Attention All Hardgainers Looking To Add Mass!

If you’re a skinny guy who’s new to the weight room and wants to add slabs of high-quality muscle mass, then this article is for you.

Weightlifting is an incredible activity for build both the body and mind.

Unfortunately, those who have trouble gaining weight may only experience the latter.

Here at FitFrek we understand the frustration that comes with cramming your face with food and hitting the weight room only to see scale not budge.

Thankfully, there’s a cure.

The approach is not groundbreaking nor will it turn you in to a mass monster overnight, but it will add significant amounts of quality lean mass if you’re consistent, eat like a horse, and strive for progression.

This article outlines an ideal warm-up for your weight training days, provides two sample routines following a push/pull/legs split, and offers several exercise swaps in case you don’t have the physical ability to or equipment for some of the exercises written in the sample routines.

The Proper Warm-Up

A poorly designed warm-up is almost as useless as no warm-up at all.

A proper warm-up can be the difference between setting a personal best in the gym and getting injured.

Your warm-up should accomplish the following three goals:

You should NOT perform the same warm-up at the beginning of every workout.

Why spend 15 minutes warming up your lower body on push day?

A warm-up should focus on the muscle groups you plan to train that day as well as address any pain points.

The template below breaks down the warm-up in to three distinct pieces – cardiovascular activity, dynamic stretching, and central nervous system activation.

Moderate Intensity Cardiovascular Activity

After setting my mindset and choosing my music playlist for the workout, I perform 5 to 10 minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular activity.

My all-time favorite movement is jump rope because it’s not only a full body warm-up that helps to develop the stubborn calf muscles and requires virtually no space, but it also increases coordination.

Prior to an upper body-focused workout, I perform movements engaging the arms and back like the rowing machine and elliptical trainer.

On lower body days, I stick to incline walking on a treadmill or spinning on a stationary bike.

The goal of this activity is to increase your core body temperature and heart rate as well as lubricate your joints.

Dynamic Stretching 

Bending down and touching your toes is NOT acceptable during the dynamic stretching portion of your warm-up.​

During this portion, you should be performing movements that lengthen and loosen the target muscle groups.

For example, on my upper body days I may perform arm swings and shoulder circles.

On lower body days, I incorporate forward to backward and left to right leg swings as well as lunges with an upper body twist.

Perform each movement for two to three sets of 10 reps per arm, leg, or shoulder.

Central Nervous System Activation

Think explosive exercises.

At this point you’ve increased your heart rate and worked out some of the kinks from sitting at work or in class all day.

It’s time to prime our nervous system so that the proper muscles are contracting when we need them.

On upper body days, I incorporate three sets of five explosive repetitions using exercises like clap or plyometric pushups and med ball slams from overhead.

On lower body days, I stick with box jumps, kettlebell swings, and jump lunges.

After completing this portion of the warm-up your body should be at peak performance and ready for making gains.​

The Routine

The routine below offers a no-nonsense approach to building strength and quality lean mass using basic yet brutally effective exercises and techniques.

If you’re completely new to the weight room then perform Push Workout A, Pull Workout A, and Legs Workout A on three nonconsecutive days during the week.

For example, Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday.

Once you’re comfortable with the A workouts you can begin alternating with B workouts every other week (e.g. A workouts on Week 1, B workouts on Week 2, A workouts on Week 3).

You can also perform both A and B workouts in the same week (e.g. Push A, Pull B, Legs A).

Once you’ve mastered all six workouts and have been training for about six months you can begin increasing the number of workouts to four, five, or even six times per week.

Listen to your body here and dial back the weight used or volume if you begin to feel beat up.

Eventually you’ll have the work capacity perform A and B workouts all within the same week!

You’ll notice that this routine is higher volume than many other beginner programs.

Start slow, program conservatively, ease in to the volume, and EAT BIG.

You’re not going to gain the mass you want until you’re eating 500 to 1,000 extra calories per day ABOVE your daily calorie needs.

If you feel like you’re eating like a horse but can’t seem to add mass, then keep a food journal and weigh your portions for a week.

Chances are you’re overestimating your caloric intake.

Some of my favorite tricks to increase my calorie consumption include fatty cuts of beef, weight gainer shakes, and tablespoons of peanut butter.

One of my favorite techniques is the AMRAP set which stands for ‘As Many Repetitions as Possible’.

Don’t go to complete failure where you fall flat on your face or risk injury.

Push yourself to the point where you performed all reps using good form and attempting one more rep would lead to form breakdown.

Push Workout A

Exercise Swaps

Are you physically unable to perform some of the exercises above due to pain or injury?

Does your gym not have the proper equipment?

Not a problem!

Below is a list of acceptable exercise swaps for the machine-based exercises:

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback on the routine please let me know in the comments below!

If you need some motivation or ideas for full workouts, check out the videos below...