Publisher Description

A state-of-the-art weight-lifting and nutritional blueprint for "skinny" guys who want to pack on muscle Let's face it, naturally skinny guys are at a distinct genetic disadvantage when it comes to building muscle mass. But with the proper advice, these "hardgainers" definitely can realize their fitness goals. InScrawny to Brawny, the authors draw on their years of practical experience as private strength and nutrition coaches to provide hardgainers with- ?A progressive, state-of-the-art program that optimizes results with shorter, less frequent workouts that maximize compound exercises ?A unique, action-based perspective on nutrition that shows how to prepare quick muscle-building meals and snacks-and how to take advantage of several critical times in the day when muscle growth can be stimulated by food intake ?Vital information on how to identify and fix any weak links in their physiques that may be precursors to injury Designed not only for frustrated adult hardgainers but also--with its strong anti-steroid message--a terrific book for the large teen market,Scrawny to Brawnyfills a significant gap in the weight-lifting arsenal.

Author Biography

MICHAEL MEJIA, exercise advisor and contributing editor to Men's Health magazine, is a strength and conditioning coach who owns and operates his own training facility in Long Island, New York. Coauthor of The Home Workout Bible, he designed the workouts for the popular Testosterone Advantage Plan.

JOHN BERARDI is a strength and nutrition specialist whose company specializes in designing strength and nutrition plans for elite athletes and recreational fitness buffs. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

Excerpt from Book

1 THE SKINNY ON HARDGAINER TERMINOLOGY Before we really start to get the ball rolling, the first thing we should do is define a couple of terms. Let''s start with the three terms that popped up in the introduction, terms that you can bet your bottom dollar you''ll see again. These terms are hypertrophy, ectomorph, and hardgainer. Let''s start with hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is just a fancy way of speaking of muscle growth. So if we call you hypertrophy-challenged, that is simply our politically correct way of saying that you have a tough time building muscle. Next, let''s discuss ectomorph and hardgainer. Contrary to popular belief, these two terms are not interchangeable. The term ectomorph refers to a particular somatotype: a method for classifying different body types based on specific physical characteristics. The word hardgainer, on the other hand, is a contrived term that''s used in the iron game to describe someone who has a difficult time gaining muscle mass. Because of their inability to make progress with more conventional training methods, most ectomorphs just automatically assume that they''re hardgainers. When in truth, the very notion of even being a hardgainer is as fabricated as the term itself. We realize that last statement comes as a bit of a shock. Not only does it fly in the face of just about everything you''ve ever been told about your inability to make appreciable gains in size and strength, but it also robs you of the best excuse you ever had. After all, it''s much easier to throw around some cool-sounding gym lingo than it is to admit that you have no clue how to eat or train properly to reach your goals. Ouch, that had to hurt! But before we shatter your belief system by debunking this whole hardgainer myth, it might help to provide you with some insight into how the idea of body typing came to be in the first place and whether or not it actually holds any merit. At the very least, it will help you gain an understanding about why people respond differently to various forms of diet and exercise. ENDOS AND MESOS AND ECTOS, OH MY! There are three different somatotypes commonly used to classify the human body: endomorphs, mesomorphs, and ectomorphs (see below). Not that it''s really that cut-and-dry; few people fit neatly into one specific category. Most of us exhibit characteristics of more than one somatotype at once. This somewhat crude form of genetic stereotyping is the brainchild of a psychologist by the name of William H. Sheldon, M.D. Back in the early 1940s, seeking to draw connections between body type and temperament, Sheldon studied the photographs of more than 4,000 college-age men. Based on his findings, he actually identified several different body types but later consolidated them, reasoning that everyone could be classified as some combination of the three we still use today. Using a numerical system as a means of quantifying how much of each somatotype a person displayed, Sheldon introduced a unique three-digit code. Setting an order of endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph, Sheldon used a scale of 1 to 7 (the closer the number to 1, the less relation to the somatotype; the closer to 7, the greater) to assign values to each. So, for example, a true endomorph would be assigned a number of 711, a mesomorph 171, and an ectomorph 117. And no, 007 was not James Bond''s somatotype; it was his agent number. Of course, since few people fit into one specific mold, numbers such as 541 (a combination endomorph and mesomorph), 246 (a combination ectomorph and mesomorph), and 153 (a combination mesomorph and ectomorph) are much more common. As you might imagine, Sheldon''s findings were widely criticized, mainly because he based his assertions solely on visual inspection of photographs without any hard physiological data to back them up. Many other scientists argued that a person''s body-type score shouldn''t be based on something as easily altered as appearance. After all, would dropping 50

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