Building Muscle for Hard Gainers

Many people are struggling to lose weight while others are struggling to gain weight. If you want to gain muscle, you may have trouble fighting your genetic makeup but, there is something you can do about it.

While others may look at you with envy, you may feel frustrated that you can't seem to gain weight. So what's wrong? The main culprit is your metabolism, which is higher than the average person's due to your genetic makeup. We are all limited, to some degree, by our genes but that doesn't mean you can't change your body.

Gaining weight takes the same amount of focus and preparation as losing weight. Here are some facts about gaining weight: You can't gain muscle without gaining some fat as well. No magic foods, powders or pills will allow you to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Your body is different from that of a bodybuilder--trying to gain mass to look like them is not the best idea. They have different muscle fibers than you and may even be getting a little help from illegal substances.

As a teenager, you'll have a hard time changing your body because it's changing constantly and will change through the years ahead. Gaining weight requires eating more and lifting more.

Gaining muscle requires that you eat more calories than you burn. For those with high metabolisms, you can try a few of these tricks in order to increase your calories. Choose calorie-rich foods such as granola, bagels, biscuits, avocados, olives, corn, meat, nuts, peanut butter, milk, yogurt and cheese.

Once your calories under control, you need to begin lifting weights. This will help you gain more muscle and help minimize the amount of fat you gain (although you should expect to gain some fat as well). Folks trying to gain muscle should lift heavy. This means lifting enough weight that allows you to complete 6-8 repetitions of each exercise. The last few reps should be difficult with the last rep being the most challenging, but not impossible.

Continue with cardio, but keep it at maintenance level--2-3 days of cardio per week will keep your heart in shape. If you're a beginner, start with a full body program 2-3 nonconsecutive days a week. Before progressing to more intense routines, allow your body a few weeks to get used to lifting weights.