EstimatedEst. Read Time: 4 minutes
Hardgainer Eating Plan (FULL DAY + TIPS!)

If you are skinny and find it difficult to pack on muscle then you are going to definitely want to watch this video.  Here I am going to break down how to eat to build muscle and give you strategies on the best ways to approach your meal plans to give you the best chance of success.  Too often, the overly simplified advice of “eat big and get big” is not enough.  Here we are going to see why this can lead to an abundance of low quality gains (i.e. fat) instead of defined muscle.

 

If you have been lifting for any length of time you have likely heard how important your nutrition is to the way your body looks.  Pack a bunch of low quality foods into your diet and even though you may pack on some mass through training, it is going to look bloated and non-aesthetic when it is composed of mostly increases in body fat.  This is not the look you should be going for especially if you are going to need to perform at a high level as well.

 

Instead, the goal should be to build lean muscle without unnecessary or excess body fat.  In order to achieve this you must first realize that simply eating more food indiscriminately is not the way to go.  You would be better off learning how to make smarter food selections and opting for high quality nutrient dense foods. 

 

There is a problem with this approach however, and it can be a big one if you don’t manage it properly.  That is, often times the nutrient dense foods are not calorically dense.  Meaning, the healthier the food option becomes the fewer calories it has.  When you attempt to simply cram more food into each meal to compensate for the sparser calories you often find that you get too full too quickly and cannot sustain it.

 

This is where the approach to eating more frequently throughout the day comes in helpful.  Now there is nothing magical about eating 6 times per day rather than 3.  However, when it comes to hardgainers, it is especially helpful and a much more successful approach to eating since meal frequency is always an easier ask than increased meal volume when the stomach is used to eating a certain amount per sitting.

 

Next, it is important that you chronicle your meals for about 2 to 3 days.  This forces you to assess how much you are truly eating in a day.  Often times, this is eye opening to those that actually take the time to do it.  It becomes abundantly clear that they are not eating enough food to amount to any kind of muscle protein synthesis.  Higher protein intake can help to lower the demand for calorie excess however in both instances, your body still needs enough high quality food to help you to build muscle.

 

It is here that liquid calories and making the more calorie dense foods like avocados, natural peanut butter and nuts your staple foods, becomes most helpful.  Adding a few protein shakes or smoothies in to your existing meals and not forgetting to opt for these more calorie compacted food options for snacks is a great way to quickly increase the intake throughout the day.

 

A sample day of eating is included in this video towards the end to give you an idea of how you would want to structure your meal plan if you were looking to put on more size and were struggling with being too skinny at the moment.

 

If you are looking for a complete 90 day meal plan with every meal laid out in detail, be sure to click the link below to get your ATHLEAN-X Training System.  It comes with your meals, workouts and strategies in a step by step fashion to ensure your success.

 

For more videos on what to eat to build muscle and the best hardgainer workouts to build muscle mass, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube and turn on your notifications so you never miss a video when it’s published.

 

90 Day Meal Plans – http://athleanx.com/x/my-workouts

Subscribe to this channel here – http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24

Jeff Cavaliere Headshot

Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS

Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.

Read more about Jeff Cavaliere by clicking here

Popular & Trending
stop doing face pulls like this facepull mistake
1
How To Do Face Pulls
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
September 9th, 2019
Face pulls are one of the best corrective exercises to help offset poor posture and shoulder dysfunction.  They help strengthen the chronically weak...
Body Fat Percentage Men
2
Body Fat Percentage Men
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 11th, 2023
There are many ways to measure body fat percentage; some wildly expensive and most inaccurate. It's time to give you an alternative method that...
2 reasons your biceps aren't growing and 3 ways to fix it
3
Why Your Biceps Aren’t Growing
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
August 22nd, 2019
Have you ever felt that no matter how much you trained your biceps you’re left saying… “My Biceps STILL Aren’t Growing?” I believe I know...
The Perfect Abs Workout
4
The Perfect Abs Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 31st, 2019
We’ll be following my ‘Six Pack Progression’ sequence as we choose each of the beginner and advanced ab exercises for each abdominal movement...
incline bench press avoid mistakes for upper chest
5
How To Incline Bench Press Correctly
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
January 16th, 2024
The Incline Bench Press is one of the best upper chest exercises there is, but there's one major problem preventing us from getting the maximum...
best dumbbell exercises for chest
6
The Best Dumbbell Exercises for Chest
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 6th, 2023
Today I’m going to share my favorite chest exercises… but there’s a catch. We can only use dumbbells! I’ll show you what to do whether you...
long head triceps exercises
7
Long Head Tricep Exercises
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
December 19th, 2023
The triceps make up two-thirds of the size of your arm so the bigger your triceps, the bigger your arm muscles. But not all muscle heads of the...
cable chest workout
8
Cable Chest Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 2nd, 2023
Today, we're diving deep into the most underrated piece of equipment in your workout arsenal for chest workouts – the cable machine. The constant...
Cable Back Workouts
9
Cable Back Workouts
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
December 12th, 2023
If you want a versatile back workout that hits every angle, challenges muscle recruitment patterns, and provides consistent tension, then you can’t...
cable shoulder exerciees
10
Cable Shoulder Exercises
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 30th, 2023
Unlike barbell or dumbbell shoulder workouts, cables offer consistent tension throughout the exercise, a key factor that can lead to better...
Watch the YouTube version of this article