIguy

Guys you need to get out the idea of bulking and cutting back because it doesnt really work

Yeah professional bodybuilders could make better gains by just eating clean and limiting carbs and then going on an easier cut to get competition ready. They're bulking way up and cutting because they're dumb.

Originally Posted by NIguy

any additional calories are simply pilled on as fat

Actually, if you like scientific studies, they've shown that people who simply eat and get heavier have significantly more muscle than control groups. Yes your body does put on more muscle to support the added weight.

Additionally, the metabolic and hormonal processes involved in hypertrophy are impaired with bodyfat below optimal levels (15%).

**ptwa9** · 02-07-2009, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by mac520

And 4000 is not "just an estimate". It is pretty accurate. I consistently eat the same thing every day.

But you don't work it out on a calorie counting site with a food scale...

**deniall** · 03-23-2009, 08:56 AM

Hardgainer.

26 years old, tiny wrists, tiny ankles, small amount of bodyfat, small amount of muscle, hardly any strength.

Tried 3 different programs from high reps with light weights to low reps with heavy weights. Have done workouts with a lot of isolation and workouts with all compound movements.

Have adjusted my diet from 2500 cals to 3500 cals and it didn't make a difference.

Currently eating over 4000 cals, doing compound exercises and getting adequate rest. Gains are coming slowly.

**Quidlor** · 03-23-2009, 09:21 AM

I would classify myself as a "hardgainer", however I have been able to put on some muscle and have had a lot of success in my training in the past year or so.

I am 28 years old, I am very tall (6'5") and have been skinny my entire life. I was a long-distance runner in high school. Two years ago, I weighed 155, to give you an idea of how skinny I was. I started lifting weights (without any real plan or clue as to what I was doing) and trying to eat more, and was able to get up to 170.

About a year ago, I started doing Starting Strength, and focusing more on my eating. This is when the real gains started coming. I shot up to about 190 in six months and strength gains went through the roof. I then hit a plateau of strength and weight for several months, kept having to reset SS and decided I needed a workout change. I went to madcow's linear 5x5, added an additional ~500 calories to my diet in the form of a morning protein shake, and dropped most of my cardio and started having success again.

I am currently 212 lbs, and am planning on getting up to around 225-230, then adding cardio back in and adjusting my diet to cut a bit. I realize that I am still relatively thin/small....but after being 150-160 for 10 years, people can't believe how I look now. I get so many compliments and people always inquiring how I did it. I still would classify myself as a hardgainer, however I think that with proper diet attention and full body workouts, this can be overcome.

As an example, in one year my 5RM for bench press went from 150 to 230, and is still going up. My weight went from 170 to 212. The only supplements I took are whey protein, although I am planning on adding creatine very soon.

**User4543432** · 03-23-2009, 10:13 AM

Glad to see this thread surface again, some decent advice for the hard gainers floating through here, keep it up!

**MafdetX** · 03-23-2009, 02:53 PM

A hardgainer is simply somebody who doesn't really know anything about proper nutrition and lifting.

I thought I was a hardgainer a year ago. That is complete bull****, I can put on weight pretty fast with a solid meal plan and a good program.

**User4543432** · 03-23-2009, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by MafdetX

A hardgainer is simply somebody who doesn't really know anything about proper nutrition and lifting.

I thought I was a hardgainer a year ago. That is complete bull****, I can put on weight pretty fast with a solid meal plan and a good program.

Complete bullsh*t brother? I take it you aren't aware of the three body types of a human:

ectomorph.
endomorph.
mesomorph.

Or any comb. of the three... Dude hard gainers exist, they may even be experts in nutrition and training, some people just have trouble gaining weight...

**Kade1988** · 04-14-2009, 12:35 PM

I am a hardgainer!

Why?
I trained for 3 years and didnt rly gain weight maybe about 8 pounds!
My bodyfat is and always was 5-6%!
I tried diffrent training programs, many 2, 3-splits and whole body workouts, splitting 4 or 5 doesnt make sense for me as hardgainer i think. Reps i always did low 5x5 program for example or 6-8 reps!
I train rly hard somethimes already vomited after training although i dont eat 1-2 hours before training!

I eat a lot dont know anyone of my friends who eat as much as me, i normally eat 5-6 meals a day and try to eat a lot of proteins and also carbs.
Last meal is always can of tuna before goin2bed others all are carbs&protein.
I dont have an eating plan but i always try to get as much protein and carbs in my meals and try to stay clean. I somethimes also cheat, but if i do I also eat things which have very high calories and protein I dont get fat anyway although i already used to eat 3800 calories a day!

Edit: Supplements i always used to take whey with dextro and creatin after training!
Other supps i took: kre-alkalyn, creatin mono, creatin ethyl ester, massacra, no xplode, nitro bomb, diffrent wheys, animal pump, animal pack, weight gainer one dont remember name....and some more!

I considered to do higher reps cause i read some things on bb.com!
:

"You can't use heavy, straight-set, low-rep training exclusively because it doesn't develop the intermediary endurance-oriented fast-twitch fibers, the 2As which are a hardgainer's best muscle-building asset. "

"Keeping workouts relatively brief helps reduce the muscle-ravaging effects of cortisol "

Who wants to read whole article:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/xrep11.htm

What do you think about that or have other good ideas what i can do??

**brudman** · 04-14-2009, 01:03 PM

I thought I was a hardgainer, then I started doing cock pushups.

You only need one.

**Bballdunka1602** · 04-14-2009, 01:04 PM

I am definitely not a hardgainer in the way that I am skinny and can't build muscle. I was always overweight as a kid but am now down to normalish weight. 6'5 and I fluctuate around 195-205. My weight varies directly with my exercise and lifting habits but its just fat weight. I gain muscle really slow! I have been on a workout program with my friend (who has had no problem gaining strength) for over 3 months now. Strength has increased overall, but only about 5-10lbs for most lifts, most noticeably on chest day, I have very little to no increase in what I can lift. Is this the same thing as a hardgainer? Just curious. A quick overview of what we do is 5 days a week chest/shoulders/triceps and legs/biceps/back (chest monday, shoulders tuesday, etc.) and abs 3 days a week.

**rock_ten** · 04-15-2009, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by MafdetX

A hardgainer is simply somebody who doesn't really know anything about proper nutrition and lifting.

I thought I was a hardgainer a year ago. That is complete bull****, I can put on weight pretty fast with a solid meal plan and a good program.

And you're certain that everyone else who has trouble gaining is suffering from the same problem you were (i.e. inexperience/ignorance)?

**rock_ten** · 04-15-2009, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by deniall

Currently eating over 4000 cals, doing compound exercises and getting adequate rest. Gains are coming slowly.

How slowly, at what rate are you gaining weight and strength?

If it truly is unreasonably slowly, then try eating even MOAR and working out bettah.

**rock_ten** · 04-15-2009, 01:57 AM