Ultimate Guide for Skinny Guys to Gain Muscle

If you’re a skinny guy trying to build muscle, you’re not alone.

Gaining muscle can be tough, especially if your body doesn’t see m to change no matter what you do.

But don’t worry—this guide will show you exactly how to get the results you’re looking for.

Whether you’re just starting out or have tried a few things without success, we’ve got you covered.

From the best workouts to eating the right foods and using supplements, we’ll explain everything step by step.

Let’s jump in and show you how to build muscle and finally stop being the “skinny guy.”

How to Gain Muscle If You Are Skinny?

3 main things are:

1. Nutrition – A high-protein food is a must to grow muscles and accomplish your goal.
2. Exercises – You need a good workout program and compound exercises that will help you get the body you have always wanted.
3. Supplementation – Natural supplements like D-bal can help speed up your bulking process

1. Nutrition

The goal of a bulking phase is to gain weight, but it’s important to do so in a healthy way.

Focus on eating nutrient-dense foods that are high in protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

This will help ensure that you are gaining muscle mass and not just adding extra body fat.

What to eat before a workout?

What you eat before training is equally important as what you eat after that.

Unfortunately, most of you, especially beginners, don’t pay much attention to this.

If you want to avoid high body fat percentage you should eat smart.

It’s very important to include nutritious ingredients in your meals before and after training and to eat them at a proper time.

You should eat before a workout:

• Complex carbs – brown rice, sweet potato;
• Proteins – eggs (whites), poultry, beef;
• Fats – tuna, avocado.

Eat 1-2 hours before a workout.

What to eat after a workout?

What you eat after your training affects protein synthesis which takes place a few hours after your workout is done.

The intake of carbs and proteins after exercising positively affects your workout result whereas eating proteins that digest slowly (casein) before sleeping helps your muscles recover during the night and it improves your health by providing essential amino acids.

You should eat:

• Complex carbs – orange juice, cherry juice, potatoes;
• Proteins – whey protein.

The combination of proteins with carbs that are quickly absorbed is recommended to intake 30 minutes after your training at the latest.

You can read my detailed nutrition guide here.

Calorie Surplus

To gain weight during a bulking phase, you need to consume more calories than your body burns.

You should consume an extra 250-500 calories per day on top of your maintenance calories.

This will help ensure that you are gaining weight at a healthy, sustainable rate and help you avoid excess fat gain.

2. Exercises

1. Bench press

The bench press is an awesome exercise for your chest and it can help you build chest muscle and arm muscles in a short time.

Try to do fewer reps with heavier weights to speed up the process of gaining muscle.

One of the most popular chest exercises at the gym.

It’s a very good workout that will help you lose man boobs and build your chest.

How to do it?

Lift the bar with your shoulders width apart.

Be careful and make sure you do the exercise right to affect the triceps, shoulders, and chest.

I recommend 4 sets with 8 reps and 2 minutes break.

I suggest you try an incline bench press, too.

2. Pull-ups

Definitely, exercise you should include in your training program.

If you are skinny, you can probably do pull-ups more easily than some big guys.

So, don’t skip this exercise and make wider pull-ups to engage back muscles as well because they have a big impact on your overall look.

Doing pull-ups regularly can help you get the V-shape body most guys want.

You can try different variations like chin-up, close grip pull-up, or wide grip pull-up.

If you aren’t satisfied with your pull–up progression you can do some pull-up alternatives first, like wide grip pull-down, T-bar row or one-arm dumbbell row.

3. Leg press

This is an excellent exercise because it allows you to completely activate your thighs.

One of the best workouts for the legs.

This is a reverse squat.

If you have back problems this is the right exercise for you since classic squats strain your back.

It’s important to fully use the strength of your legs, otherwise, you will feel pain.

As with bench presses, you should do fewer reps with heavier weights and ensure you don’t exaggerate because knee injuries are quite common.

4. Triceps

This is an inevitable exercise if you want to strengthen your arms and build arm muscle.

The triceps is the larger arm muscle and if you increase it your arm will look bigger.

Overhead triceps dumbbell extension is one of the most popular exercises for triceps and there’s a good reason for that.

This exercise puts your triceps under a lot of pressure which leads to breaking down muscle fiber and increasing your muscles.

Grab the dumbbell, lift your arm, and bend your elbows.

Put the dumbbell down over your head and lift your arm upright.

5. Deadlift

Another great exercise to strengthen your back and increase your upper body.

Combining these exercises and some additional workouts I made a plan for increasing muscle mass in skinny guys.

One of the most popular strength and testosterone-boosting exercises.

If you are a gym rookie, then it’s best to do other exercises for a while to get in shape and then start deadlifting to avoid injuries.

6. Squats

A superior exercise when it comes to building your lower body.

You should include this workout in your strength training.

Squats include the anterior, medial, and posterior muscles of the thigh and the butt.

It activates almost every muscle in the legs.

You can try split squats and Bulgarian squats, too.

Best 7-day Workout Program for Skinny Guys

Choose not too heavy weights, but still a challenging load.

Gradually increase the weight as you progress.

Your one-week training routine should look like this, if you are a skinny guy:

Monday

• Barbell squat – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Leg press – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Dumbbell lunge – 8 reps, 3 sets

Tuesday

• Box jump – 5 reps, 3 sets
• Plank – 45 secs, 3 sets
• Trap bar deadlift – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Pull up (Chin-up) – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Dumbbell row – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Farmer’s walk – 50 steps, 3 sets

Wednesday

• Rest

Thursday

• Overhead medicine ball slam – 5 reps, 3 sets
• Front squat – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Incline close-grip press – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Bulgarian split squat – 8 reps, 3 sets

Friday

• Romanian deadlift – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Supinated grip bent-over row – 12 reps, 3 sets
• Pallof press – 8 reps, 3 sets
• Neutral grip lat pull – 8 reps, 3 sets

Saturday

• Sprint or light-intensity home workout with kettlebells.

Sunday

• Foam roller massage, stretching, and resting.