How to Determine if you’re a Hardgainer

Photo by Cassi Saari

You’ve been at it for weeks.  Researching various Hardgainer bodybuilding Routines and Hardgainer Diet Plans, soaking up as much advice from your pals at the gym, and reading all the leading bodybuilding magazines. You think you’re ready.  Now you’re  eating as much food as humanly possible.  Going to the gym for 2 hour sessions 5 days a week (and even a 6th day whenever you can fit it into your schedule).  Every morning you step onto the scale to see if you’ve put on any quality muscle mass.  1 week passes, 2 weeks pass, 4 weeks pass, 6 weeks pass.  After all your hard work you’ve put on a measly couple of pounds.  You look toned but that’s not your goal.  You want to be bigger.  I guess you can label yourself a Hardgainer now right? WRONG!

I know what you’re thinking.  No I’m not crazy and yes by that description it’s very likely that you are a hardgainer.  But I don’t want you to jump to that conclusion without at least first understanding why you are having a hard time gaining muscle mass.  Maybe after further examination you’ll realize that you aren’t a hardgainer after all and maybe you’ve been preventing muscle growth instead of promoting it.

I’ve created this series because I want to demystify the vagueness that comes with the term hardgainer.  I will attempt to:

·    Help you understand what a hardgainer is
·    Help you determine if you are a hardgainer
·    Introduce you to the famous 3 somatotypes
·    Identify some common mistakes that have stopped you from gaining muscle mass

Below you’ll find a summary of the topics that I’ll touch upon.  To keep up to date with this series subscribe to the Hardgainer Transformation RSS feed or to our email updates.

1.    What the Heck is a Hardgainer
2.    Ectomorph? Is that some kinda of Transformer?
3.    7 mistakes you’ve made to hider growth
4.    So Am I a Hardgainer?