When I was a kid, I didn't have the money or the space to buy a bunch of equipment, so when it came to doing heavy work, I had to improvise. One of the biggest questions to answer was how to do squats? I mean, how do you get a bar loaded with plates over your head and perched behind your back without a squat rack or squat stands?

One way is single-leg squats. They require coordination and a level of strength you really cannot comprehend until you try them. Here's a demonstration on how to do single leg squats:

I often get asked this question — how many meals a day should I eat if I’m a hardgainer?

The answer is an emphatic, “As many as you can, but no less than 5!”

Why? The answer really lies in keeping your muscles bathed in amino acids, the building blocks of proteins and of muscle.

It’s far better to take in 40 grams of protein per meal, 5 times per day, than 3 meals of 70 grams. It’s hard to say, without a lot of testing, how much protein any given individual can digest and assimilate in a single feeding, but I’d error on the low side (20-50) rather than on the high side (50+).

Why? It’s expensive and puts a greater strain on your kidneys.

I often tell people to “graze.” Eat as often as a horse (or cow), which means all day long. Act like you’re in the hospital on a feeding tube, getting a constant drip of nourishment, only with eating, you’re taking in food you like, such as meats of all kind, poultry, fish, nuts, bread, milk, eggs, and potatoes and pastas. All the good stuff!

Gaining weight is hard work! It takes concerted effort to maximize your eating, and you may feel like you’re going to explode. It’s also hard to keep from getting bored with eating the same foods.

This is why I recommend the following practice:

Every 4th day, forget about food. Don’t try to eat 6 or 8 times a day. Eat what you want, when you want, and don’t take any supplements. Let your body detox, let your mind go free.

You don’t know how effective this method is, until you try it.

Here are some articles that mention eating frequency for hardgainers:

• How Many Times Per Day Should A Hardgainer Eat?
• How Many Times Per Day Should A Hardgainer Eat ? | Build Muscle Tone
• Hardgainer Read This
• How Many Times Per Day Should A Hardgainer Eat ?
• How Many Meals A Day Should A Hardgainer Eat?
• How Many Times Per Day Should A Hardgainer Eat?

Obviously, this is a well-covered topic!

I just posted a page about creating a calorie surplus — Read about it here —

Calorie Supplementation: The Answer for Hardgainers

Lou Ferrigno is 6'5". He started his bodybuilding career as a very skinny sub-150 pounder, and took it all the way up to and over 300 pounds, doubling his body weight. He, of course, was no hardgainer, obviously gaining weight and building muscle incredibly fast.

Some Background on Lou Ferrigno

As a baby, he got ear infections and lost his hearing. He began training as a teenage, starting out tall and skinny. He soon packed on the weight, however. At only 21 he won the Mr Universe; then he won it again the next year. Lou went on to star in Pumping Iron, The Incredible Hulk, and some Hercules movies. Later, he was a regular on the King of Queens. Ferrigno was a boyhood idol of mine and he still looks impressive. The shot at the left shows size and muscularity that we'd all love to be able to possess. He did it, why not you? To learn more about how to pack on size, check out the Hardgainer Manifesto.

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