Your genetics dictate not only your facial features, but also your physique. If your parents are skinny, there is also a chance that you turn out becoming skinny. Your body’s body fat concentration and metabolic rate will all depend on your genetics. But does it mean that you can’t do anything about it?
If you plan on building muscles, and you have a skinny frame, this shouldn’t be a concern. There are strategies that you can implement in order to bulk up. Here are eight strategies how skinny individuals could gain muscle mass.
1. Take carbohydrates as pre-workout
Timing of your meals is important. Eating carbohydrates right after workout may not be the best idea. On the other hand, carbohydrate rich meals such as pasta can be considered a good pre-workout meal. What this pre-workout meal does is to spare the protein in your system. Carbohydrates provide ATP to prevent muscle catabolism.
But does it mean that you can’t take other supplements as pre-workout meal? There are other pre-workout supplements that you can take such as BCAAs and CLAs which are known to do wonders in preventing muscle catabolism.
2. Take a lot of protein as post workout meal
After a solid workout, it is crucial that you immediately take your protein rich meal. It can be in form of food and supplements. Whey becomes a great option as a post-workout meal because it gives the body easily absorbable protein and amino acids.
Other than whey, it is also a good idea to focus on having BCAA supplements. Unlike other essential amino acids, there is no need for BCAAs to be processed by the liver. This way, you have readily available essential amino acids ready to be absorbed by the skeletal muscles.
Now, for your food, it is a good call if you can invest on white meat. Chicken breast is a great source of white meat.
Just how much protein should you be consuming if you plan on gaining muscle mass in a day? You need to consume 1.5 gram of protein per gram of bodyweight daily. That simply means that if you want to be 150 pounds, you will need to consume around 225 grams of protein.
3. Sleep at least 8 hours a day
Building muscle mass isn’t just about working out. It also has something to do with the amount of rest that you have made. Why does rest play a huge role in building muscles? According to research, it is during rest when you increase your growth hormones.
4. High intensity low repetition workouts
If your goal is to bulk up, it is highly suggested to perform low repetition high intensity workouts. High repetitions are usually for fat burning purpose. But since you may not have enough body fat to burn for your workouts, high repetition could easily catabolize your muscles.
5. Change your workout every three weeks
Once you are doing your workouts for quite some time, you will notice that things are becoming easier to accomplish. This can be explained by the body’s ability to adapt to every stressful situation that it experiences.
Muscle memory allows the body to exert less effort in completing these workouts. Unfortunately, you are also decreasing the potential results when you keep on doing the same workouts over and over again.
6. Have a rest and cheat day
Working out non-stop to build muscle mass can also be stressful. Fatigue could easily set in, leaving you mentally drained. Make it a habit to rest once a week, and eat whatever it is that you want. The good news for skinny individuals is that they don’t have to worry so much about calories. In fact, they can eat whatever it is that they want to eat during their rest/cheat day.
7. Focus on large muscle groups
In order to get the fastest results, it is a good idea to focus on large muscle groups. Developing large muscle groups allow your skinny frame to have muscles in all the right places. For instance, if you start working your legs, you will notice that it will also affect other parts of the body such as your core.
8. Concentrate on form
Lastly, you want to concentrate on form whenever you are working out. One of the biggest problems of skinny individuals is to not be able to lift as much weights especially in the beginning of their program. Don’t be frustrated if you encounter this kind of problem.
Instead, what you want to focus on is form. Form gives you the maximum range of motion allowing full contraction of your muscles.
Conclusion
Different body frames pose different challenges. For instance, overweight individuals have to deal with the fact that they still need to cut their body fat after bulking up. On the other hand, skinny individuals may find themselves having a difficult time building mass. With these strategies, you will be able to work smart and develop muscles in the right places despite being skinny.
