Skinny to Muscle

If you are skinny, have been skinny all your life and never seem to put on any weight then you may wonder can skinny guys get muscles at all. While there is a certain fashion for skinny guys most who actually are slim will tell you that they do not like the way they look and they do not like being weak. To be brutally honest most women will also tell you that men who are well built are more attractive which is understandable as this is what women are typically biologically attracted to. Men with muscles look stronger and more capable at least in that old style caveman sense which dominates a lot of our senses when we look at others for attractiveness and compatibility.

In any case, being too skinny can be no fun. The unfortunate thing is that most also think that they will be this way forever as their attempts at the gym give no great results after weeks of effort. This however is not the end because skinny guys CAN get serious muscle growth once they realize they need to approach things a little differently.

This article covers the basics of skinny to muscle bodybuilding.
For a more complete guide click here to check out what turned me from a weakling into bigger more confident guy.

Metabolism

This is the big difference between you and other guys out there trying to build muscle mass. As a skinny guy and what the bodybuilding industry terms “Hardgainers” you have a very fast or high metabolism which is once of the factors that stops muscle growth as well as gaining fat.

A quick definition of metabolism:

Metabolism is the chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized.

So what this means when you have a high metabolism is that the process that breaks down food into energy happens at such a fast rate that a lot of this excess energy is wasted which means there is nothing left that gets stored as fat cells but tragically nothing left to use to repair and build muscle. This is why guys who have trouble with losing weight often make excellent body builders, just look at the Olympic power lifters for proof.

What this means for you is that your eating habits must change drastically if you are to achieve skinny to muscle growth. The major change should simply be the amount you eat, your body used to a certain amount of food but that food is burned up too quickly so you must intake MORE food than before so that your metabolism cannot churn through it fast enough. Having enough energy left to repair and build muscles is essential during the rest and recovery period and what and how much you eat is a core part of this.

Workouts

Another issue when considering can skinny guys get muscles is how you do your workouts. While lifting weights is what you need to do if you hit the gym and do not have a plan then your efforts are often wasted by not being efficient in your weight lifting exercises. This is often compounded by what the mainstream bodybuilding magazines may tell you. One annoying routine I keep hearing is working on one muscle group each day for hours on end, this is ridiculous!

A quick note on how muscles grow:

Without going into too much detail, it is important to note just how muscle development is gained. The overall principle is quite simple considering its complex structure. When you exercise, for example as you lift weights, perform aerobics etc, you will break down muscle tissue in the body. The more you exercise the more tissue will be broken down. When you stop your activities, nature will attempt to rebuild the broken layers of tissue, but a little stronger than last time so the tissue doesn’t break as easily. Over a period of continuous destroying and rebuilding, your muscle will grow and adapt to the strain you put on it. The skin will stretch and your body will gain size and strength.

What this means is that light weights are not going to stress your muscles much so you should concentrate on heavy weights. What this also means is that continually punishing one muscle group is a waste of time because once you have pushed it to its limit once you can do no more for that muscle … it is in need of rest and repair.

Recovery

The next core aspect of going from skinny to muscle is rest and recovery. This is one part of body building that is sorely neglected in favor of supplements, workout routines and diet which are important but are not everything. The simple fact is that your muscles only grow when you rest because when you rest your body uses the energy from food to repair the muscles which then heals and creates more muscle to become stronger in the face of stress.

What this also means is that you should not over-train. If you hit the gym too often and do not give yourself the time to recover and grow your muscles you waste your workout time exercising muscles that have not achieved the best growth and you start from square one again.

So can skinny guys get muscles? The answer is a resounding YES as long as you educate yourself on how to build muscles for your body type.