Is there still such a thing as a hardgainer?

[Tybittz3]

I imagine most people who self-proclaim themselves as a "hardgainer" arent eating enough but is it actually a thing? Assuming it's someone with an "ectomorph" build who has a harder time putting on muscle than some other people might.

[paulinkansas]

I was 17 and weighed 136 pounds when I started college a week after graduating high school. I was probably one of the smallest guys on campus with a student population of of 20,000. I lifted for 2 years while eating dorm food. I spun my wheels. Moved out of the dorms and met some new associates. My associates took special vitamins gave me nutritional advice. Made a lot of gains in a year.

Some of my associates are dead now because of the vitamins.

[StephenCGreen]

Yes, there is still such a thing, ever since Dr. Sheldon invented it in the 1940s.

[coachcalande]

I imagine most people who self-proclaim themselves as a "hardgainer" arent eating enough but is it actually a thing? Assuming it's someone with an "ectomorph" build who has a harder time putting on muscle than some other people might.

Cured by training every other day, resting fully on the off days, eating every three hours, hungry or not….cured.

[asrl78]

Speaking from personal experience yes there is, although I suspect my experience is caused by something I'm doing or not doing which is acting like a ball and chain around my ankles.

The last couple of times I've started lifting, I find a novice program based on compound movements and linear progression. Full body workout, 3x8-10 setup, increase weight by 2.5 kg if I reach the rep range on each set. I make progress for 2-3 months then hit a brick wall, but that brick wall arrives when I am still lifting very light weights. I've heard it stated that a beginner should be able to work up to 1x BW bench and 2xBW squat. No chance with me, as soon as I get to 70 kg squat I cannot progress. Once I get a little past 40 kg bench I cannot progress. I can push hard but that ultimately results in prolonged post-workout fatigue and muscle soreness can persist for days to the point where I cannot manage 3x week training, then I eventually lose all enthusiasm to train. Eating more just results in a near 20% body fat and a classic skinny-fat build (I'm about 175 lbs and 6'). So yes I am a hardgainer in that I find making gains hard, my body seems to strongly resist gaining muscle or strength in any meaningful quantity. On the other hand I can go hiking and walk all day with significant vertical ascent without any side effects other than post-event fatigue which doesn't persist through the next day, so it is not like I am completely unfit.

[Horizon92]

"Hardgainer" is simply a loosely defined term. Its meaning is not consistent nor is it scientific or anything like that. Compare that to lets say conjunctivitis, which has a much more defined definition with a symptom list, an explanation for how/why it occurs and how to treat it.

If I were to summarize what people mean when they say "hardgainer", it could be boiled down to "someone who struggles to put on mass", as the name implies. But someone could obviously struggle for lots of reasons, and it seems that most view it as a sort of genetic limitation of certain individuals. So I suppose what you are asking is, does this genetic limitation actually exist? Well...

Yes and no. Its very important to realize that genetics is a big part of a persons ability to gain mass, especially in terms of how fast its gained and what can be achieved at the highest levels. A genetic freak might build muscle twice or even three times as fast as someone with below average genetics, and might reach a much higher peak. But its also important to remember that the vast majority of people are within the normal ranges in terms of muscle building genetics, and the most important genetic factors when it comes to bodybuilding is actually height, muscle insertions, limb length, waist circumference, shoulder width etc.

In my opinion, the by far most likely explanation for "hardgainers" is a combination of the following:

(1) Lack of appetite
People have different levels of appetite depending on a host of factors. People with big appetites eat a lot of food, and thus gets ample of calories and protein to facilitate muscle growth. While developing as kids and teenagers, and later on adapting to training stimuli, this is obviously a huge advantage in terms of adding mass. In todays day and age, most of that mass is unfortunately fat mass. But there are people who eat very few calories - typically picky eaters with poor appetite. These people will be undernourished both in terms of calories and proteins. They will not grow a lot. These skinny kids are typical starting points for the insane body transformations (examples are plenty, but look at Zyzz, Josef Rakich, David Laid etc.) These picky eaters, once they start lifting seriously and get their diet in check will gain huge amounts of muscles extremely fast.
(2) Lack of training experience
Some people just haven't really been training, and are essentially expecting too much. I remember my first time in the gym, I could barely lift 66lb in the bench press - and I was a 315lb, 6'4 teenager! It took me ages to gain strength in upper body lifts, because I was so weak. Young guys who hasn't already lifted in the past or done physical labor or sports that develop muscles will be extremely weak, but I think a lot of people expect to just jump to a 2plate bench in a matter of a few months. The reality is that most 16-20 year olds will spend a lot of time in the gym before even getting close to a 2plate bench.
(3) Lack of intensity in the gym
When you go to the gym, try to notice how the people around you are actually lifting. In a public gym, 95%+ will be lifting with way, way too low intensity. I would say that I am yet to see anyone in my gym even getting close to the level of intensity I bring to my sets. I might see some young men going to failure in a few select lifts, mostly the barbell bench press. But generally people will cut their sets short 5+ reps from failure. People who lift like this will struggle to see results, and may claim to be a "hardgainer" because of this. They'll go online and see people get insane results in a matter of months, while they're spinning their wheels. Its much easier to blame genetics than their own effort.
(4) Lack of consistency in the gym
This is another big one. A huge percentage of the lifting population is actually very, very inconsistent. Its normal for people to lift on/off and basically see no progress because of this. They'll lift from january to february, then fall off the wagon, get back on it again for a little bit come may/june, fall off again, then start up for a few weeks in the fall, then fall off again till new years - repeat. This, especially combined with (3) will lead people to believe that they are genetically doomed because they tell themselves they're doing so much work but forget or ignore that they keep losing their gains over and over again.
(5) A very weak starting point due to (1) and other lifestyle factors
This sort of goes back to some previous points, but essentially.. A person who spent his entire life sitting on a computer and eating skittles and pop tarts will have such a weak starting point that just getting to average non lifting population level strength will take some time. Combine this with poor consistency, poor nutrition and lack of intensity in the gym, and you can imagine how their results will misalign with their goals. Again, its easy to blame genetics instead of being honest about just how bad of a starting point the person had, and how much work they must do to achieve their goals.

All of these combined with not enjoying lifting results in people claiming to be a "hardgainer". At the end of the day, I think most "hardgainers" are just a combination of the points above in almost all cases. Able bodied human beings who execute a good workout program, follow a solid diet plan and bring high intensity to the gym consistently for weeks, months and years on end will see amazing results. It really is that simple. Just as with weight loss, it is very simple. But not easy.

[air2fakie]

There’s definitely such a thing as an incessant whiner.

[paulinkansas]

There’s definitely such a thing as an incessant whiner.

Their names are Doug and Wendy.

[jasonp360]

Yes.
In highschool my nickname was bones. No matter what I did I just could not put on weight. I got somewhat stronger but the size would not come. I was even setting an alarm and drinking "Mass-Up 2000" at 2am to try and help things along. Drinking Boost and Chocolate milk and eating everything in sight all day long.
Nothing.
Unfortunately I also started smoking drinking and partying way more and became the very inconsistent lifter. I bet it would have eventually worked, if I stuck with diet sleep and the lifting. I never gave it enough time.
I cycled through this on/off lifting thing until may late late 40s. I'd get up to 2xx in bench then fall off the wagon for a few years and...
...then start all over. I'd bounce back to 2xx in bench in less then a year and be happy.

Around 48 I started again and - I did not bounce back. WTF? So I sucked it up and started a beginner program. Stuck with it with good diet and sleep for longer then a year. My first time ever sticking with lifting. Holy ****, this stuff works?!?! LOL. I've gone from a skinny 150lb to 175lbs and still growing. Do I think it is harder then someone with a different build? Not so much anymore. Yes I believe I do not have natural talent. I have skinny wrists, gangly limbs, squatting is awkward and I needed a coach. But is it actually more work? Not really. Everyone has to do the workout, eat properly, sleep properly no matter if hard gainer or someone that seems they can grow merely breathing gym air. They still have to actually do the work.

And time will tell. Right around now is when I usually quit - when physique gets good, I feel stronger, "I can skip today" creeps in my head. NOT THIS TIME (I've said a million times) lol. I don't know why I think this time is different but it does feel different. I want to lift from 50-60yrs and be a badass at 60. Maybe I skipped all the younger years to save my joints for this glory run of 10 years?

LOL

[67Vert]

I imagine most people who self-proclaim themselves as a "hardgainer" arent eating enough but is it actually a thing? Assuming it's someone with an "ectomorph" build who has a harder time putting on muscle than some other people might.

It's absolutely a thing. It's genetics. But even the hardgainer can make improvements.

[TheShadowMan]

I believe it exists, sure. But that existence is in the sense of it being an excuse for why the individual doesn't achieve the goal that they set out to achieve. Does it exist in other forms of unique genetic reasons? I'm not a doctor so I can't draw definitive conclusions, but of my own opinion no. Learn the activity, the process, do the work, be consistent, and things will change for you one day. But if you aren't prepared to do those, don't kid yourself about why you couldn't get there with weird terms and all that.