Fitness Strength Training: 3 Reasons Why the Skinny Man stays Skinny (and How to Resolve It!) by Anders N W Lindgreen

It is an important part of the male ego and male jealousy to blame other peoples progress on their own poor genetics and others use of illegal substances. It is just easier that way than to face what is really going on. Here are three reasons why you are (still) skinny.

1. You Are A Program-Hopper

If you are the internet wise-guy who hang around all the exercise forums and are always eager to speak your mind about what other people should or should not do, regardless of your own achievements (or lack thereof), this could be you. Are you always looking for the next great program, the ultimate exercise or set of exercises for each muscle group and remain convinced that this next batch of supplements released will make all the difference in the world to you? Congratulations, you are the equivalent the quick-fix people of the weight loss world. Chances are you have trained for years and have very little to show for it.

My remedy, stick with what works and do some proper fitness strength training. Do a full body program, two to three days per week and follow it religiously, always trying to get stronger. Do not stop until results stagnate. Boredom is not a reason to change programs. Once you can bench your body weight, squat 1.5-2 times your body weight and do 15-20 perfectly executed chins you can look into body part splits and other programs. For now, follow something like:

Squat 3x6-10 repetitions

Chin Up 3xMax

Bench Press 3x6-10 repetitions

Shoulder Press 3x6-10 repetitions

Seated Row 3x6-10 repetitions

2. You Don't Eat Enough (really!)

The important thing about food is that it is not your perception of "having enough food" that counts, it is what you are actually eating and if you are doing it consistently enough. If you do not know what your energy requirements are, Google for "Calories Per Hour" and use their BMI calculator, and then you count all the calories of a typical day to see how closer or how far away you are. If you are consistently consuming more energy than that you are spending, while your body is getting stronger - you will build muscle. It's inevitable. Once you get this right you can mess around with more efficient eating protocols, but not before.

3. You Are Overtraining or Under-Recovering

The practical version of the Internet wise-guy is the guy that trains 5-7 days per week and only really rests when he is sick. His results would be average to above average, but only because he puts his blood sweat and tears into everything that he does and does it consistently. His training program might not be great, but he never leaves the gym walking, he's always crawling out. Great job you might think and yes, kudos to the people that can bring that intensity on a regular basis, but it might not be optimal. You see, even though we must exercise and eat well to build muscle, the actual building part doesn't happen while we train, it happens when we rest. A sure-fire way to tell if this is true is if he has ever claimed getting bigger while being sick. I would recommend one to two weeks off immediately and if he cannot see himself training less after that, have a recovery week every 6-8 weeks. With all that hard work I for one would like the best possible return and suffi!

cient recovery sure can help.