Let’s take a general view of the two main categories of beginners, each looking to gain muscle mass but starting from different weight classes:
1) Overweight people who plan to turn their fats into muscle
2) Skinny hardgainers who just want to put on lean mass and weight
Overweight people tend to have a high percentage of body fat content, especially seen in their core (abdomen) and perhaps glut (the butt area). These people are best suited to strength training programs that involve both cardio exercises like running, skipping, swimming, cycling, and strength training in the form of weightlifting. The cardio part is necessary for burning out excess energy (in this case fats) and lowering their overall body fat content, while at the same time great for building up postural muscles such as the back and thighs.
Strength training programs for these overweight individuals generally revolve around the tested and proven 5×5 routine, which is a series of weightlifting exercises that workout your whole body. By incorporating cardio and 5×5 into your workout schedule, you can see a lot more success because your body is constantly switching between “fat burning” and “muscle building” mode. Coupled with the right diet, this is fantastic for losing weight and turning that fat body into a strong and muscular marvel.
What works for one does not necessarily work for another however, and this is exactly the case with skinny hardgainers. Contrary to the regime discussed above, hardgainers are encouraged not to immediately integrate cardio workouts to your strength training programs. This means that you should start off concentrating on just strength training and proper dieting, ignoring cardio exercises until you hit your desired weight.
Why no cardio? Don’t cardio exercises give you a lean body? Isn’t everyone in this part of the universe encouraged to jog, swim, and skip? Well the answer is yes to all the above BUT you must realize that the only exception is for hardgainers on a beginner level. What happens during cardio exercises is that your body actively consumes a lot of energy during the process. Unfortunately, your body does not only consume fat for energy conversion; it also breaks down muscles to generate the necessary energy.
For hardgainers, this is clearly counterproductive as your hard-built muscle mass during strength training will be compromised on cardio workouts. Make no mistake; cardio exercises are great for improving your strength training performance and making your body lean. However, to maximise your muscle gains you should avoid all cardio exercises until you hit your desired weight mark with proper strength training and dieting. Following that you can slowly integrate cardio aspects to your workout.
For best results, do cardio on your workout recovery days.
In summary, for hardgainers to get the best weight training, you should:
a) Start off with just a good strength training program like 5×5.
b) Stick to a good dietary plan
c) Avoid cardio until you hit your desired weight and mass
Once a hardgainer reaches the targeted weight, you should:
a) Keep up with your 5×5 training routines
b) Continue with your dietary plan
c) Incorporate simple cardio into your strength training, preferably on recovery days.
Keep the above in mind when you plan your workout schedule and routines!
