Im a highschool student whose been lifting almost religiously for the past 3 years and have found that i fall into the hard gainer category. Ive always felt its my nutrition and not my work ethic or workout program that is my weak link. Does anyone have any advice for my out of the gym nutrition and supplement routine?
Thanks Alot,
Dean
advice #1: read t-mag
advice #2: read massive eating, go to johnberardi.com and use his calorie calculator, or calculate it by hand in massive eating part 1. now, eat more than these calories every day. keep a food log, and buh buh buh booya, you will probably start gaining…
post your normal diet/workout info etc, you’ve got to give more info.
anyway figure out how much calories you need to eat, then eat alot more than this every day, if that doesn’t work you might be an alien:)
peace
I think everyone will agree, for any real help your going to have to post some of your current stats, Workout routine and diet, then theres always plently of people on T-nation willing to help
Heres my info and stats:
Age 17
6’1" 165lbs (hardgainer)
Deadlift: 315 x 5 reps
bench: 225
squat: 260
my daily protein is usually 180 grams with protein shakes. I havent been keeping track of anything except my protein and i take a glutamine supplement.
MY Splits:
Mon- legs/neck
Tues- Bis/Tris/forearms
Wed- chest
thurs- shoulders/abs
Fri- back
My workout is centered around moderate reps (7-10) and low rep powerlifting sets for bench, deadlift, and squat. Also alot of assisted burnout reps are used.
Are you partcipating in sports at your high school? Your program isn’t something we’d use for sports. I’d be surprised if you aren’t playing sports. Where did you get infomation for your program?
[quote]dean12345 wrote:
Heres my info and stats:
I havent been keeping track of anything except my protein[/quote]
There’s your problem right there. You need to figure out how much carb/fat intake you need per day and make sure you meet that.
I think that hardgainers are basically fulfilling a self-prophecy.
The reason why they are not gaining is that they worry so much about making gains that they talk themselves into the following:
Step 1 : making so much cortisol that they enter a catabolic state.
Step 2: further making so much cortisol, that they start "stealing "some of their own pregnenolone for making more cortisol. This condition of pregnenolone steal deplete the raw material for making DHEA which is the precursor to testosterone synthesis.
Step 3: Because they fail to make gains because of steps 1 and 2, they start having low energy in the morning because the adrenals are too fatigued to make enough cortisol in the morning to have sufficient energy.
In other words, worrying about gains leads to self-castration through the thought process.
I would have you use the following supplements to modulate the hormones properly.
For example in the case of the catabolic hormone cortisol: Phosphatidyl serine is used when cortisol are too high. 800mg after training would do the trick
Licore root is used when cortisol are too low, this is usually reflected by drops in energy levels. Too low of a cortisol level in the morning is often reflected by difficulty in waking up. Licorice root cream may be prescribed in the morning to prolong the half-life of the cortisol so that energy levels pick up.
If his androgens are low, you can address them through different pathways, using botanicals or neuro-transmitters. Such as Power Drive before workouts.
Botanicals: There are many herbs that can increase testosterone. The fact is that they only work for 10-14 days. In other words they have to be rotated.
The herb list is quite exhaustive, to name a few: Suma, Korean ginseng, Jiaogulan, Maca, Muira Puima, Tribulus Terristris, Catuaba, etc…
Deer antlers which are obviously not an herb and the herb Avena sativa are also very good at increasing free testosterone, not so much the total testosterone count. These herbs tend to work better when used in combinations which respect the energetics of the herbs.
Coming back to cortisol, there are other products that help control it, the amino acid glycine works wells so does Reishi mushroom extracts. Even the liver herb Kudzu does a great job at detoxifying cortisol and raising IGF-1 levels.
What about eating?
Most hardgainers are so worried about getting fat that they end up having the caloric intake of a circus rat. To get big , you have to eat big.
Hard gainers should insure to have a pig out day every 5th day, where they consume at least 50% more calories than their normal intake.
I would suggest you alternate between solid meals and liquid meals. Do not rely solely on liquid meals though.
From experience, the more solid food you can eat the more lean mass you will gain.
The only meal that definitely should be liquid should the post-workout feed. At your bodyweight, it should have about 40 grams of protein and 150 grams of high glycemic carbs such as grape juice, pineapple juice, maltodextrin blends, For post-workouts feedings, whey has definitely a winning edge over other proteins. For post-workout feeds, a rapid rate of gastric emptying is crucial to take advantage of the window of opportunity for muscle recovery, therefore whey is best. I would also include 30 grams of bovine colostrums to the post-workout blend, if your budget allows it. It does favor a faster rate of recovery.
For people who have a low appetite, I also recommend digestive enzyme blends taken right before the meal or during the meal.
If you have a low appetite before breakfast, as soon as you wake up drink a small glass of an acidic juice such as orange or grapefruit. Within 10 minutes your appetite should be up.
Cold appetizers such as refrigerated soft-boiled eggs and celery can also serve to increase the appetite.
Deficiencies in vitamins of the B-complex group have also been linked to low appetite, so take a well balanced multiple vitamin/mineral supplement in the form of capsules throughout the day. Stay away from vitamin tablets as they often go through the digestive only partially digested. Capsules are easily broken in the digestive track and therefore their contents are better absorbed.
Periactin is an over the counter product that is often recommended by pharmacists to increase appetite.
In the more enlightened training circles, when the appetite is low the following herbal supplements are recommended : Gentian root, Fennel seeds, Cardammon, Muira Puama, and Rhodiola rosea.
Supplementing with MCT oil is another way to increase the caloric intake rapidly.
When a trainee has limited recovery ability, I suggest this type of split when they want to pack on the pounds.
Phase 1.
Repeat each workout 6 times and then go and do the same for phase 2.
Monday & Friday
A-1 Back Squats 2 x 15-20 reps on 2010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
A-2 Lying leg curls feet inward 2 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
B-1 Parallel Bar Dips 2 x 10-12 reps on 3010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
B-2 Close Parallel Grip Chin-ups 2 x 8-10 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
C-1 Incline Dumbbell Presses 2 x 10-12 reps on 3010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
C-2 Seated Cable Rowing 2 x 8-10 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
D-1 Decline Triceps EZ Bar Extensions 2 x 10-12 reps on 3110 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
D-2 Incline Dumbbell Curls 2 x 8-10 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
E-1 Standing Calf Raises 2 x 10-12 reps on 2210 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
E-2 low Cable Pull-ins 2 x 10-12 reps on 2020 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
Wednesday
A-1 Back Squats 3 x 15-20 reps on 2010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
A-2 Lying leg curls 3 x 6-8 reps on 3010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
B-1 Back Step-ups 2 x 15-20 reps on 10X0 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
B-2 Reverse Hypers2 x 12-15 reps on 2012 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
C-1 Incline Barbell Presses 2 x 10-12 reps on 3010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
C-2 Supinated Chin-ups 2 x 8-10 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
D-1 Decline Dumbbell Presses 2 x 10-12 reps on 3010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
D-2 One Arm Dumbbell Rows 2 x 8-10 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 75 seconds
E-1 Seated Calf Raises 2 x 15-20 reps on 2010 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
E-2 Twisting Crunches on Swiss Ball 2 x 10-12 reps on 2020 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
Phase 2.
Monday & Friday
A-1 Front Squats 3 x 4-6 reps on 5010 tempo, rest interval 120 seconds
A-2 Lying leg curls feet outward 3 x 4-6 reps on 5010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
B-1 Cambered Bar Bench Presses 3 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
B-2 Lean-away Chin-ups 3 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
C-1 Seated Dumbbell Presses 3 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
C-2 Incline Hammer Curls 3 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
D-1 One Leg Calf Raises 2 x 8-10 reps on 2110 tempo, rest interval 70 seconds
D-2 Twisting Garhammer Raises 2 x 10-12 reps on 2010 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
Wednesday
A-1 Bent-Knee Barbell Deadlifts, 4 sets: 8,6,4,4 reps tempo, rest interval 180 seconds
B-1 Half-Deadlifts in Rack + Shrugs, 3 x 6-8 reps tempo 2110 rest interval 180 seconds
C-1 Decline Barbell Presses 3 x 6-8 reps on 3110 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
C-2 Subscapularis Pull-ups 3 x 6-8 reps on 4010 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
D-1 Standing Pause EZ-Bar Reverse Curls 3 x 6-8 reps on 2210 tempo, rest interval 90 seconds
D-2 Palms up wrist curls 2 x 10-12 reps on 2010 tempo, rest interval 60 seconds
Some extra tips.
First stop reading hard gaining articles and believing that you are a loser in the weight room.
Second, develop a positive outlook. There are plenty of books that deal with developing a positive mental outlook.
Third eradicate negativism.
Set yourself goals, such as Body weight goals.
If your interested i also have a workout log of my own in the strength training area.
Good Luck!!
Great post dwain! You should really package that up and submit it as an article - I haven’t seen a lot of hardgainer stuff here and that’s a really comprehensive post. Very nice.
[quote]dean12345 wrote:
Heres my info and stats:
Age 17
6’1" 165lbs (hardgainer)
Deadlift: 315 x 5 reps
bench: 225
squat: 260
my daily protein is usually 180 grams with protein shakes.[/quote]
EAT MORE FOOD DAMNIT. 180 grams is a snack. drink your milk and beat your meat. I mean eat. eat your . . . forget it.