Best type of training for ectomorphs

[Yeo]

I am getting 2700-3000cals a day, do you think that's enough Hans ? I am only 60KG and I know eating is of huge importance so what kind of diet do you suggest and how many cals do you think I should be getting ?

 

[HansNZ]

I am getting 2700-3000cals a day, do you think that's enough Hans ? I am only 60KG and I know eating is of huge importance so what kind of diet do you suggest and how many cals do you think I should be getting ?

OK, that's your problem there. You should aim for at least 4000 cals per day. I am 102kg at the moment and eat 5500-6000. It does sound like a lot, I know. But you really need to eat an excess of 1000 cals more than your body needs for maintainence before it gets the message.

For years I refused to eat this much, thinking it was ridiculous. But once I did it I got the best results ever. You will get fat, but if you are an ectomorph this is nothing to worry about. I find when I have a lay off from training for a few months that I tend to lose the fat without even trying anyway. If you diet you can get rid of it in no time. I went up to 110 recently, then dieted down to 90. Now I am going back to 110. Each time I add more muscle then strip back fat again. I don't even worry too much about losing muscle when I diet. The muscle comes back almost immediately when I start to bulk again.

The ideal of bulking and staying lean I feel is unrealistic for ectomorphs. I am sure some ectomorphs may be able to do that, but they are certainly much cleverer than I am. I think you have to be gaining fat before an ectomorph body is willing to start laying down muscle.

You have to count calories and you have to be consistent. Sadly, what I find is that I might eat my quota of calories for three or four days in a row, then bum out for a day. You can't do this. You've got to be consistent and you've got to maintain momentum. If you go by how you feel you won't eat enough. After 3 days of stuffing your face you could go for a whole day eating only 1000 cals and still feel full. This is why you have to COUNT your calories and this is why you have to be consistent in your eating to maintain a weekly avaerage of 4000 cals a day.

As for diet, just focus on 2 factors: getting sufficient protein and calories. You can focus on other things as well if you want, just so long as you have these two main factors covered. If you can't get to 4000 cals a day by only eating clean then eat junk - just make sure you get to 4000!!!

 

[HansNZ]

Here's a tip to help with calories. This would make most people shudder, but I do it anyway and it works well for me:

Sometimes the day is drawing to a close and I am well short of my calorie requirement. It may also be impossible to stomach enough solid food to reach my quota.

I buy 500ml bottles of Essential Fatty Acids from my local health food store. The type I buy is a mixture of flax seed oil and safflower oil. I put 10 metric tablespoons of this oil into a blender. I add in a small glass of milk, a teaspoon of honey and maybe some vanilla essence.

Blend it up and drink it. It is easy to stomach and you get 1700 calories in one shot. This is good fat too, your body loves it. Only an ectomorph can get away with doing this though, hehe. Make sure you swallow a big protein shake before you go to sleep at night.

Best of luck.

 

[vinylgroover]

It's not easy for an ectomorph to eat 4,000 cals per day. Thats a big ask since the ectomorph typically can't consume large meals at each sitting......i know from personal experience. Just keep bumping up the amount you eat slowly and over time you will see yourself grow.

Drink alot of milk yeo.

with respect to training, i found that my body only responds to heavy training on medium volume, ie 5-8 reps.

Concentrtate on all the basics, particularly deadliting, weighted pull-ups, dips and squats. These are the big three IMO for the hard-gainer.

I use a 3 day split, each bodypart once a week. Leaves plenty of time for recovery.

Keep cardio to a bear minimum......if you have to do any at all.

 

[Peckz]

I'm a hardgainer also. When i started training i was at 63 kilos and that was my normal everyday weight. It stayed constant from age 15-24. I'm currently at 79 kilos which is a weight i feel comfortable with.
I went from 63-70 within a year doing a 3 a week split. The first five kilos was easy. I started eating 2 large meals a day and used a massive gainer 2 times a day spiced with 4 egg whites some ice-cream and cacao flavor. Every kilo after 70 was a nightmare. Now-days i eat three proper meals a day and drink two gainers so its not like I'm totally stuffing myself. I do eat ice-cream and chocolate allot more than i used to but thats nothing I'm complaining about

My body seems to respond well to gainers and i can definitely notice weight-loss if I'm off the supplements. I use Twinlabs super gainers fuel and whey protein. I do kreatin cycles just before the summer.

I know i could get bigger if i eat more but i don't feel comfortable stuffing myself. I like feeling lean and mean.

 

[Baoh]

It would benefit the ectomorph (and many people) to train more like a PLer than a "traditional" BBer, whatever the Hell that is. Diet, as mentioned, is also key.