Articles with advice on how to lose weight can easily be found on the Internet, they are being written all the time, but many of them offer us different, sometimes inappropriate instructions. Indeed, they attract readers from many sites, including social networks, so it is necessary to carefully consider and choose which one to follow.
But would it occur to you that there are also women among us who are unsuccessfully trying to gain weight? Yes, many of us envy them their "condition", but for them it presents the same problem as for the vast majority of the female population trying to lose weight. And what motive do women actually have to gain weight when more than one of us would like to trade it with them? One of the main reasons (it should be) is health, another is to get stronger, but their main motive is, and we won't lie to ourselves, to build feminine curves, hypertrophy (gain muscle mass) in the right places and tone up. And since less is written about how to gain weight, I decided to write something on this topic.
Have pizza, donuts, just whatever you want, don't say...
I am surprised that some of my clients have received such advice from their previous trainers. All you have to do is start stuffing yourself with highly processed and dense foods (we can read about caloric density in the article Caloric density - are you using it to your advantage? ), without any control, system, modification of eating habits? Certainly not! Are you wondering why? After all, a person who has trouble gaining weight does not need to watch what he eats.
And I do not agree with this statement! I am a supporter of the fact that a person who is trying to gain weight, not fat, but on the contrary active muscle mass, which is involved precisely in making the figure look better and the body acquires curves and the necessary strength and health, must pay attention to composition and monitoring diet just like a person trying to lose weight. The reason is simple: as with weight loss, you need to have the correct caloric balance - expenditure versus intake. While trying to lose weight requires a caloric deficit, i.e. a higher expenditure than intake, when gaining weight the opposite principle applies and that is a caloric surplus , i.e. a lower expenditure than intake. Logical. How do you want to gain weight if you burn more energy than you take in every day? And in order to go about it purposefully, you need to have your income and expenses under control. That's why it's important to set calories at the beginning about 15-20% above your total daily expenditure, taking into account work, activities, exercise,... And don't forget that the composition of the diet is also an equally important factor! You just can't build quality on pizza and pies. As with weight loss, it doesn't matter which calories. While I agree that a person trying to gain weight, who has a lot more calories per day than a person trying to lose weight, and has to make do with a smaller number, can fit more "nonsense" into their diet in the form of junk food.
For people who want to gain weight, it is necessary to have the highest percentage of basic, nutritious and least processed foods in their diet. This ranges from proteins (especially those with the most complete amino acid spectrum, which include: beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, whey proteins, quality dairy products,...) to carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, flakes, various pseudocereals, fruits, vegetables,...) and fats (vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, avocado, hard cheeses,...).
Track your calorie intake over time and then assess whether you need to increase your calorie intake. If weight gain is going according to plan, continue with this setup. If this is not the case, it is advisable to reduce or increase the income. It is not advisable to stuff yourself unnecessarily, and the associated unnecessary fat gain.
Training
Training is a very important part of gaining weight. Of course, if you care about what the weight gain will look like in the end. If you want a toned body and curves - that is, muscles - then strength training should be one of the main priorities on this journey. We discussed the benefits of strength training in the article Benefits of strength training .
Above all, it is necessary to leave more space in the training units for multi-joint, basic exercises with sufficient load. I mean adequate when a person leaves his comfort zone, but at the same time is able to perform exercises with the correct technique and of course to the full extent. And which exercises actually fall into this category? These are mainly different variants of squats, deadlifts, push-ups, lunges, pressure exercises, pull-ups,...
These exercises are among the less comfortable, but in this case also among the most effective. You involve several muscles at once, you support the development of strength and muscle mass, you also strengthen tendons, ligaments, bones, and such regular training consisting of the mentioned exercises supports the release of anabolic hormones.
In training where hypertrophy is the goal, it is important to follow the basic aspects on which it stands, namely: volume, intensity, frequency of training, progressive overload, choice of exercises, breaks, pace,...
Of course, since we don't want "it" to grow in any way, it is necessary to set the training in such a way that we simultaneously build symmetry and an aesthetic figure. Workouts must be tailored based on your body type and goals.
So how do you gain weight and gain curves?
A properly adjusted diet consisting of quality sources: necessary macronutrients - a sufficient amount of quality sources of proteins, carbohydrates and fats and micronutrients. Don't forget about timing , appropriate and regular training , on which you simply do not slack off, consisting mainly of basic exercises, taking into account all the necessary aspects mentioned above. You can add a supplement that makes a lot of sense, like creatine or whey protein . In conclusion, you must not forget about sufficient regeneration , because it is often underestimated.
Sooo, and the secret to quality scooping and shaping is revealed! 😊
