Hey everyone! I'm new here. Found Scott's Youtube channel a while ago and have been following it as well as a ton of others.

I am definitely a textbook hardgainer. I've weighed 160 pounds since 1999. I found my way into a gym just this year. I'm at 175 now.

My question is simple, what is the best routine for someone like me?

I've read that splits are best for people that are already at (or closer) to their ideal physique. Is this true?

It doesn't seem very advantageous to hit one or two muscles per day, and then not hit them again until the following week. So full body? 3x a week?

Suggestions?

but to answer your question. i visited a personal trainer & dietist here a few months back. where i asked the very same question and his answer seemed very logical to me.

The reason why it's most effective, to seperate muscle groups and train them that way. is that it's not during the training you gain muscle. it's the 3-4 rest days after when they're repairing themself in peace and quite without getting bombarbed by another workout.

another reason is, you can focus alot more of your energi on lifting more heavy. becouse if you train full body. and you go Max weight, your gonna burn out nearly all of energi before you even get half way done. so half your body will get a slacking workout becouse your body is drained of energy.

and i would recommend incorporating alot of compound exercises in your workout if you havent already. they're no discussion some of the best exercises to increase muscle strenght and mass at the fastest rate

and most important of all, make sure your in a calorie surplus(clean). every singel day. like a house can't be build without bricks, you body can't build the muscle it wants to without the building materials

About your questions:

Yes a split where every musclegroup is mainly only hit at 1 day of the week and then hit again a week later. Is only suggested for people who are close or at their genetic potential, to add some progress.

For strengh-athletes:

At these stages of progress their intensity is already so high, and they lift already so much that a single workout is so taxing to their nervous system and muscles that they actually need a full week to recover, plus this is the only way for them to still be able to slowly progress and add weight on top of the existing amount.

For Bodybuilders:

They are at a stage where they do so much volume and weight that also they need a full week to recover, to not overtax the msucles and nervous system.

The higher the intensity (amount of weight) goes, or the higher the volume (amounts of sets and reps) goes and as closer as you have already progressed and reached your genetic potential - the more progress begins to slow down dramatically.

Whilst beginner gains (mostly within the first 1-3 years) are often bringing dramatic changes in your physique and strength, past that time it will slow down more and more, until they can only make tiny progress of maybe a kilo added in a lengthy period as 1-3 month.

Where your genetic limit lays, is dependend on so many factors.. and - as the name says - your genetics. Framesize, gender, bone structure, natural hormone production potential etc.

So I guess this explains why people tell you - with a good reason - not to go for single bodypart splits as long as you are not anywhere near some 'endgame' status.

As for what is good for a hard gainer:

First off: good news, the hardgaining is mostly a matter of nutrition. You need to eat enough and the right things at the right time. Especially your macronutritional ratio has to be on spot. And as Lagusven already wrote, you need to be really consistant with that diet. Just eating a tiny bit more all few days will not help. And eating the wrong foods, missing vital components, will render no results either.

If you need help to recalculate your Macros and Calories - feel free to ask =)

For the training:

I agree with the compound lifts. They are the most superiour at sparking all over musclegrowth. Because they work the biggest musclegroups in the body, many musclegroups at once, and also work your cardiovascular system. On top working legs and back sparks the most output of natural testosterone and growth hormone.

Machines (unless you are aspiring to be a pure aestetic bodybuilder) should always just be used in the means of a finisher or something to work on parts that need some special attention because they are lagging behind, or giving you problems in the big lifts.

A Good split for people that really need to develope is a 4 day split. Where you train Either in a so called push / pull split. So you have 2 push days and 2 pull days.

Or you separate into : biceps/back/legs and triceps/chest/shoulders and do 2 of those per week to get 4 days.

Working this way up until you really run into stubborn plateaus where nothing wants to increase anymore. And then you can go on to more compley systems like a so called 5/3/1 progression etc. But i am certain until that day comes you'll surely have another 2 to x*amount of years =)

Single plateaus in single exercises can always be overcome by changing your weekly routine just a bit or reducing that one exercise to just once a week to have more energy stored in the musclegroup, or work your way up simply by lowering the weight but upping the reps to put on more muscle and strength in the required zone. So even that doesn't require to already do a 1 musclegroup per day split just yet.

If you only have 3 days per week to workout, i'd at least try to do a smart split and make sure you hit your lagging bodyparts twice per week, and the ones that are okay in their developement just once but then really with high intensity. Or do a 3 day full body split - that would work too yes.

If you do every bodypart 3 times a week you can of course not go high in intensity, but you can do a lot volume to achieve great progress - if you give it your all !

But i am a great believer in 4 days per week, with all bodyparts twice per week. for each of them one insenity (high weight) day and the second time you hit them in the week just a lower weight but higher volume (sets / reps) day - this way you have one day with full power to progress and one day to keep them adressed, keep growth running, and to also keep them streamed with blood and nutrients - which also greatly helps their recovery =)

Hope this helps a bit !

I've been a hardgainer as well. The worst thing I did was seek the perfect split for a hardgainer. It limited my gains. The best thing I did was incorporate a variety of training splits into my yearly plan. All split variations have there advantages and disadvantages for us hardgainers... and when you incorporate a variety of splits into your yearly plan, they feed off each other.

It helps a lot, yes. Thank you! And to you as well @Lagusven

So... I think I can make 4 days work. As for the Tris/Chest/Shoulder days. Is it wrong to work both tris anc chest on the same day? Maybe wrong isn't the right word...counteractive?

Because your triceps are called on during bench? Or is that not an issue?

I'll definitely give this a go. I usually only have but an hour and 15 minutes per session, unless I get there earlier. But I'm already waking up at 4:15!! I don't know that I can get up much earlier.

BUT- I am committed. My goal is to compete in my first physique show at the end of 2016. So I have at least 25 pounds to put on before cutting.

ohh, and another quick tip from me.

make alot of goals for yourself

for an example

im still small as a stick, so my main goal is to put on weight and gain muscle mass

so i have a weekly goal on 300grams

wich summons up to a 1,2kg monthly goal.

and so on, and so on

then i have my milestones, wich is not time limited, wich is 5kg's to each milestone, and each time i reach a milestone. i give myself some sort of treat as a way of rewarding all myself for my own effort

it has worked great for me to keep my effort up

 and again, one of the biggest keywords is consistency. consistency and more consistency. this has been my biggest enemy in the start. dont give yourself reasons to why it's okay to skip a day. or skip a meal, it's the most destructive circle you can get cought up in

Often times I'll pair chest with tris. yes, they are pre-fatigued. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I pair triceps with back so they are fresh. Can't go wrong either way.