Unlike the rest of sports or physical activities, how well we do in bodybuilding is majorly defined by our genetics. Naturally having a body that builds and shapes muscle quickly is a big plus. But for some people who are naturally skinny, its a longer road ahead. Normally a bodybuilder needs to sculpt his body (shape his muscles), but ectomorphs have another obstacle to overcome first. They need to gain the mass before shaping it.
Now, there are three core components to building a good physique:
Now, there are three core components to building a good physique:
- Eat A LOT!
- Strength training
- Compound Exercises
Eat A LOT!
But you already are right? That's what all ectomorphs say. "I eat so much but nothing works", "I eat a TON of food everyday but I cant gain weight" your "so much" and "ton" of food is based on fuzzy logic. There is a reason we are skinny and with correct diet it can certainly be overcome. The following are the driving factors in an ectomorphs lean physique.
- Digestion: Some people's digestive system can't some of the food they eat. So if you thin you ate a particular number of calories, those calories might not have been digested at all.
- Activities: You daily activities like working, gymming, driving etc consume energy. So its essential that the amount of calories you take is greater than the amount you consume in such activities.
- Appetite: Not a technical factor per se, but it can make your metabolism seem faster. If your digestive system is slow, you won't be hungry for long hours, thereby skipping meals in the process.
- NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is the amount of calories consumed in other than obvious activities like exercising etc. This hidden cost is a variable for everyone, hence its a decisive factor in determining each persons unique requirement for calorie intake.
Following are the major mistakes that most people make while trying to gain mass:
Not Eating Enough Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of muscles, so if your protein intake is insufficient, your workout will not produce any results whatsoever. Eat a lot of eggs, meat and supplementary protein to fulfill your daily requirements.
Eating Too Clean
People with fast metabolism trying to bulk up just need to meet their calorie requirements, regardless of where it comes from. Our bodies are better at nutrient partitioning, therefore we can eat all kinds of junk like pizza or burgers and bring our calorie levels up to the required amount.
Skipping Breakfast
This point cannot be emphasized enough. Breakfast is the one most important meal of the day. After 7-8 hours of sleep, your body is deprived of nutrients and is running low. If you do not get a proper breakfast and go off to work, your body will start breaking protein to gain energy, which kills your gains. Bottom line: Never skip breakfast!
Skipping Meals
Once you have laid out a nutrition plan, you need to stick to it in order to see results from the gym. Skipping a meal means cutting short on your intake of calories, thereby putting your body out of nutritional balance. Like mentioned before, when your body is starving, it begins to cannibalize by breaking down protein from muscles. Don't let it do that.
Over-stressing
This one isn't a dietary mistake, but it does effect your overall progress. Almost all skinny guys (including me)
are hyper active. They can't even sit straight and are always tapping a leg or something. Mental stress releases cortisol in your body, which hampers muscle growth.
Ectomorph Workout Routine
Diet is only half of the solution. If you keep eating, you'll only develop lumpy mass that still needs to be carved to be brought into shape.
No Cardio!
Cardio is for people who are trying to lose fat. That's not our objective. Doing cardio will only burn excessive calories that could otherwise be used for muscle development.
Avoid Full Body Workouts
Avoid high frequency workouts (full body workouts are highest frequency workout routines). Working out each body part more than 3 times a week doesn't suit our body type. It can be exhaustive and can be counted as over-training.
Increase the Frequency
Yes I know I just said to avoid high frequency workouts, but if you workout each body part once a week, you're not doing any good either. Our body type requires moderate amount of work, something it can handle without being too soft. For beginners it is recommended to workout each part 3 times week, and for intermediates, about twice a week.
Increase Rest Periods
Another department we ectomorphs are bad at is the recovery time. Although it varies from individual to individual, but in general an ectomorph requires twice as much time as a normal bodybuilder to regain his strength. Lets say, for example that normal rest period for a low rep squat set is 1 minute (for example), an ectomorph would require 2 minutes to recover , or otherwise see substantial drop in his performance in next set.
Increase The Volume
Instead of going for low reps, aim for something a little above it. For a big muscle group your rep count should be between 30 - 60 in total. Keep the volume to around half for smaller muscle groups.
If you know any more tips that can help an ectomorph in his struggle, let us know in the comment section below!
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