There can be many reasons a person might want to know how to gain weight. People who are underweight may need to gain weight for health reasons. Those who want to enjoy ripped bodies or 6-pack abs may need this information. Whatever the reason you have for wanting to bulk up, there are a variety of ways to accomplish the goal. Before you choose any particular method, you should know what your options are.
High Calorie Diets
Unless what you want is a body of fat and flab, choosing a high calorie diet is bit more complex than it sounds. You need to choose the right types of calories. This is particularly true if you plan to maintain any type of exercise or body building regimen. Without the right type of calories, you will simply burn through the foods you eat during your workouts and defeat the purpose.
Foods that contain dense calories are preferable. What does that mean? Foods that are higher in fat or sugar will have a higher calorie count but it goes deeper than that. For example one cup of cucumbers and one cup of raisins have the same volume. The cucumbers provide just 14 calories while the raisins total 520 calories. The reason for the difference lies in the water and fiber content of the cucumbers. Other foods that have high density calories include candy bars, cola, cookies, fatty meats, ice cream, salami, rice crackers, potato chips and anything you fry. Start by adding 250 to 500 calories per day and build as needed from there.
These foods allow you to eat a high calorie diet while practicing a strength training program to develop muscle. The end results will not only show you how to gain weight but sill also help give you a better physique.
How to Gain Weight with Strength Training
You have heard the saying that muscle weighs more than fat. There is truth in the statement. Packing on the pounds is easy to do but doing it in such a way as to build mass, tone and define muscle tissue and drive the girls wild takes more than just eating.
Fixed weight machines can help build strength and fitness but won’t give you the same ripped look you can get from free weights. Using heavy weights in sets of just four to eight repetitions will challenge you more than any number of lighter weight repetitions.
Using barbells and dumbbells in your strength training program can be how to gain weight while shaping the body you‘ve always wanted. That is because you use secondary muscles to complete lifts when you use these tools. Your abs, glutes and thighs all assist the bicep and back muscles when you do bent over rows, for example.
Exercise Routines
Female Muscle growth
Exercise is necessary for good health but some exercises can actually help you lose weight rather than gain it. How to gain weight through exercise is a matter of developing good habits that focus on resistance training and strength building. Weight lifting is just about the best way to build muscle mass and gain weight through exercise.
Your routine should include exercises for each muscle group. Short, intense exercises followed by a period of rest for each muscle group is the safest and most reasonable way to define and rip your muscles. Try to gradually increase the amount of weight every so often. Squats, dead lifts, bent-over rows, chin-ups and bench presses are common exercises because they focus on the biggest muscle groups which also happen to be the easiest to build up.
If you have never done free weights and are unsure where to start, you can test yourself. Select a weight that seems reasonably comfortable to lift. Practice 8 to 12 repetitions. If your muscles temporarily fail, this is a good weight to challenge yourself with. If you get through it with no trouble, you are pushing yourself enough. Just don’t go overboard.
Diet Supplements
There are a variety of weight-gaining supplements on the market, each claiming to help you bulk up quickly. Diet supplements have their place but they should not be the basis of your diet. Rather, diet supplements should be used to help with areas of your diet where you are struggling to consume the right foods on a regular basis.
Diet supplements like Meal Replacements, Weight Gainers, Flaxseed Oils and Protein Powders can be good choices as long as you are not depriving your body of natural foods and nutrients. The added proteins, carbs and fat should be in addition to your regular diet.
Not all diet supplements are safe. Check with your health care provider before you embark on a supplement program. Answering the question of how to gain weight should not put your health at risk.
Creatine
Creatine Monohydrate is a diet supplement that helps you gain weight, work out longer and build muscle mass. That is because our bodies naturally make creatine and store it in our muscle tissue for use when the muscles are stressed and need extra energy.
Created in the liver, pancreas and kidneys, creatine is found in more than 90% of our muscle tissue. When the muscles become fatigued, as they are during repetitive movements like those used during weight lifting, they lose energy and can fail. This brings the work out to a halt.
Body builders and others who want to gain weight through building muscle take creatine supplements on a daily basis for a number of weeks. This is known as the loading phase. The extra creatine is built up and stored in the muscles. Then, when the individual exercises and the natural reserves run low, the body uses the stored creatine to make more quick energy for the muscles.
The benefit is that you can work out for longer periods of time and improve more quickly. It provides increased energy and less fatigue. That in turn leads to faster muscle building and weight gain.
There are a variety of options available for creatine supplementation. It can even be used in conjunction with other supplements that multiply the effects of one another. Real muscle building takes place during the recovery period – that period of time when the muscles rest between work outs. A good practice is to give your muscles 48 hours to repair themselves before working them again.
How to gain weight is a matter of personal choice. You may choose to employ one or more of these techniques. Whichever methods you select, make sure you are comfortable with them and that they work for you.