“This is why skinny guys often have trouble building muscle.”
Most guys seem to think that if they have a little bit of a belly, they can’t possibly get ripped abs. Or if you’re a skinny guy, it may seem impossible. But that’s not true at all – it just takes a different approach. In this post, we’re going to teach skinny guys how to get abs. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way!
Energy balance
The old saying goes, “Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym”. And this holds true. If you eat badly, no matter how hard you train, you won’t get the results that skinny men are looking for. There are skinny guys out there eating healthy six days a week, but then on the seventh day, they stuff their faces with pizza and bread because it’s their so-called “cheat” day. You can’t build rock-hard abs when you’re not fully committed to the process.
The reason young men find themselves to be hardgainers is a lack of discipline in their diet. Eating healthy requires a lot of willpower. If skinny guys don’t think they have the willpower to make a change, then they won’t get results.
The first step that everyone must go through is tracking their calories. Right now, as long as you’re not drastically losing or gaining weight, you’re eating at what is called caloric maintenance. That means that the number of calories you’re eating is enough to sustain the amount of energy you’re expending.
To increase your body weight, you must have a caloric surplus. This means that there are more calories being introduced into your body than what is needed for normal bodily functions and daily activities.
And you must track your calories. Hardgainers constantly overestimate how many calories they’re eating.
This is why skinny guys often have trouble building muscle. They usually don’t eat enough, so they can’t build enough lean mass for the body to actually use as fuel during their workouts.
The skinny guy’s body was not built for him to get large and bulky, but it can be built to look strong and ripped. If skinny guys want to build muscle mass, then they will need weight training…
Choosing a program
It’s important to pick a workout program and stick to it for a while, training consistently.
Compound exercises are especially important for skinny guys. These are the types of exercises that work multiple muscle groups, so skinny guys should focus on these during workouts.
And these compound exercises will help with abs, but if you really want to focus on a six-pack, then skinny guys should focus on ab-specific exercises.
So when it comes to choosing a program it absolutely must have ab-specific exercises in it. The quickest and most effective way to build a six-pack is to exercise your abs. Surprising, right?
There are thousands of programs to choose from, so where do you start? The most important factor is consistency. As long as you are consistent, you have a good shot at making some progress. But what does that have to do with programming?
I’ve written in the past about the best programs for skinny guys, and there are many factors to consider, but all programs require consistency. It’s like all cars requiring fuel to drive, regardless of the car.
So the program you choose is entirely up to you, as long as it has ab-specific exercises included.
Diet
Let’s jump back into diet for a moment.
So you should be tracking your calories. This is good practice no matter what your goal is. But if a lean six-pack is your goal, you can’t eat in a large surplus or you’ll gain fat and lose the visibility of your abs.
Most people are trying to eat less in order to burn fat and see their abs. But skinny guys are usually already lean, so how should they eat?
We’re going to split this up into two categories to make things super easy. Skinny, and skinny-fat.
If you are skinny
If you are lean enough, you might already see your abs or have a faint outline. Perhaps you can see the top two. This is good news since you’re already partway to your goal. The next step is to add muscle. This means eating in a small caloric surplus (200-400 calories extra per day) and training your abs consistently.
You’ll want to stick to a high protein diet and eat as healthy as possible. If you begin to lose the visibility of your abs, you can keep going or cut back a little bit. It is important that you are providing your body with the fuel to build new muscle, so don’t deprive yourself of nutrients. Worst case scenario is that you’ll have to do a mini-cut after the bulking phase to see your new abs.
If you are skinny-fat
So you’re lean but have a small belly where your abs should be. No problem! You do have abs, they’re just hiding underneath.
You also have the luxury of leaning out while building abs. In this scenario, you’ll eat in a small deficit instead of a surplus. One approach would be to stay at maintenance or bulk while building muscle, then lean out. But we want abs and as soon as you start to see them, your motivation is going to skyrocket.
Eating in a small deficit is going to slowly burn off that belly fat. In this case, eating a high protein diet (around 1g/lb of body weight) is going to be doubly beneficial. High protein is important when losing weight, as it helps keep muscle on your body. Secondly, protein is very satiating, and eating more protein is going to keep your appetite down while you burn off that belly fat.
Your goals
It’s important to challenge your goal to get a six-pack and ask yourself related follow-up questions. When people set fitness-related goals, they are often extrinsic rather than intrinsic. This means that the individual is more focused on what others see and believe rather than how they want to feel on the inside.
If you’re a skinny guy who wants six-pack abs, focusing only on your abs isn’t the quickest or smartest way to reach that goal. Adopting a fit lifestyle and improving your diet and exercise routine as a whole will be the most efficient path to a ripped six-pack.
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