Ultra extreme hardgainer

Are you frustrated by your lack of progress? Read this.

by Frustrated lifter

Question: Besides saying “quit training,” what would you say to someone who has been training for 10 years and made NO progress whatsoever, and during those ten years they’ve used super abbreviated routines to volume, from low volume high frequency to higher volume less frequency, and any other combination of training methods using compound movements? Oh, and did I mention I’ve used steroids and had many hormone tests with no indication anything is abnormal? Interested to hear your thoughts.

Answer: Yikes, quit training immediately and turn to skateboarding!

Seriously, you’ve touched on a lot here and I’ll try to address the overall concern: No progress after 10 years.

Believe it or not, I didn’t make much progress for over 20 years! Everybody’s different, so what worked for me may not work for you. But it could get you on the right track.

It’s all about bio-feedback. If something worked, tweak it a bit to improve. If something didn’t work, change things up a bit and see if you can’t make some progress.

It sounds like you’re doing all the typical “hardgainer” things – short workouts, compound movements, varying your volume and frequency…

I will say this: If you’re not gaining weight, which I assume you haven’t, you simply aren’t eating enough. Add 500 calories to your day. You can do this quite easily by adding a glass of whole milk to each of your 3 “main” meals.

If after adding 500 calories to your diet, you don’t see any weight gain, double up.

I suggest that you stick to any program you try for 6 weeks, then evaluate progress.

I know for much of my 20+ years of horrible “progress” that I jumped from one system to another.

I’d suggest you take a look at a guide I wrote, Hardgainer’s Manifesto.

One last thing I’d suggest is to try to find a copy of the book co-written by Robert Kennedy and Vince Gironda, called Unleashing the Wild Physique.

It’s out of print and if you can find it for sale, you’ll find it at a very high price, so I suggest you find a friend you can borrow it from. There are a LOT of awesome tips in there that are specifically productive for hardgainers.

I borrowed many of the tips and techniques in that book to build what eventually became Hardgainer’s Manifesto.

Hope this helps!

Milk and health

Question: I heard about this old cherished weight gainer.

I heard a workout regime called milk and squats, which I started. But I stopped the milk part due to hearing that too much milk is unhealthy and affects your kidneys.

My co-worker an avid milk drinker was told by his doctor to stop drinking milk because it had an adverse effect on his body.

What are your thoughts on it? I really like the idea of drinking a gallon of milk a day to gain weight.

Answer: I won’t argue with a doctor, but I suggest that “hearing things” is far removed from research. Thousands of men (and women) have gained the weight they want drinking a gallon of milk a day. (You have to exercise hard, too, to build muscle and not just pack on fat.)

To my knowledge, there is no evidence that drinking a gallon of milk a day harms your kidneys.

There is a misconception that “too much protein” can cause kidney problems. But it’s just that – a misconception.

There is little compelling evidence that mega doses of protein causes any sort of kidney damage in the least.

PLUS, the GOMAD is not to be used long-term. Three to six weeks at a time is all you need. Gain a little, maintain it, repeat if necessary.

Hope this helps!

Gallon of Milk a Day

Got milk?

Aspiring weight trainers and bodybuilders want to get big fast, and one of the best programs for doing so is the “Gallon of Milk a Day” plan, coupled with some heavy lifting.

When you want to get big really fast, there is no substitute for lots of calories. In fact, you need to add 500-1,000 calories per day if you want to gain weight. And really, the more the better. If you find yourself getting fat (it will show up in the belly first), you can back off a little or do some cardio work.

The GOMAD diet, as it’s commonly called, has been around for decades. It continues to be used because it works!

It’s very simple to follow, too.

1. Go to the store
2. Buy a gallon of milk
3. Drink it in one day, preferably over the entire course of the day!

That’s it!

Lots of folks who have used the Gallon of Milk a Day program have reported that they’ve achieved great success with it. It is recommended that you ease into the program; start off by drinking 1/8 to a 1/4 of a gallon a day at first to see how your body responds to it.

Obviously, if you’re allergic to milk or dairy products, this is NOT the system for you. Additionally, if you’re lactose-intolerant, tread lightly here.

Remember, the whole idea about bodybuilding is to achieve a heightened fitness and health level. Don’t destroy your health by eating food that doesn’t agree with you.

By the way, this eating program works great with the hardgainer program I put together.

It’s also a great start if you’re a beginning bodybuilder.

GOMAD Works!

by Tony (Indiana)

I was tired of being a 140 pound twink. I started lifting as heavy as I could 3-4 days a week while eating 5000-6000 kcal/day, about half of which was milk.

In one year I’ve made huge strength gains and gained about 60 pounds without a large rise in body fat.