How to Gain Weight Fast and Build Muscle
Gaining weight and maintaining that weight can be just as difficult as the process of losing weight. If you want to gain weight you need to eat more calories than you burn off as energy. One of the best ways to gain weight is by combining a healthy eating plan with an exercise program. Exercise is great for stimulating your appetite and for converting what you eat to muscle rather than fat.
Set goals for yourself and work towards them gradually. You're not going to gain as much weight as you want overnight. Set a target to gain about 2.2 lbs each month. If you want to gain those 2.2 lbs you need to eat about 350 more calories every day over and above what you are already eating. The best way to eat more calories is by consuming a diet that is balanced and healthy. If you add foods to your diet that are high in fat, and which contain few other good nutrients, you'll find yourself gaining weight but all of that weight will be in fat.
Write in a food journal for a few weeks so you can see exactly what you are eating and where you can make improvements. Don't try to eat all of your calories in one or two meals. Plan for three meals each day supplemented with two or three snacks. With consistence and patience you'll soon find yourself meeting that 2.2 lb goal.
How to gain weight fast: Body response
Our bodies respond well to a healthy diet and exercise. A weight gain program is much like a weight loss program in that both require a healthy lifestyle. To gain weight you should be eating six healthy meals every day. Concentrate on your fitness plan and be prepared to make changes if after three months you haven't gained a noticeable amount of weight.
Most people want to lose weight so if you're someone who needs to gain weight you may have difficulty getting anyone to understand what you're going through. It can be just as frustrating and difficult to gain weight, as it is to take it off. Our bodies require a certain number of calories every day.
The amount of calories you need is based on your height, your current weight, your sex, your age, how active you are, and your body type. Depending on how much weight you want to gain, you may need to add anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories to your current daily caloric intake.
Your body needs six essential nutrients for it to stay healthy and function the way it should. These six essential nutrients are protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fat, and water. Every nutrient has its own function and when one is lacking in the required amounts our bodies undergo stress. If you want to gain weight you need to be sure that you are eating a diet that is well balanced in all six of the essential nutrients. Focus on these food groups to get all of the nutrients that you need: meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, starch, and fat.
By eating a balanced diet it should be easy for you to add extra calories to your daily food plan. Eat foods that are higher in calories but low in fat such as lean meats and fish, low fat dairy products, and complex carbohydrates.
Gaining weight means gaining muscle mass. You can gain muscle mass by adding strength training to your exercise routing at least three times a week. Add this to an increase in your caloric intake and you should find yourself gaining weight in about three months. You'll need to eat about 500 extra calories for every pound in muscle that you want to gain. Those extra calories should come from all five food groups so that you're eating a well balanced diet.
Snacking plays a big role in weight gain. Plan on eating at least 3 snacks a day if you want to gain weight. A peanut butter sandwich using whole grain bread is a great snack choice. You'll be combining protein and a complex carbohydrate for energy and added calories.
Most people want to lose weight so if you're someone who needs to gain weight you may have difficulty getting anyone to understand what you're going through. It can be just as frustrating and difficult to gain weight, as it is to take it off. Our bodies require a certain number of calories every day.
The amount of calories you need is based on your height, your current weight, your sex, your age, how active you are, and your body type. Depending on how much weight you want to gain, you may need to add anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories to your current daily caloric intake.
Your body needs six essential nutrients for it to stay healthy and function the way it should. These six essential nutrients are protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fat, and water. Every nutrient has its own function and when one is lacking in the required amounts our bodies undergo stress. If you want to gain weight you need to be sure that you are eating a diet that is well balanced in all six of the essential nutrients. Focus on these food groups to get all of the nutrients that you need: meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, starch, and fat.
By eating a balanced diet it should be easy for you to add extra calories to your daily food plan. Eat foods that are higher in calories but low in fat such as lean meats and fish, low fat dairy products, and complex carbohydrates.
Gaining weight means gaining muscle mass. You can gain muscle mass by adding strength training to your exercise routing at least three times a week. Add this to an increase in your caloric intake and you should find yourself gaining weight in about three months. You'll need to eat about 500 extra calories for every pound in muscle that you want to gain. Those extra calories should come from all five food groups so that you're eating a well balanced diet.
Snacking plays a big role in weight gain. Plan on eating at least 3 snacks a day if you want to gain weight. A peanut butter sandwich using whole grain bread is a great snack choice. You'll be combining protein and a complex carbohydrate for energy and added calories.
How to Gain Weight Fast - Getting Started
Before you start any diet to gain weight you need to know just how under weight you are and how much weight you need to gain. Start your weight gain program by knowing what a healthy weight is for your body type and for your height. Keep in mind that several things determine your body type. Your parents have passed on genes to you that play a big role in your own weight. If one of your parents is underweight and has a slight body frame chances are you might as well. Once you know what is "normal" for your height and body type you'll have a better chance of targeting your goal weight.
Look at where you fall in the following height/weight body chart:
4' 10" 96 lb to 115
4' 11" 99 lb to 119
5' 0" 102 lb to 123
5' 1" 106 lb to 127
5' 2" 109 lb to 131
5' 3" 113 lb to 135
5' 4" 117 lb to 140
5' 5" 120 lb to 144
5' 6" 124 lb to 148
5' 7" 128 lb to 153
5' 8" 132 lb to 158
5' 9" 135 lb to 162
5' 10" 139 lb to 167
5' 11" 143 lb to 172
6' 0" 147 lb to 177
6' 1" 152 lb to 182
6' 2" 156 lb to 187
6' 3" 160 lb to 192
6' 4" 164 lb to 197
The range of weight when matched to height is wide. Where you fall will depend if you are male or female and what type of body you have. If you have a stocky body your weight for your height should fall on the higher end. And if you have a slight body frame your weight should fall at the lower end.
Many people start weight gain programs and soon find they give up when they don't see any results. There are several reasons why many weight gain programs fail. Perhaps the main reason is that people don't eat the right type of food. If you want to gain weight you need to add proteins to your diet instead of just carbohydrates and fats. An improper diet is the number one reason why people fail to gain weight and eventually give up.
The second reason why weight gain often fails is a lack of exercise. To gain weight you need to add an exercise routine to your day. Strengthen your muscles and you'll gain weight in the right areas. The third reason that weight gain program fail is that they are inconsistent. It will take about three months before you see any results. By consistently focusing on what you are eating, and combining that with exercise, in 12 weeks you should start to see some noticeable results.
Look at where you fall in the following height/weight body chart:
4' 10" 96 lb to 115
4' 11" 99 lb to 119
5' 0" 102 lb to 123
5' 1" 106 lb to 127
5' 2" 109 lb to 131
5' 3" 113 lb to 135
5' 4" 117 lb to 140
5' 5" 120 lb to 144
5' 6" 124 lb to 148
5' 7" 128 lb to 153
5' 8" 132 lb to 158
5' 9" 135 lb to 162
5' 10" 139 lb to 167
5' 11" 143 lb to 172
6' 0" 147 lb to 177
6' 1" 152 lb to 182
6' 2" 156 lb to 187
6' 3" 160 lb to 192
6' 4" 164 lb to 197
The range of weight when matched to height is wide. Where you fall will depend if you are male or female and what type of body you have. If you have a stocky body your weight for your height should fall on the higher end. And if you have a slight body frame your weight should fall at the lower end.
Many people start weight gain programs and soon find they give up when they don't see any results. There are several reasons why many weight gain programs fail. Perhaps the main reason is that people don't eat the right type of food. If you want to gain weight you need to add proteins to your diet instead of just carbohydrates and fats. An improper diet is the number one reason why people fail to gain weight and eventually give up.
The second reason why weight gain often fails is a lack of exercise. To gain weight you need to add an exercise routine to your day. Strengthen your muscles and you'll gain weight in the right areas. The third reason that weight gain program fail is that they are inconsistent. It will take about three months before you see any results. By consistently focusing on what you are eating, and combining that with exercise, in 12 weeks you should start to see some noticeable results.
How to Gain Weight Fast
Information on muscle building and weight gain
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byHow to Build an Impressive Chest
By Jason Ferruggia
Question: I have heard that the bench press is a crappy chest exercise. Is this true? If it sucks, what's better?
Answer: The bench press is a great exercise. If you bench properly, there will be minimal pectoral involvement, however. The triceps and front delts will do most of the work. This is individual and is based on your strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part, your chest will not be doing the majority of the work when you bench press.
Trying to make the bench press target the pecs more by bringing your elbows out wide and lowering the bar up higher on your chest (the way that bodybuilding magazines typically show you how to do it) is a shoulder injury waiting to happen, so that's not an option to even consider. I did these many years ago for a few months before I knew any better and my shoulder has never been the same since. Don't make the same mistakes that I did.
Even though the pecs do not do the majority of work during the bench press I still think it's is a tremendous, if somewhat overused, mass builder for the whole upper body. If you have shoulder issues, however, it should be avoided at all costs, but for everyone else it is one of the great upper-body exercises.
Equally as effective, if not more so, is the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbells allow a more natural range of motion and are much safer. These can be done on a flat bench or an incline bench. The dumbbells also give you the option of pressing with your palms facing down toward your feet (pronated) as they do when you press with a bar or with your palms facing each other, in toward your body. The latter variety places less stress on your shoulders but if you are healthy you could probably use both varieties.
Finally, pushups of all varieties will always remain among my top chest builders. My favorites are weighted blast-strap (blast straps are available at www.EliteFTS.com pushups with the straps set about five feet apart from each other. The function of the pecs is to draw the arms across the midline of the body. By setting the straps far apart from each other, you make the pecs function in this way as you press/pull yourself back up from the bottom position. You have to do it and feel it to appreciate what I'm talking about, but I don't think you will find a better chest exercise than this. If, like Frank Rizzo of the Jerky Boys, you have a chest like a wet blanket, then I highly recommend you give this exercise a try.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
Question: I have heard that the bench press is a crappy chest exercise. Is this true? If it sucks, what's better?
Answer: The bench press is a great exercise. If you bench properly, there will be minimal pectoral involvement, however. The triceps and front delts will do most of the work. This is individual and is based on your strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part, your chest will not be doing the majority of the work when you bench press.
Trying to make the bench press target the pecs more by bringing your elbows out wide and lowering the bar up higher on your chest (the way that bodybuilding magazines typically show you how to do it) is a shoulder injury waiting to happen, so that's not an option to even consider. I did these many years ago for a few months before I knew any better and my shoulder has never been the same since. Don't make the same mistakes that I did.
Even though the pecs do not do the majority of work during the bench press I still think it's is a tremendous, if somewhat overused, mass builder for the whole upper body. If you have shoulder issues, however, it should be avoided at all costs, but for everyone else it is one of the great upper-body exercises.
Equally as effective, if not more so, is the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbells allow a more natural range of motion and are much safer. These can be done on a flat bench or an incline bench. The dumbbells also give you the option of pressing with your palms facing down toward your feet (pronated) as they do when you press with a bar or with your palms facing each other, in toward your body. The latter variety places less stress on your shoulders but if you are healthy you could probably use both varieties.
Finally, pushups of all varieties will always remain among my top chest builders. My favorites are weighted blast-strap (blast straps are available at www.EliteFTS.com pushups with the straps set about five feet apart from each other. The function of the pecs is to draw the arms across the midline of the body. By setting the straps far apart from each other, you make the pecs function in this way as you press/pull yourself back up from the bottom position. You have to do it and feel it to appreciate what I'm talking about, but I don't think you will find a better chest exercise than this. If, like Frank Rizzo of the Jerky Boys, you have a chest like a wet blanket, then I highly recommend you give this exercise a try.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
Muscle Building Interview Part 1
By Jason Ferruggia
Question: Jason, your transformation was pretty incredible going from 147lbs to 231lbs. How much trial and error did you think you went through training wise until you found what really worked?
Answer: Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you. I tried so many different methods and systems it was unbelievable. I actually started out as a beginner on a six day a week high volume body part split. This was back in the 80's so I think I was just looking in the magazines at whatever Shawn Ray or Aaron Baker or Gary Strydom were doing and just copy it exactly. Obviously that didn't work out too well.
I entered high school weighing less than 100 pounds and after four years of training my ass off and growing almost a foot taller, I only weighed 147 pounds at graduation. So obviously, all my experimentation during high school didn't work out to well either.
During those four years I was still doing whatever I could find in the magazines and even ordered some courses like Cybergenics and some other stuff that was popular at the time. I think the first training books I had were the Arnold Encyclopedia and one of Dr. Hatfields. I tried everything I read in both of those.
My experimentation during college was quite extensive and quite varied. I finally stumbled upon the HIT movement and Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. It was like a beacon of light and I adopted that training philosophy immediately. And for the first time I started to really grow, which isn't shocking since I was so grossly overtrained. But as anyone who has had a similar experience can tell you, those gains don't last too long either.
I could be here all day telling you about all the crazy stuff I did but I think it's pretty safe to say that I was in the game and wasted an inordinate amount of time and money for a good ten years before I really figured out what really worked.
Question: It is one thing to find something that works for you personally but you routinely pack 20lbs of muscle on the frames of your clients in spans of only 3 months. How do you get results like when other people seemingly struggle endlessly to get bigger?
Answer: At this point I have been training people for 14 years. During ten of those years I worked with clients for an average of ten hours per day; and twelve hours per day every summer. Now since I was always a C math student I can't tell you how many hours that is right off the top of my head but, take it from me, it's a friggin lot.
When you have that much experience doing anything you are bound to become somewhat proficient at it and just develop a knack for it and for reading people and recognizing commonalities.
Most people are making the same mistakes in their training and nutrition and some even have a faulty belief system that is holding them back. I address each of these issues and we're off and running.
Training is not rocket science not matter how many people try to turn it into that. But figuring it all out isn't simple either.
Question: Everyone nowadays is always worried about getting fat when "bulking up" what are some strategies that you use to ensure that you put on more muscle than fat? Or do you even care?
Answer: Well, first of all, a lot of people that worry about that have a fear that is completely unfounded. If you are an athlete, under twenty years old or both, this is not that great of a concern unless you are eating deep fried chocolate donuts and dipping them in butter six times a day.
I have worked with plenty of guys who could eat whatever they wanted to and could still stay lean. In that case you have no excuse for not being able to pack on twenty pounds in a couple months.
If you have trouble staying lean there are a few adjustments you need to make. First off, you need to make smarter food choices. Eat lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, lean red meat and cottage cheese instead of burgers, hot dogs and pork chops. Next, be sure to keep your carb sources clean as well. This means fruits and veggies are at the top of the list followed by oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. By now everyone knows the benefits of eating good fats like fish oil so I won't bore people to death with that.
If just eating clean is not enough then we move onto more advanced strategies like carb cycling and calorie cycling. This takes some time to explain but to make it really simple for everyone, you should eat more calories and carbs on training days than you do on non training days. Bottom line. Training days are higher calorie days, off days are lower calorie days; pretty simple. Of course it's more complicated than that but that's the gist of it.
Question: What are the biggest mistakes you see people make when trying to pack on muscle? Is it usually related to nutrition or training?
Answer: It's hard to say if it's one or the other because they do go hand in hand. But if I had to pick I would say it's gotta be training. It doesn't matter how great your diet is, if your training sucks, you're not gonna make progress.
But, you know what, I'm not even going to cover the training mistakes that people make because looking at that is missing the bigger picture. You know what the biggest mistake people make really is? The one thing that everyone seems to do these days, especially with all of the conflicting information that is out there?
It is a lack of consistency and a lack of belief in what you are doing. There is so much information out there these days that people don't know who or what to believe. And because of this they are confused. They are constantly reading something different and always in search of the next best thing. They do a workout for a week or two and then read so and so's new article about changing your tempo every rep or some brand new way to fire up the CNS or some nonsense and they try that system. A week or two later they decide that is not working so they switch to something else. And so on and so on.
If you are always changing programs and training philosophies how can you ever make progress? You can't; it's that simple. If you don't believe in what you are doing you will never, ever be successful. That is a universal principle that applies to everything in life. It has to apply to your training if you ever want to make real progress. You can use the crappiest training program in the world but if you are consistent, have the balls to train the way you really should and really and truly believe in what you are doing, you will get results.
Pick a training program, system or philosophy and stick with it; believe in what you are doing and train your ass off. You can't fail if you do that.
Question: Okay so tell us a little about Muscle Gaining Secrets. What makes this stand out from other products?
Answer: Well, first of all I tried to make it more of an entertaining read than a lot of the stuff out there so I included a lot of stories and personal anecdotes that people could relate to. The topics of sets and reps and proteins and carbs can be kind of boring so I try to spice it up a little bit.
Aside from that, I have tried to make it as simple to understand as possible while still including information that will help anyone from a raw beginner to an advanced lifter. I have had guys who have trained for over twenty years tell me that they learned quite a bit from reading Muscle Gaining Secrets, which makes me very happy to hear. If I can do that while not alienating beginners, then I know I achieved the goal I set out to accomplish.
I have included some unique methods of periodization which have rarely been covered. I detail every single mistake that people make in their training and show how these can be avoided. And of course, a book from me wouldn't be complete without getting politically incorrect and calling bullshit where I see it. I definitely expose a lot of the gimmicks and nonsense that is out there and do my best to help people save time and money and avoid making all the same mistakes that I did.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
Question: Jason, your transformation was pretty incredible going from 147lbs to 231lbs. How much trial and error did you think you went through training wise until you found what really worked?
Answer: Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you. I tried so many different methods and systems it was unbelievable. I actually started out as a beginner on a six day a week high volume body part split. This was back in the 80's so I think I was just looking in the magazines at whatever Shawn Ray or Aaron Baker or Gary Strydom were doing and just copy it exactly. Obviously that didn't work out too well.
I entered high school weighing less than 100 pounds and after four years of training my ass off and growing almost a foot taller, I only weighed 147 pounds at graduation. So obviously, all my experimentation during high school didn't work out to well either.
During those four years I was still doing whatever I could find in the magazines and even ordered some courses like Cybergenics and some other stuff that was popular at the time. I think the first training books I had were the Arnold Encyclopedia and one of Dr. Hatfields. I tried everything I read in both of those.
My experimentation during college was quite extensive and quite varied. I finally stumbled upon the HIT movement and Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. It was like a beacon of light and I adopted that training philosophy immediately. And for the first time I started to really grow, which isn't shocking since I was so grossly overtrained. But as anyone who has had a similar experience can tell you, those gains don't last too long either.
I could be here all day telling you about all the crazy stuff I did but I think it's pretty safe to say that I was in the game and wasted an inordinate amount of time and money for a good ten years before I really figured out what really worked.
Question: It is one thing to find something that works for you personally but you routinely pack 20lbs of muscle on the frames of your clients in spans of only 3 months. How do you get results like when other people seemingly struggle endlessly to get bigger?
Answer: At this point I have been training people for 14 years. During ten of those years I worked with clients for an average of ten hours per day; and twelve hours per day every summer. Now since I was always a C math student I can't tell you how many hours that is right off the top of my head but, take it from me, it's a friggin lot.
When you have that much experience doing anything you are bound to become somewhat proficient at it and just develop a knack for it and for reading people and recognizing commonalities.
Most people are making the same mistakes in their training and nutrition and some even have a faulty belief system that is holding them back. I address each of these issues and we're off and running.
Training is not rocket science not matter how many people try to turn it into that. But figuring it all out isn't simple either.
Question: Everyone nowadays is always worried about getting fat when "bulking up" what are some strategies that you use to ensure that you put on more muscle than fat? Or do you even care?
Answer: Well, first of all, a lot of people that worry about that have a fear that is completely unfounded. If you are an athlete, under twenty years old or both, this is not that great of a concern unless you are eating deep fried chocolate donuts and dipping them in butter six times a day.
I have worked with plenty of guys who could eat whatever they wanted to and could still stay lean. In that case you have no excuse for not being able to pack on twenty pounds in a couple months.
If you have trouble staying lean there are a few adjustments you need to make. First off, you need to make smarter food choices. Eat lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, lean red meat and cottage cheese instead of burgers, hot dogs and pork chops. Next, be sure to keep your carb sources clean as well. This means fruits and veggies are at the top of the list followed by oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. By now everyone knows the benefits of eating good fats like fish oil so I won't bore people to death with that.
If just eating clean is not enough then we move onto more advanced strategies like carb cycling and calorie cycling. This takes some time to explain but to make it really simple for everyone, you should eat more calories and carbs on training days than you do on non training days. Bottom line. Training days are higher calorie days, off days are lower calorie days; pretty simple. Of course it's more complicated than that but that's the gist of it.
Question: What are the biggest mistakes you see people make when trying to pack on muscle? Is it usually related to nutrition or training?
Answer: It's hard to say if it's one or the other because they do go hand in hand. But if I had to pick I would say it's gotta be training. It doesn't matter how great your diet is, if your training sucks, you're not gonna make progress.
But, you know what, I'm not even going to cover the training mistakes that people make because looking at that is missing the bigger picture. You know what the biggest mistake people make really is? The one thing that everyone seems to do these days, especially with all of the conflicting information that is out there?
It is a lack of consistency and a lack of belief in what you are doing. There is so much information out there these days that people don't know who or what to believe. And because of this they are confused. They are constantly reading something different and always in search of the next best thing. They do a workout for a week or two and then read so and so's new article about changing your tempo every rep or some brand new way to fire up the CNS or some nonsense and they try that system. A week or two later they decide that is not working so they switch to something else. And so on and so on.
If you are always changing programs and training philosophies how can you ever make progress? You can't; it's that simple. If you don't believe in what you are doing you will never, ever be successful. That is a universal principle that applies to everything in life. It has to apply to your training if you ever want to make real progress. You can use the crappiest training program in the world but if you are consistent, have the balls to train the way you really should and really and truly believe in what you are doing, you will get results.
Pick a training program, system or philosophy and stick with it; believe in what you are doing and train your ass off. You can't fail if you do that.
Question: Okay so tell us a little about Muscle Gaining Secrets. What makes this stand out from other products?
Answer: Well, first of all I tried to make it more of an entertaining read than a lot of the stuff out there so I included a lot of stories and personal anecdotes that people could relate to. The topics of sets and reps and proteins and carbs can be kind of boring so I try to spice it up a little bit.
Aside from that, I have tried to make it as simple to understand as possible while still including information that will help anyone from a raw beginner to an advanced lifter. I have had guys who have trained for over twenty years tell me that they learned quite a bit from reading Muscle Gaining Secrets, which makes me very happy to hear. If I can do that while not alienating beginners, then I know I achieved the goal I set out to accomplish.
I have included some unique methods of periodization which have rarely been covered. I detail every single mistake that people make in their training and show how these can be avoided. And of course, a book from me wouldn't be complete without getting politically incorrect and calling bullshit where I see it. I definitely expose a lot of the gimmicks and nonsense that is out there and do my best to help people save time and money and avoid making all the same mistakes that I did.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
Muscle Building Interview Part 2
By Jason Ferruggia
Question: You are known in the industry as the go-to coach if you are looking to gain strength and put on muscle size. Can you first just give a little background about how you came to your training philosophy?
Answer: I started out training in middle school and was taking the advice of a nearly 300lb pro wrestler whom my cousin was dating at the time. I didn't know it then but he was obviously juiced to the gills. He wrote me a program and I got nowhere. This road continued all through high school as I continued to get advice from the muscle mags and whatever else was popular at the time. Eventually I broadened my horizons and started to look elsewhere. I began reading about what a lot of the old timers did before anabolic steroids became popular. I also studied the methods of every popular strength coach and trainer at the time. I read everything I could get my hands on, went to seminars, did internships and basically just became a sponge for training knowledge.
I opened up my own private training facility in the mid 90's and trained over 500 clients there during the 11 years that I ran it. Most of my clients were athletes with a small percentage being general population people just looking to get bigger and stronger. Through all those years of experience working with that many people I came to some pretty strong conclusions about what works for building size and strength, fast.
Question: There is a lot of conflicting training advice out there online, in books, on TV and especially in magazines. What do you think the top myths or misconceptions regarding weight training are?
Answer: That you need a high volume of training. This is a myth that has been passed down from one generation to the next and people continue to blindly follow this protocol without thinking rationally. There is no hard evidence anywhere that you need to use high volume training to get bigger and stronger. Sure lots of guys with great genetics and/or a great pharmacist make progress on high volume training but that doesn't mean it's the right way to train.
That you need to hit muscles from a multitude of angles for full development.
That you need a full dynamic warm up before weight training. You don't. Before sprinting, yes; before lifting, no.
That bodypart splits are the most effective way to train.
Another misconception is that you need a boatload of supplements to make great progress. The bottom line truth is that most supplements suck and do nothing but drain your wallet.
Another sad misconception is that you can't make great progress without steroids. This is a self defeatist attitude and is simply not true.
Question: Other comments that I have heard coaches say are that the only way to put on any muscle size, is really going to be based on genetics. So they are saying for example that skinny kids can't and will never be able to put on size.
Answer: That's the biggest copout under the sun and an excuse that really makes me sick. Genetics are responsible for how far you may eventually go but the fact of the matter is most people will never truly reach their genetic potential. If you use this excuse it shows the world that you have no heart whatsoever and are destined for failure. Using the hard-gainer excuse as a crutch will guarantee you sub par results in your training from now til eternity.
I have some of the worst muscle building genetics imaginable but I never let that hold me back. I have also trained some genetic misfits who made incredible progress and eventually were getting asked what steroids they were on. This is because they had the balls to train like they needed to and had the dedication to eat and rest as much as was needed. Most people simply don't have what it takes; so the only genetic capacity they may be missing is mental toughness.
For a coach or trainer to say or write that is even worse than just the average trainee or athlete saying that. Making a comment like that shows that you have no heart and no balls, and in that case you should never, EVER be coaching or training ANYONE!
Question: It has been said as you get older it get harder and harder to put on size and strength. Some even say that it can't be done. What do you say to older athletes or even coaches that say this?
Answer: This is just like the hard-gainer excuse; it's nonsense. One of my good friends is named Mark Crook (his brother Paul played guitar in Anthrax for seven years and is now lead guitarist for Meatloaf) and we first met right after his 40th birthday when he came to me to help him get bigger and stronger. He took his bench from 155 to 275 in one year and gained over 20lbs of muscle. Mark's enthusiasm led to a friend of his coming in to my gym a year later and he experienced similar gains. I have had several guys in their 40's and 50's experience tremendous gains in size and strength over the years.
It may not happen as fast and as easily as it does for a 20 year old but it can be done. You just have to take into account that your recovery ability may be a bit lower and as such you need to keep your volume lower and be very smart with your training.
Also, you have to remember that most guys don't even hit their strength peak til sometime around 30 or so. Most of the biggest and strongest guys I know are all in their mid to late 30's. So the day you hit 40, this doesn't just do a complete 180 and you shouldn't be on your training deathbed at 50. Just keep training hard and if you believe you will get stronger then you will.
Question: How about softer chubby or overweight athletes that want to increase strength and muscle mass without looking big and bloated?
Answer: This is a little tougher situation than the skinny ripped guy. You have to be smarter about food choices here and have to do a decent amount of energy system work. If you are above 15% bodyfat you should probably consider getting leaner first and then look to start gaining some muscle mass. When you are fatter your insulin sensitivity is lower, meaning that you don't tolerate carbs as well and the ingestion of them is more likely to lead to body fat accumulation. In this situation I would recommend keeping carbs low and doing some interval training a few days per week until you get lean enough to switch into a muscle building phase.
That is not to say that you can't gain strength while getting leaner, though. If you are an athlete you don't have the luxury of doing typical fat loss workouts and instead need to keep getting faster and stronger. Train like you normally would for size and strength, do your interval training, and keep the diet tight and you will be able to get stronger while getting leaner. Certain lifts like your squat may go down due to you losing some of the favorable leverage that comes with increased abdominal girth, but for the most part you should be able to gain or at the very least, maintain strength while dieting.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
Question: You are known in the industry as the go-to coach if you are looking to gain strength and put on muscle size. Can you first just give a little background about how you came to your training philosophy?
Answer: I started out training in middle school and was taking the advice of a nearly 300lb pro wrestler whom my cousin was dating at the time. I didn't know it then but he was obviously juiced to the gills. He wrote me a program and I got nowhere. This road continued all through high school as I continued to get advice from the muscle mags and whatever else was popular at the time. Eventually I broadened my horizons and started to look elsewhere. I began reading about what a lot of the old timers did before anabolic steroids became popular. I also studied the methods of every popular strength coach and trainer at the time. I read everything I could get my hands on, went to seminars, did internships and basically just became a sponge for training knowledge.
I opened up my own private training facility in the mid 90's and trained over 500 clients there during the 11 years that I ran it. Most of my clients were athletes with a small percentage being general population people just looking to get bigger and stronger. Through all those years of experience working with that many people I came to some pretty strong conclusions about what works for building size and strength, fast.
Question: There is a lot of conflicting training advice out there online, in books, on TV and especially in magazines. What do you think the top myths or misconceptions regarding weight training are?
Answer: That you need a high volume of training. This is a myth that has been passed down from one generation to the next and people continue to blindly follow this protocol without thinking rationally. There is no hard evidence anywhere that you need to use high volume training to get bigger and stronger. Sure lots of guys with great genetics and/or a great pharmacist make progress on high volume training but that doesn't mean it's the right way to train.
That you need to hit muscles from a multitude of angles for full development.
That you need a full dynamic warm up before weight training. You don't. Before sprinting, yes; before lifting, no.
That bodypart splits are the most effective way to train.
Another misconception is that you need a boatload of supplements to make great progress. The bottom line truth is that most supplements suck and do nothing but drain your wallet.
Another sad misconception is that you can't make great progress without steroids. This is a self defeatist attitude and is simply not true.
Question: Other comments that I have heard coaches say are that the only way to put on any muscle size, is really going to be based on genetics. So they are saying for example that skinny kids can't and will never be able to put on size.
Answer: That's the biggest copout under the sun and an excuse that really makes me sick. Genetics are responsible for how far you may eventually go but the fact of the matter is most people will never truly reach their genetic potential. If you use this excuse it shows the world that you have no heart whatsoever and are destined for failure. Using the hard-gainer excuse as a crutch will guarantee you sub par results in your training from now til eternity.
I have some of the worst muscle building genetics imaginable but I never let that hold me back. I have also trained some genetic misfits who made incredible progress and eventually were getting asked what steroids they were on. This is because they had the balls to train like they needed to and had the dedication to eat and rest as much as was needed. Most people simply don't have what it takes; so the only genetic capacity they may be missing is mental toughness.
For a coach or trainer to say or write that is even worse than just the average trainee or athlete saying that. Making a comment like that shows that you have no heart and no balls, and in that case you should never, EVER be coaching or training ANYONE!
Question: It has been said as you get older it get harder and harder to put on size and strength. Some even say that it can't be done. What do you say to older athletes or even coaches that say this?
Answer: This is just like the hard-gainer excuse; it's nonsense. One of my good friends is named Mark Crook (his brother Paul played guitar in Anthrax for seven years and is now lead guitarist for Meatloaf) and we first met right after his 40th birthday when he came to me to help him get bigger and stronger. He took his bench from 155 to 275 in one year and gained over 20lbs of muscle. Mark's enthusiasm led to a friend of his coming in to my gym a year later and he experienced similar gains. I have had several guys in their 40's and 50's experience tremendous gains in size and strength over the years.
It may not happen as fast and as easily as it does for a 20 year old but it can be done. You just have to take into account that your recovery ability may be a bit lower and as such you need to keep your volume lower and be very smart with your training.
Also, you have to remember that most guys don't even hit their strength peak til sometime around 30 or so. Most of the biggest and strongest guys I know are all in their mid to late 30's. So the day you hit 40, this doesn't just do a complete 180 and you shouldn't be on your training deathbed at 50. Just keep training hard and if you believe you will get stronger then you will.
Question: How about softer chubby or overweight athletes that want to increase strength and muscle mass without looking big and bloated?
Answer: This is a little tougher situation than the skinny ripped guy. You have to be smarter about food choices here and have to do a decent amount of energy system work. If you are above 15% bodyfat you should probably consider getting leaner first and then look to start gaining some muscle mass. When you are fatter your insulin sensitivity is lower, meaning that you don't tolerate carbs as well and the ingestion of them is more likely to lead to body fat accumulation. In this situation I would recommend keeping carbs low and doing some interval training a few days per week until you get lean enough to switch into a muscle building phase.
That is not to say that you can't gain strength while getting leaner, though. If you are an athlete you don't have the luxury of doing typical fat loss workouts and instead need to keep getting faster and stronger. Train like you normally would for size and strength, do your interval training, and keep the diet tight and you will be able to get stronger while getting leaner. Certain lifts like your squat may go down due to you losing some of the favorable leverage that comes with increased abdominal girth, but for the most part you should be able to gain or at the very least, maintain strength while dieting.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com
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Please leave your comments
im skinny
hi,
ive been thinking lately that im too skinny for my height!
i want be gain more weight, I've been reading alot of articles on how to gain weight but none of these work! ive even tried to buy food supplements, nothing WORK!!! i want to build up muscles!!!
HELP me!
please send me letter on how to gain weight!
this is my email add: chuck_tallud@yahoo.com
thanks aloT!
Posted September 21, 2008
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