Learning how to build muscle for skinny teenage guys is a skill that you will not regret learning. As a teenager, I was bullied and pushed around for how skinny I was. It was embarrassing.
I would have done anything to have my current body now, but I just didn’t know how to research about it back then. And unfortunately, there is too much information about weight loss, that it crowds out the muscle building information.
When I say I was skinny, I mean I was VERY skinny. My height was 6’1” and my weight was 135. And that was just when I finally weighed myself in my junior year of high school. I could have weighed a lot less before that, I was just too afraid to weigh myself.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find out what worked until many years after high school. In this article, I am going to discuss the foolproof ways that you can learn how to build muscle for skinny teenage guys.
Do not think that it is impossible for you to build muscle. Not only is it possible, but you can build muscle quickly if you follow these steps.
Step 1: Eating enough calories to build muscle as a teenager
As a teenager, I remember this being the toughest part. There wasn’t much information in my high school days about what exactly I needed to eat. The concept of counting calories was available, but there was no easy way to do it.
And yes, I am going to suggest that it is time to start counting your calories. It is imperative as someone trying to gain muscle to know what is going into their body. And if you have been struggling to put on muscle, you are not going to be able to skip this step. First, learn how to calculate your maintenance calories.
Next, it’s time to start packing on the calories. I don’t know what my maintenance calories were as a teenager, but I imagine that it was extremely high. My current maintenance calories as a 34 year old is 3,100 calories per day, which most people consider very high.
Since you have your maintenance calories, you want to start eating 500 calories per day OVER maintenance. This is called a caloric surplus. Be sure to weigh yourself before you start this journey. Taking “before” pictures is something that I highly recommend.
I know that it is very difficult to eat a ton of calories, especially if your maintenance calories are high. I struggled so hard to make it possible for me to put on weight. That is until I created my own 1000 calorie protein shake recipe.
Once I started drinking the 1000 calorie protein shakes, I had no problem hitting my daily calorie goals. So if you are struggling to add calories to your diet, this is one of the best ways.
Step 2: Weight training to gain muscle as a teenager
It is no surprise that if you want to put on muscle, you should probably do some muscle building exercises. Eating at a caloric surplus is great for putting on weight. But if you are not working out at least 3-4 days per week, that surplus will just turn into fat.
Lucky for you, I have been there and done that when it comes to weight training. I have tried a ton of different fad workout plans. But when it comes down to it, a tried and true weight training plan is the way to go.
When I put on over 20 pounds of muscle in year one of eating at a caloric surplus, I was only weight training 3 days per week. This was a big shock to me because I used to workout 5-7 days per week without results. It’s all about being in a caloric surplus AND weight training regularly.
So what weight training plans can you do to build muscle. I have written countless blog posts about this. You can just search “workout plan” on our blog to see what we have to offer.
Or, if you would rather just have the plans laid out for you perfectly, I recommend downloading our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). We have multiple FREE workout plans which will help you build solid muscle. Also, my EXACT plan that I used to build muscle is in the app. It’s called 3 Day Overload, and I built the plan myself just for skinny people to build muscle.
If you don’t want to download the app, I understand. A great place to start is our beginner bodybuilding routine for mass.
Step 3: Working out over an extended period of time
One of the biggest myths in the muscle building community is that you can build muscle fast. Well, fast is relative. For me, fast was building over 20 pounds of muscle in 1 year after I struggled for 7 years previously. Fast is building 55+ pounds of muscle in 3 years.
What is fast for you? Don’t expect to become a show performing bodybuilder within 3 months. Let’s talk about expectations for a minute. If you want to build muscle, you obviously have to be in a caloric surplus, AND be doing weight training 3-4 days per week.
Depending on your genetics, a solid number to aim for in terms of muscle build is a half pound per week. Keep an eye on that scale before anything else. If you are not gaining at least a half pound per week, you are not eating enough calories to support muscle build. It is that simple.
Let’s do some math here. In 3 months, you can gain at least 6 pounds based on the assumption that you are gaining at least a half pound per week. This might not sound like a lot, but when you compound these gains over time, that is the potential of gaining 26 pounds per year.
What would your life be like if you were walking around with an extra 26 pounds of muscle? I know that if I had that in high school, my experience would have been significantly different.
Learn how to make exercise a habit, and commit to a daily caloric surplus. Focus on the small things first. Like going to the gym 3-4 days per week. Remember, it is not possible to build muscle in a caloric deficit.
Main Point: How to build muscle for skinny teenage guys
If you have come this far, you now know that the formula is fairly simple. Learning how to build muscle for skinny teenage guys actually works for everyone who wants to put on muscle.
The hard part here is implementing these steps and holding yourself accountable to doing this every day, every week, and every month. The little things add up, and you will absolutely build muscle if you stick to these principles.
Eating at a caloric surplus is actually more important than working out. If you are eating at a caloric surplus, you will certainly gain weight. But working out AND being in a caloric surplus ensures that you are going to build muscle.
Maybe you don’t even have access to a gym. Not to worry, you can check out our 15 workouts to build muscle at home with no weights.
You might say that you cannot afford to eat enough food to build muscle. Let me tell you that ANYONE can do it, as long as you do your research. My 1000 calorie protein shake recipe costs about $2 per serving where I live.
There are low cost supermarkets like Aldi in every city. Learn about high calorie meals and how you can make them cheaply.
What are your thoughts on all these? We would love to hear about your muscle building experiences.
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