The Rose

What is meant with the term "HARDGAINER"?

Roses are a woman's best friend!

mick01

IMO the term "hardgainer" is over used as an excuse. "I cant make good gains because Im a hardgainer."
When in reality that person is just not willing to do what it takes to make the progress they seem to desire.

But a true hardgainer is usually thin and lean, someone that would be lean if they didn’t train and ate junk food all day. This person has a very hard time gaining weight. This person is also fairly strong for their bodyweight. (Because they carry little fat, and fat can’t move weight.)

A hardgainers best bet for muscular gain is low volume infrequent training, with tons and tons of high calorie food.

Do you think you’re a hardgainer?

Mick

To refuse to learn anything that could prove beneficial to yourself is a working definition of stupid!

High-intensity training is going all-out, not almost all out. It is taking one set to one's absolute limit, not almost to the limit. It is using whatever equipment’s available. It is not the words of two or three men, but a commitment to work as hard as possible while in the gym without socializing, resting excessively between sets, or falling prey to the 'this isn't going to work so I'll copy the star' attitude"

TJohn

Hardgainers (mostly ectomorphs) have trouble recovering and gaining weight and need to work their muscles once per week and eat eat eat eat eat eat !!!!!!!!!!!!

TJohn

Prince

Someone who does not gain muscle very easily, like TJohn said it's typically "ectomorph" body types (those are the naturally skinny people). However, anyone can be a "hardgainer".

• SBMuscle.com - Discount Supplement Superstore
• AlltheWhey.com - Bulk Protein Powders
• CEM Products - Research Chemicals & Supplements
• MusclePharm - Complete Nutritional Arsenal
• BigBackGrips - If you lift weights you've got to try these grips!

The Rose

Why low volume training? I thought most bodybuilders follow this training routine!

Roses are a woman's best friend!

I Are Baboon

That's me. I bust my nuts in the gym (each bodypart once a week), but I have a hard time packing on muscle. That's fine though, because the ectomorph body type serves my mountain biking hobby well.

kuso

IMHO hardgainer = lazy

To explain this .......

Hard gainers typically don` t eat enough

Over wieght people typically eat the wrong foods.....

both need to get thier diets in order to start making progress in whichever direction they are headed.

ponyboy

I would agree with some of what has been said above even though for a while I was the typical "hardgainer", always skinny, never could gain/lose weight at all. It was just because I wasn't focused on what I was doing and as soon as I got my training and diet in line the results started coming in. Now I can manipulate my body composition at will!

Big_Andy

hardgainer is less genetically blessed type. Just the opposite of the guys who eat junk, train lazy and stull are huge and ripped. Just hormonal levels....

Big Andy

mick01

The hard gainer needs more time to heal. Just because you’re no longer sore doesn’t mean your 100% and ready to train again. If your upper body seems healed but your legs are sore I guarantee you cant give that extra effort for chest or back.

IMO most people, hardgainer or not, most are over trained. I never considered myself a hardgainer but I took up very low volume very intense training last year and I've never been bigger or stronger.

To refuse to learn anything that could prove beneficial to yourself is a working definition of stupid!

High-intensity training is going all-out, not almost all out. It is taking one set to one's absolute limit, not almost to the limit. It is using whatever equipment’s available. It is not the words of two or three men, but a commitment to work as hard as possible while in the gym without socializing, resting excessively between sets, or falling prey to the 'this isn't going to work so I'll copy the star' attitude"

TJohn

Right on mick

TJohn

Vale Tudo

I am probably stupid but can someone tell me exactly what low volume intence training actually is? Is it one body part a week, but working it very hard?

TJohn

Basically yes.

Something like ::

Mon = chest/shoulders/tri's
Tues = rest
Wed = legs
Thurs= rest
Fri = back/bi's/forearms
Sat = rest
Sun = rest

TJohn

Vale Tudo

That is close to the workouts that i started doing about a month and a half ago. Mick01, how long did it take you before you really noticed gains?

kuso

I think you`ll find Mick is even lower than this.....and I think with only one or two working sets per bp.

mick01

The all seeing all knowing Kuso is right. I'm sure he as read many of my ramblings on HIT.
My workouts have become so low in volume and frequency that many think I’m crazy. But I'm competing in an NPC show in Sept. Personally; I think I’ve built pretty good physique.

Aesthetic gains are sometime hard to notice. Others may notice them before you.

BUT

There should be a gain in strength on every workout! If you do not then something is wrong! If you’re healthy, injury free, well fed and well rested/recovered there is absolutely no reason not to make gains every single workout.
The object of weight training is to get stronger, even if you’re a BB. A stronger muscle is a bigger muscle.
If you continue to use the same weight for the same reps or even worse, regress in an area then common since should tell you its time for a change. duh
Chances are if gains are not made its a case of over training. It could be a lack of intensity, but intensity can be learned.

Mick

To refuse to learn anything that could prove beneficial to yourself is a working definition of stupid!

High-intensity training is going all-out, not almost all out. It is taking one set to one's absolute limit, not almost to the limit. It is using whatever equipment’s available. It is not the words of two or three men, but a commitment to work as hard as possible while in the gym without socializing, resting excessively between sets, or falling prey to the 'this isn't going to work so I'll copy the star' attitude"