Various Weight Gaining Routines -- Anthony Ditillo

 

Various Weight Gaining Routines 

The gaining of additional bodyweight and the weight itself, being useful in the further acquisition of physical strength, is a topic of great discussion and magnitude. Several weight training authors and writers have dwelled upon this subject for many, many years with their aims being to help the duly underweight trainee gain enough bodyweight to begin to develop a more ruggedly developed frame and musculature for the acquisition of additional muscular bulk and power through additional training and exercise. 

There is a basic difference between regularly accepted bulk and power routines which advanced and semi-advanced lifters and bodybuilders may follow to further develop their frames and the kind of training we are talking about here and now. 

For the truly underweight man, the predicament he may find himself in is one of great frustration and mistaken notions. First of all, he can be so underweight that he appears as a skeleton to the naked eye of the observer, yet be paunchy and flabby in certain areas of the body due to lack of any real previous exercise and complete lack of muscle tone or shape. There is a great difference between this type of trainee and an intermediate bodybuilder of lifter interested in “bulking up” a few additional pounds for increased muscular size and/or power. For the truly underweight man, the acquisition of a heavier bodyweight is of the utmost importance. Whether or not all these pounds are of solid, shapely muscle is not the main consideration at this point, for this “tightening up” can be accomplished much later on, after a basic frame is developed. 

One of the most important things to be considered in such a situation is the complete recuperation of the muscular system between each and every workout. When you are really trying to gain additional bodyweight: do not overtrain! You are not in the same situation as other trainees with your particular problem. You cannot hope to add greatly to your bodyweight if you work too long and too hard. This advanced training ideology can come later on in your training scheme when you gave finally arrived at your new bodyweight and the muscular size has begun to show through. At the present time rest adequately and then grow! 

Try to remember that when you are trying to add greatly to your bodyweight, your entire lifestyle and bodily functions must be geared to operate united or such a physical transformation will not be possible. To overwork without proper or complete recuperation is like asking yourself to run in two directions at the same time; it is a physical impossibility. To be sure, to work out hard and regular is very important, but not at the expense of recuperation, at least not when you are trying to gain additional bodyweight. Better to have two hood hard workouts per week and recuperate fully from these, than to try to workout almost every day and be continually tired and run down. In this situation you would probably run into viruses and colds, etc., and the end result would be a short layoff from training every five of sex weeks, due to illness and overwork. So who is kidding whom? Weight training is not like other training and you cannot and should not force the body to operate outside its natural limits and still expect time and energy to take the place of common sense. 

The proper selection of exercise movements is also of the utmost importance and necessity. It is important in that this is not a muscle shaping period in your training. You are not trying to work additional density, definition, and roundness at this particular training period in your life. What you have to be primarily concerned with at this time is the addition of extra bodyweight which through training can be made into useful, functional muscle. To work with muscle shaping movements at this time would be a complete waste. To worry about how much you may be shifting during barbell curls is not sensible in the least. At least not when trying to gain extra bodyweight. Stick to a basic muscle group exercises when trying to add those extra pounds to get stronger, only your set and repetition scheme will be somewhat different in scope due to a different aim and goal. I also would not recommend to follow the accepted style on these powerlifts, since these styles are for shifting the most weight, not for working the muscles the hardest way possible. By using basic movements and a medium repetition scheme, along with very strict exercise performance, you will be guaranteed bodyweight results, providing the diet is followed correctly and regularly. 

We shall now endeavor to outline for you a few weight training gaining routines which can be followed quickly and easily by the average underweight trainee who is interested in gaining additional bodyweight with the extra weight adding to his overall power. Our first weight gaining routine will be a three day per week routine in which we will try to cover most adequately the muscle groups most responsible for bodyweight gains and the exercise movements regularly used to project these aims. 

Monday

Parallel Squats: begin with one set of ten repetitions for a warm-up, then jump to a weight which permits between eight and twelve repetitions and perform four sets with this weight. Try to perform this movement primarily with the legs and not with the back, as the powerlifters do. Do not be so concerned with the weight on the bar as with correct exercise style and technique. 

Medium Grip Bench Press: take one set of ten for a warmup, then go to the maximum weight possible to between four and six repetitions and use this weight for four sets. Do not arch or bounce the bar during your workout and concentrate on working the upper body thoroughly and correctly. Do not cheat on this movement. 

Bentover Barbell Rowing: use a relatively close grip on the bar and pull the bar into the stomach instead of into the chest. Begin with one set of ten for a warm-up and then jump to a maximum poundage for five repetitions and use this weight for between three and five sets. Jerking the weight will not grow larger muscles. 

Wednesday 

Incline Barbell Press: One set of ten reps for a warm-up, then jump to the heaviest weight possible for six reps and stay with this weight for four additional sets. Be sure to lower the bar correctly and slowly and do not bounce the weight off your chest during the repetitions. 

Bent Legged Deadlift: Begin with one set of ten reps. Then jump to to a set of seven reps. Finally, use a weight for four sets of three repetitions, done slowly and correctly. 

Cheating Barbell Curls: after a complete warm-up of sets with light weights for a few repetitions, jump the weight to a poundage which you have to use some body momentum to aid the bar in getting to the shoulders. Resist slowly on the downward movement of the bar to further work the muscles. Use a weight you can handle for five sets of between five and seven repetitions. 

Triceps Pressdown on Lat Machine: after a few sets of ten for a warm-up, jump the poundage to a maximum weight for between five and seven sets of between five and seven repetitions. These sets and repetitions should be done slowly and strictly for proper muscular congestion. 

Friday 

Weighted Parallel Bar Dips: we shall perform between five and seven sets of this exercise with a weight which will permit between five and seven repetitions. First, we would do one or two weightless sets for a warm-up. 

Chin Ups With Weight: use a medium grip with the palms facing away from you. After a set or two without weight for a warm-up, jump to a weight you are capable of handling for five to seven sets of between five and seven repetitions. Stretch fully and completely between each and every repetition so ass to thoroughly work and then congest the upper back and shoulder muscles. 

Breathing Squats: using a weight which you can get out ten repetitions with, perform twenty reps for one set and breathing four of five times between each repetition. Do not ho below parallel in this exercise and do the exercise with a medium foot placement and a rather high bar placement on the shoulders. This is to enable you to develop both stamina, a better metabolic rate which will stimulate further weight gains and finally, the lower thigh development which will boggle the average onlooker’s mind! 

The beauty of this three day per week routine lies within the amount of work done for each major bodypart and the amount of rest between workouts that is afforded the trainee. In this situation where the trainee is not advanced enough to work out more frequently than three times per week, the amount and intensity of the workload has been carefully prepared for you so as to facilitate complete recovery within the framework of the allotted training time. 

There are other roads leading to the same goal, however, and before this section of Chapter 4 is over, we shall endeavor to digress further into these possibly useful training methods. This way mo matter what condition you may find yourself in, you will have more than one choice for developing additional bodyweight and with persistent training, an increase of body power. Depending upon your capability to recuperate from hard physical exertion and also, depending upon how much actual training time you can allow yourself, the ways for increasing your over-all bodyweight and measurements are varied and many. 

For the INTERMEDIATE trainee who has a fairly rugged constitution, the following four day training routine will be of great benefit, should he care to try it for a few months without jumping from one kind of routine to another. We have once again chosen set and repetition schedules which have shown to cause rapid bodyweight increases for the majority of trainees, depending upon their desire and their training education. The particular movements are among the best for gaining bodyweight and the overall workload is more than adequate for substantial weight gain for the majority of trainees. Later on in this chapter we shall get into various menus and dietary habits for gaining bodyweight which will be primarily functional muscular massiveness and not soft, flabby and entirely useless! Be sure to adhere to these dietary habits and tips since they have been gathered from the archives of the training world’s greatest lifters, bodybuilders, and bulk fanatics, men whom we all admire and respect. You will not be taking any chances if you follow the directions I am about to outline for you. 

Here then is your weight gaining four day per week training routine: 

Monday and Thursday - Upper Body Work – 

Medium Grip Bench Press: one or two sets for a warm-up, then jumping to all the weight you can possibly for four of five sets of six to eight reps. Perform these repetitions slowly and correctly without arching the lower back or raising the hips off the bench. The use of medium grip work will work the majority of the upper body muscles quite hard while at the same time will aid in gaining additional power through the extra weight gains. 

Flat Bench Flyes: use a medium heavy weight and perform four of five sets of between five and seven repetitions using a slow methodical style, concentrating on really stretching the upper body muscles. 

Bentover Barbell Rowing: use a close grip and bring the bar into the stomach, not the chest, so that a more complete stretching of the upper back muscles will be accomplished. I should advise five to seven sets of between five and seven repetitions, using the heaviest possible weights for the final three sets. 

Lat Machine Pulldowns: use a wide grip and pull the bar down to the chest, not behind the neck. Work for four sets of ten to twelve repetitions. 

Press Behind Neck: try for five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions, using the heaviest possible weights for the final three sets. 

Alternate Forward Raise: Work up to four sets of between ten and twelve repetitions. Do this movement slowly and strictly, with very little body swinging and motion. This movement will really out the deltoids, given enough time and sweat and work. 

In checking out the aforementioned routine, for the upper body you can see that for each of the two training days there was an increase in overall workload as compared to the first three day per week routine. This is because you will only be training the upper body two times per week and even though the lower body and the arms will be worked an additional days, the overall effect is greater time for each individual muscle group to recover from the exercise motions allotted them. This will mean that in essence, you will be training more but recuperating better. This will aid you in gaining more bodyweight and the amount of work for the used muscles will be great enough to make the bodyweight gain primarily muscular. 

The second half of this four day a week routine is listed for you below. On these two days you will be training the legs and the upper arms. Here then is the second half of your routine: 

Tuesday and Friday 

Legs – 

Parallel Squats: on one day work out with two or three sets of twelve and fifteen repetitions using a fairly light weight, but concentrating primarily on keeping excellent style and technique. On the other squatting day work up to a heavy set of three or four reps and stay with this weight until three sets of five reps can be done. On both squatting days, finish up the leg work with the following movement: 

Leg Presses: try for four sets of eight to twelve reps using all weight possible. 

Stiff Legged Deadlifts: three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions using a medium weight and concentrating on proper exercise style. 

Prone Hyperextensions: three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions using at first only bodyweight, and later on additional for added resistance. 

Arms – 

Cheating Barbell Curls: use a slight swing to get the weight into orbit and then use sheer arm strength for finishing the repetitions. Try for five sets of eight to ten repetitions using a really heavy weight. Be sure to work this movement hard since it will really bulk up your arms. 

Incline Dumbbell Curls: try for four sets of between six and eight repetitions using a medium heavy resistance and working for proper exercise style. 

 

Lying Triceps Extensions: do this movement slowly and correctly for best results. Try for five sets of between eight and ten repetitions using a medium weight and proper exercise style. 

Standing Triceps Extension: try for four sets of between six and eight repetitions using medium heavy resistance and proper exercise style. 

As can plainly be seen, this second half of the four day a week routine is by no stretch of the imagination easy. You are going to have to learn to work hard in order for the amount of weight you will be gaining to be primarily muscle. You do not want solely inflated tissue for this type of development will literally shrink and vanish without constant stimulation. The kind of training outlined here for you will aid you in getting heavier and more massive. It will not allow you to get fat. 

We now get into training for those foolhardy souls who are really fanatical about increasing muscular bulk and power, and will go to all ends to attain this goal. They have the time and desire to train almost every day. To be sure, men such as Paul Anderson and Doug Hepburn have used this severe system of training when trying to lift new records and gain in bodyweight, because this type of everyday routine lends itself quite will to a power routine, since most movements will be done only once per week, or so, and there will be plenty of work. 

It should be obvious to you that if you are going to train with heavy weights five or six days per week. then your diet and your training load and intensity will have to be monitored quite closely for best results. An increase in training load may at first seem within reason, yet with additional training time and energy, you may find yourself slowly becoming quite stale. If this happens, it is time to either lesson the amount of work done daily or reduce the number of workouts, or in some situations do both for the good of the entire scope of the routine. 

Do not feel that training almost every day will hamper your gain in bodyweight. This is not true and in most cases this daily training, if not overly long and excessive, will enable you to gain primarily muscle with very little fat being accumulated during the experiment and the overall effect is a more massive, more powerful you. To be sure, you will have to keep a close check on the amount of work you allow yourself to do on any given day, since this will make up the week’s workload and by overdoing it for one or two days the rest of the week will suffer because the recuperation potential of the muscles will be overlooked. 

In this daily routine it is not the number of sets that count, but the strictness of the movements and how hard each set is; this is what counts. Since you will be training almost every day, the muscles will remain fairly pumped during the entire training week and this will enable them to grow in size since the slight pump will be reconstituted every day and hence the blood and the nutrients will be coursing through the muscles daily, leading to fast growth response. Naturally, such an undertaking will have to be aided with proper nutritional considerations and in the next section of this chapter I will outline for you various dietary considerations an drinks and snacks which have worked for me and for other men interested in fast size and power development and lifting ability. Since I am by no means a champion, I feel that my ideas have merit for you, the average trainee, since we are both in the same boat, as it were, To listen to a champion is not always the way to go, since he is operating from a greater genetic potential than you and I and what will work for him does not have to work for you and me. Many times it is the average lifter who can help another fellow make it to the top faster and easier through his own past mistakes. 

To follow a six day per week training routine and at the same time try to gain dramatically in bodyweight increases is no easy matter. First of all, you must be sure that the diet you are following is complete and high enough in calories and protein to ensure enough material for you to grow on. You also must see to it that on each day you have time to relax and take it easy for a few hours or so, in order to aid you in recuperating from this gross amount of work. In short, your entire life must revolve around your training if you are to succeed with this training idea and methodology. 

A simple way to formulate such a routine is to decide the various movements you intend on using for your routine and then set a minimum amount of work each day for each movement. According to how regularly you are gaining, simply adjust the amount of workload to suit your rate of progress. In other words, the more you gain, the greater the daily workload; the slower you recuperate the less you allow yourself to do. After a short while experimenting as to how much and of what movements you will be working, you will find the right work from there. Only time and patience will give you these answers. 

As a choice of correct movements to employ, I would advise the following basic, muscle group exercises as a basis for a sound choice: Bench Presses, Curls with a Barbell, Lying and Standing Triceps Extensions, Incline Presses, Bentover Barbell Rowing, Bent Legged Deadlifts, Parallel Squats, Front Squats and Leg Presses, Standing Presses, Seated Presses and Presses Behind the Neck can also be employed, if you so wish. All these movements are useful and will work for you as far as the addition of bodyweight, muscular size and overall power are concerned. If you adhere to these movements, you will become a much heavier and stronger man. 

As a final suggestion in setting up this type of specialized weight gaining routine, let me digress a bit further. I would advise you to begin with two or maybe three movements per day with no particular movement being done more than once of twice per week. This will help you see that you do not work the same favored muscle groups at the expense of the lifts and muscle groups which you personally do not like as much. By limiting the frequency of any particular lift or exercise, you will be forced to vary your routine daily, in order not to repeat yourself and to see to it that your exercise choices are well rounded. In the beginning use a rather low number of sets fot each movement. Let us use six sets for each movement as an example. Now, depending upon the rate of improvement, you will gauge your set increases by the amount of weight you gain and the ease in which you recuperate from the initial workload. This way will guarantee that you do not overextend yourself while trying to gain bodyweight. It will also help you from overtraining, whether it is deliberate or not. 

Here is a sample six day routine for bodyweight gain: 

Monday: Bench Press, Parallel Squat, Curl. 

Tuesday: Deadlift, Bentover Rowing, Lying Triceps Press. 

Wednesday: Incline Press and Cheating Curls. 

Thursday: Front Squat, Standing Press. 

Friday: Standing Triceps Extension, Bentover Rowing. 

Saturday: Bench Press and Full Squats. 

As I mentioned earlier, begin with only a few sets of this and that and work up the volume and the intensity as time and progress permits. Do not do doubles or singles at this time, for this amount of work will not work well with too high a degree of intensity. Try to work with medium repetitions, let us say, between six and eight sets of five to seven repetitions for most movements. On the leg work, you might wish to go a bit high, let us say, up to twelve or so repetitions. You will have to be the judge as to how far to go. It is really up to you. You are the one in in charge.

This type of routine has done wonders for past "monsters" of the weight game. Follow adequate dietary habits and it will do wonders for you too. All you need, is time, hard work, and confidence. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!