HOW STRENGTH TRAINING CAN ENHANCE WEIGHT GAIN

“I wish I had that problem.” So say many, when they hear that millions are looking for a way to add pounds rather than reduce them. “No you don’t,” is the short version of most medical experts’ answer, because in an American society where nearly 40% of our neighbors face obesity, the chances are that when a person wants to gain weight, their reasons are very good reasons indeed.

Reasons You Don’t Want

Eating disorders are the first causes we’ll mention for desiring weight gain, and we place them first for two reasons. Eating disorders are said to be the deadliest behavioral disorder – more so than alcoholism or drug addictions – because abstinence is not an option. Everyone must eat, and this greatly complicates treatment of the many forms of eating disorders. The second reason for putting them first is that they are beyond our scope, and if you suspect you might have an eating disorder, we will urge you to get professional attention to treat it.

Other reasons people want to gain weight that call for medical attention include an over-active thyroid, inflammatory bowel disease, and type-1 diabetes when it causes excess glucose excretion. Certain medications can also make it difficult to keep weight on, including chemotherapy and even some antibiotics.

When You’re Just Made That Way

On the other hand, if the genes you inherited are the reason for desiring weight gain, then there is plenty you can do. Building quality tissue, with a good balance of muscle to body fat, is something you can accomplish with exercise programs and nutritional support based on your own unique makeup.

Building lean body mass calls for resistance exercise, and the areas to target depend to a great extent on you. A program that includes squats and dead lifts is effective for many, because these exercises focus on some of the body’s biggest muscle groups, building mass and protecting you through core strength. Gains in these muscle groups show up fast on the scale, and for many these gains are easier to maintain because most folks can keep their legs and torso in daily use.

Another approach is to develop muscle groups that tend to go untouched. Building the upper back, particularly the latissimus dorsi, works wonders for some, because it is the largest muscle in the upper body, and modern life doesn’t give it much of a challenge. When we target the “lats” for exercise, it feels like new ground for many.

Leg extensions and flexion exercises can help put on weight, because the muscles involved – the quads and hamstrings – are large and capable to begin with. On the other hand, shoulders and arms are not at the top of the list, because they are not inherently large muscle groups. For that same reason though, the upside potential sometimes makes them a reasonable target for gains.

If it is weight alone you’re after, then unfortunately the aisles are full of foods that can pack it on for most people. Yet if your own version of a healthy body is what you have in mind, with a balance of tissue density and a metabolism you can live with, then the right exercise will put you on this path.