Muscle-Building for Skinny Guys
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We Help Hardgainers, Skinny & Skinny-Fat Guys Bulk Up
For the past 12 years, we've specialized in helping skinny guys build muscle, get strong, and gain weight. People say it's a small niche, but if this bulk goes according to plan, we'll soon be the biggest community on the internet.
I'm Shane Duquette, and I gained 55 pounds in a little over two years. I was lucky. I had the help of my business partner, Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS, PN, a naturally thin strength coach who'd already gained 60 pounds. We also helped our other business partner, Jared Polowick, gain 50 pounds.
We're the founders of Bony to Beastly (for skinny men), Bony to Bombshell (for skinny women), and Outlift. We've helped over 10,000 skinny people build muscle, with clients ranging from college students to senior citizens, MDs to PhDs, and office workers all way the way up to college, professional, and Olympic athletes.
The proof is in the smoothie, too. We consistently get the best bulking transformations on the internet. Check out these muscle-building transformations from guys doing the Bony to Beastly Program.
Bigger, Stronger, & Fitter
Bony guys are defined by their scaffolding. We're here to help you fill out that frame with muscle, reaping all the long-term health and fitness benefits as you bulk up.
- Maybe you're a "hardgainer," where no matter how much you eat, you can't gain weight. You aren't crazy. There's genetic variation in stomach size, appetite, and metabolism. Many of us are genetically predisposed to thinness. We need to find a diet that suits us.
- Maybe you're an "ectomorph," with thinner wrists and narrower shoulders, worried your frame can't support muscle growth. We had that same fear. It isn't true. Thin guys tend to be able to build muscle faster than other body types.
- Maybe you're skinny-fat, getting bigger and smaller without ever getting leaner or stronger. That's frustrating. You're one of the rare few who eats the right amount of food, yet it's being stored as fat instead of muscle. We need to reverse that, and we can.
We're the Costco of muscle. You can find anything you want, but everything is in bulk. We write about how to eat a healthy weight-gain diet, how to train for muscle size, and how to live a lifestyle that supports muscle, strength, and overall fitness.
If you want us to walk you through the entire process of bulking up, check out our Bony to Beastly Program. We'll teach you everything you need to know, including diet, training, and lifestyle. We'll answer all your questions, give you feedback along the way, and support you through every step of the process. Your results are fully guaranteed.
We've also written hundreds of free articles about how to build muscle, eat a good diet, and live a healthy lifestyle. Feel free to drop a comment. I answer all of them.
Thin Genetics
Thin guys often have different genetics, giving us different struggles and goals and influencing how we eat, lift, and live.
- Why is it so Hard to Gain Weight?
- How Fast Can Skinny People Build Muscle?
- Do Skinny People Have Bad Muscle-Building Genetics?
- Do Skinny People Have Faster Metabolisms?
- Can You Be Skinny and Strong?
- How to Know If You're Skinny
- Is the "Ectomorph" Body Type Real?
- What Is Skinny Fatness?
- The Best Skinny Fat Workout, Diet, and Lifestyle
- Should Skinny Guys Use Mass Gainers?
The Art of Bulking
The only way to get bigger is to gain weight. The best way to gain weight is to prioritize muscle growth—to bulk. Nobody knows bulking better than we do.
- How to Bulk
- What's Dirty Bulking?
- What's Clean Bulking?
- What Are Newbie Gains?
- Does Bulking Make You Fat?
- How to Build Muscle FAST
- How to Build Muscle LEANLY
- What's the Best Way to Bulk Up?
- How Long Should You Bulk For?
- What Bulking Results Can You Expect?
- How Fast Should Skinny Guys Gain Weight?
- Why Aren't You Gaining Weight in a Calorie Surplus?
- The Best Muscle-Building Programs for Skinny Guys
How to Train Your Muscles
One of the best ways to improve your results is to improve your training. The more muscle growth you can stimulate, the more calories your muscles will gobble up, leaving fewer to store as body fat. We'll show you how to stimulate more growth.
Plus, you may want to develop a certain muscle. Perhaps you're tired of having a thin neck, lanky arms, or a small chest. The best way to develop a specific muscle is to train it. We'll show you how.
- The Best Workout Routine for Skinny Beginners
- The Full-Body Workout Guide
- The Best Workout Splits for Building Muscle
- How Many Reps to Do Per Set
- How Long to Rest Between Sets
- How Often to Lift Weights
- How Fast to Lift & Lower Weights
- How to Build Broader Shoulders
- How to Train Your Side Delts
- How to Build a Thicker Neck
- How to Build a Bigger Chest
- How to Build a Bigger Back
- How to Build Bigger Arms
- How to Build Bigger Forearms
- How to Build Bigger Abs
- How to Build a Bigger Jaw
How to Eat a Good Diet
It isn't hard to learn about how to eat a nutritious diet. However, most of that advice is for overweight people struggling to lose weight. We have the opposite problem. We need an abundant diet that's rich in calories and nutrients, supporting our health and muscle growth.
- How to Eat a Good Bulking Diet
- The Best Bulking Meals & Recipes
- How to Improve Digestion While Bulking
- How Many Calories Does it Take to Gain Weight
- How to Eat More Calories
- The Best Bulking Foods
- How to Make a Healthy, High-Calorie Bulking Smoothie
- How Much Protein Should You Eat at Breakfast?
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Building Muscle?
- Is Keto Good for Building Muscle?
How to Build Muscle at Home
Gyms are great, but you can build just as much muscle at home. I've bulked with adjustable dumbbells in my small apartment. Now I lift weights in my barbell home gym. In a pinch, you can even bulk with bodyweight workouts. You can use whatever you have, but be smart about it.
- How to Build a Dumbbell Home Gym
- How to Build a Barbell Home Gym
- How to Build Muscle with Bodyweight Workouts
- Calisthenics vs Weights for Building Muscle
- Are Resistance Bands Good for Building Muscle?
How to Improve Your Appearance
I know, I know. We're supposed to work out to develop our inner beauty and fortitude. But it doesn't hurt to look great while we do it. Most of the advice on the internet is either politically correct or distorted by the manosphere. That's why we've consulted with the top attractiveness researchers and conducted our own surveys.
How to Get Leaner, Fitter & Healthier
All of our articles consider health and fitness. We're not in the bodybuilding or powerlifting scene. We're part of the fitness industry. We're natural lifters who want to be strong, fit, and healthy. Still, there are two things naturally thin guys need to know:
Muscle-Building Supplements
Supplements are overrated but helpful. We don't sell supplements or use any affiliate links, keeping our supplement recommendations as unbiased as possible.
- The Best Muscle-Building Supplements for Skinny Guys
- How Well Does Creatine Actually Work?
- The Creatine Guide for Skinny Guys
- Can Collagen Help You Build Muscle?
- How Much Protein Powder Can You Have Per Day?
- The Best Time to Have a Protein Shake
Calculators
- Bulking Calorie Calculator
- Cutting Calorie Calculator
- Body Recomposition Calorie Calculator
- At-Home Body Fat Percentage Calculator (Navy Method)
Kick back, relax, and enjoy some moderately heavy reading. We'll teach you everything you need to know to go from lean to mean, from stick to thick, from Bony to Beastly.
Our Recent Articles
Can You Be Skinny and Strong? Yes, Kind Of
Some skinny guys with good strength genetics are stronger than they look. However, they would be even stronger if they built more muscle. I’m a naturally skinny guy who was underweight into his twenties and then gradually gained 70 pounds. I’ve struggled to bench press an empty barbell. I’ve also…
Read MoreHow Fast Should You Gain Weight While Bulking?
Bulking faster almost always causes faster muscle growth, but if you bulk too fast, you’ll gain more fat. Bulking slower gives you a better chance of making lean gains, but you’ll build muscle more slowly, and you might go through periods of not building any muscle at all. Most people…
Read MoreHow Fast Can Skinny People Build Muscle?
I want to talk about how quickly skinny people can expect to build muscle. It’s a contentious topic. I’ve gained 70 pounds and spent the past decade helping over ten thousand skinny people bulk up, and I’ve noticed that most experts either get this wrong or forget to even mention…
Read MoreCan Chewing Gum Help Your Jawline?
I don’t have a jawline. My jaw just blends straight into my neck. I’ll show you in a second. But I wasn’t particularly bothered by it. George Lucas created wonderful things without a chin, so I didn’t see why I needed a jaw. Still, whenever I saw an ad about…
Read MoreWhat Does Bulking Do?
Bulking is when you gain weight to support muscle growth. Not everyone needs to gain weight to build muscle, but some people do. That’s because you need to do two things to build muscle: Any good muscle-building program combines those two things. What sets bulking apart is that the diet…
Read MoreDo Skinny People Have Bad Muscle-Building Genetics?
I think it’s important to talk honestly about muscle-building genetics. I don’t mean that in a pessimistic “blackpill” way. Every skinny person can build muscle. I’m naturally skinny. So is Marco. We’ve each gained around 70 pounds. And over the past decade, we’ve worked with over ten thousand skinny clients,…
Read MoreBulking Diet Plan: How to Eat for Muscle Growth
This bulking diet guide covers everything you need to know about eating for muscle growth. This is how bodybuilders have traditionally bulked up, how athletes gain lean mass, and what modern science shows is the most effective way to fuel muscle growth. Cassandra used this diet to gain over twenty…
Read MoreHow Often Should You Train Each Muscle Group?
Training each muscle group 2–4 times per week can maximize muscle growth while keeping your risk of overuse injuries low. But that isn’t the only way to train. Some workout programs train each muscle group once per week. Some recent research suggests those routines can be just as effective. Or…
Read MoreWhy Aren’t You Gaining Weight in a Calorie Surplus?
You used a bulking calorie calculator, which told you how many calories you needed to gain weight. Then, you meticulously tracked your calories for several weeks, logging every single food that went into your mouth. And yet, somehow, you haven’t gained any weight. Or perhaps you gained weight during the…
Read MoreIf none of these articles tickle your fancy, we've got dozens more.
Or if you're ready to start building muscle, check out our bulking program.