Gaining weight can be as challenging as losing it. Whether you’re naturally skinny or want to grow a stronger, more toned physique, the right weight gain exercise can make all the difference. 

Exercise not only helps to build muscle mass but also supports overall health and well-being. Learn the importance of exercise in gaining weight and explore various effective exercises to help you gain weight.

Why Exercise to Gain Weight?

While exercise is commonly associated with weight loss, the right regimen can be equally effective for weight gain. Exercises, particularly resistance training, stimulate muscle fibers, prompting them to grow and adapt to handle heavier loads. 

Contrary to popular belief, exercise that burns calories can promote weight gain with sufficient calorie intake. Including a few days of workouts into your weekly routine will likely increase your appetite, mainly if your body is burning more calories than usual.

 This means that you can consume more calories without the risk of excessive fat gain, supporting healthy weight gain.

The 10 Best Exercises to Gain Weight

Certain exercises are excellent at promoting muscle growth and general strength development. These exercises work for multiple muscle groups at once, resulting in significant gains in size and strength. Explore the top 10 best exercises to help you gain weight.

1. Squats

Squats target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles, making them effective for building lower body strength and muscle mass. Squats also engage the core muscles for stability and balance, enhancing their overall effectiveness for weight gain.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Push your hips down as if you’re sitting back on a chair.
3. Sit until your thighs are parallel to the ground or as far as possible.
4. Return to the starting position, fully extending your hips and knees.
5. Repeat as desired

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your chest up and your back straight.
• Use your abdominal muscles to stay stable and support your lower back.
• Start with lighter weights to master the technique before progressing to heavier loads.

2. Deadlifts

Deadlifts target multiple muscle groups, making them essential for gaining weight and building overall strength. 

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with the barbell centered over your feet.
2. Bend at the hips and knees, lowering your body to grip the barbell, hands shoulder-width apart.
3. Keep your back straight, chest up, and core engaged as you prepare to lift.
4. Take a deep breath, brace your core, and drive through your heels to lift the barbell off the ground.
5. Keep the barbell close to your body as you stand up, fully extending your hips and knees.
6. Hold the weight briefly, then lower it to the ground, maintaining a flat back.
7. Repeat as many times as you want.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep the barbell close to your body to minimize strain on your lower back.
• Start with lighter weights to master the technique and gradually increase the load as you become more proficient.

3. Bench press

Bench press stimulates muscle growth in the chest, shoulders, and triceps, making it a good exercise for upper body strength and muscle development.

How to do it:

1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet firmly planted on the ground, shoulder-width apart.
2. Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with your wrists stacked directly above your elbows.
3. Unrack the barbell and position it directly over your chest, arms fully extended.
4. Lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows at a 45-degree angle to your body.
5. Lower the bar until it lightly touches your chest, then drive through your heels and push it back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
6. Repeat for the desired number of times.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your back flat against the bench and your shoulder blades retracted throughout the movement to maintain stability.
• Engage your core muscles to support your lower back and prevent excessive arching.
• Maintain a slight arch in your lower back to preserve the spine’s natural curve.
• Don’t use a heavy load to avoid injuries.

4. Bent-over rows

The bent-over row is a back exercise known to effectively strengthen and build muscle mass in the back, contributing to overall weight gain and upper body strength.

How to do it:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell or dumbbell in front of thighs with an overhand grip.
2. Bend knees slightly, keeping back flat and chest up.
3. Lean forward, lowering weight towards the ground while maintaining a straight back.
4. Pull weight towards your chest by retracting shoulder blades and driving elbows back, keeping them close to the body.
5. Lower the weight back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your back flat to avoid arching your spine.
• Focus on using back muscles, not momentum.
• Keep elbows close to the body to minimize shoulder stress.
• Use a weight that allows proper form and technique

5. Pull-ups

Pull-ups are effective bodyweight exercises targeting the back, biceps, and forearms. Mastering this exercise strengthens the upper body and promotes muscle growth, weight gain, and functional strength.

How to do it:

1. Grip an overhead bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, palms facing away.
2. Hang from the bar with arms fully extended, body straight from head to heels.
3. Pull yourself up towards the bar, leading with your chest.
4. Continue until your chin clears the bar, elbows close to the body.
5. Lower yourself down, fully extending your arms.
6. Repeat for desired repetitions.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your body straight, avoiding swinging.
• Engage core and glutes for stability.
• Focus on using back muscles, not just arms.
• If unable to perform full pull-ups, start with assisted variations.

6. Dumbbell lunges

The dumbbell lunge is simply a huge step forward. Although this exercise can be performed without weights, using dumbbells adds additional work to the upper leg and buttock muscles. This functional exercise is an excellent addition to strengthening your lower body.

How to do it:

1. Stand tall with dumbbells in hand, arms extended by your sides.
2. Step forward, ensuring the knee aligns with the ankle and the thigh is parallel to the ground.
3. Lower body by bending both knees until the back knee nearly touches the floor, keeping the torso upright.
4. Push through front heel to return to start, driving body upwards.
5. Alternate legs for desired repetitions.

Tips for proper form:

• Ensure the front knee doesn’t extend past the toes to avoid strain on the knee joint.
• Keep back straight, avoiding rounding or arching the spine.
• Use challenging weight while maintaining form.
• Try variations like walking or reverse lunges to target different muscle groups.

7. Shoulder press

The shoulder press is the best exercise that targets the shoulders, triceps, and upper chest. Shoulder press strengthens your shoulders, aiding in weight gain and upper body strength.

How to do it:

1. Start seated or standing with barbell/dumbbells at shoulder height, palms forward.
2. Grip slightly wider than shoulder-width, elbows bent, and close to the body.
3. Press weight overhead, extending arms fully, engaging the core, and avoiding back arching.
4. Once fully extended overhead, pause briefly and lower the weight back to shoulder height.

Tips for proper form:

• Avoid leaning back or using momentum.
• Keep knees slightly bent for stability to prevent lower back strain.
• Keep elbows slightly in front to engage shoulders and avoid wrist strain.
• Use lighter weight for form; gradually increase as strength improves.

8. Barbell curls

Barbell curls are the best exercises for building biceps strength and mass, one of the key muscle groups in the upper body. 

How to do it:

1. Stand tall, hold a barbell in front of thighs, palms forward, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Engage the core, and keep a slight knee bend for stability.
3. Keep elbows close to sides, exhale, curl barbell towards shoulders, contracting biceps.
4. Inhale and lower the barbell down while fully extending your arms.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep wrists straight to prevent the barbell from drifting.
• Avoid swinging or using momentum.
• Use lighter weight and increase gradually as strength improves.

9. Tricep dips

Also known as bodyweight dips or bench dips, tricep dips are a tried-and-tested bodyweight workout that can thicken your arms without using a dumbbell.

How to do it:

1. Position yourself between parallel bars or on a sturdy surface like a bench.
2. Grip bars with hands shoulder-width apart, palms inward, arms extended.
3. Lift body off the ground, supporting weight with hands and heels.
4. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground.
5. Pause, then push through palms to straighten arms back to start.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your chest up, your shoulders back, and your core engaged for stability.
• Keep elbows close to the body to target the triceps effectively and reduce shoulder strain.
• Lower until upper arms are parallel to the ground or elbows at a 90-degree angle.

10. Leg press

The leg press is a great exercise that works your quadriceps, hamstring, and glute muscles.

How to do it:

1. Adjust the seat and weight on the leg press machine.
2. Sit with your back against the backrest, feet shoulder-width apart on the platform.
3. Grasp handles for stability and release safety locks.
4. Push the platform away by extending your legs, keeping your heels planted.
5. Lower the platform by bending your knees and maintaining control.
6. Lower until knees bent to 90 degrees or slightly beyond.
7. Push through heels to extend legs, return to start.

Tips for proper form:

• Keep your back flat against the backrest for stability.
• Engage core muscles for proper posture.
• Keep feet flat and knees in line with toes to prevent knee strain.
• Use a full range of motion for maximum muscle engagement.

Exercises to Avoid When Trying to Gain Weight

While exercise is essential for increasing muscle growth and weight gain, some exercises may not suit people looking to build body mass. 

While cardiovascular exercise benefits heart health and overall fitness, excessive cardio can burn many calories, making it challenging to maintain a calorie surplus necessary for weight gain. 

Isolation exercises targeting small muscle groups with light weights may also not provide enough stimulus for significant muscle growth, especially for people seeking weight gain. 

What Should You Eat to Gain Weight?

Nutrition plays an important role in promoting weight gain and muscle growth. Consume a balanced diet with sufficient calories and nutrients to increase your body mass. Here’s what you should eat to gain weight:

Calorie-dense foods: Focus on consuming calorie-dense foods that provide a significant amount of energy in a smaller volume. Examples include nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocados, dried fruits, and full-fat dairy products. 

Protein-rich foods: Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth, making it an important element of a weight gain diet. Aim to include lean protein sources such as chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs, tofu, legumes, and dairy products.

Complex carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are the body’s primary energy source and are essential for fueling workouts and supporting muscle recovery. Choose complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, brown rice, quinoa, oats, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat bread.

Healthy fats: Healthy fats are an excellent source of concentrated energy and provide essential fatty acids for overall health and hormone production. Incorporate foods rich in healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and avocado into your diet.

Fruits and vegetables: While fruits and vegetables may be lower in calories than other foods, they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants essential for overall health and well-being. Include a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables in your diet to ensure you’re meeting your micronutrient needs and supporting overall health.

Frequent meals and snacks: To maximize calorie intake and promote weight gain, aim to eat frequent meals and snacks throughout the day. Include a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats in each meal and snack to support muscle growth and energy levels.

Hydration: Adequate hydration is essential for overall health and optimal performance during workouts. Drink plenty of water daily to stay hydrated and support muscle function and recovery. To increase overall calorie intake, consume calorie-containing beverages such as milk, fruit juice, or high-calorie smoothies.

Conclusion

Including squats, lunges, deadlifts, and leg lifts in your workout routine may help you gain weight. However, achieving weight gain goals requires more than just exercise; consuming a balanced diet high in protein and veggies while avoiding junk food and fatty foods is also essential. 

To reduce the chance of injury, maintain a healthy balance and prevent excessive exercise. By combining the right exercises with a nutritious diet and mindful approach to training, you can confidently and safely begin your weight gain journey.