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For someone struggling with weight loss, ectomorph body type is a dream. Blessed with a small bone size, long limbs, ectomorphs scarcely put on weight, as they have a super-efficient metabolism that burns extra calories without a fuss. However, there is a twist in the story, when they pursue bodybuilding dreams. Building muscle for the hard gainers is difficult, as their super-efficient metabolism works against them, but with a plan, in place, they can overcome the challenges. 

1. How hard gainers can build muscle
2. Hard gainer workout routine
3. Hard gainer muscle building eating plan

As compared to mesomorphs and endomorphs, hard gainers have to struggle at each step of bodybuilding. Should they give up the pursuit of muscles? Of course not, MuscleBlaze has a plan in place for hard gainer muscle building, which will help the thin and lanky guys make friends with their active metabolism to build muscles.

HOW HARD GAINERS CAN BUILD MUSCLE

Muscle building for hard gainers, like any other body type, will revolve around the three parameters of eating, sleeping and exercising right. You will require the strength to push the limits and train harder, along with eating clean. In order to gain muscles, ectomorphs or hard gainers should remain in a calorie surplus situation, avoid cardio and emphasize on protein and fat intake. A high-quality mass gainer enables them to easily get enough calories along with quality nutrients.

HARDGAINER WORKOUT ROUTINE

In order to qualify as a hard gainer, you must have trained regularly for 6 months without any noticeable change. Life is difficult for such people because they continue to train month after month, without any result.

The 5 basic steps of a hard gainer workout routine include:

1.         Progressive overload to build muscles

When ectomorphs include progressive overload to train their muscles, they challenge muscle fibres to grow gradually so that they adapt to the exposed stress, recover from the effect and grow stronger. When the muscles grow bigger and firmer, they are challenged with increased weights during the resistance training. The keyword here is gradual. The whole process works to adapt the body to the challenges rather than pushing it through the heaviest set in one go because then the body will be unable to adapt. 

2.        Train with heavier weights

Training for a hard gainer involves choosing heavier weights vis-à-vis lighter weights. You should keep your reps in the range of 5-10. To build muscles, you’ve to tackle heavier weights eventually, but it has to be done gradually. Ectomorphs need to go slow because if they are pushed with heavy weights right from the start, their body will not adapt to the stress accordingly.  Hence they need to start with lower weights but more volume. This will enable their body to grow in the muscle size. As their body adapts, they can move to heavier weights. 

For them, the rep range remains 5-10, but not the stocky sets of 5-5-5 or 10-10-10 rather, pyramid style, 8-5-3 so that they do not overwork their muscles. 

3.      Do compound lifts

What’s the best workout for a hard gainer?  In the ectomorph bodybuilding routine, compound lifts are more important than isolation exercises, like dumbbell curls. Do compound lifts, as these exercises use of more than one major muscle group at a time, whereas isolation exercises engage only one muscle group. Since compound exercise recruits a larger muscle group primarily and smaller muscle groups secondarily during lifts, it boosts the production of testosterone hormone. The best exercises for you are squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, dips, rows, bench press.

4.       No cardio for hard gainers

Cardio is to enhance fat burn, but the ectomorphs need not worry about it because it’s least of their concern. Therefore, hard gainers can safely avoid cardio.

5.       Rest longer

Ectomorphs need to rest longer during their training sets. They need to aim at 2-5 minutes of rest to allow their nervous system to recover from the stress of training. Moreover, resting longer with lower reps maximizes the supply of testosterone, the muscle-building hormone in the bloodstream for bigger muscles. 

HARD GAINER MUSCLE BUILDING EATING PLAN

The fundamental principle of hard gainer nutrition is to know how to eat for maximum muscle growth. Gaining weight requires a plan and the eagerness to stick to it with dedication. Start with writing down your meal plan that you will never deviate from. Ideally, you should eat every 2 to 3 hours. Your first meal should be immediately after waking up and your last meal will include protein-rich foods at bedtime.  5 easy hard gainer muscle building tips involve:

6.       Get in a calorie surplus

While the workout is just one aspect of building muscles, nutrition is another more significant aspect. A diet error takes you two steps backwards in muscle building. Nutrition for ectomorphs requires to stay in a calorie surplus situation.  Ideally, 500 calories and above is a good target. In a week it will result in a pound (0.453g) of weight gain, but the problem with most ectomorphs is that their superfast metabolism will burn this surplus quickly.

7.          Eat enough proteins for muscle building

The science is simple. Your muscle tissues are composed of protein and you need to get in a positive nitrogen balance to fuel your muscle growth. In a hard gainer nutritional plan, half of the plate should be made of proteins. You can figure out your protein need by converting your weight in pounds (453g = 1 pound). You need to eat proteins, double your body weight in pounds in a day.  (For a 100 pound, or 45 kg man, the protein consumption should be 200g in a day)

8.         Get ample carbs to build muscles faster

Daily you should consume 60 to 80g of complex carbohydrates at every meal. You should understand that adding fast food, processed food as sources of carbohydrates would not be the correct idea.  You can get a healthy option by choosing low-glycemic, high-fibre carbohydrates instead of moving towards junk food.  Good sources of muscle building carbohydrates are beans, oatmeal, potatoes, pasta, barley, whole-grains. Carbohydrates not only provide you energy but also pump your muscles, somewhat similar to creatine.

9.         Get good fats

It’s critical to maintain your testosterone levels. Aim to get a good helping of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as they are critical for maintaining a healthy testosterone level. 

10.           Drink your calories

Mass Gainer is a must-have supplement for a hard gainer, as it enables you to get premium nutrition without much fuss. All you need to do is to mix powder and water together, to get in a calorie-surplus situation. Most importantly, it provides you measured calories, so you know exactly, how much extra you are having in a day. Get quality nutrition with MuscleBlaze Mass Gainer XXL and meet your calorie needs.

Start slow and give your body time to adjust to extra calories. You do not want to jolt your body by doubling your calorie intake. Most probably, your body will refuse to absorb the additional foods and you too will get tired during the process. Go slow and steady, because bodybuilding requires patience and perseverance. 

There is more to proteins than being an essential macronutrient. Dieters stand by it. Bodybuilders can’t seem to get enough of it. It is your preferred workout partner and your gym buddy drinks it by gallons. Still, something is missing! The essential questions remain. How much protein is required to build muscle and the best protein source? What time is protein time and how the right protein helps build muscles and lose fat? Scroll down to get your answers

WHAT IS PROTEIN

A nutrient essential to living,  protein is made of amino acids and is required to stay healthy.  Unlike carbs and fats, protein contains sulphur and nitrogen required by every cell in the body. Since human body has no storage system for protein, this macro-nutrient needs to be taken every day. Children, expecting mothers, seniors and fitness enthusiasts have increased protein needs.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PROTEIN

How much protein to build muscles? Essentially, this question is on the mind of anyone who is new to training and fitness or has certain muscle building goals, you need to know the best protein source for putting on muscle mass. Moreover, should you get your protein fix from your diet or you need supplements? The recommended dietary allowance predicts the bare minimum protein needed to prevent muscle loss. For an average sedentary adult, the protein requirement is 0.8g per kg of body weight.

However, the same guideline will not fill in for someone like you, who exercises regularly and logs in more than an hour in the gym. International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends more protein for such active persons. The guide line runs as:

Endurance Sports	Swimming, Biking, Running	1.2 to 1.4g/kg body weight
Strength Activities	Weight lifting	1.4 to 2g/ kg body weight

WHICH PROTEIN TYPE TO CHOOSE

All proteins are not equal. That’s the reason proteins are evaluated against Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS). The foods that have the score of 1.0 are the best proteins to have, as the body is completely digests and absorbs such foods. What amino acids are present in a protein food also decides the quality of the protein source? A high-quality protein contains all 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t process.  Three foods have a perfect 1.0 score and are the best proteins to build muscle whey, soy and egg white. 

DO YOU NEED A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT

Most fitness enthusiasts wonder if foods are enough or they need protein supplements. As a fitness beginner trying to build muscles, you may find it difficult to get the requisite proteins from foods alone. The problem compounds if you have a fast metabolism and a small appetite. Whey is a high-quality dairy derived protein and provides more protein per serving than food, minus the fluff factors like carbs and fats. Relying on a protein supplement makes your task easier to meet the protein needs.

Training in the gym puts considerable strain on your muscle tissues and they break down. Since muscles are made of proteins, you need to provide this essential nutrient to begin the muscle repair activity in the affected muscle tissues. Within 45 minutes of your training, a quick-digesting protein shake, like whey provides critical amino acids which help in new muscle synthesis. Moreover, whey protein gets absorbed faster than other forms of protein, which means it also increases muscle protein synthesis and speeds up fat loss. However, what needs to be understood is that proteins don’t directly cause fat burn. They add on muscles.  When combined with proper weight training whey protein helps build muscles and assists in fat loss. No wonder, whey is the best protein powder to build muscles across fitness beginners and muscle building pros.

WHEN SHOULD YOU TAKE PROTEIN

The body has to be in a positive nitrogen balance whole day round for various reasons, be it repair and growth or post workout, which makes consumption of protein a whole day process. However, it’s important to have protein at these times.

• Pre-workout: Research suggests protein taken about 30 minutes before exercise may prime your system with the nutrients you need for growth and recovery.
• Post-workout: Undeniably, this is the most important time for protein. Of the many factors influencing the body’s ability to recover from intense training, post-workout nutrition is one of the most critical.
• Before bed: While you sleep, your system doesn’t, and  requires nutrients to carry on metabolic activities. Moreover, on the days you train, it’s important to have protein before bed as the bulk of recovery takes place while you are catching some sleep.
• Between meals: Protein between meals promotes satiety, keeping serious hunger and cravings at bay for longer periods of time. Protein keeps your insulin levels stable thereby sparing you trips to the snack- vending machine during mid-morning and afternoon.

Getting up in the middle of night to have a serving of protein might sound freaky but can be of immense help to keep your body in positive nitrogen balance.

Whey protein, a bodybuilder’s primary supplement, a fitness enthusiast’s must-have supplement paves the road to recovery and muscle building. The added advantages are an increase in endurance, strength and stamina.  But, what exactly is whey protein? Is it vegetarian or non-vegetarian? And, does it have any ingredient remotely related to doping substances? Put your worries to rest and  read all you need to know about whey proteins

1. What is whey protein
2. Types of whey protein
3. Top 3 benefits of super whey protein

Many queries come to your mind if you are a first-timer with whey. Though whey protein looks like a powder, it is extracted from cow’s milk. So pure is whey protein, that it is even included in baby foods.

WHAT IS WHEY PROTEIN

Cow’s milk has two components: casein and whey. Casein forms 80 percent of the milk and whey is the remaining 20 percent. Whey is the watery liquid and it gets separated during the cheese-making process. It undergoes microfiltration before it reaches you in the form of a tub. Since the pores in these filters are microscopic, hence the name.

TYPES OF WHEY PROTEIN

Whey protein gets bracketed into whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate depending on the presence of protein percentage and the difference in reaction time in these protein forms. 

Related: Top Benefits of Whey Protein

Whey Protein Hydrolysate is a pre-digested form of protein. It is slightly bitter in the taste and reacts faster than whey protein isolate.

Super whey protein is for fitness enthusiasts and professional bodybuilders who demand more from their whey protein. For them, physique, stamina, strength matters and every rep and set is going to make a difference. Performance matters for the big time. They are usually elite athletes, professional bodybuilders, but can be fitness enthusiasts as well. Super whey protein contains a mix of vitamins, minerals and other ingredients such as creatine.

  TOP 3 WAYS IN WHICH SUPER WHEY FULFILLS FITNESS GOALS

Boosts immunity and energy

Whey is a rich source of glutathione, the most powerful antioxidant present in every cell. Glutathione maximizes the activity of other antioxidants, including vitamin C and E, as well as fresh fruits and greens. It removes toxins from cells and protects you from the damaging effects of environmental toxins, chemicals and radiation. Add to the strength of glutamine, the energy of vitamins and minerals and you get a protein known as super whey protein.

The essential vitamins and minerals that athletes lack are Vitamin B, calcium, zinc, vitamin C, D, E and magnesium, which significantly affects power and performance. Athletes who have low-level of vitamin B do not have the energy to continue those last few reps. The body uses vitamin B  to convert protein and sugar into energy and to produce red blood cells.

Calcium helps improve bone density of workout warriors, which is good. Supplemental vitamin D pumps up your power. Did you know an hour of working out could deplete 5.7 percent of your level of iron? This mineral helps red blood cells carry oxygen to muscles. Losing too much of your stores can result in iron-deficiency anemia, which causes fatigue and zaps your endurance during lengthy sessions. Magnesium is a powerhouse for weekend warriors to pro endurance athletes alike.  This mineral is involved in energy metabolism and allows you to work out for a longer duration, without getting tired.

Added vitamins and minerals in whey protein fill in the dietary and workout deficiencies, such as MuscleBlaze Whey Energy. The powerful combo of whey protein and multivitamins allows the fitness enthusiasts to gym longer and train harder, thereby helping them achieve their fitness goal.

Substantially improves muscle growth

Scientifically engineered whey proteins are for professional athletes and pro bodybuilders who demand extra from their protein shake. Mostly, these whey proteins offer in a scoop a blend of whey proteins along with creatine and glutamine. Whereas a regular whey protein will serve 20g whey proteins, primarily from concentrate, a super whey will offer more than 25g whey proteins from quicker acting sources, like isolate and hydrolysate.

The power of creatine in these whey proteins gives the user explosive energy required to sustain through one more rep or finish the last leg of his marathon. In the human body, ATP works as the energy currency and creatine helps to recharge that energy currency. The strength of creatine is also visible in boosting muscle size, strength as well as improves performance.  Glutamine minimizes muscle breakdown and improves immunity. It allows you to train for a longer duration and helps achieve greater exercise intensity.

Improved protein absorption

Drinking whey protein is as good as digesting it. Whey protein stays in your intestine only for 1.5 hours. Frankly speaking, this is the time window, a muscle builder has to put his whey protein shake to use. After this duration, the unabsorbed whey protein will go down the drain literally. In an hour only 8-10g protein is digested. Therefore, your whey protein shake needs support from digestive enzymes to increase the rate of protein absorption. Digestive enzymes include proteases, lactase, cellulase, lipase and lactase. The bunch of these enzymes ensure superior absorption of proteins and other nutrients in the body to fuel muscle gains. A  July 2008 study published in the Journal of Sports Nutrition reported that drinking whey without digestive enzymes takes four hours to increase blood amino acids concentration by 30 percent. However, mixing whey protein with digestive enzymes increased the absorption rate by 127 percent in the same time frame.

Look beyond the ordinary and choose the whey protein according to your fitness goal. The results are going to surprise you.

What happens when you train? You beat your body hard because you believe that it will help you grow stronger and build bigger muscles. True and False. True, because a strenuous workout causes microscopic tears in your muscle fibers and the muscles respond by growing bigger and stronger in anticipation of the next workout, however in this process, there is a finer bit involved of muscle recovery. Your body will start breaking down if a proper recovery plan is not in place. Muscle recovery is closely linked to your muscle growth. However hard you train, if your muscle recovery is compromised, it will show on your muscle gain.  Know the difference between muscle recovery and muscle building supplement and get in-depth information on top 5 best supplements for recovery.

Your primary muscle building supplement is proper nutrition that includes high-protein meals, slow-acting carbohydrates and a healthy dose of fatty acids. In addition, to premium nutrients you will be needing whey protein, a bodybuilder’s eternal favourite and for good reasons.

After you have had your whey protein shake, it begins to break down rapidly and gets absorbed into the bloodstream. Now, amino acids, the basic protein blocks for muscle building reach the injured muscle tissues (your workout causes microscopic injuries in your muscle tissues) for repairing them.  The process is known as muscle synthesis and results in bigger and stronger muscles than soy or casein. Since whey protein digests quickly, it gets absorbed at a faster speed in your muscles that instigates new muscle synthesis at a faster speed. 

WHEY TO MUSCLE BUILDING

Your primary muscle building supplement is proper nutrition that includes high-protein meals, slow-acting carbohydrates and a healthy dose of fatty acids. In addition, to premium nutrients you will be needing whey protein, the bodybuilder’s eternal favourite and for good reasons.

After you have had your whey protein shake, it begins to break down rapidly and gets absorbed into the bloodstream.

Now, amino acids, the basic protein blocks for muscle building reach the injured muscle tissues (your workout causes microscopic injuries in your muscle tissues) for repairing them, this is known as muscle synthesis and results in bigger and stronger muscles than soy or casein.

Since whey protein digests quickly, it gets absorbed at a faster speed in your muscle tissue and instigates new muscle synthesis.

ROAD TO RECOVERY WITH THE RIGHT FUEL

Your muscles are a result of hard work but they are not built in the gym. They get built when you rest adequately and recover yourself from the muscle-building stress. One study conducted by the University of Chicago found that when 10 healthy men reduced sleep for a week from about 9 hours per night to 5, their testosterone levels dropped by up to 14 percent during the day.

It’s also known that insufficient sleep decreases growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) levels, which play important roles in maintaining muscle mass.

Other than rest, the supplements that help pave the road to recovery are Branched Chain Amino Acids, Glutamine, Creatine, Carb blend and Citrulline Malate.  

BCAAs

Branched Chain Amino Acids are three essential amino acids, leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids account for as much 1/3^rd of muscle tissue – leucine, isoleucine and valine. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are commonly used by athletes during and around exercise. They have been found to reduce muscular soreness and help accelerate the growth and recovery process.

When you train fiercely, you exhaust the glycogen reserve of your muscles, which can set off the process of catabolism or muscle breakdown, where your body will attack your muscle tissues for energy. Drinking BCAAs supplement before or after your workout will provide you with an additional dosage of BCAAs which leads to muscle-sparing effect.

Moreover, BCAAs delay the perception of fatigue. French researchers discovered that during exercise, an amino acid metabolite is known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) signals the brain that the body is fatigued, causing it to reduce muscle strength and endurance. The amino acid tryptophan is responsible for producing 5-HT in the brain.

Several research studies have confirmed that valine, a BCAA lowers the amount of tryptophan that gets into the brain. Since you feel less fatigued you’re able to train for longer duration and push your muscles to the verge of failure.

Recommended Usage: Drink it in-between and before a workout to keep your BCAAs level primed.

GLUTAMINE

Glutamine is not an essential amino acid, which means that your body can make it on its own. It is the most abundant amino acid in the body and it is stored largely in the muscles. An intense training session greatly depletes glutamine level of your body, which decreases strength, stamina and recovery. It could take up to 6 days for glutamine levels to return to normal. Supplementing your body with a high supply of glutamine prior to a workout maintains the high supply of glutamine in your muscles, which stops them from degrading muscles to get those. Glutamine has become increasingly popular among athletes, as it is believed that it helps prevent infections following athletic events and speeds post-exercise recovery.

Recommended Usage: Choose micronised glutamine as it absorbs quickly and mix it with your favourite beverage. Drink it before and after your workout. 

CREATINE

Creatine is an amino acid that is found naturally in any food that has protein. Your body also manufactures it in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Creatine is involved in boosting the production of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATPs), your body’s energy currency and ATPs are your muscles main source of fuel for explosive, short-term contractions. The fact is that you have a limited supply of creatine and you need to boost it significantly to increase your duration and intensity of your workouts. The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s stand on creatine states that supplementation can increase exercise performance capabilities and enhance muscle growth. The increased availability of ATP as a result of creatine supplementation not only means you may be able to perform an extra rep or two here or work maximally for longer, but also that ATP will be regenerated more quickly. This fast regeneration could lead to quicker recovery, allowing you to perform at a higher level in your next workout.

Recommended Usage: Creatine is used in two phases: loading and maintenance. In the loading phase 20g creatine is consumed and in the maintenance phase 5g or lower amount suffices. 

CARB SUPPLEMENTS

As muscle glycogen begins to empty, fatigue sets in athletes and sports persons, which prevents them from delivering their best performance. Ingested carbs act like an antidote to glycogen depletion. The ready availability of adequate carbohydrates in the working muscles and bloodstream is central to an individual’s ability to sustain intensive training load.  This explains why ingested carbohydrates work as the best recovery supplement. Once these carbs get absorbed in the body, they can be used as fuel right away.

As a result, the sportsman needs a   post-workout recovery drink that offers the concentrated dose of carbs and is better than the regular glucose. The best part about such carb blend supplements is that they work perfect as an intra-workout or sports drink and replenish the glycogen reserve quickly.

Also, the blend of carbs (glucose, fructose and Maltodextrin) makes sure that the external source of carbs will be burnt for energy and the muscle glycogen is spared from burning for the fuel. The recovery drink powder is easy to use and can be had whenever the athletes face energy crunch so that they do not hit the wall. The recovery drink for athletes should contain more than the much-hyped glucose. It should have a mix of fructose (fruit sugar) and starch-derived Maltodextrin, like MuscleBlaze Carb Blend.  

Recommended Usage: After a strenuous exercise to replenish the glycogen store. 

CITRULLINE MALATE

Citrulline Malate is of great help for weight lifters and athletes. Still, it is overlooked or under-dosed. The greatest benefit of Citrulline is its ability to remove ammonia and toxic byproducts of exercise. Strength athletes recruit glycogen stored in muscles during their workout for energy.  As glycogen stores deplete Hydrogen ions (H+) and lactic acid in the muscle, you begin to feel a burning sensation in the muscles. This quickens fatigue and you are not able to maintain your exercise intensity throughout your workout. The antidote to the fatigue is offered by bicarbonates, as they stimulate the removal of Hydrogen ions and lactic acid out of the muscle. Citrulline Malate aids in the reabsorption of bicarbonates thereby building endurance and delaying fatigue in the gym warrior. A study published in a 2002 issue of the “British Journal of Sports Medicine” found that 18 men who took 6g of citrulline malate daily for 15 days experienced increased energy and were able to work out for a longer duration without getting tired.

Recommended Usage: Drink it before your workout. You can even mix it with your pre-workout drink. 

Include the right mix of muscle recovery supplements in your supplement stock and you will be able to train longer and harder.