As a personal trainer of some ten years now, I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of people transform their physiques from the classic ‘nine stone weakling’ to walking, talking mountains of muscle. 

Unfortunately, I’ve also seen a lot of effort wasted in the pursuit of gaining muscle size.  There are hundreds of training programs out there – some great, others not so much.  There is also a tonne of fitness marketing that bombards us from all angles.  Again, some is founded on science and real world application, others amounts to a barely concealed attempt to sell questionable dietary supplements.  Deciphering the correct advice from the BS can be a bit of a minefield. 

The good news is that there are some universal rules to muscle gain, which you can implement into your own training regime and see strong results.  Along your journey you will reach a point at which you must divert from the conventional routines and guidelines.  in order to listen to your body and carve your own path.  What works for you will be different than what works for others. 

This article is written for the moderate to hard gainer, training naturally. 

The Three Fundamentals of Muscle Gain

These are the absolute, undeniable basics, which no informed PT or fitness blog could argue.