You often hear that skinny guys, aka “hardgainers,” should do nothing but the big power lifts.
That’s sh*t advice.
Most “hardgainers” have pencil necks, pipe cleaner forearms, string bean calves and tiny joints. They’re also tight and immobile. All this is what makes you a “hardgainer.”
If being skinny was your only issue but you had big joints and the right structure for big lifts getting jacked would be easy. You could do any of those typical programs and you’d feel great and get huge.
But you don’t, so you won’t.
If you want to do big lifts as a hardgainer you have to sequence them properly and use more joint-friendly variations.
That’s how I always program them.
And you CAN get really strong and jacked without a barbell.
To illustrate my point lets go from head to toe looking at the best methods to grow each muscle group.
NECK- No bar needed.
TRAPS- Farmers walks build huge traps.
BACK- Chins for lats, dumbbell and inverted rows for upper back.
CHEST- DB presses, dips, and pushups are superior to barbell presses. Most bodybuilders never bench.
SHOULDERS- If you do a lot of the pressing and pulling exercises mentioned above you don’t need much overhead pressing. But doing it with dumbbells is safer and more effective a bar.
BICEPS- DB curl variations are safer on your wrists and elbows than a bar. Chins, inverted rows and rope climbs are awesome for biceps.
TRICEPS- No bar needed. Dips, close grip push up, HSPU, DB floor press.
QUADS- Cyclists and speed skaters build huge quads. Quads grow with a ton of reps. So you don’t need to go heavy. Lots of single-leg work and sleds can cover it.
LOW BACK, GLUTES, HAMSTRINGS- DB RDL, glute ham raise, back raise, reverse hyper, swing, hip thrust.
I program in a way that still gives you the option to use a bar if you want. But in a way that won’t destroy you like other workouts do.
Joint-friendly training that gets you jacked:
https://jasonferruggia.com/renstrong/
Jay Ferruggia
