How many sets and exercises should a hard-gainer do for each muscle group?
depends on your goals, load etc. If just starting 3-4 sets of 8-10 per exercise aint bad. Main thing work hard and get better in time, be consistent
phill
I have a simple advice for you: Stop calling yourself a hard-gainer!
[quote]Forever_Failure wrote:
I have a simple advice for you: Stop calling yourself a hard-gainer![/quote]
I completely agree, hardgainer is bullshit, I fell for it once, then I realized i was just being a pussy.
Just to play devils advocate though… forever failure??? Hope theres a good story behind that name.
A hardgainer needs to exercise in the kitchen.
And isn’t life so much better once you accept you aren’t ? 
Too bad many beginners start like that.
It’s inspired from the band Paradise Lost and it used to describe me…
[quote]Forever_Failure wrote:
I have a simple advice for you: Stop calling yourself a hard-gainer![/quote]
well it’s actually a friend of mine
I’m telling my friend right now to start off with deadlifts, squats, bench press, dips, and pullups. Is there anything else that he needs to do?
[quote]fartmonkey64 wrote:
I’m telling my friend right now to start off with deadlifts, squats, bench press, dips, and pullups. Is there anything else that he needs to do?[/quote]
If he feels that he is truly a hardgainer…the most important thing is that he eats enough on top of training the big basic movements with intensity. If he is still not gaining, he will need to eat more period.
[quote]Forever_Failure wrote:
I completely agree, hardgainer is bullshit, I fell for it once, then I realized i was just being a pussy.
And isn’t life so much better once you accept you aren’t ? Too bad many beginners start like that.
Just to play devils advocate though… forever failure??? Hope theres a good story behind that name.
It’s inspired from the band Paradise Lost and it used to describe me…
[/quote]
Actually life is much harder since I stopped calling myself a hargainer. Not only did I have to start doing squats and deadlifts, but I also had to start eating food.
Yes, these are just a few of terrible sacrifices one must make to break free of the bonds of hardgainery. oh poor me.
[quote]phatmike wrote:
fartmonkey64 wrote:
I’m telling my friend right now to start off with deadlifts, squats, bench press, dips, and pullups. Is there anything else that he needs to do?
If he feels that he is truly a hardgainer…the most important thing is that he eats enough on top of training the big basic movements with intensity. If he is still not gaining, he will need to eat more period.
[/quote]
I feel so proud of the people here, right now. I just may shed a tear.
[quote]kroby wrote:
phatmike wrote:
fartmonkey64 wrote:
I’m telling my friend right now to start off with deadlifts, squats, bench press, dips, and pullups. Is there anything else that he needs to do?
If he feels that he is truly a hardgainer…the most important thing is that he eats enough on top of training the big basic movements with intensity. If he is still not gaining, he will need to eat more period.
I feel so proud of the people here, right now. I just may shed a tear.[/quote]
Yup. The workout is less important than the diet is. In fact, if you start to menatally believe you are an “easygainer” add eat bunches of protein 6x per day and just do 1 excersice per body part 2x a week YOU WILL GROW.
[quote]fartmonkey64 wrote:
I’m telling my friend right now to start off with deadlifts, squats, bench press, dips, and pullups. Is there anything else that he needs to do?[/quote]
Yes there is something else…An Over Head Press Variation.
Further your “back” houses many, many muscles, shit loads really. I would add some kind of Row Variation, like a T-bar ( those are cool shit ) or One Arm Row. There are many too choose from.
- I would say Flat Bench + Dips is a bit much for the “lower chest.”
While I do like Weighted Dips, I assume this is all about looking great, so focus on Incline Presses. I don’t think I have seen anyone with an “oversized” clavicle.
Just so you know, I’ve seen great things come from guys whom just do Weighted Dips, and Incline Presses. That may not be for everyone but, it should get this dude down the right path, until he can train himself.
Again-
This is just another example of people spouting off at the mouth at what they know nothing about. It seems that is what this site is best at these days, that and pimping out new supplements.
To al the clowns that do not think there are hardgainers then you are grossly mistaken. Simply eating more will not grow excess muscle on a hardgainer, they have shit nutrient partioning compared to easy gainers brough on by eroded glucose metabolism issues, thus if the true hardgainers simply take the advice of all these so called “VETS” running around out there simply preaching eat and grow method the hardgainers wind up with a fat ass without any quality mass.
To all those that cannot wrap their head around this search for my post in the thread about “Hardgainer Wanted”. Read the posts I made in there- they shoudl be put into article form in my opinion so all the hardgainers that come here can get the straight and narrow on this subject and not waste time listening to people that are not in their own shoes. I e-mailed an article I wrote to TC, however I guess I am not a big name and he cannot marrket anything of what I prescribe in the article for hardgainers so its easier to not print it and let hardgainers get the run around with all their misinformation and inevitably waste years and money doing the wrong thing.
Back to your origional question -
You need to pick a routine that you can recover from and that you can add weight to every week for all your excercises until you begin to lift big poundages, 400 or 500 pound deadlifts being a great goal. Basic dips, chins, deads, and squats for 2 sets of 6-8 are all you need, add weight every week and do deloads periodically every 4th or 5 week.
Add weight to every workout for a year or 2 and you will be noticibly bigger than you are now. At your stage strength gains = size gains.
Simply not calling youself a hardgainer will not change you genetic misfortune, you can call yourself all your names in the book and try to train the way others do but you will have to eventiually accept your ate and train accordingly.
It seems most people that gravitate towards weight training are the hardgaining ectos yet most of the advice spouted off is by the easy gaining minority that have excelled in the sport, its like the blind leading the blind.
Just remember that no-one wants to admit they had it easier than others do, 95% of people on this site and many other sites on the web are filled with these people writing article and spouting off info for the hardgaining masses, that will lead them nowhere if they do not take charge of their own training and stopl listening to douchbags on internet forums giving them shit for calling themselves a hardgainer.
you will have to do this if you want to truly succeed.
[quote]jeep69 wrote:
stuff[/quote]
Yes, i suppose there may be people out there who try to build muscle but put on pounds of fat instead. But those people still put on pounds.
The majority of people calling themselves hardgainers haven’t put on anything, no muscle or fat, because they simply aren’t eating enough to gain any kind of weight whatsoever.
Yes it is an exaggeration to say hardgainers don’t exist. But too many people learn about hardgainers, assume they are one, and their minds give up.
More people will benifit from the “eat and grow” philosiphy than from the “feel sorry for yourself and blame external sources such as genetics” philosiphy.
If this kid isn’t eating enough to put on fat, he’s definatly not eating enough to put on muscle.
Squats and Milk!!!
Ya we aren’t calling everybody who says they’re a hardgainer a liar. But I assumed I was one till I actually wrote down what I was eating and realized a mouse wouldn’t grow on the diet I thought had been a big one. I actually started eating and went up 11 lbs in the past two months and my workouts could be a bit more intense than they are.
Yes I’ve picked up some fat but I can see from my short spanned before and after pics that I’ve gained more definition and a lot more size, although I’m still small. Which is why i’m not going to stop eating and lifting or start calling myself a hardgainer again till I get the results I want.
[quote]Skrussian wrote:
Ya we aren’t calling everybody who says they’re a hardgainer a liar. But I assumed I was one till I actually wrote down what I was eating and realized a mouse wouldn’t grow on the diet I thought had been a big one. I actually started eating and went up 11 lbs in the past two months and my workouts could be a bit more intense than they are.
Yes I’ve picked up some fat but I can see from my short spanned before and after pics that I’ve gained more definition and a lot more size, although I’m still small. Which is why i’m not going to stop eating and lifting or start calling myself a hardgainer again till I get the results I want.[/quote]
And if instead of hearing, “eat some fuckin food pussy” you had heard, “yes, you are a hardgainer, you must immediately dive head first into the most complex scientifically designed program of nutrient timing and partitioning, as well as prevent overtraining by lifting only once every 14 days per bodypart” you probably would still be 11 lbs lighter.
[quote]Plim wrote:
A hardgainer needs to exercise in the kitchen.[/quote]
More sets of fork to mouth.
[quote]evansmi wrote:
…
If this kid isn’t eating enough to put on fat, he’s definatly not eating enough to put on muscle.
Squats and Milk!!![/quote]
Exactly.
[quote]
And if instead of hearing, “eat some fuckin food pussy” you had heard, “yes, you are a hardgainer, you must immediately dive head first into the most complex scientifically designed program of nutrient timing and partitioning, as well as prevent overtraining by lifting only once every 14 days per bodypart” you probably would still be 11 lbs lighter.[/quote]
Hell with that I probably would have lost a few pounds 