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What is a Weight Gain Program?

Troy Holmes
Troy Holmes

Diets come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the desired outcome for the person using them. A weight gain program is designed to efficiently provide enough additional calories to produce a manageable weight gain for an individual. This program should include quality proteins, fats, and carbohydrates as to provide a well balanced diet, while giving enough additional nutrients to produce an increase in weight.

The human body is a complex set of cells and organs that works much like an advanced machine in the processing of nutrients for growth and survival. Many individuals struggle to gain weight as their metabolism processes faster then the average person. A weight gain program is the perfect solution for packing on a few extra pounds of muscle.

The weight gain program is designed to increase muscle mass not fat.
The weight gain program is designed to increase muscle mass not fat.

All fitness programs are designed to enhance the performance of an individual. The weight gain program should be done meticulously to produce an increase in muscle and not additional fat. Eating higher caloric foods that have additional carbohydrates and bad fats should be avoided, as this will produce unwanted fat weight, rather then muscle weight.

A balanced diet is key to healthy weight gain.
A balanced diet is key to healthy weight gain.

Metabolism is the tool for managing the burning of food, and it is dynamic for each person. To successfully implement a strategic weight gain program an individual should first determine his base metabolism burn rate. This is calculated by monitoring the daily intake of calories and exercise that produces no additional weight gain for the period of one week.

After the base metabolism burn rate is calculated, the daily intake of calories can be adjusted to produce a slow increase in unused caloric intake. It is important to gradually increase calories, as a steep increase in food ingestion will put unnecessary stress on the entire infrastructure of the internal organs. A good rule of thumb is to increase total calories by approximately 10 percent per week until the participant can successfully increase weight by one percent per week.

It is also important to match calories with appropriate exercises. A weight gain program will suffer greatly if added to an extensive cardio endurance program. Participants in a weight gain program should focus on power weight lifting and light aerobics during the exercise cycle. This will enable the body to stabilize and grow additional muscle during the program.

The weight gain program should efficiently spread calories between carbohydrates, proteins and fats. While additional protein is often heard to increase muscle gains, it is best to include carbohydrates and good fats within the diet. By properly increasing these three primary nutrients an individual will likely see an improvement in weight in the area of muscle growth.

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    • The weight gain program is designed to increase muscle mass not fat.
      By: Rostislav Sedlacek
      The weight gain program is designed to increase muscle mass not fat.
    • A balanced diet is key to healthy weight gain.
      By: Eugenio Chelli
      A balanced diet is key to healthy weight gain.