Going from a thin body to muscular body is something that I, myself, struggled with for the majority of my teens into my mid twenties. There were a ton of things I tried. I worked out a TON, I ate a TON (or so I thought so), I drank protein shakes, I ate protein like chicken, beef, and fish.
There were years that I wandered aimlessly until finally I figured out the formula. I will just tell you right now, that there is no secret to putting on muscle. It is very simple actually. It just takes time, dedication, and the unwavering belief that you are going to make your goals happen.
Keep reading if you are ready to learn why you are having trouble putting on muscle if you are thin.
Working Out – The necessity for going from a thin body to a muscular one
Wow, what a revelation, you actually have to workout to put on muscle. What a shocker! All sarcasm aside, I am always surprised when people come to me to ask for advice about getting bigger and putting on muscle.
They always seem absolutely shocked when I tell them that you need to workout consistently for months in order to get the results that they are looking for. What is the shocking part? Everyone is always looking for an “easy” pill to hit their goals.
Maybe that one exercise that actor does will really whip me into shape. Maybe that one food that the news said is good for me will be the key to building muscle.
I am here to tell you that there is no substitute for good old fashioned hard work. Working out is essential to putting on muscle, and unless you work on a farm constantly moving heavy bales of hay, your job probably doesn’t count as a workout.
The good news however, is that you can workout as little as 3 days per week and still see massive results. In fact, I went from 135lbs to 190lbs in less than 3 years by working out only 3 days per week. This exact 3 day per week workout plan is available in our app All Workouts Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play).
The plan itself is called 3 Day Overload. I am warning you right now, that if you commit to this plan, be prepared for some intense muscle gain workouts. It may only be 3 days per week, but it is no joke. If you are serious about putting on muscle, give that app a download and you will not regret it.
Remember, working out is a necessity if you want to put on muscle.
Eating Enough – The foundation for any skinny to jacked muscular transformation
For me, this was what I struggled with the most for many years. Our society would like to have us believe that all we need is the right workout plan, or the perfect food group for gaining muscle. This plagued me for years. I was always searching for the perfect workout plan, but it just never came.
What did happen for me though, was once I combined proper eating habits with a great workout plan, the results came FAST! I went from scrawny to having a muscular body in months.
Here is what I recommend. For 2 weeks, count every calorie that you eat. No excuses. I know there are fitness influencers out there who tell you it doesn’t matter. Forget that, it is time to get serious about transforming your body from a thin body to muscular body.
After counting your calories for 2 weeks, divide your total calories eaten by 14. This will give you a daily average for how many calories you eat per day. You will most likely find that what you are eating is lower in calories than you imagined. Let’s now use this as a baseline for how much we should be eating.
It is important to note that each body is different, so the baseline calories of what you need to eat will differ from person to person.
Now that we have our baseline for how many calories we eat per day, it is time to start eating more every single day, and counting those calories. I know what you are thinking, you don’t want to count calories. Sorry, if you want to go from skinny to muscular, you are going to have to step up and make it happen.
Start by eating 500 calories per day over your baseline for one week, and weigh yourself. If you have not gained .5lb to 1lb, it is time to crank up your calorie goal by 500 more calories. Keep doing this every week until you are gaining a half pound to one pound of muscle per week.
Make sure to weigh yourself at the same time each weigh-in. My favorite time is in the morning after your first pee, and before you eat or drink anything. This is the most accurate time to weigh yourself.
The takeaway here is that no matter how much you workout, you are not going to go from a thin body to a muscular body unless you eat enough food to fuel your body to build muscle.
Consistency – The no excuses part of putting on muscle
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Start by laying just one brick. Take it day by day. We have all heard these classic idioms about consistency and success. The key is, they are all true. If we are going to go from a skinny weakling to a beast, we have no choice but to put in the time and effort.
There is no excuse to not be consistent with working out. I guarantee that you could find time in your day if you do an audit of how you spend your time, and then eliminate your time consuming tasks.
Let me give you an unfortunate example. Last year, in 2020, there was a stretch of time where gyms were closed around where I live. Luckily, my community had a small gym, which had most of what I needed. I kept finding excuses not to go to the gym.
That is until one Sunday morning, I received a screen time notification on my phone. I was spending an average of 2 and a half hours per day on Instagram. I immediately deleted instagram, and I had no problems after that going to my community gym to build muscle.
As I mentioned before, all it takes to start is 3 days per week. Once you get to a consistent 3 days per week, you can expand from there. 3 days per week is the bare minimum necessary to go from a thin body to a muscular body. Simple as that.
Main Points – If you are skinny and want to build muscle, there are no excuses
Main Point 1 – Working out is an absolute necessity when it comes to building muscle. I was a scrawny teenager. I went from 135lbs at 6’1” when I graduated high school, to where I am at right now. A comfortable 190lbs.
Main Point 2 – Eating enough food is the foundation of going from a thin body to muscular body. Measure everything, count your calories, and step up to make it happen. It doesn’t matter how much you workout. If you are not eating enough, you will not build muscle. It is that simple.
Main Point 3 – Consistency is key. If you are hitting the other 2 main points, it is only a matter of time before you hit your goals.
If you are hesitant about stepping into a gym, check out our list of 20 of the best exercise equipment Amazon has to offer. I know that I was hesitant at first to go to a gym, which is why I made my own home gym!
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