Body Building for Skinny People

I have in the past year started to bulk up my small frame and have been trying to get bigger arms, bigger legs and a bigger chest having seen the results I would like to pass some of my knowledge gained over the past year to others looking to improve their physique.

I decided to write this article as in the past I have been into gyms and at times it can be very difficult to gain any really useful information as most of the people attending are completely self-obsessed and it can be intimidating, so after joining a gym and seeing results myself I thought I could pass my knowledge on to those training either at home or in a gym and trying to bulk up.

Any comments or thoughts of their own that people would like to add would be gratefully received. I would like to hear how other people's gym efforts have been going. Happy sweating!!!!

Whether you like it or not you have to put in some work,ive never been keen on gyms as I thought they were full of posers but you just have to accept that all gyms will have those types of people in them.

Choose one that is close to your work or home then you have no excuses. I was 5ft8 with a slim 10th frame toned but slim. After 9 months with the odd week off here and there(your body has to repair) I am now 10st 8lbs. I know 8lbs doesn't seem like much but at only 10stone, 8lbs of solid muscle is noticeable.

Anyway, pick your gym then get a workout routine preferably get a trainer at the gym to run you through one then as you progress and get more confident you can add or change your routine to suit you.

Work out three times a week to begin and split your body parts into two groups, Biceps, Chest and Legs, followed by Triceps Shoulders and Back.

Do one group one day and then another the next, Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the best days usually so you get a day's rest in between.

Start out doing three sets of 10 reps for each exercise and make sure that when you get to ten reps you are struggling.

Diet: high protein, low carbs, low fat.

Diet is ultimately where you will succeed or fail when it comes to building muscle. As a skinny guy or girl if you are looking to build mass then you need to really up your calories and protein.

Now, unfortunately, this is where I fail as I love my food, mine is more high protein, med carbs, and med fat but hey im still slender and my muscles are increasing in size.

You need to intake 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight so as I am roughly 66 kg I need 132 grammes of protein a day so lots of lean chicken, turkey, tuna and fish and lean mince for me.

I also like to add a high-protein shake either an hour or so before my workout or straight after, I use Met Rx's Size Up which has 57 grammes of protein per serving so nearly half my rda.

I have also subscribed to Men's Health and suggest you do the same as there are often a lot of useful ideas you can integrate into your workout.

There are a lot of workout magazines out there this is just the one I have subscribed to.

Just a quick note to say that calves can be trained 5 days a week if you like and have to be trained hard as they are used to carrying around your weight all day so hit them hard.

Abs can also be trained every day as they are part of your core so are used every day anyway.

Importantly dont weigh yourself every other day and dont weigh yourself at different times of the day as your weight can fluctuate by 4 or 5 pounds throughout the day.

The best thing to do is to weigh yourself first thing in the morning or last thing at night and just wear underwear, record it then weigh again 2-3 weeks later.

Dont panic if you haven't seen results, you see yourself every day so are unlikely to see results as well as someone else might, get your girlfriend or partner to check you over once every couple of weeks then get their honest opinion on whether you have made any gains

You need to hit the gym at least 3 times a week and some people hit the gym four or five times a week but you need at least two days of rest a week to get the right amount of protein consumed, to help with your effort.

Try not to go three times a week for 2 weeks then only once the week after then twice the week after then once again as it doesn't give any consistency.

Try and do it three times a week for 2-3 months then have a week off as you need to give your body a chance to heal and grow.

Apart from that if you put in the hours and get the right amount of protein there's no reason why you shouldn't see gains of 1-1.5 lbs of muscle per month, anybody tells you you could gain more is probably talking about anabolic steroids which are no good for anyone as they do more damage then good.