Muscle-Building for Skinny Guys
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?
- Do Skinny People Have Faster Metabolisms?
- How to Eat More Calories
- How to Know If You're Skinny
- Is the Ectomorph Body Type Real?
- The Guide for Skinny-Fat Guys
- 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.
- What's Bulking?
- What's Clean Bulking?
- What's Dirty Bulking?
- What Are Newbie Gains?
- How to Build Muscle FAST
- How to Build Muscle LEANLY
- How Long Should You Bulk For?
- What Bulking Results Can You Expect?
- How Fast Should Skinny Guys Gain Weight?
- 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 Long to Rest Between Sets
- How Fast to Lift & Lower Weights
- How to Build Broader Shoulders
- 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 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
- How to Improve Digestion While Bulking
- How Many Calories Does it Take to Gain Weight
- The Best Bulking Foods
- How to Make a Nutritious Bulking Smoothie
- 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 Muscle with Bodyweight Workouts
- Calisthenics vs Weights for Building Muscle
- How to Build a Dumbbell Home Gym
- How to Build a Barbell Home Gym
- 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:
- Should You Do Cardio While Bulking?
- Can Cardio Kill Muscle Gains?
- How to Maintain Your Gains After Bulking
- Is Bulking Healthy?
- How to Cut
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 Can You Have Per Day?
- The Best Time to Have a Protein Shake
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
How to Make High-Calorie Bulking Smoothies (to Gain Weight)
A good bulking smoothie makes it easier to get into a calorie surplus, allowing you to gain weight and thus build muscle. We’ve used these smoothies to gain nearly 70 pounds each. We’ve also used them with thousands of clients, ranging from everyday people all the way up to Olympic…
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How Much Protein Powder Can You Have Per Day?
One of the most common questions we get is how much protein powder is too much protein powder? One scoop of whey per day is probably fine, right? But what about 2 scoops? 3 scoops? 4? I’ve seen dozens of muscle-building studies where the researchers give participants upwards of 60…
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The Best Time to Have a Protein Shake
You can have a protein shake at any time. The most important thing is to consume enough protein overall. Still, some times are better than others. Maybe you’ve heard of a bodybuilder who wakes up in the middle of the night to chug the shake they’ve left on their bedside…
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How to Build Broader Shoulders
Broad shoulders are touted as one of the most attractive features a man can possess. That’s not wrong—building bigger shoulders will improve your appearance—but it’s not the whole story, either. Then there’s the issue of bone structure. The length of your clavicles (collarbones) determines how far apart your shoulders are.…
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How Long Should You Bulk For?
In theory, you could bulk slowly over several years. That’s what some natural bodybuilders do. They eat in a small calorie surplus as part of their regular lifestyle, only stopping when they need to lean down for a bodybuilding competition. However, they have fierce appetites and large stomachs, making it…
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Before & After Creatine: How Much Extra Muscle Will You Gain?
Creatine has earned a reputation for being the most powerful muscle-building supplement, and with good reason. It has thousands of studies proving its effectiveness. Still, most people don’t know how much extra muscle it will actually help them build. 5% more? 50% more? One way to get an idea of…
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The Best Workout Routine for Skinny Beginners
Most skinny guys are eager to gain muscle fast. I don’t blame them. I was the same way. When I weighed 130 pounds, with a BMI of 17, all I wanted was to not be skinny anymore. The best way to build muscle, of course, is to lift weights. The…
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Should Skinny Guys Take Creatine to Build Muscle?
Once upon a time, I was 23 years old and 130 pounds at 6 feet tall. I was skinny and underweight, with a BMI of just under 18. I was hunchbacked from all my time spent hunched over my desk studying graphic design. My roommate, Shane, was similarly thin, so…
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How to Build Bigger Arms (For Skinny Guys)
I’ve managed to bring my arms from 10 inches up to 16 inches. But I got off to a rough start. During my first two years of successful bulking, I gained 40 pounds at 11% body fat, bringing my bench from 65 to 225 pounds and doing chin-ups with 50…
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.
