Hardgainer

Not getting the results you're seeking in the gym? In this episode I'm gonna give you the TRUTH about how to get jacked and lean as a hardgainer. continue reading.

Are you an Ectomorph, Endomorph or Mesomorph? If you don’t know and understand your body type it’s likely that you’re not optimizing your nutrition and training. If you wanna learn how to reach your health and fitness goals faster don’t miss this episode of the #RenegadeRadioPodcast with Dr. Stephen Cabral. Stephen is a Board Certified Naturopathic Doctor, Functional Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine Practitioner and Certified Strength and Conditioning Professional. He’s also the host of “The Cabral Concept” podcast and he’s the author of outstanding books such as “A Man’s Guide to Muscle and Strength” and the Amazon Best Seller “The… continue reading.

A lot of strength training purists argue that isolation exercises are useless. If we’re talking about a raw beginner I’d agree. Compound exercises that incorporate the most muscle will always be best. You don’t need anything else at the newbie stage. Later on things change. Isolation exercises can help create balance and prevent injury. They also help build muscle. I tried the “all-big-lifts” programs for years and all I ever got was hurt. And fat. I barely even looked like I lifted. It’s great… continue reading.

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… continue reading.

Aside from your neck, the muscles that get exposed to the world more than any other are your forearms. So it’s a probably a good idea for them to be jacked, or least look halfway decent. A lot of guys with average to above average genetics will never need to do any direct forearm work and their forearms will grow just fine from presses and pulls. The rest of us won’t be so lucky. It’s funny because the common message preached to skinny hardgainers is to forget isolation training and only focus on compound lifts. This is… continue reading.

As you may know by now I suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum that required surgery. The injury was a long time in the making and the destruction of my shoulder began many years ago when I was doing stupid things like isometronic training in the power rack and other high risk, low reward methods. Before surgery I was sitting at about 227 pounds. After several months of being incapacitated and eating like a normal human I was down to 179! Like I’ve always said, my hardgainer genetics are freakishly bad. Hell, my wrists don’t even measure seven inches… continue reading.

I always advise all beginners and hardgainers to concentrate on making linear progress (either by adding more reps or more weight) at each and every workout. Add a rep or a plate and you will make pretty consistent gains for quite a while. This is one of the key components to the Muscle Gaining Secrets program. Eventually, however, you’ll no longer be a beginner or a hardgainer and then the whole game changes. It will become more and more difficult to make linear progress on a consistent basis. This can be hard to accept at first and become quite… continue reading.