Illustration of a skinny person building muscle and bulking up.

Build Muscle. Gain Strength. Outlift Yourself.

We're Shane and Marco, known for founding Bony to Beastly and Bony to Bombshell, two of the most popular muscle-building sites for naturally thin people, each with tens of millions of readers.

We have fifteen years of experience coaching clients ranging from everyday people all the way up to college, professional, and Olympic athletes.

We consider lifting research, and we take it seriously, but we also delve into the darkest corners of lifting lore. There's wisdom in bodybuilding traditions, powerlifting programs, and callisthenics routines.

If you want us to walk you through the process of building muscle, start to finish, with personal feedback along the way, check out our programsYour results are fully guaranteed. We have an unconditional refund policy on everything we sell.

If you want to peruse the blog, here are the best articles to start with:

Hypertrophy Training

If you're interested in building muscle, we've written about almost every aspect of hypertrophy training. I recommend starting with our big hypertrophy training guide.

Here are some of our more in-depth articles about hypertrophy training principles:

How to Lift Weights

If you want to learn how to lift weights, build muscle, and get stronger, I recommend starting with our article about how to get stronger at the 5 big compound exercises.

You can read about the nuances of each lift here:

Hypertrophy Workout Routines

We've got a bunch of free workout routines you can look through. The articles will teach you how to follow these routines or build your own from scratch.

Healthy Lifestyle

We've also got some articles about how to live a healthy lifestyle, eat a good diet, maintain good body composition, and combine weight training with cardio:

Common Lifting Questions

Here are some of the more common lifting questions we've gotten over the years:

If you have any questions about anything, comment on the most relevant article. I answer every comment.

Before and after photo of an intermediate lifter bulking
Before and after photo of a skinny guy becoming muscular
Skinny-Fat to Muscular Transformation
Before and after photo of a skinny-fat guy becoming lean and muscular
Women's weight gain transformation
Before and after photo of an intermediate lifter building muscle

Recent Articles

Illustration showing a man doing wrist curls to build bigger forearms.

The 3 Best Exercises for Building Bigger Forearms

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | September 22, 2020

Forearms are one of those extremities that only extremists remember to train. The average lifter assumes that including some barbell rowing, strapless deadlifting, and weighted chin-ups in their workout routines…

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Illustration of the different types of barbells.

The Barbell Buyer’s Guide (for Bodybuilding & Hypertrophy Training)

By Shane Duquette | March 23, 2019

While writing our guide on how to build a barbell home gym, I dove way too deep into researching barbells. Which companies make the best barbells, which coatings do the…

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Illustration of a bodybuilder doing dumbbell goblet squats as part of his leg workout.

The Best Dumbbell Leg Exercises & Workout

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | December 15, 2023

Dumbbell leg exercises are great for beginners. They’re perfect for gaining your first 30–40 pounds of muscle. Think of exercises like goblet squats, dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, and step-ups. Our main Bony…

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Illustration of a muscular man doing a one-armed dumbbell farmer carry while also carrying a barbell.

How to do the Farmer Carry: Benefits & Workout

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | March 8, 2024

The farmer carry, also known as the farmer’s walk, involves going on a short walk while carrying heavy weights. It’s popular with strongmen and athletes but less so with bodybuilders,…

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Illustration of a muscular bodybuilder or powerlifter setting a PR in the gym.

What Does PR Mean in the Gym?

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | March 7, 2024

In gym lingo, “PR” stands for personal record. Getting PRs means your workout routine is working, that you’re adapting, and that you’re growing gradually bigger, stronger, or fitter. They’re important…

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Illustration of a guy doing exercise to reduce inflammation.

Does Exercise Reduce Inflammation? How? And How Much?

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | March 2, 2024

Exercise both increases and reduces inflammation. The stress of exercise causes a surge in inflammation. This inflammation helps you recover and adapt. When that inflammation fades, it drops down to…

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Illustration showing a skinny man with belly fat.

The Guide for Skinny Guys With Belly Fat

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | September 23, 2020

Why do some skinny guys have belly fat? If you aren’t overweight, why is fat accumulating, and why is it clustering in your midsection? There are a few reasons this…

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Illustration of a buff weightlifter confused at why he isn't losing weight.

Why Aren’t You Losing Weight in a Calorie Deficit?

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | May 31, 2023

If you ask about why you aren’t losing weight in a calorie deficit, the common answer is: “Because you’re not in a calorie deficit. You need to eat fewer calories.”…

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Illustration of a bodybuilder doing hypertrophy training to gain muscle mass.

The Hypertrophy Training Guide: How to Lift for Muscle Size

By Shane Duquette and Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS | October 15, 2023

Hypertrophy training is designed specifically for stimulating muscle growth. It’s by far the best style of training for building muscle. Bodybuilders use it to build more aesthetic physiques. Powerlifters use…

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