As far as training goes, thankfully Dave Draper, Larry Scott, Hatfield, Arnold, Bill Pearl, and others have written books that contain great advice on applying certain basic principles to one's own specific needs. In other words, there are certain principles of weight training discovered through trial-and-error or by exercise physiologists that do work.

In the meantime, I will outline some of the basics. Gaining muscular bodyweight is not easy. When I train someone, I start out by informing them of 5 important areas that need attention. If concentration is placed on these five areas, the gains will come even for hardgainers like yourself! So there is hope!

1. Proper training. After a three-week break-in routine, I have trainees concentrate on 2 basic exercises per bodypart, 3 sets each, doing 8-10 repetitions. A decent beginning training article can be found on here!

2. Proper nutrition. Resistance training creates stress on the body that it responds to by overcompensation (the anabolic process). Yet if it is not properly fueled, training is a waste of time. A good place to start for information is right here!

3. Proper rest. Many people train and eat right yet still fail to make the gains they would expect. Often it is because of lack of recuperative time called SLEEP. You can train and eat right, but if you're not getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night, forget it. It is while you're sleeping that growth hormone is released into the body and real growth occurs. SO GET THAT SLEEP!

4. Sparing energy for workouts. Don't expect spectacular muscle gains if you out dancing all night or playing basketball or some other sport. When you want maximum gains in lean body mass, curb your activity (including aerobic) to tossing the steel around! Any energy expended on any activity other than pumping iron, is energy your body won't have to grow muscle!

5. Learn to manage stress. If you are in a lousy relationship that upsets you or you're worried all the time about finances, health, or have some other work-related or family problems, you cannot make maximum gains. You must be able to keep calm and manage your stress levels. Up to 90 grams of protein can be used up by a stressful day! Just think about the maintenance, repair and growth of muscle your body could have done with that 90 grams of protein!

Adhere to these 5 principles and you should be able to show gains of muscle in mere weeks!