Welcome to February and a brand new challenge that I encourage you to join me on! If you’ve struggled to gain weight in the past, I have some great advice that will lead to great results. Let’s embark on this Get Thicc With Me Challenge together!

The Backstory

I was having a rough time in 2012 and began neglecting my body. I stopped eating altogether, only eating one meal per day if anything. My stomach shrank and I isolated myself at my lowest point. I dropped down to roughly 86 pounds at the time which was scary. At the time my BMI was 16.2. The normal range falls anywhere between 18.5 and 24.9. Over the years I began to regain my ability to eat and looked into recovery testimonials as I was severely emaciated. While I do not experience any eating disorders, I needed resources to help me gain the weight back.

Fast forward to 2018, I was at another low point and I realized it was time to get my health back in check. I dropped to 95 pounds from 107 lbs. I was not working out at regularly as I was when I was in college. I decided to focus on myself and wanted to feel more empowered and confident about my body. Working out became a solace for me. The endorphins would rush and my mood would lift instantly. Now I am back to 108 pounds and I am looking to reach 125 in 3 months. If you are trying to gain weight, I encourage you to join me on this journey! Regardless of your weight goals, this program will also help you get fit and grow your gluteal muscles along with all the rest.

The Diet

In order to gain weight and therefore mass, one needs to be in a caloric surplus. In order to determine how many calories you need, visit this calculator and fill in the relevant info. Typically to be in caloric excess, an increase of an additional 500-600 calories is required.

This diet can be done vegetarian or vegan depending on your dietary needs. Personally, I remain as plant-based as possible. I love Gardein products to provide lean vegan protein substitutes. Typically I use vegan protein from Rippl or EHPLabs. I will be posting more on what I eat in a day if you need some recipes or inspiration!

Mass Gainer

I am currently trying out the Dymatize Super Mass Gainer in Gourmet Vanilla. It provides 1280 calories per serving with 8 servings in a six pound tub. It roughly amounts to 2.5 cups of powder alone and can be mixed with almond milk or water. I would recommend starting with one scoop before increasing to anything more. Additionally, it may be best to seek out proper meals before relying on supplements. If you happen to skip a meal on a busy day, then two scoops may be okay.

The Weekly Workout Plan

My workout schedule is roughly the same each week although times and days vary due to my rotating schedule. The core of the plan remains the same but I do make sure to change up exercises to ensure I am not neglecting any muscle groups or favoring others. The key is progressive overload. You want to start with a weight and slowly increase over the weeks. If 4 sets of 8 becomes easy and you can do 3 sets of 10 or 12, it’s time to slowly increase to the next weight increment. This bulking season, I will be reducing cardio as I found it antagonistic to my overall progress. I still try to incorporate HIIT when I can and walk/jog around the city quite often.

Glute + Quad Day

Banded Glute Activation - 3 Rounds for each exercise

Barbell Squats - 4x8

Smith Machine Ski Squats - 3x10

Barbell Hip Thrusts - 4x10

Leg Press or Hacksaw Squat - 3x10

Leg Extension - 4x8

Bicep + Back Day

Bicep Curls - 3x12

Arnold Shoulder Press - 3x10

Upright Row - 3x10

Rear Delt Flys - 3x10

Bent Over Rows - 3x10

Front and Lateral Raise Superset - 3x10

Seated Rows - 3x10

Lat Pulldowns - 3x10

Ab Circuit - 3 Rounds of 4-5 exercises

Leg + Hamstring Days

Banded Glute Activation 3x15

Smith Machine Curtsy Lunges - 3x10

Single Leg Deadlift - 3x10

Romanian Deadlft- 4x8

Bulgarian Split Squat- 3x10

Hamstring Curls - 3x10

Calve Raises - 3x10

Chest + Tricep Day (Shoulder on some days)

Tricep Extensions - 3x10

Tricep Pulldowns - 3x10

Dumbbell Bench Press - 3x10

Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x10

Close-Grip Dumbell Chest Press - 3x10

Pushups - 3x10

Ab Circuit - 3 Rounds of 4-5 exercises

Leg Day

Banded Glute Activation - 3 Rounds for each exercise

Barbell Squats - 4x8

Cable Curtsy Lunges - 3x10

Cable Squats - 3x10

Cable Kickbacks - 3x10

Leg Press - 3x10

This is a general workout plan and can be adjusted based on level. I would say this plan is great for intermediate to advanced but can be modified to accommodate beginners. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! I will be posting videos on YouTube as a visual guide to the workouts. The first of which is my Glute and Quad Day.

xo,

Christine Celine