Interesting the term ‘hard gainer’ appears less and less in everyday gym use these days. Whereas previously whole bodybuilding industries were built on the term, the modern gym goer sees it as just one more phrase amongst several.
Nonetheless, the fascination that previous physical culturists had with ‘hard gainers’ provides us with a wealth of training programmes and worthwhile advice. This is especially the case regarding today’s programme from Bradley J. Steiner.
For the unaware, Steiner was one of the foremost training writers of the 1970s and 1980s in America. Detailing everything from bodybuilding to basic maintenance, Steiner was revered for his common sense, sage wisdom and general good demeanour. In a world dominated by ‘mass monsters‘, Steiner stressed overall development from his trainees. Both physical and mental.
The programme given below is dedicated towards the ‘worst-case’ hardgainer. The trainee for whom many routines have come and gone. As simple as it is effective, the routine will certainly be of interest to beginners and advanced trainees alike.
The Basic Hardgainer Programme
To be performed two to three times a week:
- Dumbbell Swing 1 set x 15 reps
- Press Behind the Neck 2 sets x 10 reps… first set should be fairly easy, second struggle to finish. Add weight every two weeks
- Barbell Curls 1 set x 10 reps
- Wide Grip Bench Press 2 sets x 10 reps… first set should be fairly easy, second struggle to finish. Add weight every two weeks
- Barbell Bent Over Row 2 sets x 10 reps… same weight on both sets….increase every two weeks
- Squat 1 sets x 18-20 reps, then 12 reps…These sets will be tough. Keep going and grind out the reps
- Supersetted with Pullovers with Bar (never exceeding 30 pounds) 2 sets x 20 reps
- Stiff Leg Deadlifts 1 x 15 reps
Interested in knowing more? Post a comment below.
In the meantime, happy training!
Did he have any sort of meal plan to accompany it or just the simple instruction of eat as much as possible?
Thanks for stopping by! In the first instance Steiner stressed the importance of eating quality, natural foods under the adage that you ‘Cannot fool mother nature’. Luckily however he also provided a more basic template for people. First he classified the following as foods the hardgainer must ‘live on’
1) Lean Meats/Organ Meats etc.
2) Fresh raw vegetables
3) Milk – in large quantities for slim teenagers and modest quantities (2 pints a day) for men
4) Eggs
5) Cheese, nuts, beans and peas
6) Fats and Starches such as rice, potatoes, spaghetti etc.
Put into a daily meal plan, Steiner recommended the following. Remember this was for hardgainers!
Breakfast:
* 3 eggs prepared any style
* 2 slices whole wheat bread and butter
* 4 strips bacon
* 1 large glass of milk
* 1 large serving of fresh fruit
Mid-Morning Snack:
* 1 glass milk
* 1 slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter
Lunch:
* 1/2-1 pound of chopped meat hamburger
* 1 tossed vegetable salad
* 1 baked potato
* 1 apple or pear + beverage of your choice
Evening Meal:
* 1 large steak or large fresh-cooked fish or chicken
* 1 rice, spaghetti or potato dish
* 2 slices of whole wheat bread with butter
* 1 tossed vegetable salad
* 1 glass of milk
* Fresh fruit or fruit pie desert
* Tea or Coffee if desired
Late Snack:
* One nice piece of fruit (apple, banana, pear) etc.
Needless to say the diet is effective in terms of calorie consumption! If you’d like to know more just let me know and I can email the work on to you 🙂
It is never good to eat as much as possible if it all has junk food. Cheatmeals are recommended to have once a week. Just think how far can you go with bad fuel for your car! it is the same with your body!
Absolutely, clean fuel means a much better body composition in the long run. Something which I like about Steiner is that he advocated nutritious foods first and foremost!
I remember reading about this routine back on the day. Simple but effective.
Hey there, thanks so much for stopping by. That about sum’s up Bradley’s writings doesn’t it? Simple but effective!
Circa 1978, I read one of Steiner’s articles in one of the lesser-known muscle mags (possibly Lurie’s “Muscle Training Illustrated” or Kennedy’s “Muscle Mag International”).
At that time, I’d been training for almost seven years since beginning at age 15, and had recently been reducing my weekly training volume due to the then-new influence of Mentzer’s “Heavy Duty” version of Art Jones’ earlier HIT.
Steiner’s article impressed me because he too emphasized lower volume for the average guy (I was unaware that even he was simply repeating what physical culturists and seminal bodybuilding had taught as drug-free training methods to average guys long before 1960).
In that article he openly disparaged the “bombing-and-blitzing” high volume protocol sensationalized in Weider’s magazines as “garbage”. He recounted having chanced to observe someone he named only as “one of the Big Mr. Winners” doing an off-season workout. Steiner wrote that the workout consisted of four exercises: barbell squats, straightlegged deadlifts, overhead barbell presses, and bent-over barbell rows, each done for one set only, using poundages Steiner described as “weight of a small cabin cruiser”, and “so heavy I expected the floor to collapse”; and done “until his arms shook”, and “I thought he’d die.”
Steiner acknowledged that it was not the volume that anonymous bodybuilder did for pre-contest workouts, but that, if such a brief-but-intense full body compound-exercise workout sufficed for even a world-class bodybuilder in his off-season, then certainly it was plenty for the average-gened guy willing to work as hard to grow muscle.
Love getting your own lived experiences Joe
Steiner’s emphasis on lower volume training aligns with the principles later popularized by Mike Mentzer with his “Heavy Duty” program, which itself was an adaptation of Arthur Jones’ High-Intensity Training (HIT) principles. It’s interesting to note how these ideas, though seemingly revolutionary at the time, were indeed echoes of earlier physical culture wisdom that advocated for more sustainable, drug-free training approaches suitable for the average person.
The anecdote about the “Big Mr. Winner” that Steiner mentioned in his article is particularly telling. It underscores a fundamental truth in strength training: the effectiveness of intensity and quality over quantity. The description of the world-class bodybuilder’s off-season regimen – comprising just four exercises, each performed for a single, ultra-intense set – illustrates the potential of a brief, yet highly demanding workout. This approach challenges the body significantly, despite the lower volume, and can be highly effective for muscle growth and strength gains.
Steiner’s acknowledgment that this style of workout was different from a pre-contest regimen, yet still sufficient for substantial muscle growth, offers an important lesson. It suggests that individualized training approaches, tailored to one’s genetic potential and recovery capacity, can be more beneficial than blindly following high-volume programs popularized by the media or those suitable only for elite athletes.
Your own experience, shifting from higher to lower training volume influenced by Mentzer’s “Heavy Duty” approach, reflects a broader trend of the time where bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts began to question and adapt their training in response to new insights and philosophies. This period was indeed a significant and transformative era in the history of physical training