How to Go from Skinny to Muscular

Make use of amino acids

BCAAs or branched-chain amino acids are an open secret among body builders and workout enthusiasts. For those who don’t know, amino acids are protein building blocks which are very easily absorbed by our body, thus giving it the nutrition it requires. They are easily available and extremely affordable, not to mention how easy they are on your stomach. Always remember to incorporate them in your meals.

Have a workout plan

And stick to it. Don't just walk into a gym, do some cardio and lift some weights just because a video on YouTube told you so. Do more research and create a schedule for yourself. If you’re a beginner, start by focusing on two body parts each day, like shoulder-chest, bicep-tricep, or back-legs. Most gyms happily share an initial workout plan for their clients for free, so don’t hesitate to ask for one personalized according to your needs. Most importantly, make sure you stick to it.

Don’t go in hard and heavy

We live in times where instant gratification is key, but that doesn’t work on how to go from skinny to muscular. Don’t ever think that doing more sets or heavier lifts will give you a better body quicker. It will only lead to over exhaustion and injuries. And if you get injured, you’ll have to stop working out, which is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing.

Supplements are important

Until and unless you’re eating a very balanced diet, minerals, vitamins, proteins, etc. are required by your body in order to compensate the energy burned at the gym, especially when doing heavy lifting. Your protein intake is of the utmost importance – it doesn’t matter whether you eat meat or are a vegan, you have to take protein supplements for your body. It’s always best to opt for whey proteins which have corn or soy in them. The addition of probiotics and digestive enzymes in your supplements is a major plus.

Lift weight smartly

Not more than your body’s limit, of course. Let me illustrate with an example. Instead of doing bicep curls with 10 pound weights, 3 sets of 20 reps, focus on lifting 15 pound weights, 4 sets of 10 reps each. Higher repetitions and higher number of sets are always better than low repetitions and sets when it comes to building muscle.

Take rest in between sets

When it comes to how to go from skinny to muscular, rests are important. A break of 20-30 seconds is ideal between reps, while between sets it should be anywhere between 1-2 minutes. Your muscles need time to recover in between sets, so give them that time. There’s no hurry, or you’ll only end up exhausting yourself. Speaking of which…

Recovery is important for your body

You’re not a machine that you can go to the gym 7 days a week, without any rest. 4-5 days per week is more than enough for you, especially if you’re a beginner. Working out every single day is detrimental because:

• It doesn’t allow your body time to recover, which in turn won’t allow your body to grow;

• When the body is unable to recover, it gets exhausted or injured easily;

• Your body will get used to the exercise more quickly, forcing you to change your schedules more often.

Sleep is also necessary. You need to be getting an average of 8 hours per day.

Mix it up

In order for your body to never get used to your workout, you have to spice things up a bit. Now I don’t mean going in with a new workout schedule every day until and unless you’re aiming at fat loss, but keep mixing things up in your schedule every 3-5 weeks. Use strategies like quarter reps, stripping, bouncing, forced reps, etc. to keep your body on its toes.

Eat frequently

If you think eating 3 big portions a day is too much for you, you’re not alone. Break down your meals into smaller portions, like 5-6 times a day. And if possible, break down your protein intake accordingly, instead of taking it down in one go.

Patience is key

How to go from skinny to muscular? No matter what methods you use, it does take time. You’re going to suck in the beginning, and you need to accept that. It’ll take weeks, if not months for you to be able to lift heavier weights and gain some muscle. And up until then, the only thing you can do is to follow your schedule, diet and go to the gym regularly.