Must-have supplements for hardgainer

Pure Evil

Yellow Belt
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
184
Reaction score
0
I'm a 155 lb hardgainer who's 5'11 and wants to build lean muscle mass to my bony frame. what are must-have supplements? I train MMA 2-3 times a week, lift weights 2 nites a week, and do two 3 mile runs a week, and i cant seem to put on any weight unless i stop completely running and eat a lot, but then i end up putting on fat in my stomach rather than anywhere else.

(also i do watch my cals and aim for about 2400 calories a day....30% protein, 60% carbs and 10% fat). the only supplement i take is whey but i dont think its helping much.

i realize i should lift weights more but i dont have a lot of extra time. please help with a couple supplements that mite help...glutamine? cassein protein? creatine?
 
Like i said, I dont have a lot of extra time...I could sit here and read thread after thread but it would be much easier if i could get a few suggestions so I know what to look for.

Ive read quite of few of the stickies...and they are massive and have a ton of links..i need some "to-the-point" facts/suggestions
 
No one will spoon feed you here. You have time, just like anyone else.

Facts and suggestions are in the F&Q
 
You have to worry about eating more and eating clean.
Instead of wasting your time typing, you could've read a little bit of the FAQ and learn something. Look up John Berardi 7 habits.
 
The absolute simplest and easiest way to get some solid ideas is to ask around at the gym. Don't be afraid to ask Cock Diesel some questions. Most guys are more than happy to share info. It's always a good choice to seek advice directly from the horses mouth, in this case from guys that have already made the gains. Most people that think they are "hardgainers" just aren't maximizing their workouts to begin with. They don't even put themselves in the position to utilize the benefits of their supplementation.
 
Most hardgainers don't eat right, or train right, thus the hardgainer term is mainly bogus
 
You aren't eating enough by a long shot. I was like you, I thought I was eating enough at 2100 calories per day when I really should have been at 3500+ per day. Not to mention you're running too much and not lifting enough if you really want to gain weight. It's a hard, slow process.

Getting a weight gain powder can help, take one serving per day which is 1000ish calories.

Drink tons of milk, I drink about a half gallon a day.

Lift heavy (<10 reps).

Sleep a lot.

You're like a lot of people who think they're "hardgainers". You think you're doing enough to gain weight but you really aren't and you're lying to yourself.
 
^^^^Firstscratch, that's a horrible idea. You'll be buying $200 worth of shit supplements a month and not making any progress. I constantly laugh at the guys guzzling their NO Xplode and other stuff before doing their mega-curl routines, talking about getting bigger. TS, you'll get a lot better info right here.

And as for time, I don't buy. I am gone for work (including 1 hour commute each way) for 14-15 hours a day, go to the gym for an hour and a half a day, and spend time with my 18 month old daughter and I've still managed to read the stickies several times. I still skim through on occasion, cause there's so much info I always catch something new. Here, I'll make it easy for ya:

FAQ
Q: How do I gain weight:

A: There are a couple of factors to gaining weight. Eat big but eat clean, lots of whole grains, lots of leafy greens, lots of lean protein, simple carbs in moderation. At least 5-7 meals per day. Snack on things like almonds and yogurt, things with good calories and high nutritious value. If your numbers of calories in is greater than your calories out, you should be gaining weight. If you're eating is clean, you should be gaining lean muscle. Lift BIG. Lots of guys think they lift heavy and really haven't scratched the surface of what their body is capable of. Big weight = big muscles. And get AMPLE rest. 7-8 hours of UNINTERRUPTED sleep per night, and on your days off at-least have one day where you barely move. Your body needs to heal to grow.

Q: But I do all of that and still can't gain any weight. I MUST be a hardgainer! Right? Don't I need some supplement like GAKIC, LEUKIC, or some high-end Creatine to give me that edge I need?

A: No, what you are is either a liar, or delusional about your eating or lifting. You cannot do everything perfect and NOT gain any weight. It just doesn't work that way. You're botching it up somewhere. Supplementing aside, your eating and your workouts are where all the real progress is made.

Q: Okay okay, I admit I don't eat that clean. But why is clean eating so important? Surely I will get bigger eating pizza and McDonalds, I mean their food is loaded with calories right? And if I had a whole bag of Doritos, that's like a billion calories!! Shouldn't I get bigger?

A: *sigh* You may end up getting fatter. And before you ask no fat does NOT turn into muscle. Fat is fat, muscle is muscle. Completely different molecules that never BECOME each other. And NO you DO NOT want to get fatter, before you say it. You want to put on lean and healthy bodyweight. Getting fatter comes with a laundry-list of health problems. Here, read this: ****bolic Function For Dummies.

Q: ****bolic Advantages!?!?! Surely that's all nonsense. Isn't a calorie just a calorie?

A: NO. And don't you come in here spouting that AHA bullshit. Any organization such as the American Heart Association and their Nutritional Committee that puts their "Heart Healthy" stamp of approval on a box of fucking Lucky Charms is NOT to be trusted. There's a whole world of true information out there, you'd be wise to look into it.
 
Oh and compound lifts are important. These are lifts that use many muscles at once; deadlift, squats, bench press, power cleans, chin ups etc.
 
^^^^Firstscratch, that's a horrible idea. You'll be buying $200 worth of shit supplements a month and not making any progress. I constantly laugh at the guys guzzling their NO Xplode and other stuff before doing their mega-curl routines, talking about getting bigger. TS, you'll get a lot better info right here.

And as for time, I don't buy. I am gone for work (including 1 hour commute each way) for 14-15 hours a day, go to the gym for an hour and a half a day, and spend time with my 18 month old daughter and I've still managed to read the stickies several times. I still skim through on occasion, cause there's so much info I always catch something new. Here, I'll make it easy for ya:

FAQ

Your gym must be full of stereotypical muscleheads because most dedicated lifters stay away from the bullshit, over-hyped supplements and are quick to tell you what's junk and what's not. But that is really besides the point. Again, most "hardgaining" is really a lack of utilizing the full potential of your workouts. Asking questions from someone that's been able to achieve real gains can yield a wealth of information. A change in technique, weight, or reps can make all the difference.
 
LOL, I'm not arguing that point with you at all. But I'm sure you're plenty familiar with the Idiot in the Gym thread, and based on that, I'd say if your gym isn't full of retards you're extremely lucky. Mine isn't as bad as most, but I still wouldn't take nutrition advice from any but about 2 of the guys there. Maybe 1, one of them used to work there but was talking about getting another job and I haven't seen him for a couple weeks.

Edit: and at that, I'd only ask the one that is still there for advice if I wanted to be a BBer, as that's the direction his work takes him.
 
Just buy the Russian Bear 5000, hehe.
 
Like i said, I dont have a lot of extra time...I could sit here and read thread after thread but it would be much easier if i could get a few suggestions so I know what to look for.

Ive read quite of few of the stickies...and they are massive and have a ton of links..i need some "to-the-point" facts/suggestions

6lardass.jpg


That 'to the point' enough for ya
 
One more thing, you are far from a "hardgainer". I ate more than you for over three years easily (2600 ish per day) and I was 5'11 130 for a while.
 

Well, depends. If his main goal is to gain weight, 7-10 reps would be more beneficial for just packing on muscle. If he wants to get mostly stronger and a little bigger, 5 or less is ideal.

I'm just going by what he says, I know almost everyone here despises hypertrophy, but if someone just wants to gain weight 7-10 reps is better.
 
Back
Top