Written by Jim Stoppani, PhD, and Mark Thorpe | Photos by Brian Sanchez | Illustration by Brian Sanchez
Getting big despite your genes may seem impossible, but we're about to rewrite your genetic code
We don't want to put too fine a point on this
distinction, but there are those among us who find it hard to gain
muscle—and then there are hardgainers, practically another species
entirely. They're the guys who lift pathologically for months and
follow meal plans that make a Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
look like afternoon tea with The Old Maids'
Temperance Club, yet they still have little
to show for their efforts.
We know this almost diabolical genetic
obstacle to size has you this close to blowing
up like a thyroid freak and pulling the pins
on some mesomorph sitting at the leg-press
machine. It can get to a guy. So whether you really
are a hardgainer or you just find it hard to gain as
a lot of us do, we've got a way for you to outsmart
your genes. But it won't be easy, because getting
big always requires effort with a capital E.
First, you should already be working your way through
one of M&F's mass-gaining programs and meal plans. Once
that's in place, beating your genes requires a strict program
of supplementation that tells you what to take, how much
and when for optimum growth.
We've broken it down like this: To capitalize on your
body's ability to add muscle, we present 10 supplements to
be taken in various combinations 10 times throughout the
day. The key to a bigger you—particularly for hardgainers—is in following this prescription religiously, meaning
every day, without fail. Only then will you begin to pack on
that ever-elusive muscle mass and shed that horrid hardgainer
profile. Genes be damned!
