Exercise for the Underweight

There is always a lot of talk about weight loss or getting thin, but there is not a lot of ready information available to people looking to gain weight through an increase in muscle. Being overweight can cause severe problems to your body, but being underweight can cause its fair share of difficulty as well. You may be underweight because of certain health issues, an eating disorder or a chronic illness, or you may just have a higher metabolism than most and be housed in a small frame.

Diet

• Exercise and diet go hand in hand when it comes to gaining weight. According to Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist, one of the simplest ways to gain weight is through an increase in calorie intake. If you are consuming more calories into your body than your body is burning throughout the day, you will find yourself gaining overall weight. Dr. Jampolis recommends adding about 250 to 500 calories extra per day, so as to not gain weight too quickly. However, these calories should not be from junk or unhealthy foods; you should be focusing on nutritious foods that will not negatively affect your body as you gain weight. If you are looking for information on estimating how many calories you burn a day, check out the resource section at the bottom of the page listed as "Calories Per Hour."

  According to Dr. Jampolis, adding most of your extra calories from lean protein will do the most good. Your body needs about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, but if you are looking to gain muscle and weight, you will need more like 1.2 grams. It may also be beneficial to focus this protein intake around your workouts, to help with the regrowth of your muscle.

Exercise

• When looking to gain weight you should focus on resistance training over aerobic or cardiovascular activities such as running, says Jason Ferruggia of Iron Magazine. Aerobic and cardiovascular exercises can cause you to lose weight and muscle mass in some cases. For resistance training you should be focusing on compound exercises, or exercises that focus on more than one isolated movement, says Jeff Anderson, author of Optimum Anabolics. Compound exercises can include squats, bench press, dead-lift, military press, pull-ups and push-ups. You should also be focusing on the biggest muscle mass in your body, which mainly centers on your lower body muscles such as the buttocks, hamstrings and quadriceps.