Ectomorph/Hardgainer/Mass Building

[GhostOfYork]

Hey guys, so I've been reading up for a while now and I'm just overwhelmed and really confused.
I'm pretty confident in the information I gathered about nutrition and supplements, just not the training portion.

I've read articles telling me I need to do pyramid style exercises, to ones telling me to do 2x10's, I even went and bought "Hardgainers guide to body building" by Hugo Rivera which said to do 10x10. I saw a program on bodybuidling.com called "12-Week Daily Bulking Trainer" would that work for me? I also saw another one called "30 Days From Bones to Buff" which again was the 5x5 and 4x10's.

So I was just wondering if you guys could lend your insight on what I should do, pyramids or the high rep high sets or the ones that are in the middle (5x5s)?

It's just a little overwhelming looking at all that information not knowing who's leading you in the right direction.

I wish I could post links to all these conflicting programs, but I don't have enough posts yet. Sorry.

Thanks in advance!

[GhostOfYork]

Bump?

Please can you guys help me out, I just want to start training as soon as possible.

[80MinuteAbs]

There are plenty of different ways to do it. For mass 5x5 routines are pretty popular. There is plenty to take into consideration besides rep and set numbers. You have to make sure you are doing the correct exercises on the right days and not over training for your experience level. Also you have to make sure you are not over training.

Here are a couple popular ones:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

If you follow them as listed without changing anything about them and use proper nutrition/diet you should have great gains. Make sure you eat enough!

[IronmanWarrior]

Hi, im also a hard gainer and ecto-morph.

In the last 18 months ive gone from 10.75 stone to 13 stone and added an adequate amount of muscle.

This has been based on:

mon: chest/biceps
tue: legs/shoulders
wedAY OFF
thu: Lats/triceps
fri: Back mass

nearly everything is 4sets x 8reps and I spend 90minutes in the gym each day. Combined with a fairly clean diet of 4000/4500 calories a day this routine is working for me!

[IronmanWarrior]

what makes the 4x8 so good is that you gain a decent amount of *muscle size*, *muscular endurance* and *strength* rather than just gaining in one area.....

[TrevorLRoss]

The definition of a hardgainer:

A person that doesn't workout properly.
A person that doesn't eat properly.
A person that doesn't sleep/recover properly.

Now we got that straight, you can change your "hardgainer" status by making lifestyle changes, but you can't change being an Ectomorph, so how should an Ecto train?

#1) The big boy compound lifts. All of the hardgainers I encountered over the years had one thing in common....they didn't Squat! Coincidence I think not, and they were afraid to lose their pretty abs in regards to bulking up.

#2) Short and Hard sessions (45-60 min), and work your ass off.

#3) 3 or 4 day programs. TBT or a Push/Pull split are awesome, use a body part split when you've built a solid base. If using a 4 day program don't lift for more then two consecutive days. If you do use a Body Part split no more then 2-3 muscles per session.

#4) Use exercises that work for you.

#5) Use supplements, but remember supplements are meant to supplement solid training and nutrition.

#6) Listen to your body, and remember every body part is important.

Good luck.

[OptimumLift]

Just remember something dont let people tell, Oh you got to eat tons of food man to get big. This isnt true you just 5-6 even doses of lean sources of protein throughout the day and some Whole grains like Oatmeal and Brown Rice and Vegetables. Train as hard as possible, but dont go crazy or else you might hurt yourself. Being a Hardgainer is no excuse not to gain muscle it just takes a bit longer then Mesomorphs and Endomorphs. In the end building muscle is slow for everyone naturally 5 - 10lbs in a year at the most from lifting weights.

[ironwill2008]

A "hardgainer" is an undereater who likely wastes a lot of gym time on split routines containing too many isolation exercises. Drop the tag; it's a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Here you go:

*Routine: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843


*Mass Gain Nutrition: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbin...=MassGainDiets

[r_graz]

Just remember something dont let people tell, Oh you got to eat tons of food man to get big. This isnt true you just 5-6 even doses of lean sources of protein throughout the day and some Whole grains like Oatmeal and Brown Rice and Vegetables. Train as hard as possible, but dont go crazy or else you might hurt yourself. Being a Hardgainer is no excuse not to gain muscle it just takes a bit longer then Mesomorphs and Endomorphs. In the end building muscle is slow for everyone naturally 5 - 10lbs in a year at the most from lifting weights.

You have to eat more calories than you burn. If those 5-6 servings of lean protein, brown rice, and vegetables accomplish that, great.

If not, you have to eat more. And a true "hardgainer" with a very fast metabolism is sometimes better served by not trying to keep everything squeaky clean in the diet.

[nirvana709]

hardgainer = undereater

so quit whining an complaining about your metabolism and get your ass in the kitchen!! sorry if that was a little harsh im just tired of seeing a million threads that are all the same thing. best advice for a newb is to eat eat eat, get alot of rest, train hard and READ THE STICKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!