Ectomorph Training Tips

[BDSimpson]

First of all if your an ectomorph read the Weight Gain 101 sticky posted by six pack and written by massive member because it is pretty much right on the money.

I am a TRUE ectomorph. Before I started training I was 6' tall and weighed about 140 lbs. at the age of 18. I had a very small appetite and I could never gain any weight. I was always jittery and nervous, you know the typical ectomorph.

Well about 2 years ago I began training with one of my friends and he was doing a 2 on 1 off split. So basically I was working out each upper body part twice a week working out a total of four days a week( He never worked out lower body which is also a mistake). At this time I became conscious of my diet/rest etc. and I began to try to get all the protein/good carbs/ healthy fats I could in 5-6 meals a day. This was hard at first because I was in college and my appetite sucked. I began drinkin protein drinks and discovered tuna but it was still an uphill climb gaining weight.

Please ECTOMORPHS learn from my mistakes. I was working out TOO MUCH. I was OVERTRAINING.

If you want to gain weight as an ectomorph you CANNOT follow other workout programs....it just wont work.

I have been following a program pretty similiar to this one for the past 2 years and I have gained between 35 and 40 lbs. of lean mass. That is a hell of a lot for an ectomorph I think.

Train 2 or 3 days a week(2 if you are a beginner) and always allow AT LEAST 48 hours between workouts preferrably 72.

Sample Workout

Do a light jog or ride a stationary prior to this to get warmed up to prevent injury

Workout 1:
Pull ups 3 sets
3 sets until failure

Bench Press Barbell/Dumbbell 4 sets
1 warm up light-medium weight
3x8-10 heavy weight

Dead Lift 4 sets
1 warm up light-medium weight
3x6-8 heavy weight

Shoulder Press 4 sets
1 warm up light-medium weight
3x8-10 heavy weight


Workout 2:
Dips 3 sets
3 sets until failure

Incline Press 4 sets
1 warm up light-medium weight
3x8-10 heavy weight

Back Machine/Bent over Rows 4 sets
1 warm up light-medium weight
3x8-10 heavy weight

Squats/Leg Press 4 sets
1 warm up light/medium weight
3x8-10 heavy weight

If you feel the need you can add Bicep/Calf work into this but like it says on Weight Gain 101 sticky if your calves/biceps are less that 15" then their really isnt a need b/c the exercises in this workout will hit them.....When you reach 15" throw in some Biceps/Calf work....and as you get further along into training you can probably start to do a 3 days split instead of 2.

Nutrition

Get 5-6 meals a day.....50% carbs/30% protein/20% fat.
Take in AT LEAST 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Take in AT LEAST 2.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight.

Try to take in good whole grain carbs and try to keep simple carbs minimal excpet PWO.

Another tip is you do not digest all the protein you consume so try to space your protein out over the day. i.e. Dont take in 80 grams of protein in one sitting because you wont digest them all. There is debate over how many grams of protein you can digest in one sitting so i wont get into that but I say never take in more than 50 at once. And get you some liquid egg whites if you can stomach them. The protein in them is 100% bioavailable and its a great add to your protein shake. It is pasteurized so its safe to drink.

I wont post sample foods to eat because you can easily do a search and find that.

Rest

Obviously you need adequate rest. At least 8 hours a night. For the ectomorph I would not recommend strenous cardio because you dont need to lose weight. I find that light cardio like brisk walking is fine because its good for the heart and it doesnt add too much extra stress. It also may help improve your appetite.

Supplements

You DONT NEED supplements. If you feel the need however please just stick with the basics Multi,Protein shakes, and maybe creatine. Most others you dont need to worry about because they arent magic and you will just be wasting your money.


I realize most of this info has been posted before and I dont have that many
posts or rep power, but I have been reading this forum for awhile now and I figured it was time to give a little back. I tried to get all I could think of for ectomorph training into one thread to help all you ectomorph teens out there. This has worked wonders for me when no other programs would. And this is just an example by all means tweak it to fit you but like I said this has worked great for me.

If you have any questions about anything feel free to ask and If there is something I forgot or something that has worked for you post as well.

[WhatTheDodd?]

I disagree on training that few days per week. Beginners are barely taxing their muscles due to their CNS not being adapted to heavy loads. They will be able to work same muscles more than once a week, except perhaps legs. Working mon/teus/thurs/fri should be fine for most hoping to pack on muscle, assuming they switch up what they doing. If its someone who wants big arms and chest so trains it 4x, then obviously too much, but if you focus on the big lifts and balance upper and lower work, then four times is fine. Albiet I may be an ecto/meso (wide shoulders, decent musculature, but very fast metabloism, so quite lean), but it shouldnt be thaat much different training: bodytype mostly concerned with dietary things.

[SeP]

Dont like it at all. Good try though...

[MonsterBulk]

the 5x5 program works really well. I recently hit a plateau and couldnt get passed 138lbs. After 3 weeks into the 5x5 program i weighed myself in and i was at 142lbs.

[BDSimpson]

I agree with you most people can start out working out alot but thats the noobs gain and then they hit a plateau. I am referring to the TRUE ectomorph tho. Alot of people are mixed between ecto and endo or endo and meso etc.... The true ecto has a very low threshold for training so they cannot train alot of times per week or stay in the gym for more than 45 minutes to an hour. I started out working out twice a week so it would stick longterm. After I hit built my body up some(about a year) I moved to 3 times a week. But you have to remember until just recently my biceps and calves were under 15" so I never hit them directly. That means less exercises to do per workout. The reason most splits are 4 or 5 days per week is because they need that many days to do the amount of exercises without overtraining.
i.e. There would be too many exercises for them to perform in 2 or 3 workouts if you isolate biceps, triceps, and calves.

If you dont hit these small muscle group directly at first that equals less workout days a week and you WILL still grow b/c you are hitting them indirectly with the other exercises.

I have just started hitting them directly becasue my biceps/triceps are 16" and 15" respectively. So now I work out 3 or 4 times a week depending on what workout falls on what day.

My main point is this workout is merely an example that worked for me and I firmly believe it will work for TRUE ecto's.

Check out the Weight Gain 101 sticky if you can because its helpful also.

[Big B]

Dont like it at all. Good try though...

Agreed, I don't like the training, I was 6'3 and 165 lbs when I started about a year and a half ago, following my own program I'm up to 210 lbs. I think the training program is all off, the diet seems more accurate. Go 40%/35%/25% on the diet though. Ectos benefit from more fat.

[twztd19]

In Arnolds encyclopedia of body building he states that ectomorphs really benefit from supplements such as creatine and protein.

[BBqChicken1]

In Arnolds encyclopedia of body building he states that ectomorphs really benefit from supplements such as creatine and protein.

Strong join date to bump date to rep power to wtf.


****totypes are a myth, ectos undereat, endos overeat.


'benefit from protein' it's freaking powdered food, not a magic pill that gives you a 10 inch cawk and a 10/10 for a wife/husband(for you, cuz you're a *******)

[WorkoutFreak219]

Strong join date to bump date to rep power to wtf.


****totypes are a myth, ectos undereat, endos overeat.


'benefit from protein' it's freaking powdered food, not a magic pill that gives you a 10 inch cawk and a 10/10 for a wife/husband(for you, cuz you're a *******)

Dis.

[RyanSOS]

I'm an ectomorph myself and I have been working out for a year now, and I fell through the same mistake as you, I was training 2 hours a day 3 times a week, hitting each muscle group only once a week, and I only managed to gain 9 lbs. few months ago I have changed my routine and so far It seems great. and looking at what I was doing I felt that my whole routine was all wrong.

Here is what I started to do and what I think every ectomorph should do as well If goals are primarily mass & size:

1- train each muscle group twice a week, or every 5th day, use a push\pull split or an upper\lower split or a full body split for beginners.
2- your workout sessions should not exceed 1 hour, a maximum of 15-18 sets per session is ideal. In order for your body to remain in an anabolic state if you're a natural body builder like me.
3- mainly include compound movements for a quick mass gains.

Here is a workout sample for an ectomorph:


Push A (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quads)

Squats or Leg Press (3x15-20)
Bench Press or Inclined Bench Press (3x12-8)
Bench DB Press or Inclined Bench Press (3x12-8)
Seated Dumbbell Press or Military Press (3x12-8)
Dips (2-3xFailure)
Skull Crushers (2-3x12-8)

Pull A (Back, Biceps, Traps, Hamstring, Calves)

Standard Deadlifts or RDL* (3x12-8)
Rows Machine (3x12-8)
V-Bar Pull Downs (3x12-8)
Chin ups (2-3xFailure)
Preacher Curls (2-3x12-8)
Calf Raises (3x20-30)

*Sometimes I like to do underhand close grip pull downs instead of deadlifts for more focus on the Biceps.