Six Common Mistakes Hardgainers Make When Trying To Gain Weight
Hardgainers are individuals that have a very hard time putting on weight regardless of putting out a lot of effort to do so. These people have high metabolisms and usually are self conscious about being underweight or simply not having the muscle they want. Despite their hard work most hardgainers are making one or more mistakes that prevent them from gaining weight. The truth is with the right information anyone can gain weight. Here are some of the most common mistakes hardgainers make:
Not eating enough
It may seem obvious but the fact is most guys who are trying to gain weight don’t eat enough calories a day. Eat more calories than you burn each day and you will gain weight. This requires consistency. If you don’t eat more calories than you burn each day, your body will not respond but if you eat more calories than you burn every single day your body will have no choice but to put on pounds.
Not getting enough protein
Protein is necessary to build muscle. You need around 1 -1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight each and every day. This needs to be spread out through out the day. Try getting around 30 grams every 2-3 hours.
Not eating the right foods
Just because you are a hardgainer doesn’t mean you should eat anything and everything. Eating junk food such as chips and candy is worthless for building muscle. These type of foods have little to no nutritional value and will fill you up and keep you from eating good, high quality foods that you need build muscle.
Not tracking calorie and protein intake
I know this one is difficult for most guys but it really is important, especially if you’ve never done it before. The fact is it’s impossible to know how much protein or how many calories you’ve had if you aren’t tracking them. You can try and guess but chances are you will be way off. I recommend you get a small notebook that you can use to write down what you eat throughout the day. Carry it with you in your pocket everywhere you go. After a few days you will have a nice list of foods that you can reference each day which makes the whole process easier.
Doing too much cardio
Cardio is great but too much will keep you from achieving your weight gain goals simply because you will burn too many calories. (see my previous article: How Cardio Affects Weight Gain)
Spending too many hours working out
Some guys still think that the longer they work out the more they will achieve. While I admire these guys’ hard work and determination that fact is unless you’re using illegal products then you will not benefit from anymore than 1 hour in the gym 3-5 times a week. Anymore than 1 hour in the gym and you will start to hurt your gains. 45 minutes is ideal.