Skinny, weak, skeleton, stick thin, bony, anorexic, embarrassed, and underweight are all words that I heard people saying about me. Luckily, not anymore! I have gained 10 pounds of muscle within 6 months and was able to sustain it. Yes! I did it and I was thrilled and encouraged to share my knowledge and experience with the skinny guys out there. I discovered that we are capable of sculpting our bodies the way we want; however, we need to have the right tools. For every problem that every busy thin guy faces there is a crunchy solution. Here are two of the most common problems that skinny guys face:

DIET! We always hear Bulk, bulk, bulk! Eating a half pounder and pizza every day will NOT get you the results you want. It is not about eating more, it is about what and when to eat your meals during the day. There are too many diets and nutrition plans for guys willing to add some muscle weight, it’s overwhelming and exhausting to keep up. Thin slicing our diet throughout the day will help us understand what we are doing wrong and change our skinny diets. Consider the following healthy breakfast; 3 scrambled eggs ( yes, with the yolk) with a slice of turkey, 2 slices of whole wheat bread, a cup of black coffee, and a cup of fresh fruit to get your potassium. Not big fan of eggs, replace the eggs with one serving of yogurt. For morning snack, have a stick of string cheese. Next, a muscle building lunch is essential! Try the turkey quinoa burrito, a meal that will ensure you get the lean protein you deserve. Feeling hungry in the afternoon, have a handful of almonds to satisfy your hunger. Finally for dinner, a tasty steak avocado salad with olive oil and lemon juice is a great source of vitamins and friendly fat (Tip: Low carb dinner is essential to avoid adding belly fat). Combining this diet plan with a great workout plan, which I will discuss next, will make sure you get leaner, stronger, and healthier.

WORKOUT! Lost and intimated at the gym: Most gym beginners don’t know what to do at the gym. They’re thinking, “ Is this the right form or, how to use this machine?” Knowing what to do and how to work out is the first step towards getting the results you WANT. Be informed and have a timed work out and a planned schedule to achieve your goal. Gaining muscle weight takes time and needs your focus. Determine a realistic goal, let’s say you want to gain between 6 to 10 pounds of muscle. Well, first, it’s important to focus on large muscle groups in order to notice difference in the first two to three weeks. Trapezoids, chest, and quads are the largest muscle groups in your body and focusing on these first will allow you to notice some definition and muscle gain. For your back, dumbbell rows are great, start with a comfortable weight for the first time so you don’t loose the correct form, and then add weight enough to feel heavy. Studies have shown that novice lifters tend to train with lighter weights, not enough to build muscles. For your chest, bench presses are great. No weights, fine, screw them! Do push-ups with some weight on your back like a backpack. The next big thing are squats, they rock! You don’t have to worry about knee injuries if you simply get in shoulder width position, stick your butt way back, drop down your thighs until they’re parallel to the ground and come right back up, that’s one rep. Start with 12 dumbbell rows, 20 push ups, and 12 squats with no rest in between. Do three circuits with 60 to 90 seconds of rest between each circuit. Add five pounds to the dumbbells and increase your push-up reps every week to challenge your body and build new muscle fibers. In 4 to 6 weeks you should notice some definition and muscle gain.

Finally, I hope that sharing my personal experience with training and bulking will help the skinny guys out there who are trying to get bigger and stronger. How about you? Do any of you guys have similar experience? How would you have done things differently?
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