Ectomorph Plateau

[tekematt]

Hello. I'm 37yo, 6ft, currently around 170lbs. I started working out about 6 years ago. I started at 130 (was around 120 in high school and hit 130 in college) and slowly worked my way up to around 180lbs (went through the whole journey of a trainer, bro-science, actual science, overeating massive amounts of weight gainers and protein shakes, dieting, 7 small meals a day to 3 main with protein shakes in between, 3 day workouts to 7+ day workouts, cardio to no cardio, etc.). Recently did intermittent fasting over the holidays to get rid of the fat from the dirty bulking, bringing me down to 170lbs.

Moving past my history, I dropped down to 170 again because I seem to plateau around 182lbs. I'm trying hard to find a program or trainer with proven experience for my needs. Everything I find seems to be weight loss to muscle for endomorphs, building massive muscle for mesomorphs, or building around 20lbs of muscle for ectomorphs new to working out. Any advise or point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

[air2fakie]

I think whatever research you’re finding is outdated. Regardless, since you’re talking about a bodyweight plateau - eat more.

[rsid97]

Pick a proper program and don't worry about the coach. If any program or coach is selling itself/themselves based on whether you're an ectomorph or whatever, then there's way too much BS going on there to bother with it.

If you give us an idea of what your strength number are looking like and how you've been progressing lately, we can suggest some programs.

But more important, sort your eating you. Seems like you're just jumping from one 'magic pill' to the next. I didn't really hear you ever mentioning TDEE, calories, macros or anything else that actually matters to weight gain. In case you're not already doing this, start now:

Find a TDEE calculator. Figure out your approximate maintenance calories. Eat 200 calories more than that while getting at least 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. Measure your bodyweight everyday, get a weekly average. Do this while getting stronger on your main compound lifts with a proper program. After a month, if you're still at the same weight, add another 100 calories and go from there. If you're gaining more than half a lb per week, I'd pull back a few calories and adjust accordingly.

[SuffolkPunch]

Don't pigeonhole yourself based on a discredited idea (****totypes). This doesn't help guide training decisions. Small appetite -> eat more, that's the long and the short of it.

[MG5]

Hello. I'm 37yo, 6ft, currently around 170lbs. I started working out about 6 years ago. I started at 130 (was around 120 in high school and hit 130 in college) and slowly worked my way up to around 180lbs (went through the whole journey of a trainer, bro-science, actual science, overeating massive amounts of weight gainers and protein shakes, dieting, 7 small meals a day to 3 main with protein shakes in between, 3 day workouts to 7+ day workouts, cardio to no cardio, etc.). Recently did intermittent fasting over the holidays to get rid of the fat from the dirty bulking, bringing me down to 170lbs.

Moving past my history, I dropped down to 170 again because I seem to plateau around 182lbs. I'm trying hard to find a program or trainer with proven experience for my needs. Everything I find seems to be weight loss to muscle for endomorphs, building massive muscle for mesomorphs, or building around 20lbs of muscle for ectomorphs new to working out. Any advise or point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

It comes down to not eating enough. I've had a lot of guys tell me "But I eat so much" then they tell me they're eating 3,000 calories. Recently had another guy tell me "so much" was 2,700 calories.

You need to find ways to get more calories in.

I also don't know what your training looks like, but a...

- suboptimal training program
- not very good exercise selection
- poor form, execution, mind muscle connection
- lack of recovery

can all make putting on weight in the form of muscle mass more challenging as well.

7 small meals a day might only 2,800 calories. (7 meals x 400 calories per meal)

3 meals plus a shake between might only be 3,200 calories (3 meals x 900 calories per meal + two 250 calories shakes)

That still might not be enough.

You also didn't say whether you're tracking your food intake.

Many nutrient-dense foods that are typically eaten by someone who wants to look better and build muscle or lose fat has less calories, but more volume (takes up more room on both your plate and in your stomach)

So they might feel like they're eating a lot because of the volume, but when it comes to calories, it might not be much.

Sent you a message too!

[coachcalande]

Hello. I'm 37yo, 6ft, currently around 170lbs. I started working out about 6 years ago. I started at 130 (was around 120 in high school and hit 130 in college) and slowly worked my way up to around 180lbs (went through the whole journey of a trainer, bro-science, actual science, overeating massive amounts of weight gainers and protein shakes, dieting, 7 small meals a day to 3 main with protein shakes in between, 3 day workouts to 7+ day workouts, cardio to no cardio, etc.). Recently did intermittent fasting over the holidays to get rid of the fat from the dirty bulking, bringing me down to 170lbs.

Moving past my history, I dropped down to 170 again because I seem to plateau around 182lbs. I'm trying hard to find a program or trainer with proven experience for my needs. Everything I find seems to be weight loss to muscle for endomorphs, building massive muscle for mesomorphs, or building around 20lbs of muscle for ectomorphs new to working out. Any advise or point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Post your typical days meals
Post your typical lifting program.

I know I can bulk you right up easily.