Have you ever heard the term hardgainer and wondered what it meant? Have you ever described yourself as one but are unsure what it actually means?

Well, to start with, a hardgainer is someone who finds it hard to gain weight and so finds it hard to build muscle. Too many people say this term is an excuse and that the reason 'hardgainers' are not seeing results at the gym is due to laziness. This is not true. A lot of people are hardgainers: they fall within a body type known as ectomorphs.

The term ectomorph refers to people who are naturally thin, got a flat chest, delicate build, young appearance and normally quite tall and have low levels of strength, they are suited to endurance events due to a higher level of slow-twitch muscle fibres, and they have a fast metabolism making it hard to gain weight or build muscle.

William. H. Sheldon also studied personal personality traits and he associated different traits depending on what body type you are. The personality traits that are associated with this body type are:

•Self-conscious

•Socially anxious

•Emotionally restrained

They can also have a preference for privacy and can be artistic.

But just because you are this body type does not mean that you cannot gain weight, trust me, I thought the same way, but a bit of determination and knowledge will greatly increase your chances of a better body.

A lot of hardgainers are unsure about how to go about gaining weight as they think they have tried EVERYTHING. They have looked at all the promises made by products and have spent a lot of money trying to achieve their goals and still haven't seen the kind of results they want. Sometimes it is best to go back to basics.

The most basic thing to think about when trying to gain weight is how many calories you are consuming. You need to eat more calories than you burn to put on weight. If you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight and if the amount of calories you eat is the same as what you burn your weight will stay the same. It is very simple, but often forgotten.

You need to do your homework and determine if you are eating enough calories. To do this you need to work out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and your PAL (Physical Activity Rate).

Once you have this sorted you need to look at what you are doing at the gym and how effective your workouts are. There is no point spending hours down the gym working really hard doing a routine that just isn't working for you.

Once you have the basics down and an understanding of your body you can begin to refine what you’re eating and your workouts to see the results you have always wanted - no cons or monthly subscriptions required.