The Ab Wheel: Great Ab Exercises for Skinny Guys

Another inexpensive piece of equipment that's great when you're starting a home gym on a budget: an ab wheel.

The ab wheel isn't hard to use. Basically, you start with your hands on the grips, kneel down with both knees together on the floor, lock your arms, and hold the wheel on the floor, at your knees. Then you roll it out, away from your knees, and keep going forward with it until your hands are beyond your head. You shouldn't touch the floor; keeping your body 3-6 inches above the floor is ideal. Then, you return to the starting position by pulling in with your abs and arching your back.

Then do it again, 7-10 more times.

Your abs will be hurting the next day, I guarantee it.

The nice thing about ab wheels is that they're dirt cheap, small and easy to store, and give you a fantastic and surprisingly difficult ab workout.

The one I used: Valeo Dual Ab Wheel

Starting a home gym

A little background info on the reasons for this post: I was once a poor college student.  I had very little money and time, and going to the gym got very, very hard.  As someone who lives in an area where it gets pretty cold in the winter, that made it that much harder to get my butt in gear when it was time to work out.  The easiest and most affordable solution was to start up my own home gym by investing in a few pieces of equipment. I had no idea where to start, but after going online and doing some research on how to start your own home gym, I found the pieces I needed, threw down a little money, and suddenly had convenience, ease, and privacy.  I have to say, nothing beats being able to go into your basement to work out instead of having to drive or walk there.

You might think it's going to be really costly to start up your own home gym. Truth is, I spent more on my own gym memberships over the course of two years than I did when I bought my first few pieces of home equipment.

However, there are a few important things to know when you get started.  First of all, you need to figure out your fitness goals; for most of the people reading this blog, bulking up is probably one of the big ones.  Weights are going to be your priority.

In the next few posts, I'll detail the equipment I used to start up my home gym.  The first thing I recommend is dumbells.  My favorites are the Bowflex SelectTech series; these are inexpensive, easy to use, last a LONG time, and have a nifty selection dial adjustment system so you can easily increase or decrease their weight.  I bought these a couple years ago (2006, I think) and they've lasted me til today.


I wrote a more in depth review of this set which you can see here.

Another motivational tip: from the experts

Since we're on the subject of motivation lately, especially with the holidays coming up, here is a link to a great guide that Vince featured on his blog.  This is from Scott Tousignant, and is great for applying to bodybuilding/dieting/cutting goals.

Click here for the Motivation Report

The mentality of working out: keeping motivated

One of the biggest struggles for anyone, whether it's working out to lose weight or gain it, is staying motivated.  Now that fall is upon us and the weather turns cold, it's that much harder to kick our butts in gear and get to the gym at 6 in the morning before class or work.

Well, there a few solutions to this.  The one I recommend most is to invest in some home gym equipment (which won't cost you much more than a gym membership for a few months would) and avoid having to leave home at all for working out.  Not only are you less inclined to skip the workouts in favor of staying in your nice warm bed, but you also get to avoid the crowds, the stink of old gym equipment, and the risk of getting sick - which is kind of a big deal this year if you are under age 24.

The other solution is to work out later in the day when you have more energy and are more inclined to go to the gym, or find a workout buddy to motivate you.  It's a lot harder to skip a workout when you're planning to meet someone there and have to call and cancel to say you won't show up.

Tip: Don’t overtrain biceps and triceps

Most guys trying to bulk up focus very much on their arms. Who doesn’t want a set of rock hard, bulging biceps and triceps?

A common mistake made by skinny guys is spending hours doing every bicep and tricep exercise they can, set-after-set, week upon week. And what is the result? The same skinny arms.
The surprising thing is that for maximum muscle growth and strength, the biceps and triceps need very little direct stimulation.

The majority of training should be focused on large muscle groups – chest, back, shoulders, and legs. Stop worrying so much about your arms and focus on these other areas instead, and building muscle in your arms will actually become easier.

This doesn’t mean ignore your arms completely, but realize that less is frequently more, when training small muscle groups – like your biceps and triceps.

Jason Ferruggia's Muscle Gaining Secrets Review

After trying Craig's program and Vince Delmonte's program, I wanted to take a look at what else was on the market for skinny hardgainers.  One of the biggest factors for me in deciding whether to use a program is seeing who brands it, and if I like their style and information.

So, Jason Ferruggia is a professional bodybuilder and trainer. He has published articles in Men's Health, Today's Man, Maximum Fitness, and he has a column at Men's Fitness.  He has an education in exercise science.  What this tells us is:

1. He knows what he's talking about
2. He has real, proven, scientific facts to back up his claims
3. He is respected in the fitness/bodybuilding world
4. He knows how to write

These are all important factors in choosing a muscle gaining program.  You need a guide written by someone who has real, proven knowledge and can present it in a helpful way (i.e., is a good writer).

Much like the other programs, this one gives you the same basic information:

-How to train, how hard to train, and how to rest
-How many reps to do for maximum gain
-What to eat for muscle and not fat
-How to reduce risk of injury
-How to avoid mistakes

One thing different about this program is that Jason emphasizes supplements a little more.  Vince is pretty much against them, but with this program you'll learn exactly which ones will help you gain and which ones are a waste of time.  So if you are more interested in using supplements, this guide is recommended over No Nonsense.

With Jason's program you get:

• Muscle Gaining Secrets E-book
• 34-Week Workout Plan
• 16-Week Dumbell and Barbell Workout
• High Powered Nutrition E-book
• Quick Meals E-book
• Truth About Supplements
• Interview with the Author
• 16-week Workout for Beginners
• Mass-Building Shake Recipes
• Injury Free for Life E-book

Read more about Muscle Gaining Secrets

Figuring out body fat percentage

Knowing your body fat percentage is very important to knowing whether you need to lose fat in order to see those abs you've been working on for so long.  If your body fat percentage is too high, no amount of working out alone is going to help.

So, to figure out your body fat percentage, this is the formula:

1. Multiply your weight by 703
2. Square your height in inches (multiply it by itself)
3. Divide your weight number by your height number

This will give you a good estimate of your body fat percentage, if not an exact number.

There are also several online body fat percentage calculators you can use.  For the most accurate assessment, you will need to purchase a set of calipers or a body fat measurement scale.

Do we really need protein powder?

If you’re a skinny guy who’s new to bodybuilding, you have probably wondered about protein powder at some point.  Is it necessary?  Does it work?  How much should you take, how often, and what kind?  If you are looking to gain weight and build muscle with protein powder, you need to know a few things about it.

First of all, it is not a hardcore necessity for gaining muscle.  However, getting 400g or more of protein per day is very hard.  If you need more than 200g of protein per day, I strongly recommend that you take protein powder.  It is a supplement, meant to add to your diet to make up for what you can’t get just from food.

Protein powder is not the same as a diet pill or steroid.  It doesn’t put anything bad into your body because it’s just pure protein.  It’s sort of like a vitamin that gives you pure protein in powder form.

For optimal muscle gain, limit your protein shakes to 3 per day (or 40% of total calorie intake).  You should balance your protein needs based on your body weight and chemistry.  You will need to take whey or casein protein – those are the two kinds of protein needed for building mass.  These are available in any drugstore and some sporting goods stores.  Even discount stores usually have the top brand names these days.

Author's pick: Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (2009 Model)

The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbells are ideal if you live in an apartment or small house/living area and don't have much room.  These combine 15 sets of weights into one with their dial system where you turn the dials to change how much resistance is on each dumbell, ranging from 5 pounds to 52.5 pounds.  It adjusts in 2.5 pound increments, up to 25 pounds, so you can very gradually increase your lifting.

I really like the dial system of these weights. It's MUCH easier than pins or magnets or even resistance bands.  They can be used by anyone.  They also look great and don't wobble or clank much at all between the plates.  If you are trying to consolidate your workout time, they're also great for that because of how easy it is to change from one exercise to another - thanks to the dials.

Highly recommended.

Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells 

Author's pick: Muscle Milk

First of all, I would only recommend this product to lean or skinny people trying to bulk up or maintain.  If you're aiming to lose the gut, Muscle Milk and other supplements aren't necessary for you at this point.

Muscle Milk is somewhere between a regular protein powder and a weight gainer.  2 scoops have 350 calories, 160 are which from fat.  This is a product used by bodybuilders and athletes alike, so it has proof of success - but it is only meant for some people.

The product will tell you to use it all the time.  Before working out, before sleeping, after you wake up, etc.  I wouldn't recommend that even if you are trying to bulk up quickly.  If you overdo it, this product will put more fat on you than muscle.  Also, this supplement should be your only source of fat.  No peanut butter or nuts or avocados or anything else.

I would suggest taking this two or three times per day depending on how much weight you need to gain.  Before and after working out is ideal because you will absorb it best at that point.  If your diet is clean, this product is a great supplement, especially since it tastes very good and has very little sugar.  It is the best tasting protein powder I have found yet.  Tastes kind of like chocolate milk or instant breakfast.  I recommend taking it with soy milk or skim milk, but you can also mix it with water.  It comes in several different flavors; I like the cake batter one best myself.

Bottom line: 

Ideal for skinny guys looking to bulk up quickly.  Not great for dieters.

Turbulence Training: Review

Turbulence Training is a newer weight loss/muscle building program by Craig Ballantyne.  This program is definitely geared more towards people who do need to lose weight and want to build muscle at the same time.  If I had known about it earlier, I probably would have chosen it as my main weight loss guide over Vince Del Monte's, just because Vince's is really aimed at skinny guys trying to bulk up.  However, both these programs are effective - especially if used together.

The idea behind the Turbulence Training workout system is simple: come up with two workouts, train 3 days per week, and alternate between your two workouts.

I like this program better as a beginning muscle-builder's guide because it breaks things down very simply.  It's also great if you have a busy schedule and can only commit to 30 minutes of working out 3 days per week.

Craig's program emphasizes the variation factor.  Basically, you start with one routine, but are constantly making small changes to it to adjust to your body's adaptation.  This means you see very fast results if you follow the program closely.

I have read negative reviews about the diet aspect of Turbulence Training, but I actually like it.  It's got simple instructions that help you calculate exactly how much you need to eat to lose fat - without calorie counting - but also gain muscle at the same time.

When you order Turbulence Training ($40 or $97 depending on which plan you choose), you get: 

 -Turbulence Training System ebook in PDF and MP3 format
-TT Nutrition Guide
-Dumbbell and Bodyweight Fusion workout manual
-20-Minute Workouts for the World's Busiest Dads  (also great for busy college students)
-Total Body Transformation Secrets
-Turbulence Training for Mass

My favorite part of Craig's program is that pretty much all these workouts can be done at home.  You don't need a lot of fancy equipment.  You don't have to worry about being embarrassed at the gym or spending gas money to get there - or even trying to work in going to the gym into your schedule.

Tip: If you are skinny, do NOT get Turbulence Training.  Go with Vince's program instead as that is geared for skinny guys.  This program is made for heavier guys wanting to lose weight and replace it with muscle.

Main downside to Turbulence Training:
While I like the diet plan he outlines, it does pretty much force you to develop your own meal plans based on the information he gives you.  Vince's program is actually better in this respect because it pretty much lays out exactly what you need to eat for your body weight.

Bottom line: 
If you want a quick and easy way to shed pounds and get muscle in place of fat, go with Turbulence Training. If you only need to bulk up, go with Vince's guide.

Read more about Turbulence Training here

Vince Del Monte: Honest Review of No Nonsense Muscle Building

My story:
I was a skinny college student majoring in music and computer science.  My chosen career forced me to spend long hours in front of a computer screen and left me with barely any time to cook, work out, or basically do anything good for my body.  I finally got tired of being unhappy every time I looked at myself in the mirror, or when I'd see the beefy jocks in my classes and be jealous of their chiseled physiques.  I went online and started looking for a step-by-step guide to build muscle as a skinny guy.

After arduous hours of research, I was frustrated and overloaded with information.  There are a ton of muscle building guides, supplements, diet books, exercise machines, and informational books out there.  I didn't know which to pick or what would be best for me.  All I knew was that I didn't want to spend hours at the gym; I wanted a program I could use from the comfort of my own home, since the gym was too far for me to get to easily between classes.

The other problem was that I was on a tight budget and didn't want to blow money on something that wasn't going to deliver - and I didn't have a lot of money to spend on home gym equipment.  I finally decided to go with Vince Del Monte's No Nonsense Muscle Building guide.

How Vince's program helped me:
Vince's website offers a full package of all his major products. $77 gets you:


1. Downloadable ebook: No-Nonsense Muscle Building
2. 60 minute DVD of Vince explaining the program step-by-step
3. Beginner-Intermediate 29-week Intensive Plan
4. Advanced 29 week MaxPower Plan
5. Upside Down Training
6. The Insane Exercise Demonstrator
7. The Metabolic Growth
8. The Supplement Watch Files
9. The Exclusive Unforgivable Bodybuilding Sins Audo Expose
10. Instant 24/7 Fitness Coach
11. Unlimited e-book/program updates

Considering how much info you get for the price, I found this worth the investment.  The other bonus is that it's all downloadable, so you get instant access to all this material.

When I first started the program, it was a little confusing, especially since I was an exercise/weight-lifting newbie.  Vince uses a combination of exercise techniques that work best if you do own some basic exercise equipment, but this is not required if you have access to a gym.  My favorite part of this program is the DVD instructional guides; they show you exactly what to do and how to do it.

Main pros of Vince's program: 
The workouts.  They are plainly written and easy to understand. The DVDs and instructional materials are simple and effective.  No complex terminology or supplements are needed with this program.

I also liked the fitness coach and diet plan instructions, because I wasn't eating right at all.  To gain muscle fast if you are underweight, you have to follow a very specific plan and eat exactly the right foods while being conscious of caloric intake.  I was worried I'd have to invest in a whole different guide for that, but Vince's showed me exactly what to eat, when to eat, and I followed it to a T.

The cons:
This program is not as great for people who need to LOSE weight.  It is designed for skinny guys who want to gain muscle without putting on fat.

If you are overweight and need to lose weight, opt for a different program such as Turbulence Training which is designed for people who need to lose weight and want to gain muscle too.

Bottom line:
I give Vince's guide 5/5 stars. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to get in shape but doesn't have a whole lot of time to spend working out every day.  You don't have to work out every day with this program.  It's all about training smarter, not harder.

Read more about Vince Del Monte's program