The vast majority of people we deal with here at Guy Leech Fitness are trying to lean down and lose body fat. There are however some clients that need to gain weight. The key is gaining the “right sort” of weight – muscle rather than fat - and this is a long term (months to years) rather than short term (days to weeks) project.

It can however be done and the purpose of this article is to tell you how to do so – properly.

So why do some people become excessively thin? In essence it comes back to the basic energy formula: If energy in is greater than energy out you gain weight, if energy in is less than energy out you loose weight. Those who struggle to gain weight are somehow in a negative energy balance. Illness aside (e.g. Cancer suffers struggle to meet their energy requirements) some of the more common reasons people may find it hard to gain weight include:

• Genetics – having a naturally elevated resting metabolic rate
• Simply not eating enough
• Having a physically demanding, active lifestyle and/or job
• Exercising excessively and not matching energy requirements.

So what can you do to battle this problem? As is the case with most lifestyle issues – combining appropriate nutrition and exercise to achieve your goals. But first up consult with a GP and allied health professionals such as a dietitian and exercise physiologist to:

• Rule out the possibility of any underlying medical condition that may be causing your thinness, such as hyperthyroidism.
• Establish whether or not you are actually underweight (from BMI charts, etc.) and then establish an appropriate (healthy) weight range for your height.
• Assess and advise on your diet and physical activity levels to produce the desired weight gain.

In the final analysis you are going to need to eat more, and more of the “right” things. First up you need to establish what you’re actually consuming on a daily basis. You can achieve this by visiting a qualified dietitian and recording (in detail) a couple of typical days eating and then have the dietitian assess this. You may be very surprised to find that the number of kilojoules you’re consuming is considerably less than you need.

Eat right

Then you’ll likely be counselled by the dietitian to:

• Eat three good meals/day. Eating slightly larger serves if you can tolerate them.
• Eat three snacks/day: Morning tea, afternoon tea and suppertime. These need to be healthy options like fresh fruit, low-fat yoghurt, low-fat rice pudding, low-fat custard, low-fat milkshake or a liquid meal supplement.
• To gain weight you need to increase your daily intake of carbohydrate, so avoid low carbohydrate diets and equally forget about increasing your protein intake. High protein diets (i) will NOT speed muscle mass gain and (ii) such diets place excessive stress on your kidneys and should be avoided.
• Be sure to avoid high fat junk food. Any weight you gain from such food is likely to be body fat and accompanied with a raft of health issues in the longer term. To increase the fat content of your diet opt for nutritious high fat foods such as avocado or nuts. Check out out healthy recipes on our site for some ideas.

Hit the gym

A positive energy balance coupled with strength training builds muscle mass. Strength training can take on a number of guises such as free weights, machines, working against your own body weight (e.g. Push ups) and resistance bands. The key (after an initial pre-conditioning period) is to keep the resistance high and the repetitions low – this will promote muscle gain. Before launching yourself into the gym be sure to:

• See your doctor before undertaking on any new exercise program.
• See an AEP (accredited exercise physiologist – www.essa.org.au ) or physiotherapist rather than a PT (personal trainer) to get professional guidance in exercise prescription and execution.
• 2-3 strength training sessions per week is ample to give your muscles time to recover. Remember muscles grow during the recovery phase from exercise, so strength training more regularly can be detrimental.
• Cut back on the amount of aerobic exercise as this will erode muscle mass gains.
• Choose “compound exercises” that work multiple major muscle groups together. For example; the squat and bench press as your central exercises and then incorporate some isolation exercises (e.g. Bicep curl) as desired.
• Make your workouts short and intense rather than long and leisurely.
• Form is important. Focus on correction execution of exercises rather than loading up on extra weight and loosing correct form. Poor form can lead to injury.
• Don’t waste your time/money on pills and potions that claim to build muscle mass. They are not scientifically proven. What builds muscle is hard work!

Lifestyle changes
If you’re serious about gaining muscle mass you will need to be prepared to:

• Eat regularly (every two hours). Even when you’re not hungry.
• Eat immediately post-exercise to speed recovery and facilitate muscle growth.
• Track your progress. Keep a diet and exercise log and record your food intake, workouts, body weight, weights being used in the gym, set and rep numbers and girth measurements. These all act as motivators to track your improvement.
• Consistency is the key. Start conservatively, build a base of general fitness and then work at maintaining the aforementioned lifestyle changes in regards to diet and exercise in the longer term.
• Change your program regularly (once every 4-6 weeks) in consultation with your exercise physiologist or physiotherapist. This will help keep you motivated and enthusiastic.