{"id":6150,"date":"2023-05-22T14:41:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T21:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?p=6150"},"modified":"2023-05-22T15:20:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T22:20:01","slug":"how-to-build-muscle-as-a-hardgainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/how-to-build-muscle-as-a-hardgainer\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Build Muscle As A Hardgainer"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to go from scrawny to brawny, the plan sounds simple: Lift hard and heavy. Eat more. But, for some guys, like our client John, it’s more complicated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

John was a busy pre-med student tired of feeling skinny and slim. He wanted to add size. And he wanted to feel strong. The challenge is that John is what we call a “hardgainer.” Long and lean, with less than optimal genes for building muscle quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But being a hardgainer isn’t a muscle-building curse. <\/span>While genetics inevitably do make a difference, your genetics are <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> preventing you from adding on pounds of muscle. <\/span>With our help, John layered on 20+ pounds in just over seven months. Throw the excuses out because that’s incredible progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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How did John finally break through for more growth – and how can you achieve similar results? If you want to transform your body there are two muscle growth breakthroughs you need to know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Muscle Growth Breakthrough #1: Focus on Progression<\/b><\/h2>\n

We kept John’s training simple. But don\u2019t mistake simple for effective. If you want to build muscle, it comes down to getting stronger and progressively doing more work month after month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And if muscle-building is the goal, then variety is your friend. <\/span>This doesn\u2019t mean altering up your workouts every day, but it does mean going through cycles where you rotate your reps and the movements you perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

In John\u2019s training plan, we alternated between strength-focused plans for one month, emphasizing lower reps and increasing weight each week. Then, the next month, we\u2019d emphasize higher sets and reps, but with moderate weight (instead of max).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To help illustrate what these plans might look like, here is a simplified example of how you could set up each training month:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Month 1 – Lower Reps, Increasing Weight<\/b><\/h3>\n

Week 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n