What does getting bigger actually mean? You can get bigger by stuffing yourself with junk food all day, but this will just make you fat. You can get bigger and lean to get a ripped physique, but this usually involves first getting bigger and then doing a cutting phase to get lean. Or you could get a physique which is in between these two physiques.

Getting bigger is normally referred to as “bulking up” which requires making adjustments to your diet and training regimen. Bulking up is a benefit to people who want to know how to gain weight. Gaining 30-40 lbs within 6-months of being on a bulk up diet and training is very common. It won’t all be muscle, but gaining some fat should be the least of your concerns. You can always get lean after you have gained the weight, and you will not look out of proportion because of the muscle you would have gained.

However, bulking up is not for all body types. If you are overweight and have a tendency to put on weight easily then it’s not suitable for you. If you have a fast metabolism (which is typical for hardgainers), then this method can be an effective way to increase muscle mass, get stronger and smash through those training plateaus.

Eat Big To Get Big

You need to eat a lot in order to get bigger! Missing out on breakfast and having lunch on the go is no longer an option if you are serious about getting bigger. You need to learn to eat proper meals, and you will want to buy food in bulk so you can prepare meals in advance. Just grab the prepared meals from the fridge in the morning when you are in a rush to get to work so you don’t skip on meals.

Meal Frequency

Eat at regular times throughout the day. Generally speaking you will want to eat 6 meals per day, every 3 hours like clockwork, including breakfast (6am), mid morning snack (9am), lunch (12pm), mid afternoon snack (3pm), dinner (6pm), and before you go to bed (around 9pm). Obviously the times can be different. This is the minimum eating requirements on a bulk up diet. It’s not uncommon for people who are bulking up to eat more than 2,500 calories. Exactly how many calories you will need to bulk up will depend on your weight, how often you are training, how much weight you want to gain and how fast you want to do it.

Stick With High Calorie Foods

Swap low calorie food for high calorie foods which have a high nutritional value. You need to be consuming excess calories if you want to bulk up.

Get Enough Protein

Buy a good protein supplement like Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey. Whey protein isolate is fast digesting and a cheap way of getting adequate protein in your diet. Protein powder can be easily added to weight gain shakes. The best time to take a weight gain protein shake is first thing in the morning and last thing at night. On workout days, instead you can drink one for breakfast and after the workout. Don’t always drink shakes to get your protein though. Eggs are another very good source of protein. You can make an eggs omelet with mushrooms, onions and salsa, which is very tasty and packed with protein.

Don’t Be Too Strict!

You are allowed to cheat with junk foods occasionally, just don’t make it a bad habit. You want to get the majority of your calories from unprocessed healthy foods. Eat what you want whenever you feel like it, just as long as are consistent with eating healthy foods.

Training

During the bulking up phase you will want to limit doing cardio because this form of exercise burns too many calories and does little for building muscle. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym in order to get big. In fact, over training can be detrimental to muscle gains. If you’re a hardgainer, you will not want to workout more then 3 times per week for 45 minutes each session.

When lifting weights, do heavy workouts with low reps (6-10 repetitions). This is the best way to get bigger. Focus on the basic compound exercises like squats, bench press, military press, pull ups, and so on. These exercises target the larger muscle groups. Working the large muscle groups like the chest, back, legs and shoulder will help with your efforts to increase testosterone levels, which is an anabolic hormones which plays a key role in muscle building.