Common Mistakes Skinny Guys Make Working Out
Jun 9, 2020 mindpumpOne day I was an average puny dude, working out in Gold’s Gym in Venice, when another average dude complained he wasn’t getting big. I asked why he wasn’t growing, the kid said “Well, I don’t want to get too big. And then a very jacked, well seasoned bodybuilder overheard us and chuckled.
“See all these guys in here? They spend their ENTIRE lives trying to get ‘too big’ and most of them will never get there. What makes you think your program should be any different?”
We both shut the hell up immediately. He was so right. We always think we’re the outlier, and thus need to do something SO different than anyone else. In reality, we aren’t. All those huge guys in there (steroids or not), had put in the TIME, and CONSISTENCY to get where they are while the rest of us make excuses. So to help us average dudes out, I’d like to go over some common mistakes skinny guys make working out.
Mistake #1 – Not Eating Enough
Maybe you woke up late, and skipped breakfast, weren’t hungry for lunch, or just grabbed something quick for dinner. Either way, most skinny guys don’t eat what is necessary to reap the rewards of their workouts. They’re afraid of losing their abs and want to be beach ready year round. Stop.
I’m not saying your abs should ever fully disappear, but you need to be in a surplus. Also, don’t compare how many calories you’re friends need to put on weight, and assume that’s what you need. If you are skinnier, chances are you need more. A lot more. To get a rough baseline of how many calories to bulk, calculate your bodyweight x 15-16 and go from there. If you are 150lbs that would mean 2,250-2400 calories to start. You don’t need to be putting on 5 pounds a week contrary to what people tell you. You should be shooting for ½ pound to 1 pound a week. If you’re gaining weight faster, lower the calories. If it’s slower, bring it up by 200 calories.
Mistake #2 – Not Pushing Hard Enough
Some skinny guys just aren’t pushing it. They get stuck on the 35lb dumbbells, and never go up in weight or reps. They focus on smaller muscle groups and machines, and never work towards heavy weight they can push under a barbell. It’s time to sack up.
Keep the form in check, but push each set till you are 1-2 reps shy of failure. Make sure each week you are progressing whether it is through more sets of an exercise, more reps, or an increase in weight.
Mistake #3 – Reading too Much
Paralysis by analysis. You read every blog post, watch every workout video, and yet you still look the same. You’re spending too much time trying to gain all this knowledge instead of just doing the damn thing. I’m all for reading and learning about what works, but at some point you just have to get in the field and do the work. I see too many clients and friends talk about all the latest studies that show one day a week is better than three days, or that they only have to do a couple of exercises to make gains. Stop trying to find the shortcuts. As I said before, even the huge guys on the olympia stage are STILL putting in the time and days just for those little changes to their physique. You have no excuse.
Mistake #4 – Program Hopping
Similar to mistake #3, you don’t stay consistent with anything. Some weeks you’re at the gym for 5 days, other weeks you go once because you were “busy”. You try a program for 4 weeks and get mad when you didn’t add an extra 3 inches on your arms. What a joke. True muscle growth comes from a long term approach towards your goals. If you want inches added to your body, you are going to have to stick to a program longer than 4 weeks to see any change.
Any program you start, you must stick with at minimum 3 months. Ideally 3-6. That doesn’t mean do the same, exact thing. You can change the reps and the exercises (as long as they’re hitting the same muscles), but you must keep the overall concept of that program. If it’s geared towards powerlifting, then make sure it’s focusing on bringing up the powerlifting movements, and don’t turn it into a bodybuilding program. If it’s a bodybuilding program don’t try to shorten the amount of days in the gym because it’s convenient. Do the workouts AS intended.
Mistake #5 – Doing too Much Cardio
Here’s some irony. You’ve been a naturally skinny guy your whole life. You want to put on size (which involves putting ON weight), yet you are burning excessive calories doing crossfit circuits, or on the treadmill after every workout. Tell me how that makes sense? Don’t get me wrong, we should all be doing a couple days of cardio for overall heart health, but it shouldn’t be taking up most of our gym time.
I see almost an ironic amount of skinny guys (and skinny girls for that matter) always on the treadmill for 30+ minutes. They’re the same people that complain they put so much time in the gym but can’t put on muscle. Last time I checked running doesn’t add muscle. Weightlifting does. If you are struggling to put on size, lower your cardio to 2 days a week (to keep your cardiovascular system up), and make sure you are resistance training 3-5 times a week. If your goal is muscle size, then your program should reflect that. I don’t care what David Goggins tells you about running, his goal isn’t adding muscle size.
