HARD-GAINER NONSENSE
By Mike Arnold

Like most individuals who are passionate about what they do, enthusiasm is generally not in short supply when it comes to weight training and the beginner. Frequently, the novice will invest a tremendous amount of energy in pursuit of his goals, often taking things to the extreme in the hope of developing his physique as quickly as possible. In a beginner’s mind, the more he does, the faster he will grow…or so he thinks. Unfortunately, in all but a very small percentage of cases, such as a plan of action is sure to result in not only a decline in muscle growth, but usually a complete cessation of progress altogether. In order to rectify this dilemma, the BB’r will frequently set out to train even harder by adding more exercises and/or sets to his program. Inevitably, he experiences more of the same…frustration.

For decades now we have been hearing the term hard-gainer tossed around both in gyms and in the magazines, with some individuals lamenting that as many as 90% of all would-be bodybuilders fit into this woeful category of poor-responder. In reality, a hard-gainer is more aptly described as an “average” –gainer. A relatively small percentage of individuals are truly hard-gainers, which I categorize as a people, who despite proper program set-up (which entails training, nutrition, and rest) are unable to make any meaningful progress as BB’rs. These individuals do exist, but in truth, they are relatively rare and in most cases, even they can still typically make considerable progress when they dedicate themselves to their goal. Most individuals fall into the genetically average category and when exposed to the demands of a well thought out training & nutrition program, they can make consistent and appreciable progress towards their muscle-building goals.

It is not surprising that the term “hard-gainer” took a foothold in the 80’s, as this was the era which ushered in the modern gym explosion and a time which saw high volume training rule the day. This combination was ripe for popularizing such a term, especially with such a stark division between gym folk. In the 80’s, there were primarily two types of individuals who frequented the gymnasiums. Generally speaking, there was the competitive, steroid-using BB’r…and the drug-free, non-competitor who wanted to mimic the physique of his favorite Hollywood action star, but who lacked the performance enhancing advantages and overall know-how of his bodybuilding brethren. With the scene set, the term hard-gainer was henceforth liberally applied to anyone who did not make progress at the same rate as their drug-induced peers, citing a lack of genetic ability as the problem.

In addition to the obvious advantages afforded to the drug-using BB’r, the training systems of the day further compounded the problem. While used with success by some, the majority were not able to tolerate the sheer physical demands placed on the body when adhering to such programs. The combination of a drug-free status and severe overtraining was a guaranteed recipe for failure. However, as our knowledge of the process of muscle growth began to grow and became more evenly distributed among the masses, the gap in progress between serious competitive BB’rs and those who desired a more moderate build began to wane. By the 90’s, training knowledge had increased exponentially and the widespread availability of BB’ing drugs became a reality, permeating gyms across the country. Since then we have witnessed the acceptance of performance enhancing drugs in nearly every athletic circle world-wide, with continuing advancements being made in the arenas of training & nutrition.

These advancements in training & nutrition science allowed us to more clearly recognize the true potential of the human body and helped to de-popularize the term hard-gainer. Many who in days past would’ve been labeled as hard-gainers were now able to build their physiques to a point which would be recognized by the general public as a BB’r, lifting the imposed burden of genetic inadequacy. This was a significant departure from the days when looking the same year after year was commonplace for the average gym-goer. While it is clear that steroid use has a considerable impact on both the rate of growth, as well as one’s ultimate growth potential, it is at this juncture that I am going to deviate from my usual steroid-speak and address a variable which affects everyone who desires to build muscle tissue. This is the subject of weight training. Regardless of whether one employs performance enhancing drugs or not, this vital component of the muscle growth process cannot be over-looked if maximum progress is to become a reality.

Over the next few paragraphs I am not going to attempt to re-invent the wheel, but rather, we will address a topic which is rarely given enough consideration among beginner and intermediate BB’rs. This is the topic of training. Being that we live in a day and age where so many people are spreading the false message that training intensity is of no consequence when one is using enough drugs, this topic is more relevant than ever. Intelligently applied effort in the gym has become almost a lost factor in the muscle building equation, despite the fact that it plays a critical role in building a solid foundation of muscle mass.

So, if you find yourself among the many beginner-intermediate level BB’rs whose primary focus is the acquisition of muscle tissue, then there is a good possibility that you are making serious mistakes in the gym when it comes to building size…mistakes which could be causing you to reap a mere fraction of the results you should be getting from your training sessions. While topic of training for the beginner-intermediate BB’r may seem to be a drastic departure from my normal PED laced commentary, my inspiration for this article comes from an incident I witnessed while training in the gym just the other day. Normally, I just kind of keep to myself and focus on what I am doing during my workouts, but on this day I began to pay attention to what the other guys in the gym were doing and as suspected, the gym was loaded with guys who wanted to get big as quickly as possible, but only a small few had any idea of how to go about accomplishing that goal.

The most commonly witnessed error was watching guys do set after set of several different exercises. If selecting any one of these misguided weight trainers at random, the typical chest workout routine would likely look something like this:

1.) Bench presses: 3-4 sets X 6-12 reps.
2.) Incline presses: 3-4 sets X 6-12 reps.
3.) Flat dumbbell flyes: 3-4 sets X 6-12 reps.
4.) Dips: 3-4 sets x bodyweight to failure.
5.) Cable crossovers: 3-4 sets X 6-12 reps.

In addition to the large number of sets involved (15-20), my 2nd observation was the lack of intensity generated over the course of such workouts. No one adhering to a similar training scheme was able to sustain an effective level of training intensity throughout the entire workout, but paced themselves, in order to get through all of their sets.

Continued in next post.