How to Gain Weight Fast with the Best Supplements for Hardgainers

Hey guys,

I'm usually not one to talk much about supplements, all you have to do is flip through any muscle mag and you'll get bombarded with all that crap for 90% of the pages. However, as much as I hate how they market supplements as some magic formula that you can just take with a glass of water and wake up the next morning looking like the guy on the add, supplements still are an important aspect to any weight gain program, provided you take the right ones for the right reasons.

If you want to gain weight fast, adding the right combination of supplements to an already effective weight gain program can make progress much faster.

I recently found a good article on some of the best supplements for a hardgainer weight gain program as well as why each one is important. Check it out below.

The BEST Muscle Growth Supplements for Hardgainers

"Nutritional supplements are good because they prevent us from getting any nutritional deficiencies. The increased activity levels from your new exercise program will make your body have greater demands for vitamins and minerals, which will increase the probability of you suffering a deficiency without supplementation. Even a slight nutrient deficiency can sabotage muscle growth.

Can’t we get all the nutrients we need from food alone? We cannot rely solely on food nowadays to provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs because the processing of foods before they get to the supermarket, cooking, air, and even light have already robbed your foods of most of the vitamins that they have to offer. If you are deficient in one or more nutrients your body may not be able to build muscle and burn fat properly.

Not all supplements are created equal though. Some your body always needs, others are more dependent upon what your goals are and what your budget looks like. Below you will learn what the different categories of supplements are and which ones you need to use at all times. Read the rest here

Talk to ya soon,

Derek Manuel
How to Gain Weight Fast

The Hardgainer Way....

Hey guys,

As fellow hardgainers, we can view our "curse" in one of two ways. One, we can do what most people do and use it as an excuse of why we can't ever gain weight or build muscle. We can just blame our genetics and decide it's not even worth trying to gain weight and build muscle since we have to work 10 times harder then the average person.

The other way you can look at it is as if it is a gift. We can take something that started off as a major "weakness" and completely turn it on its head. We can have the mindset that YOU are in control of YOUR life, and refuse to make excuses or blame "circumstances" as to why you will never be successful in building the body you want.

Obviously, the second option is sounds like an easy choice to go with, but it is a lot harder said then done. We often times fool ourselves with actually believing what we tell ourselves most.

Any success in life requires first a winning attitude. An attitude that lives off the saying, "It's not what happens to you, it's how you respond to what happens to you that makes the difference in you life."

As hardgainers, it is very easy for us to just blame circumstance, but if you really need to gain weight and build muscle either just as much as the other guy or even more so, then you have to train your mind to respond with the winners attitude.

So if you have been living your life telling yourself that you'll never gain weight or build muscle BECAUSE you are a hardgainer and that you shouldn't have to work harder then others to gain weight, it is time for you to change your thinking.

It is time to embrace being a hardgainer as a gift. A gift that gives each one of us the hunger and desire to really prove that we can succeed in our journey to better bodies. After all, success is that much sweeter when you have more to overcome then the "average" person and you still get better results.

So, fellow hardgainers, accept the fact that we are born hardgainers, and use it to your advantage to build a hunger, desire, and work ethic that will smash all limitations that we thought were holding us back this whole time.

I hope this helps,

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
Hardgainer Workout

P.S. Need to gain weight and build muscle mass but don't have a hardgainer workout program on how to do it? Check out the second edition of my best-selling ebook, How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers.

Proven weight gain programs, diet and nutrition guidelines, goal setting, exercises and more ALL geared for HARDGAINERS ONLY!!

Check it our here for more info: How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers

Motivational Strategies to Get the Most from Your Workouts

Hey guys,

Staying motivated is a key factor to having success in the gym. As they say, most people are good starters but poor finishers. This is because it is easy to get fired up and excited about a future goal you want to attain, such as learning how to gain weight fast, especially when you flip through a bodybuilding magazine or see a role model with a body like the one you want.

For the first couple days, we are all excited and ready to hit the gym and train with more intensity then ever. After the workout, we feel good and can’t wait until the next training day. This goes on for a few more days, for some even a few weeks.

Then suddenly, our motivation level drops. All of the sudden doing something else like watching T.V. or going out with your buddies to the beach sounds much more appealing. On our next workout day, we’re just not that eager to hit the gym hard and punish our bodies. We tend to even think about working out less and less.

Let me just say that at this point, and if you ever experienced this before, your goals for that particular workout are pretty much toast – unless you do something about it fast. Think about it. What got you all pumped up to begin the workout in the first place? What was different about the beginning of the workout that changed later on that kept you from continuing your workouts in the future?

One word: Motivation.

What exactly is motivation? The actual definition of motivate is “to provide with a motive or motives.” So if motivation is what provides you with a motive, a reason to workout, how do you maintain motivation until you reach your goals? Figure out your reasons why and how to constantly remind yourself on a daily basis. In other words, figure out “what” motivates you and “why” it motivates you and implement them into your daily thoughts and you will always be motivated!

Obviously this is much harder then it sounds, but there is a logical way to go about doing this. My mentor always used to tell me, “when you know your reason why, you will overcome any how.” So the first step to keep you motivated throughout your whole weight gain program or hardgainer workout until you complete it is to figure out your reason why and make sure it is big enough to compel you to action and keep your desire for its attainment a burning obsession.

Write it out on a piece of paper in one or two sentences and place it somewhere where you will see it every morning and every night. Write it on a smaller note card and carry it around in your pocket everywhere you go to constantly remind yourself of it.

This step is so important that I can’t stress it enough. Ask anybody who has had great success in any endeavor and they will tell you that their goal or dream was never two sentences away from their thoughts. They thought about it every minute of every day. They were in the zone. They knew exactly what they wanted and never took their mind off of it until it was achieved. Adapt this kind of thinking and attitude and motivation will follow you like a shadow.

The second approach to maintaining motivation and to keep it habitually in your thoughts is to set yourself up to where you are constantly reminded and fired up about working out. This can and should be done in several ways. The most effective way is to set up a series of ways in which you can be reminded all the time through literary, audio, visual, as well as face-to-face learning and training.

When you are constantly reading new workout material, listening to audio recordings that motivate you, watching videos or movies about working out and bodybuilding, and are associating with other like-minded people with the same or similar goals, you will have a steady and constant flow of motivation.

One of my favorite quotes is, “you will be the same person today in five years except for the books you read and the people whom you most associate with.” The truism in this quote cannot be denied. If “birds of a feather flock together,” what can you tell about your motivation and results based on the people whom you most hang around? How often are you reading new material on hardgainer training and bodybuilding? These questions can often present the reason why you may be losing motivation every time you start a new hardgainer workout program.

Begin today before anything else by finding your reason why you workout and ingrain it in your brain until it becomes a burning obsession. Then make sure you are always around information and people that support your goals. By just making a habit of these two things will not only jump start your motivation but also gives it the long lasting vitality and lifeblood it needs to continue to compel you all the way to the finish line.

I hope this helps,

Talk to you soon,

Derek Manuel
Weight Gain Program

Need to Gain Weight but You Also Play Sports?

Hey fellow hardgainers,

Today I am going to address one of the most common questions that I get from those who need to gain weight. I would say I get an average of at least 10 emails a week of generally the same type of question. Here is the latest question I received:

"Derek, I am ready to start your program and excited to gain 15 to 30 pounds of muscle in the next 8 weeks. I know you mention that in order to gain weight that fast, I have to eliminate any type of cardio for the time period, which brings me to the next question: I LOVE to play basketball. I play pick up games at least twice a week, and I have games every Sunday, so I do a lot of running. Is this going to affect my weight gains?"

Feel free to replace basketball with whatever sport or recreational activity that you may engage in that includes cardiovascular exercise.

And the simple answer to this question is this: YES.

I'm going to be straight with you. If you are serious about gaining weight and strength, playing any sport often and doing a lot of running will make this VERY difficult. It doesn't make sense to begin a weight gain program when you are routinely performing exercises that provoke weight loss! ESPECIALLY AS A HARDGAINER.

The bottom line is this: you will ONLY gain weight when you consume more calories then you burn on a daily basis. This means for hardgainers, you have to eat a lot of calories, follow a proper weight gain program, and rest AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Any additional cardio will cause you to not only burn the NEEDED calories to gain weight, but will also not let your muscles fully recover.

The best advice I can give in this situation is make a decision as to what is more important to you. Like anything else, to have success in something you have to sacrifice some things, and cardio is one of them if you really need to gain weight and build muscle mass.

Now, if you are are stubborn like me and absolutely cannot stop playing whatever sport for a short period of time, then it is an ABSOLUTELY MUST to do the following:

1) Try to limit how many times you play a week as much as you can (obvious, I know, but I have to say it)

2) Eat even MORE calories then the recommended amount to gain weight

3) Consume a high carb/protein shake a little before AND IMMEDIATELY right after each cardio session to limit any loss in needed calories to help you gain weight

4) Try to get as much sleep as your schedule can possibly permit, even if this means taking naps throughout the day if you can.

Like I said, you simply won't gain the MAXIMUM amount of weight in the minimum time period while doing a lot of cardio. You can almost say that no cardio is just as much part of the weight gain program as the diet and workout are.

However, you can still gain a lot of weight and really build up your strength if you follow a solid hardgainer program along with the steps I listed above, you simply just won't get the fasted results possible.

I hope this helps.

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
Weight Gain Program

Hardgainer Workout: The Key Muscle Groups to Focus On

Hey Guys,

If you are a hardgainer, or you just haven’t been gaining the muscle mass that you are striving to achieve, you may be leaving out some key exercises in your hardgainer workout.

If you look at any successful bodybuilder or weight trainer who trains to build a mass of muscle, and by successful I don’t mean just the guys you see in magazines but anybody with good results, you may notice that they spend a lot of time and effort in two main areas of their workouts: leg and back exercises.


There are many reasons for this, but one of the most particular is because they are the largest and most powerful muscles in your body. Exercises for your legs and back, such as squats, bent-over rows, and deadlifts, are hands down some of the most demanding types of exercises you can do when you train them hard and heavy.

But when developed properly they can build a mass of muscle bulk and help you gain weight for the rest of your whole body. Lower body exercises are by far the fasted
way to build muscle even if you are trying to increase the muscle mass on your upper body as well.

The reason for this is because you are stimulating your largest muscle groups, thus producing the most amount of testosterone throughout your body. Testosterone is a key ingredient if you need to gain weight. More testosterone means much more muscle mass potential for the rest of your muscle groups, such as your chest, arms and shoulders.

Specializing on back exercises can increase your strength and power and add pounds of muscle on your body in a very short amount of time. Specializing on leg exercises in your weight gain program is the fastest way to gain weight in the form of muscle mass.

A workout designed to specialize on leg and back exercises can add more size and slabs of muscle on your body then a meat factory can produce. You can turn a
skeleton into Hercules by just spending a couple months really grinding away ruthlessly on leg and back exercises.

The key, however, is to develop strength in just a few of these compound exercises and to work your guts out.

Constantly adding weight on a weekly basis is not an option, it’s required. Unlike training your arms or smaller muscles, your legs and back can withstand a lot of weight and a lot of endurance. You really have to work them to their maximum, and most trainees never have and never will.

That is why most trainees, especially hardgainers, will never get great results. But you are not like most trainees. You are a hard working, determined individual who will do whatever it takes to gain muscle weight effectively and in the least amount of time (just nod your head and agree on that one).

Here are the major leg and back exercises you should focus on if you want to learn how to gain weight fast and build muscle on your whole frame really fast: squats, regular deadlifts, stiff-legged deadlifts, bent-over rows, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows. Note: all of these exercises must be free-weights. NO MACHINES! The goal is strength and power, and nothing can replace free-weights for this.

Being a hardgainer myself, I never gained a pound of muscle in 8 long years until I learned about the importance of squats. As soon as I added heavy squats to my hardgainer workout I started progressing every week and my weight gains shot way up. Then when I started really focusing on building strength and power in my back exercises as well, my whole frame added much more size and raw power then I have ever seen before.

If you are already in the middle of a weight gain program and have some leg and back exercises incorporated and your goal is to bulk up and gain some quality muscle mass fast, then really focus on those two muscle groups the most. Place them first in your workouts so you can put the most effort and energy into them. The return from hard work on these exercises is better then any other muscle group when you want to build a mass of muscle, raw size, and strength.

I hope this helps, and I'll talk to your next week.

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
Weight Gain Program

How to Gain Muscle Weight in 21 Days

Hey Gang,

Are you a slave of your habits or a master of them? Habits are one of the most powerful tools that can work for or against us. As the saying goes, "first we make ourselves, then your habit make us."

If your like most people you have probably had several occasions where you decided on a once and for all decision that sounds something along the lines of, "that's it! From now on I'm going to workout this many times a week, eat healthy, and exercise daily for the next several months." At the time, we may be fed up with our bodies and be really motivated to begin a workout program and have all the energy in the world to see it to the end..... at the moment.

But what happens a few weeks down the road? We begin to lose motivation, start to slack off, and sure enough, we are right back to where we started again until we get another inspirational boost to "finally make the decision" again.

Does this sound anything familiar to you? If you have always wanted to build muscle mass or follow a weight gain program, this probably hits home for most of you reading this. Again and again we follow this slow and tortuous pattern that in the end really get's us no where. As Albert Einstein once quoted, "the definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting a different result."

So this means, if we are repeatedly going through the process I described above again and again without ever getting different results then we either need to do something different or check ourselves in to the nearest mental hospital for insanity.

So what CAN we do different? Here's the answer: create a habit. Write this down and memorize this. Because instead of trying to spontaneously hype ourselves into sticking with a weight gain program for several months, what we need to do is first break old habits and create new ones. Why? Because as you are probably aware of, once something is a habit in your life, you no longer have any RESISTANCE towards it because you are not CONSCIOUSLY making a change in your life, you are basically just acting on autopilot. No change equals no resistance, no resistance makes sticking to a program MUCH easier.

So instead of trying to FORCE ourselves to follow a program over the next several months, we are going to focus on making your workouts a habit FIRST, then you will have minimum resistance to finishing.

So how do we create a habit? I thought you'd never ask. Well, it is said that it takes 21 days to create a habit. That means what you need to do is pick one or two things that you have the most trouble sticking with, whether it's your eating habits, skipping days, training intensity, getting enough rest or sleep at night, whatever yours may be.

Once you identify your weakness, your goal is to create a 21 day plan to strictly follow your plan for 21 days STRAIGHT. The most important key here is to not miss a single day in the 21 day process; because if you do, then you have to start over.

For example, let's say you have trouble taking in enough protein every day to feed your muscles. One habit you can create is to take a protein shake first thing in the morning and one before you go to bed. All you have to do then, is for the next 21 days, consciously remind yourself by whatever means possible and FORCE yourself to do this for just 21 days. Don't think anything past 21 days, or you may get discouraged. Besides, you won't have to think about it after 21 days anyway.

All you need to focus on is doing this for 21 days, without skipping a SINGLE day. Make post-it notes, reminders on your refrigerator, alarms on your phone, whatever it is you need to do so you don't forget. Most people, even highly unmotivated people can discipline themselves for at least 21 days.

Once you have done this, you have created a habit, and you will begin to notice that you no longer need to THINK about or REMIND yourself everyday, because it will be a habit. You will have one more habit working FOR you, and not AGAINST you, therefore freeing up your time and energy to consciously focus on creating new habits.

Go ahead and try this out for whatever it is you find yourself not consistently following through on, and the more good habits you create, the easier and easier it will be for you to build muscle mass and stay consistent.

I'll talk to your soon

Your friend,

Derek Manuel
Weight Gain Program

Hardgainer Workout - The big 20: Rules for Hardgainers

Hey guys,

There are rules to success in any area. If you follow these rules, or laws, you will reach a certain degree of success depending on how many of and how well you follow these rules. For hardgainers looking to gain weight, this is no exception.

Ever wonder what the rules are for a hardgainer workout, ones that if remembered and followed religiously would produce results for you that you never thought you could achieve?

Here is an interesting article I found below on the 20 rules for a hardgainer workout that every hardgainer should follow if they really expect to get results. Enjoy.

The big 20: rules for hardgainers | Flex | Find Articles at BNET:

"The following 20 tips are not revolutionary, but this is only because the tried-and-true basics remain the most effective means for building muscle mass. The harder you struggle for another quarter-inch on your arms or another five lean pounds on a scale, the more crucial these rules are for your success. Adhere to all 20 to maximize your bodybuilding potential."

Read the rest here

How Many Daily Calories You Need to Gain Weight

Hey gang,

I've gone over quite a lot the past few weeks on techniques for working out, but one of the biggest reasons that hardgainers don't gain weight is an insufficient diet.

If you are trying to learn how to gain weight fast, your diet and nutrition is even MORE important for gaining weight then the weight training. Proper weight training with a proper diet will add pounds and pounds of muscle; a proper diet with no workout will add weight in both fat and muscle, but a good workout without a proper diet simply won't result in much of anything except frustration.

So how many calories do you need to gain weight? Well, everybody is different, but fortunately there is an easy formula that you can follow to get an approximate of how many calories to eat if you need to gain weight.

Step 1:

Take your current body weight in pounds (lbs) and multiply by 11.

Example: 150 lbs x 11 = 1,650 calories

Step 2:

Figure out your metabolic factor.

If you are receiving this newsletter, I am assuming you are a hardgainer, therefore we will assume your metabolic rate is that of someone with a fast metabolism.

Now take your metabolic % based on your age below:

Metabolic %

Under 30 years old
Fast Metabolism- 50%

30-40 years old
Fast Metabolism- 45%

Over 40 years old
Fast Metabolism- 40%

Example: 1,650 calories x 50% = 825

So in this example I took the calories needed based on the body weight of 150 pounds, and now we multiply it by the metabolic % and get an additional 825 calories. You need to add these calories because even if you pretty much do nothing all day long, your body is still burning calories by keeping your organs working, walking, getting up, ect.

Step 3:

Put it together.

1,650 + 825 = 2,475 calories

This example suggests that a 150 pound person needs approximately 2,475 calories to maintain his/her weight. Now, since you are most likely trying to gain weight in the form of muscle, we need to take into account the weight training. An average weight training workout to gain weight will usually burn somewhere around 500 calories, so to be safe, let's add that into the equation on workout days.

2,475 + 500 = 2,975 calories

Step 4:

Now, it is said that in order to gain healthy weight, you need to eat about 500 extra calories a day. So, for the last part of the equation, let's add at least another 500 calories to your daily diet.

2,975 + 500 = 3,475 calories

Step 5:

Test, track, and tweak your progress.

One point you don't want to forget is that you must continuously make the necessary adjustments as you gain weight, or you will simply stop gaining weight. So every week or two, redo the equation with your new weight and make the necessary adjustments.

I hope this helps, and I'll talk to your next week.

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
How to Gain Weight Fast

Need to Gain Weight? Try NOT Gain Weight with this...

Hey fellow hardgainers,

One of the best ways to gain muscle weight fast is to combine a weight gain workout with an ultimate weight gain shake; of course still eating as much clean high calorie foods as frequent as possible throughout the day. If you have been keeping up with my newsletters, then you should already have a pretty good idea of what a weight gain program should look like.

Otherwise, if you are looking for the ultimate routine to gain weight and build muscle mass as fast as possible, then please visit the following link:

www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com

Once you have good weight gain program, then you'll want to learn how to make a weight gain shake. One of the best that I have ever found is right out of John McCallum's book, "The Complete Keys to Progress". It is called, simply, the Get Big Drink.

Here are the ingredients:

- A days supply of your favorite weight gain/protein powder
- Two quarts of milk
- Two cups of skim milk power
- Four tablespoons of peanut butter
- Half a brick of chocolate ice cream
- One banana
- Four tablespoons of malted milk powder
- Six tables of corn syrup

Whip up all the ingredients in a bowl, or you can blend the ingredients separately with whatever you can fit in the blender at once. This should make about a gallon's worth. Pour it in a plastic container and sip on it throughout the day until you evenly consume the whole lot. You can have a glass with every meal, and sip on it in between.

If you are lactose intolerant, than obviously this wouldn't be the best mix for you, and you'll have to make the proper adjustments. Otherwise, this is the best weight gain shake I've found to date. I've personally gained several pounds a WEEK with this, and have recommended it to dozens of others who have all gotten similar results.

As long as you don't make the mistake of thinking of this as a meal replacement drink and you start skipping meals, then you'll definitely gain weight. And if you combine this with some heavy squats and plenty of rest, you'll gain weight every week.

I hope this helps and I'll talk to you soon,

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
Weight Gain Program

How to Gain Weight Fast - The Old School Way

From around the fifty’s through the seventy’s, we can learn a lot of solid information on how to build muscle size as well as how to gain weight fast from the old-timers. There was a lot more common sense and simplicity when it came to weight training workouts for muscle mass.

Their training techniques differed very much from the ones we know of today, though most of the ones they used then are far more effective. The difference about their training was that they understood the importance of lifting heavy weights to build muscle.
Because when you build strength, you are building the foundation for size. Some strength exercises focus on building muscle mass better then others, while others have more of an effect on gaining weight.

Not only did the old time bodybuilders train with different exercises and programs then what we mostly see today, but the way they trained was completely different altogether. They trained HARD. Back then most of these bodybuilders worked out in basements or garages of their own homes. They didn’t have all of the pads, machines, and fancy gym equipment that make training easier and more luxurious that we have today.

In fact, many bodybuilders trained without any racks whatsoever, so in order to do most exercises, they first had to clean the weight off the floor and then get it into position (a clean is an Olympic exercise in which you pick the weight up off the floor and pull it up and get your elbows under it in one quick motion). Can you imagine that before beginning to squat say, 200 pounds, you first had to pick it up off the floor, lift it over your head and then lower it onto your shoulders? Now that’s hard work.

Gyms back then were more like dungeons, and you would only go in for one purpose and one purpose only: to lift weights. The old timers would go in there, concentrate fully on their workout, train hard, and get the hell out. For most bodybuilders back then, there were probably no easy days in the gym. You either give it all you got, or you don’t workout at all.

Since they understood the importance of lifting heavy weights to build muscle on most if not all compound exercises, this made easy workouts virtually impossible. They HAD to concentrate on what they were doing. They HAD to work hard on each rep of each set of each exercise. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t get any stronger, and if they didn’t get any stronger then they knew they wouldn’t get any bigger.

There were few if any supplements back then and steroids weren’t even heard of yet. They didn’t have machines or pulleys or cables. But what they did have was more then average successful weight trainers.

Gains of 10 pounds a month for hardgainers was not uncommon, and many gained 20 to 30 pounds of muscle within just a couple of months without much of a thought. Why? Because they weren’t exposed to the same bunch of garbage that is out there today. They trained with the right knowledge and loads of hard work and common sense.

If you really want results from your workouts and learn how to gain weight fast, you have got to change your attitude and thinking towards your training. Think of how the old timers trained next time you hit the gym. Go there with a single purpose in mind, and never let your mind stray from your workout. Your results will triple by focusing your mind while at the gym. If you’re just an “average” gym member, you’re going to get average results.

If you really want to know how to gain weight fast, build muscle size and add some truly raw strength, then keep your workouts simple, focus on the compound exercises, and workout with 110% intensity. Next time you’re at the gym, think about how the old timers trained, and your results will improve tenfold.

Hope this helps,

Derek Manuel
How to Gain Weight Fast

How to Gain Weight Fast with these Visualization Tips

If you are reading this right now, I want you to raise your hand as high as you can. Go ahead and do it right now if you haven't already, I am going to make an important point here. OK, keeping your hand as high as you can, I want you now to raise your hand a little bit higher.

What's my point? Most of us have no idea what we are truly capable of, and we tend to often cut ourselves short. Metaphorically speaking, we tend to believe we have "raised our hands" as high as we can, when in reality we can always go a little higher.

If you are interested in how to gain weight fast and building muscle and raw strength beyond what you thought was capable for yourself, or maybe you just want a little trick to get some better results, then try visualization. You have probably heard someone at one time say, "I have to see it to believe it."

Well, any successful person in life in any category thinks the exact opposite, they believe it first and then they see it. Apply this to your training and your results will shoot through the roof.

Two ways in which you can use visualization are what we'll call long-term and short-term. Let's use the bench press for example. Let's say you currently can bench press 185 pounds for 10 reps
and your goal is to eventually bench press 250 pounds for 10 reps. Long term visualization is when you take some quiet time at night when you are lying in bed, relax your body and mind, and after a few minutes when you feel relaxed, you begin to visualize yourself bench pressing 250 pounds for 10 reps.

The key is to make it as real as possible, as if you are really in the gym working out. Use your senses to make this visual as real as possible; recall the smell, what the gym looks like, the feel of
the bar in your hands, what it sounds like in your gym, everything. See yourself completing each and every one of the ten reps in good form. Repeat this visualization every night, making it more
and more of a real experience.

Another trick you can use is to see someone else perform ten reps with 250 pounds. When I was squatting around 300 pounds and had my goal of 415 pounds, I went on YouTube and watched
videos of other people squat 415 pounds with ease and this totally gave me a new perspective, and the 300 pounds I was currently squatting no longer seemed so heavy.

Short term visualization works like this: when you are actually at the gym and getting ready to bench press, lie down on the bench and close your eyes. If you are going to do ten reps, then visualize yourself doing all ten reps in good form. It is important that you go through each rep in your head - and that you finish! Once you see it in your mind, snap open your eyes and perform the set; and repeat what you've already done in your imagination.

A final little trick you can use is to visualize yourself as being your favorite bodybuilder, or anyone with a lot more muscle and strength then you have while performing a set. Convince yourself as much as possible at that moment that you are really that person; visualize having those muscles, and the strength that comes with it, and then perform the set. This technique also works when doing exercises that might not be as challenging on your strength, such as pumping out your pectoral muscles with some dumbbell fly's; I'll bet you'll be able to pump out a few more reps then usual acting like a pro bodybuilder.

So if you are a hardgainer wanting to learn how to gain weight fast and build some real muscle mass, practice these visualization techniques and over time you will be getting a heck of a lot better of a workout then you were without them, thus bringing you closer to performing your best, meaning you'll get better results.

I'll talk to you soon,

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
How to Gain Weight Fast