If you're dubbed as the 'skinny guy' in class, at work or in your apartment building, is there a way for you to overcome this label? How exactly can you gain weight and build muscle? Read on to find out.

If you're dubbed as the 'skinny guy' in class, at work or in your apartment building, is there a way for you to overcome this label? How exactly can you gain weight and build muscle?

Basically, the first thing that you need to do is determine why you just cannot seem to gain weight and build muscle despite hours and hours of working out in the gym. While the rest of the world is obsessed about how to lose weight because of excess body fat, you have to deal with the opposite scenario.

Here are a few reasons why it is pretty difficult for some people to gain weight and build muscle.

• First, you could be an Ectomorph. This is a term used in the fitness industry which refers to someone with a skinny, lean or 'lanky' body type.
• Second, you could be a hard gainer. This is another term in the fitness industry which refers to someone who has difficulty gaining weight and building muscle mass.
• Third, there are those who just plan cannot seem to gain muscle mass no matter how many hours they slave away in the gym.

If you belong to any of these three categories, then the first thing that you need to do is actually gain weight – then work on building and developing your muscles.

How to 'Put Some Meat in Your Bones'

If you're finding it difficult overcome the 'skinny guy' label, one of the main reasons could be that you are simply not eating right or not eating enough.

If you're already spending hours on the gym and you still do not have enough muscle mass, it's because the energy that you get from the food that you are eating is quickly being burned off by your body during your workout routine.

Take a look at some of the tips on how you can gain some weight:

1. Amp up your diet and make sure that it is rich in calcium, proteins and amino acids.

Remember that your goal in gaining weight is not to be overweight – but have just enough calories to burn off so that it can later on be converted to muscle. Don't think that just because you want to gain weight, you already have an excuse to load up on junk food. Eating right is still a prerequisite of gaining weight and building muscle.

So in order for you to lower the body fat while gaining muscle mass at the same time, watch your food intake and make sure that your diet is rich in calcium, proteins and amino acids.

2. Power-pack your beverages and consume foods with healthy fats.

Instead of drinking sugar-laced, artificial juices, power pack you beverages by drinking protein shakes, low-fat milk, shakes or natural fruit juices. Also, eat a lot of foods with the 'healthy fat' Omega-3 fatty acid, which can be found in tuna, walnuts, salmon and flax seeds.

The Next Step: Building Muscle

Now that you have a basic idea about how you can gain weight, the next thing to do is start building muscle.

Most trainers recommend weight training for skinny guys who are starting to pack on pounds so that they can begin building muscle. For this, you need to focus on exercises which stimulate the largest amount of muscle fibers so that muscle growth can be promoted.

So how many reps should you do if you are trying to build muscle? When you ask personal trainers this question, you will definitely get varying answers. One interesting viewpoint is to warm up and stretch before going through a set of exercises which allows the muscles to fail – by lifting weights until you cannot move them anymore.

This type of an intense workout routine will allow you to build massive lean muscle using the current number of reps that you do in weight training. It is also important to combine this with enough rest.

One important thing to note when building muscle mass is that the process of muscle growth actually begins while you are at rest – not while you are working out in the gym. It is important to give your body ample time to recover after an intense workout, so get ample rest and continue eating healthy in between workout sessions. A 48 to 72 hour rest period in between workouts is recommended. Finally, vary your workout routines every three to four weeks to get the maximum results.

By creating that delicate balance between gaining weight through proper diet and building muscle through weight training, you can get rid of the 'skinny guy' label and develop just-the-right muscles on your formerly lanky frame in no time at all.