Weight gain. It's one of those things you either do well, or don't do well. What constitutes well in this case, is entirely a matter of perspective and opinion. For the "easy" gainer, it's nothing really special. You eat, you train, and the scale goes up. For the "hard" gainer (and I use the term hard loosely), it's something of a miracle. You eat, you train, and the scale laughs at you.

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I know, I know.. Hard gainers are those that don't eat enough, and easy gainers are those that do. But is there more to it than just that? Surely, if we are all so individual and unique with our physical features, surely there must be further differences within us. For example (and this is purely my own opinion here), in terms of muscular developments, we each have a genetic "cap" or "limit", with which we can attain naturally.

Would it be so crazy and 'out of the box' to imagine that our gastric-systems also have a limit on how much food we can physically eat?

"No shit Down Under, that's why if we eat too much, we're hugging porcelain."

Well, to this I say, thanks Captain Obvious. But is there not more to it? What if our body has a genetic limit on the amount of food it allows to fill it?

What if you're just a pussy who can't eat enough? Much more likely!

Never fear! Squats and Milk are here!

On to the good stuff, and less personal ramblings. Squats and Milk. We've all heard about it, we've all read about it. How many of us have actually done it? If you're one of the previously mentioned "hard gainers", I really recommend you take a serious look at this protocol, and decide for yourself - Could This Work For Me?

(Please let it be stated that I am in NO way taking credit for inventing/creating/coming up with this idea.)

It's super simple, and super easy to follow. Well, easy-ish.

First things first, the exercises.

The original routine called for a 20 rep squat set, followed by pull overs. Solid, but not really that great for those looking to get that jacked look.

Stick to the basics (20 rep squat set first up), followed by 4 - 5 compound exercises. The idea is to hit the entire body in one session.

The next part (which is also my favourite part), is the Milk.

Drink 1 gallon of whole milk a day (that's 4 litres for everyone else). Simple. Easy? That's debatable between individuals. Do I like it? Yes! I fucking love it. But, with anything else in life... There are a few caveats here - it has to be whole/full cream/raw milk. Up to you whether you have homogenised, fresh, UHT (ultra heat treated), or fresh from the farm. Personally, I think the big hype between the different kinds is blown way out of proportion. Some thing UHT tastes like shit, others think it's fine. I'm part of the latter and don't mind UHT. See how you go.

The reason for whole/full cream/raw milk is really simple, and even my 10 year old niece could figure it out. Calories. Your average litre of full cream milk has about 640 calories. 32 grams of protein. 32 grams of fat. 48 grams of carbs. Not to mention it retains, naturally, all the fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. Not to mention an excellent source of potassium. It also tastes delicious. And did I mention calcium?

Drink a litre after every normal meal you would have, and boom! There is an extra 2400+ calories to your daily total. And because it's a liquid meal, it'll go down easy.

There are a few things to take note of, however, and this isn't always spoken about on most places you pick up "Squats and Milk" from.

Constipation.

People. Seriously. Use your brains here. What happens when you eat a shit load of cheese? You're shitting cheese-scented bricks. Harder than bricks, even. Fibre fibre fibre! Can't stress this enough. Eat your broccoli, eat your green veggies, and drink a bit of water on top. A couple of litres of water a day shouldn't be too hard for someone that trains hard.

Magnesium.

To balance calcium, you need magnesium. Most places seem to recommend a 50% ratio. So, for 1000mg of calcium, try to have at least 500mg magnesium.

Lactose Intolerant.

Sigh. This goes without saying. If drinking a glass of milk causes you to spray paint the toilet bowl, for fucks sake, don't drink 4 litres of it. (Try a lactose free variety if it's available)

Getting Fat.

Ladies and gents, please be advised that this protocol will likely see you gaining around 2 - 4% fat per 4 weeks. This obviously depends on a lot of factors, and you might not gain a single ounce of fat. Or you might gain 30lbs. But as a rough guide, expect to put a little on. Keeping this protocol to 6 weeks often helps mitigate this, and also sets you up to start a new exercise routine/selection to keep things interesting, and gains following.

Well there you have it, done and dusted. I'm well aware that this is an incomplete post, as I've left out the specifics behind the exercise part, but I feel as though those things are often better done on a personal level. Taking a cookie cutter approach to everything isn't always wise.

For those of you who have never seen or heard about this, feel free to give it a try and comment your results/thoughts/opinions/ideas below.

For those of you who have seen and heard about this, and may/may not have tried it, please do the same and leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, and happy Weight Gaining!

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