Not only is it a ridiculous statement to make, but it’s down right discriminating.

And frankly, I’ve had enough of it.

When Men’s Health, publishes an article where the first paragraph is…

…you know the author has never walked in our shoes.

I mean Men’s Health is a magazine that’s not even geared toward the 200+ pounds beasts and they’re even dishing our this kind of nonsense.

These muscle building guru’s can’t even begin to fathom the fact that many of us lightweight bodybuilders will never get to a point where we weigh 150 pounds when we’re lean with abs.

When they see our gym selfies and hear our scale weight, their typical advice for us is often to “Eat BIG” and “Lift Heavy Shit”.

That worked fine and dandy when we were teenage newbie lifters, but the rules quickly change as we advance in age and training years.

It’s fair to say that much of this ignorance stems from the fact that the unique challenges us lightweight bodybuilders face are rarely, if ever addressed in books, magazines, or online articles.

Until now!

Which is why I’m seriously stoked to share this journey with you. A fellow lightweight bro who ‘gets it’. A bro whom I can completely relate to and who can relate to me.

Many of us lightweight bodybuilders would consider ourselves skinny guys or hardgainers. It’s definitely a challenge for us to gain muscle.

Here’s some pics of me at nearly 19 years old weighing 123 pounds after 5 years of serious and consistent lifting.

Note: I’m 5’ 6.5” tall

Although books and articles have been written for skinny guys and hardgainers, it’s still a very broad audience. There are some guys who weigh 200 pounds and could consider themselves skinny guys or hardgainers.

These hardgainer books and articles still don’t address the unique challenges that us lightweight bodybuilders face.

One such challenge is that although it’s tough for us to build muscle, we can also gain fat all too easy.

Although I was a skinny hardgainer in my teens, following the advice to “Eat BIG” while frequently chugging back mass gainer 2000 shakes, finally caught up to me in my mid 20’s when I ballooned up to 190 pounds.

This pic certainly doesn’t do it justice.

I struggled for nearly 10 years to burn off the excess fat. And when I finally got my shit together I ran into one of the most troubling unique problems a lightweight bodybuilder faces…

Seeing that scale number dip below 150 pounds.

It was a mind-fuck!

Over the years I’ve had countless coaching clients go through this very experience.

The interesting thing is that the majority of these bro’s had absolutely no idea they were lightweights. Many of them spend most of their adult life sitting around the 200 pound mark.

But when they decided to get ripped and wanted to see their abs, they finally discovered just how much of their bodyweight was in the form of fat.

For example, here’s a collage of the transformation my workout partner Mike just went through at the age of 54…

During the past two years that I’ve been training with Mike, he’s hovered around the 190 pound mark. His peak weight was around 220 pounds.

At the end of this cutting phase he weighed in at 156 pounds and has maintained that weight ever since. It’s his new norm.

Never did Mike imagine he’d weigh so little. But damn does it look great on him.

Nelson is a prime example of someone who's followed my guidance, gave himself permission to be light, and went on to sculpt his body into a chiseled work of art... 

After this photo shoot Nelson stepped on stage and competed as a lightweight bodybuilder. Kicking butt and enjoying the moment.

Pete is another client of mine who I relate to big time! His before and after pics reveal how an extra 20 pounds of fat can make you look average, while giving yourself permission to be light leads to an impressive physique you can feel proud of.

The thing is, seeing 150 pounds on the scale shouldn’t have messed with my head so much. I spent most of my life weighing less than 150 pounds. Although I wanted to be bigger and more muscular, I was still fairly content with my size.

But after reading so many articles that had a negative tone toward guys weighing less than 150 pounds, I started to feel like less of a man.

I started feeling like something was wrong with me. Maybe my testosterone was too low? Maybe I wasn’t eating enough protein? Maybe I wasn’t training hard enough? What was I missing?

Of course the pharmaceutically enhanced genetic freaks in the magazines would try to convince me that the solution was in supplement form.

And unfortunately, I fell for this marketing all too many times and have spent more money on supplements than I care to admit.

But I’ve learned my lesson and am aware of the handful of supplements that are beneficial in the correct doses.

And this is where I believe us lightweight bodybuilders have an advantage... 

Training smarter in an effort to maximize the anabolic benefits from every workout, every exercise, every set, and every rep.

What I have discovered during my twenty-plus years of working out and diving into the muscle building research, is that most muscle building programs work well when you consistently apply your best effort toward them.

But they also have pitfalls. Most muscle building programs are leaving potential muscle gains on the gym floor. 

Now most bro’s won’t notice, because they can get away without a completely optimized workout plan.

But us lightweight bodybuilders can’t afford to spare any potential muscle growth.

And that my friend, is what the Lightweight Bodybuilder’s Guide is all about!

What you, as a lightweight bodybuilder need to do in order to maximize your muscle building potential, and in the process creating the illusion of looking 10, 20, and even 30 pounds bigger and more muscular than what the scale reveals.

I’ve come to grips with the fact that I'm never going to become a 200+ pound BEAST of a man like I see in the muscle mags.

Frankly it’s a big relief, because now I can focus on achieving goals that are realistic for my physique. Working with the genetic hand I’ve been dealt. Making the absolute most out of the gifts I’ve been granted while striving for my personal potential.

Now let’s dive into the meat of this guide!

The #1 priority for lightweight bodybuilders is to get lean. If your abs are not visible your first step is to burn off the excess fat by completing a cutting phase.

There are two very important reasons for this;

When you get lean with noticeable separation between muscle groups, your muscles become more pronounced and ‘pop out’. The greater the details, the greater the aesthetic appeal.

When you’re lean and chiseled you create the illusion of having a much bigger physique.

To give you an example, there is a 40 pound difference in the photo’s above. 178 pounds on the left and 138 pounds on the right.

When I was 40 pounds fatter most people were pretty good at guessing my weight. Yet, ever since getting ripped most people guess that I am 20-30 pounds more muscular.

I often find that during cutting phases my fellow lifters at the gym will ask, “Are you getting bigger bro?” I laugh and say, “Nope. I’ve actually lost weight.”

When your muscles are clearly defined you look more muscular.

Now there is a little caveat here. And it’s one of those unique challenges us lightweight bodybuilders face…

Shirt-ON-Big is when we are fatter and we look like we lift when we're wearing a shirt because we fill it out.

But, when we take off our shirt we look fluffy and average. Or worse, we're embarrassed to take off our shirt because of the excess fat.

Shirt-OFF-Big is when we are lean and we look small with a shirt on, but when we take off our shirt we look cut and jacked!

I have a preference for Shirt-OFF-Big. I’m more confident and it feels more congruent with who I am.

Plus, I love seeing the expression on peoples face when I strip off my shirt, because they didn't realize how muscular I am.

The issue of looking small with your shirt on can easily be solved with some smart shopping. So do yourself a favour. When you get ripped, go out and buy yourself some nice form-fitting clothes that highlight your muscular features. You’ll be both shirt-on and shirt-off big!

Now other than vanity and creating the illusion of looking more muscular there’s an even more important reason for getting lean first.

When you begin a muscle building phase with a lean physique, a larger portion of your gains will be in the form of lean mass.

The predictor of the percentage of muscle vs fat you will gain during a muscle building phase is referred to as the partitioning ratio or p-ratio.

There are multiple factors at play here, one being insulin, which delivers glucose to your cells. Your level of body fat determines which cells the glucose will be delivered to first.

When your body fat is higher, the glucose gets delivered to your fat cells first, which signals your body to store fat.

When your body fat is lower, glucose gets delivered to your muscle cells first.

Therefore, when you get lean and stay lean (approximately 8-12% body fat for men) a greater percentage of your weight gained during a building phase will come in the form of lean muscle mass when you keep your caloric surplus in check.

Getting lean and staying lean is how you will gain more bang for your buck with your efforts to build a cut and jacked physique.

As you can see, there are tremendous benefits for getting lean and staying lean.

Don’t worry about the number on the scale. Give yourself permission to be light.

Take pride in being a lightweight. Work with the gifts you've been granted and make the most of them.

Now there are countless ways to get ripped…

But, most fat loss approaches either beat us lightweight bodybuilders up or make us look scrawny and weak in the end.

Now getting into the details of how to strategically structure your fat loss workouts and nutrition is beyond the scope of the Lightweight Bodybuilder’s Guide.

If after reading the first section of this guide you have realized that fat loss should be your #1 priority at the moment, I highly recommend you go through my free Fat Loss Mastery email course geared specific for lightweight bodybuilders.

You’ll discover how lightweight bodybuilders need to structure a fat loss system that;

If you’re ready to get ripped and create the illusion of looking like you are 10, 20, even 30 pounds more muscular, subscribe to my free Fat Loss Mastery email course today!

If you’re already lean with visible abs, it’s time to move onto the muscle building section of the Lightweight Bodybuilder’s Guide…

When you utilize a gentle surplus you can spend 5 months in a muscle building phase while only gaining 2-3 pounds of fat along with some precious muscle.

Then spend 4 weeks in a mini-cut to shed that excess fat and reveal your newly gained aesthetic muscle.

Repeat that cycle and you will be golden!

This approach will give you the best opportunity to gain the realistic 2-3 pounds of muscle per year.

For us lightweight bodybuilders it truly pays to stay within 5 pounds striking distance of your shredded physique during a muscle building phase.

And the best part is that you’ll be happy with how you look all year long!

All too often I see guys who are ecstatic with how they look at the end of a cutting phase. Then 4 weeks later they are unhappy with their appearance because they gained fat too fast while trying to build muscle.

When you’re only happy with how you look for a few short weeks out of the year, something needs to change.

At first it may be tough to accept slow muscle gains. I totally understand.

But the only reason it’s tough to accept the slow gains is because of all the muscle building marketing, which has lead us to believe that we can gain much more muscle at a much faster rate than is truly possible.

It’s all lies! Unless of course, you’re a newbie or using performance enhancing drugs.

When you realize that gaining 2 to 3 pounds of muscle per year is par for the course for your average lifter with more than 4 years lifting experience, the slow gains don’t seem so disappointing.

Truly, this is when training becomes the most fun. When you become less focused on the end result and more focused on the process.

The best goal for an experienced lightweight bodybuilder to aim for, is continuously improving the quality of every rep you perform.

Become present in the moment and feel your muscles stretching and contracting.

Get playful while mastering your mind-muscle connection. The finer details, which go unnoticed to the naked eye. Steering muscle activation exactly where it is meant to be stimulated. 

For example, you could have two lifters execute what appears to be impeccable form on the bench press. While one of them ‘feels’ the stretch and contraction in their chest, the other experiences more of a burn in their anterior deltoid.

With practice, the second lifter can learn to steer the tension away from the anterior delts and shift it onto the pecs where it should be felt.

A simple shift in how you squeeze the bar or where you direct the pressure across the soles of your feet can make a world of a difference in where you ‘feel’ the tension.

Dennis, a fellow lightweight bodybuilder shared some great insights from his experience when he began focusing on his mind-muscle connection… 

But unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens with most muscle building programs.

Now getting into the details of how to strategically structure your muscle building workouts, nutrition, and lifestyle is beyond the scope of the Lightweight Bodybuilder’s Guide.

If after reading the first section of this guide you have realized that muscle building should be your #1 priority at the moment, I highly recommend you go through my free "Frequency Hack" video course geared specifically for lightweight bodybuilders...

You’ll discover how lightweight bodybuilders need to structure a muscle building system that;

If you’re goal is to maximize your muscular potential, subscribe to my free "Frequency Hack" video course today!

My fellow lightweight brother. I appreciate you taking the time to read through this guide. I hope you’ve found it insightful.

You’re not alone in this struggle. In an industry dominated by 200+ pound beasts who can’t relate to our unique challenges, you can find solace in the Lightweight Pride.

The Lightweight Bodybuilder’s Guide is all about what you need to do in order to maximize your muscular potential while creating the illusion that you are much bigger.

The purpose of this handbook is to give you direction. The execution requires much more attention to the details. Including it all together in a single book would be too overwhelming.

One key factor that I see holding most lightweight bodybuilders back from maximizing their muscular potential is trying to chase both fat loss and muscle building at the same time.

 For clarity, it’s always best to be decisive and focus on a single goal at a time. Which is why I split up the ‘how to’ training into two courses. One for fat loss and one for muscle building.



Making your decision is quite simple;

If you have any questions at all, hit me up in the Lightweight Pride. I guarantee you’re not the only one with the same question and my response will help others in the same situation.

We’re in this together and I couldn’t be more excited to share this journey with you.

Sculpt a Masterpiece,

Coach Scott Tousignant