Nelson Vergel
Founder, ExcelMale.com
Most articles and books out there about diet and nutrition focus on how to lose weight. It makes sense. When 70% of the U.S. population and 30% of the world population is overweight, that sort of information is going to be in demand.
But there are some folks out there — almost entirely males — who are looking to gain weight. This is the guy who's the proverbial 90-pound weakling who's had sand kicked in his face since he was a teenager. He's tired of looking gangly and wants to fill out his frame a little more. But he can't seem to gain any fat, much less muscle; no matter what he does or what he eats, it seems like he can't put any meat on his bones.
Then there's the guy who isn't skinny, and doesn't have trouble gaining weight — at least in terms of fat — but who'd like to put on some more muscle mass without turning into a blob in the process. He's tried doing so in the past, but just ended up looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
To figure out how both types of men — the “hard gainer” and the “easy gainer” — can put on more pounds of muscle mass without also putting on too much fat, I talked to my strength coach and the head of Starting Strength's online coaching program, Matt Reynolds. Since starting to work with Matt two years ago, I've gained 40 pounds while taking two inches off my waist. Here's how you can achieve similar results.
More
But there are some folks out there — almost entirely males — who are looking to gain weight. This is the guy who's the proverbial 90-pound weakling who's had sand kicked in his face since he was a teenager. He's tired of looking gangly and wants to fill out his frame a little more. But he can't seem to gain any fat, much less muscle; no matter what he does or what he eats, it seems like he can't put any meat on his bones.
Then there's the guy who isn't skinny, and doesn't have trouble gaining weight — at least in terms of fat — but who'd like to put on some more muscle mass without turning into a blob in the process. He's tried doing so in the past, but just ended up looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
To figure out how both types of men — the “hard gainer” and the “easy gainer” — can put on more pounds of muscle mass without also putting on too much fat, I talked to my strength coach and the head of Starting Strength's online coaching program, Matt Reynolds. Since starting to work with Matt two years ago, I've gained 40 pounds while taking two inches off my waist. Here's how you can achieve similar results.
More
