3 Quick & Dirty Hardgainer Tips
Here are three useful tips to keep in mind if you are a hardgainer who wants a beefier body:
1. Lift heavy and to failure. Your ectomorph body will likely be naturally gifted at cardio and light weights, which means doing more of this won’t get you the results you seek. Instead, do some full-body, heavy-weight training, three or four times per week and make sure you are always training "to failure." If you aren’t absolutely struggling to do the last rep or two, choose a heavier weight next time.
2. Eat more and include protein. Ectomorphs tend to be notorious carbivores, and if you rarely eat even close to the amount of food (including protein) that you need to build tissue, you will have trouble gaining or toning your muscles. Again, for each pound of body weight, aim for one gram of protein, and if you aren’t seeing the gains you want, simply eat more healthy and nutrient-dense food.
3. Limit cardio and take recovery days. Between those lifting sessions, avoid those long, slow cardio sessions and instead throw in some short and explosive sprint intervals. This will give you the boost of energy that we love without limiting the amount of muscle you can gain. And don’t skip your recovery days. You don’t have to hit the couch but some light movement sessions will improve the circulation between muscles and help you recover faster.
