Scrawny to Brawny, subtitled “The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way,” is a fitness guide for skinny men who find it close to impossible to gain muscle mass.
The book caters to “hard gainers” and focuses on short workout routines involving compound exercises that work several muscles at the same time. Scrawny to Brawny also provides nutritional information on the best meals and snacks for quick muscle growth and gain.
The book’s fitness program emphasizes building muscles naturally and discourages the use of steroids.
The book was written by Michael Mejia and John Barardi. As a strength and conditioning coach with his own training facility, Michael Mejia is considered an exercise expert and advisor. John Barardi is a nutrition specialist who designs nutrition plans for elite athletes.
Muscle Gain for Ectomorphs
Many people have to struggle and work extra hard to gain serious muscle mass, especially guys who are naturally skinny, also known as ectomorphs. Ectomorphs are hard-gainers and can be easily recognized by their thin body, narrow shoulders, flat chest, lean muscles, and “delicate” body frame.
Most fitness books are written for men who want to develop bigger muscles while losing body fat. These books generally cater to rounder people (endomorphs) and naturally muscular people (mesomorphs). Scrawny to Brawny is unique because it is written with hard-gainers in mind that is, people who do not need to lose body fat and find it difficult to pack on extra muscles.
What’s in Scrawny to Brawny?
Scrawny to Brawny is basically divided into two sections. One section deals with an in-depth workout guide while the second section consists of a diet plan geared towards the skinny guy who struggles to gain .
Workout Section of Scrawny to Brawny
The workout section maps out four phases. It starts with the corrective phase which is basically a workout template that you can customize to suit your needs.
The corrective phase includes diagnostic tests to see if you suffer from problems such as bad posture or insufficient flexibility.
Exercises are provided to correct any problems you may have. This phase is important because it lays the ground for successful gains in muscle size and strength.
The next phases are designed for hypertrophy (growth and increase of the size of muscle cells), strength, and advanced hypertrophy.
The exercises in these phases focus on developing bigger and stronger muscles for hard gainers. The workouts utilize compound movements such as single-leg squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, and pushups.
Freeweights are used rather than machines in order to help develop the stabilizing muscles. The exercises also involve low reps using heavier s.
Diet Section of Scrawny to Brawny
The second section of the book is on the nutritional needs of ectomorphs who want to gain . Being hard gainers, ectomorphs have to eat a lot and consume more calories if they want to build bigger and stronger muscles.
Detailed menus are provided, telling you what to eat and when to eat.
Putting It All Together
Exercise and diet go together to create the biggest muscle gains for hard-gainers. The book provides an in-depth program that includes what and how to eat before and after workouts. A special section on supplements provides useful information on whether or not they may prove helpful.
Pros of Scrawny to Brawny
- Provides excellent nutritional information
- Emphasizes natural ways to gain
- Simple, structured plan is ideal for beginners
- Geared towards ectomorphs or hard gainers who want to develop bigger muscles
Cons of Scrawny to Brawny
- Preparing and eating all that extra food can take up a lot of your time
- Recommended diet of lean protein can get monotonous
- Information is disorganized and poorly edited
- Does not provide sufficient explanation for nutritional choices, corrective tests, exercise plans, etc.
What Customers Say about Scrawny to Brawny
Weight-gain guides for naturally skinny guys are hard to find, and ectomorphs are happy that there is finally a book that caters to their needs. “Scrawny to Brawny” has numerous positive reviews on Amazon’s product page, where it received an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.
The fitness guide by Michael Mejia and John Barardi provides a workout guide tailored for skinny guys. As such, the exercises utilize low reps and heavier weights, with emphasis on compound exercises for maximum muscle growth. Individuals who followed the exercise program along with the diet plan reported that they were able to achieve their weight-gain goals.
Readers agreed that the nutritional information and diet plans in the book are essential for successful gain, but some people found it difficult to consume the recommended amount of food. They do realize, however, that it’s crucial to take in a great number of calories in order to gain , especially for hard gainers.
Some people found the book disorganized, making difficult to create an exercise program for the corrective phase. Some people also felt that the book does not provide enough explanations for the diet plans and exercises, leaving more questions than answers.
Overall, however, customers find the book a great resource for hard-gainers who want to develop bigger muscles the natural way. It can help you gain as long as you stick to the program. You can purchase “Scrawny to Brawny” from Amazon at a deeply discounted price.
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