Thread: do you have to have a fast motabilism to be a hardgainer?

No.

<-- living proof

Don't classify yourself as a hard gainer if ur not gaining weight eat more hard gainers are a myth so the answer is no

no i can gain fat easily but i cant put on muscle stopry of my life so far in the gym i have followed hypertrophy programs by sports science friends done various other programs coming to the end of 5x5 havent got bigger just stronger.... and yes i eat i eat and eat the right food, quality protein, complex carbs fats etc 8 hours of sleep etc infact since the summer have put on 2 and a half stone but hardly any muscle unfortunately....

my friend thinks im a hardgainer as he has been training me and he has a sports science degree etc i can put on fat no prob but not muscle and he said you dont need to have a fast motabilism it can depend on your muscle fiber types

Originally Posted by mrchest

my friend thinks im a hardgainer as he has been training me and he has a sports science degree etc i can put on fat no prob but not muscle and he said you dont need to have a fast motabilism it can depend on your muscle fiber types

So your friend has been training you, you've seen no muscle gain, so he blames it on you being a hardgainer? Maybe you need to find a better trainer.

Might just be a case of you fighting for every last pound with everything you've got. It also might be a case of you not relying on traditional hypertrophy training protocols if you respond so poorly to them.

Have you tried any training plans that go to the extremes of volume/intensity?

For example EDT will have you doing a ridiculous amount of volume in a session (400+ reps a session = the equivalent of 10 sets of 10 for each exercise) albeit with a lighter weight, whereas Steve Pulcinella's Pull/Press/Squat program will never have you going above 3 reps for main exercises but you'll be going heavy all the time.

Both programs work.

I think limiting yourself to regular hypertrophy programs in the 8-12 rep range for 3-4 sets or whatever is obviously not working. Try something crazy. Try the 20 rep squat program.

A lot of people have been seeing good results off two programs i wrote recently. They're up on my website called "Getbodybuilding Training System" and "Destroy + Flood". Take a look.

Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to give the program a chance - sticking with it for a few weeks won't do shit. You can run with any one program for 6 months, maybe longer. I did the 5/3/1 strength program for 10 months straight. Consistency is key, especially for people who find it tough to gain muscle. You have to hit it hard, and you have to keep hitting it hard for as long as it takes.

Originally Posted by mrchest

no i can gain fat easily but i cant put on muscle stopry of my life so far in the gym i have followed hypertrophy programs by sports science friends done various other programs coming to the end of 5x5 havent got bigger just stronger.... and yes i eat i eat and eat the right food, quality protein, complex carbs fats etc 8 hours of sleep etc infact since the summer have put on 2 and a half stone but hardly any muscle unfortunately....

my friend thinks im a hardgainer as he has been training me and he has a sports science degree etc i can put on fat no prob but not muscle and he said you dont need to have a fast motabilism it can depend on your muscle fiber types

1. You have gained strength but not muscle? Yes, you have. You really can't get one without the other. You have gained almost 30 pounds but no size? That doesn't make any sense unless your diet is terrible.

2. It sounds like your diet could probably be better and is the first thing you should look at. Check the nutrition forum.

3. Don't expect change overnight, like Gaz said it can take 6-12 months to see significant improvement. Don't give up.

Yea I'd like to see the diet.

1.5 grams of protein
2.1_2.2 grams of carbs
and fats not 100% sure

oats, milk, and bananah

whole eggs,wholegrain basmati

preworkout shake with supplements

post workout shake with supplements

salmon, yams brokoli

steak, yams aspargus

a fish protein normally makeral with wholegrain basmati and tablespoon of olive oil

cottage cheese and table spoon of olive oil

im not giving up but it is demorilsing when you sacrifice so much to get little results.

and gaz hes onyl trained me through one program it didnt work otherwise i trained bymyself but have coming to end of 5x5

and to pony boy i cant vouch for this but my friend says you can get stronger without getting bigger as getting stronger creates more msucle fibers etc but they can be tiny tiny little fibers wheras getting biggers enlarges them ect so you can get stronger with getting bigger supposedly

Originally Posted by mrchest

no i can gain fat easily but i cant put on muscle stopry of my life so far in the gym i have followed hypertrophy programs by sports science friends done various other programs coming to the end of 5x5 havent got bigger just stronger.... and yes i eat i eat and eat the right food, quality protein, complex carbs fats etc 8 hours of sleep etc infact since the summer have put on 2 and a half stone but hardly any muscle unfortunately....

my friend thinks im a hardgainer as he has been training me and he has a sports science degree etc i can put on fat no prob but not muscle and he said you dont need to have a fast motabilism it can depend on your muscle fiber types

Try increasing your training volume.

i used to have quite a high volume before when i was trainingmyself 12 sets for back and legs, 10 sets for shoulders and chest and 5 for biceps and triceps, have done full body routines etc but no luck

There are a number of things that can impact your ability to gain muscle mass. Levels of circulating anabolic hormone levels can impact muscular hypertrophy. Not necessarily just resting testosterone levels either. The amount of free testosterone, the pulsatile changes in levels seen within your blood, and other hormones such as HGH and IGF-1 also make a difference. Inherent muscle fiber composition can also matter. Type II muscle fibers have more hypertrophy potential than type I fibers.

At the same time, clearly there are a ton of things under your control that can impact muscular gains as well. More often than not when people have trouble gaining virtually any muscle mass at all, the problem lies in their diet, training regimen, recovery strategies, and/or work ethic. Virtually anyone can make some kind of significant gains. In fact, I don't know that I've come across a "hardgainer" who didn't fit the bill on at least one of those controllable factors.

No.
I know plenty of mesomorphes with ridiculously fast metabolisms (myself included.)