Workout Plan For Skinny Guys To Gain Lean Muscle

I have heard a lot of people claim that your body size is defined by your genes/DNA – and if you are skinny when you are born then you will always be. I have heard guys say ‘I wish I were muscular but there is no chance of that since it is just not in my genes’.

Sorry, but that’s total nonsense. Because thin guys definitely can put on muscle and gain weight even with a fast metabolism. There are just a number of things that you need to do to be able to pack on some serious muscle mass.

As a skinny guy (or ‘hardgainer’ as they sometimes call it), like me, I’ll bet you would pretty much do anything to be able to quickly gain pounds of muscle, right? You’ve probably been through numerous fitness magazines and read several articles trying to convince you that you need to spend some fortune on muscle gaining pills and supplements?

Well, as a skinny hardgainer myself, I should tell you that to gain muscles is easier than some of those magazines would have you believe. It’s worth remembering that those magazines profit by providing lots of expensive advertising space for the supplement companies. And that most of their products are totally pointless and unnecessary for thin guys who just want to obtain several pounds of muscle in a few months.

First, let me begin by saying that your genetics don’t have any real effect on your body size and how muscular you are. It’s just that some people are simply born with a better ability to pack on muscle – while some hardgainers, or ‘ectomorphs’, like us are not. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that we can’t gain substantial amounts of muscle. We only have to approach things a slightly different way.

A Workout to Add Some Bulk

Here’s an example of a routine that you can use to put on a decent amount of muscle mass while still maintaining a solid look. Yes, this is the same routine that I outlined for the Vin Diesel workout — didn’t want to send you to that page and then have you come back to this page. 😀

By taking a common 3-day split and altering the sets & reps we can build overall muscle mass and density — producing a stronger looking muscle than the typical 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps.

Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

Incline Dumbbell Press – 8 sets of 5 reps
Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 8 sets of 5 reps
Incline Barbell Press – 8 sets of 5 reps
Standing Military Press – 8 sets of 5 reps
Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 8 sets of 10-20 reps
Skull Crushers – 8 sets of 5 reps
Diamond Pushups – 8 sets of 10-20 reps
Day 3 – Back & Biceps

Pull Ups – 8 sets of 5-8 reps
Seated Rows – 8 sets of 5 reps
Upright Rows – 8 sets of 5 reps
Standing Barbell Curls – 8 sets of 5 reps
Preacher Curls – 8 sets of 5 reps
Day 5 – Legs & Core

Front Squats – 8 sets of 5-8 reps
Straight Leg Deadlifts – 8 sets of 5 reps
Planks – 3 sets at 2 minutes
Side Planks – 3 sets each side 45-60 seconds


*Rep one should be done with the heaviest amount of weights as you can do for 6 reps — stop at 5 reps. Rest for 30-60 seconds and then do 5 more reps at 80% of the original (heavy) weight. Rest 30-60 seconds and then do 5 more reps at the same weight you did on your second set. Repeat this until you’ve done 8 total sets of each exercise.

What makes this so effective is the lack of rest combined with the sets and reps.