I just finished reading The Hard Gainer Solution by Scott Abel. I don’t think I really fall in the category of a “hardgainer” but I was curious to see what the take was on training for a “hardgainer”. Everyone says eat lots and push hard in the gym, but I wanted to see if there was more to it than that. This was book was a really interesting read. Mr. Abel advocates high volume rep style training that is not very typical of more traditional styles of body building in order to put on muscle mass. The most interesting part was the emphasis on avoiding excessive oxygen debt. In recent years more than ever I have noticed the fitness community as a whole has tended towards a “work harder, push harder, go faster, do HIIT everything, and gargle your heart!” attitude. To be told to avoid oxygen debt to build mass really got my attention. I also liked how the workouts in the book are designed so they can be done anywhere from 3 to 7 days a week if the rules provided are followed. I highly recommend reading this book. The content and writing is excellent and Mr. Abel is very generous at the end by including 80 complete workouts and multiple eating plans for various calorie intakes. Talk about body builder candy land.
The book can be found on amazon.ca here.
move the dog fitness 