7 Mistakes Skinny Guys Make (That Keep Them Small)
There are 7 main mistakes that guys who are underweight, lack significant muscle mass, or would consider themselves as "skinny" make that are counterproductive towards reaching their goals.
#1-Thinking you NEED steroids to get really muscular and strong
I get the appeal. You see someone you know on social media start their fitness journey. They go from looking like a twig to being JACKED in their first 3 months of working out. You on the other hand, you've been training for a couple years and still look the same. You find out that they took some performance enhancing drugs, so you assume that's what has been missing in your routine the whole time. You haven't been able to build a lot of muscle because you haven't taken steroids right?.....WRONG!
You don't need steroids to build noticeable muscle. The first thing you have to remember is that everyone has different genetics and social factors that determine how quickly they will make progress. Will taking steroids make you gain muscle more easily...sure. But the negative health effects are completely unnecessary. When you train with smart programming, eat properly, and do it for a long time consistently, you will be able to build a LOT of muscle, 100% naturally.
#2-Not training hard enough
Let me guess, after reading that last paragraph, you are thinking to yourself, "I train extremely hard and still can't make progress". From my experience as a personal trainer for over 10 years at the time of writing this, 90% of people have no clue what training hard actually feels like.
Most guys go to the gym and do 3 sets of 10 with most exercises, and use a weight that allows them to get 10 reps. Do you increase the weight every single session (compared to your last session)? Do you track your workouts to make sure you do at least one additional set of every body part each week? When is the last time you went to failure on a set of squats...I don't mean deciding to stop because it was heavy...I mean TRULY doing reps until your legs don't work and you have to use the safety racks to save your life?
These are just SOME examples of what training hard really is. Here's some homework for you. Track your workouts and for 3 months straight, try to increase the weight you do on upper body lifts by 5lbs each week, and lower body lifts by 10lbs each week. Once you have 2 weeks in a row that you can't increase the weight, you are now close to training as hard as you should be.
#3-Eating too much during a bulk
Another big mistake that skinny guys often make is eating too much during a bulk. You heard that right. You may be eating TOO much while trying to bulk. Let me explain.
The first reason I say this, is because you can't force feed your muscles into growing more. More food does not equal more muscle after a certain point. You absolutely want to be in a caloric surplus if you are skinny and looking to gain some more muscle mass. But if muscle mass is the goal, it doesn't take as much more food on a consistent basis as most think. If you can even get into a 500 calorie surplus, you'll gain weight. The goal here is to gain lean muscle tissue, not just get fat. If getting fat is your goal, you don't need directions and instructions, just head to your nearest fast food restaurant 2-3 times per day and get whatever looks good. After a few months, BOOM! You'll have easily gained 20lbs...probably not the type of physique you were hoping for though.
The second reason I say this is because getting fat and then trying to lose fat to "reveal your muscle" only works when you are taking performance enhancing drugs or are a genetic outlier. What makes you think you'll have the discipline to diet hard and lose a bunch of fat after getting too big? What makes you think you won't be like most people in the world and struggle to lose weight?
If it was that easy to lose weight as a bigger person, nobody would be overweight. You don't have the discipline NOW to eat consistently, so it's unlikely you'll have it after getting overweight. You will also lose the majority of your muscle mass you've built during a dirty bulk when you diet down. You will have to trust me on this one, it's not worth it and you'll save yourself a large number of months of disappointment if you never dirty bulk. A good way to tell if you've already dirty bulked is to check your body fat levels. If you are more than 15% body fat as a guy, eating in a large surplus will quickly make you fat. You've already bulked, time to start eating at a maintenance level.
How Skinny Guys New To The Gym ACTUALLY Build Muscle
#4-Being scared to lose your abs
Now that we have discussed eating in excess and how that can unnecessarily make you fat, a common mistake that is somewhat the opposite of #3 is skinny guys being scared to lose their abs.
Losing your abs doesn't mean you are fat. What it means is that you are gaining weight. Let me ask you this: Do you have abs because you are underweight or because you are muscular? Chances are if you are reading this and have abs, it's not because you are some physical aesthetic specimen of a man. It's because you are severely underweight, so your abs shine through.
The main issue that is a mental block for skinny guys is that (since you have barely any muscle) the ONE thing you can take pride in physically that makes you stand out with your shirt off are your abs. This may be the one thing that keeps you from completely hating the way your body looks. You may not have big arms or a big chest, but at least your core looks better than the big guys right? I know you've thought that way because I've been there.
I want to let you know that when you start to get serious about building muscle mass, and you are underweight, your ab definition will start to fade. However, your traps, shoulders, arms, legs, and everything else will get bigger. You will have a more imposing physique, and if you train your core during that growth period, your stomach will actually look BETTER at a heavier weight. I know it is tough to trust the process at first, but if you do, you'll be amazed at the process of growing muscle.
#5-Not prioritizing your legs
Monday-Chest. Tuesday-Back. Wednesday-Shoulders. Thursday-Off. Friday-Arms. Saturday-Play a sport and Sunday-Off. This is how a lot of guys actually train. What's the one thing that's missing here...Leg Training.
You HAVE to train your legs hard to grow. You have to prioritize your leg training more than any other body part if you want to maximize your growth. The majority of the muscle in your body is below your waist. Neglecting the lower half of your body could possible be the biggest mistake you are currently making. I know it isn't as fun as upper body, but if you will plateau with how much mass you can build above the waist very quickly. Once you reach that point, if you want to gain another 5-10lbs of mass, where do you think it will come from...that's right...your legs!
#6-Not doing cardio
A lot of skinny guys believe that doing cardio is pointless because cardio is for people trying to lose weight. That is a HUGE mistake. Cardio is necessary for anyone with any fitness goal.
When your heart is able to work at a higher capacity during workouts, you are able to lift heavier weights for longer. Do you know what happens when you lift heavy weight for a long time...your muscles grow!
In addition to the aesthetic benefit you get from more muscle growth due to better endurance, you will literally be more likely to live a longer life. Your health will be better off if your heart is strong.
In regards to losing weight with cardio, for skinny guys that go for an occasional walk, you will actually spark your appetite from the movement. So if you struggle to be hungry enough to eat enough food to grow, and you currently don't do any cardio, add some walking to your daily activities and see if that helps you become hungry.
Let's put it this way, if you burn 200 calories from walking, but it makes you hungry enough to eat 500 calories that you normally would not have, you are in a 300 calorie surplus and also made progress to improve your endurance in the gym. It's a win-win scenario.
#7-Failing to take exercises through full range of motion
Do you go to the gym and do quarter rep squats and half-rep bench presses that never touch your chest? If you do, you are greatly limiting your muscle building potential.
Your muscle respond extremely well to using full range of motion. You want to get a big stretch in the target muscle, then squeeze the muscle as hard as possible until you get to the end range of motion. This will cause the most muscle breakdown (a good thing), and when you eat properly and recover you will maximize the muscle building process.
If you currently only use partial range of motion, you will need to lower the weight you use when you switch to full range of motion. Leave your ego at home and do the reps correctly.
If you want to learn a better way to build muscle and get stronger, without having to get fat first, check out 59 Tips For Skinny Men
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