5 Ways for Skinny Guys to Bulk Up
Amelia Morgan provides some useful tips that can help you pack on a bit of muscle and begin your journey towards getting stronger and muscular.
For years you have had the struggle of being the skinny guy out of the lads' group. Whether you feel frustrated for being easy to target when it comes to competitive events or not being able to fill out your clothing to the fit that you want, you have probably come to the point where you feel the need to change all this.
Different body types require different body goals. For this particular article, we will be looking at people who have something that is considered an ectomorphic body frame.
Common characteristics for these include:
- Being tall and lean in shape
- Someone who finds it difficult to gain muscle and fat
- An increased metabolism
- Have the body shape of a marathon runner
Sound familiar? It can be a large struggle to gain weight as a skinny guy, particularly if you have a high metabolism which has been the cause for your slim figure up to this date. But there are useful tips we can introduce you to that can help you pack on a bit of muscle and begin your journey towards getting stronger and muscular.
Hello Egg Whites
It is pretty common knowledge that if you are looking to increase your muscle mass, you are going to need protein in your diet. How much protein you need to incorporate in your diet can vary from person to person but a good estimate is around 1g per pound of your body weight.
Protein influences the growth of your muscles because they release amino acids
that impact their size. Even if you are having a rest day for the week, continue to have protein as it can help in your recovery period as the body will continue to build muscle regardless of if you are still working out.
There are many foods that you can have that contain high levels of protein. A common source for regular gym-goers is egg whites but you can also find them in seafood, chicken, dairy products such as milk and beans
Bulk up with carbs
The main purpose of your carbohydrate intake is to make sure you have enough energy to sustain your workouts and go for high-intensity workouts for longer periods. Before a workout, try to have a carbohydrate-heavy meal like a bowl of pasta or rice, and then finish it with a meal that has a mixture of carbs and protein to help restore the carbohydrates that you have used and replenish your muscles. A good example of a post-workout meal would be chicken and rice with some mixed vegetables.
Remember that a good healthy diet should continue even on your days off. But, as a person with a slim/skinny build, you should not fear gaining a little fat as this will influence your overall body transformation as you look to bulk up.
Increase your nitric oxide intake
It is common for newbies at the gym to be skeptical about taking digestive health supplements.
When you are looking to be a regular at your local fitness group, you tend to have an impatience for wanting results and therefore look for quick wins with supplements. Nitrous oxide in particular is a great supplement that can be used to increase your performance during workouts and increase your muscle mass.
Other benefits of the supplement include increasing your recovery period by improving blood flow and helping you to maintain healthy cell growth. From a healing perspective, this can be highly beneficial as sometimes it can be common to feel a twist or tear while you are working out which heavily impacts cartilage tissues that take the longest to heal.
The doubt that tends to be cast over them is they can come with side effects and influence your general wellbeing. As such, there are regulators and resources out there that can help you to choose the right supplement. Scams reviews is a website that can help you to compare different supplements and choose which one is best for you depending on their ingredients and price.
Consider a protein shake between workouts
Looking after your body through what you eat tends to be important before and after your workout. However, it can be just as important during your workout to help you with a burst of energy to maintain your intensity during workouts.
One way to achieve this is by having a protein shake during your workout. It is of course important to keep hydrated during your workout, but absorbing more carbohydrates and protein quickly can be achieved by having a shake during your workout. It is also a great way to avoid feeling a bit nauseous if you have had a large meal beforehand; a shake can feel more settling in your stomach whilst gaining a similar amount of protein and carbohydrate intake from a normal meal.
Make notes of your workouts and what you are eating
This can not be stressed enough when it comes to keeping track of your progress. Having a food and workout journal
will provide you with a better understanding of your progression and what is working for you. Similar to counting your calories, you can determine whether you are eating right and training correctly based on the notes you make and what you are eating.
If you find that after a couple of weeks or months that your weight is remaining relatively the same, this means you are not acquiring the required protein and carbohydrates through your diet to increase your weight. The meals that are recorded in your food diary will give you better insight into what meals work well for your body and which do not.
Reaching your goals
The steps provided above are sure ways you can quickly see results in your body transformation. Incorporate these steps to increase your carbohydrate and protein intake, keeping a record of what you are eating and how you are training, and adding nitrous oxide to your diet can all influence your muscle mass increase. The most important thing is being strict with your routine and sticking with what works for you. Before you know it, you will begin to see changes in your body that you have always wanted.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- MORGAN, A. (2020) 5 Ways for Skinny Guys to Bulk Up [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article532.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Amelia Morgan is an SEO expert and a freelance journalist.