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How to put on weight and gain muscle mass is currently the #1 question that I get asked by young guys who can’t seem to break out of being “too skinny”.

Here’s the answer that I always give:

Eat more than you’re eating now, and eat plenty of protein.

That’s it.

The response I get to this is also always the same. “I can’t gain weight because my metabolism is off the charts. No matter how much I eat I can’t gain weight.”

Then I ask them what they eat, and it almost always turns out that either 1) They’re not eating as much as they think they’re eating or 2) They have no idea how much big guys eat.

So if you’re looking to gain weight, it’s time to start eating, and it’s time to start eating a lot. If you add 500 more calories a day in food, you’ll gain a pound a week. Some of that will end up being fat, but you’ll cut off the fat by cutting down on your diet once you hit your ideal weight.

To gain muscle, focus on the core weight lifting exercises. Squats, Bench Presses, and Deadlifts. That is the minimum, but feel free (and it’s encouraged) to add more exercises like incline and decline bench presses, parallel bar dips and pull ups.

You Should Keep Up Cardio, Even When Putting on Weight

Most people will tell you that when you’re trying to put on muscle mass, you shouldn’t do cardio. I’m not most people though, and I will tell you 150% to keep up the cardio.

The reason is that as you grow in size on the outside, you want your heart to gain strength as well for your endurance and stamina and to keep up with  more mass.

You might end up taking a little longer to put on the mass, but it’s worth it for the stamina gains. Just make sure to drink some protein shakes to make up for the calorie loss.

In summary, to gain weight:

1) Eat more than you’re eating now. 500 calories more per day equals one pound a week. I use this book to count calories.

2) Eat plenty of protein and vegetables, especially post workout. Eggs, fish, and chicken are all good sources of protein.

3) Do at least the core weight lifting exercises (deadlifts, bench presses, and squats). Make sure to use proper form. For even better results, add parallel bar dips, pull ups, and incline and decline bench presses and flies into the mix.

4) Keep up cardio, like swimming and running. It’s worth it for the stamina gains in the long run.

Just to give you an example of how much big guys eat, I put up this video of a kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter named Alistair Overeem. This guy put on like 40 pounds of muscle in a couple of years.

He has great genetics, and still eats a ton of food 8 times a day. But if there's one thing I would take from this video, it's that the best thing for putting on weight is getting your mom to make you food, even if you're a 29 year old successful professional fighter. Are you reading this Mom?