Want to build muscle, but its hard!

[Nelnyc]

Hi All!

I want to build muscle. I am naturally a lean person (ectomorph), so it is pretty hard for me to gain any muscle mass. Can anybody give me any tips on how I should go about building muscle, and a diet that would be most suitable for this???

I have tried researching it online but now I am bit confused. I do not want to waste anytime doing the wrong workout or eating improperly.

Some other questions that I have...

Should I significantly increase my caloric intake??

Should I just eat proteins, or eat everything because it is hard for me to build muscle mass??

Should I do any aerobic exercises or just stick to weight training?

How often a wk should I workout??

Also include anything else that you think would be informative and helpful..

Thanks!

nel

 

[sessa]

Wow, I so live that same lifestyle!!!

Believe me us ecto's can still get fat. So increase your cals 300-500 above maintenance first to see how you respond before you go crazy with a bulking diet. Been there done that. It is not effective.

You should eat 6 small meals, each should have protein, carbs, fats. A good break down world be 40-40-20 split. Then you can experiment with 50-30-20. Up to you.

It is all about experience and learning what works best on you.

As for the workout programs, you should post pics to see where you need improvement.

 

[nikkita]

I'm ectomorph too and there are some things that you must consider. Ectomorphs have more difficulty at gaining and maintaining muscle, therefore regarding diet, you must start by eating more frequent meals (5-6)... consuming proteins (1-1.5 per pound)... regading ratios carbs don't lower them too much because they will help you with energy during day and support your workouts. It would be good if you tell us what you currently eat, so that we can start making recommendations.

By the way, how much do you weight? age? height?

As for workout... it must be targeted to hypertrophy, but for that it is necessary to know your current split. Ectomorphs do need to rest more or we start to burn muscle, so let your workouts last 45 mins at the most.

Regarding your other questions..

>>Should I significantly increase my caloric intake??
sessa answered this

>>Should I just eat proteins, or eat everything because it is hard for me to build muscle mass??
define everything...
it will be good that you eat solid foods combining proteins, carbs and fat

>Should I do any aerobic exercises or just stick to weight training?
How much do you currently do of aerobic?
If you want to gain muscle mass you need to combine both, but with a balance... too much aerobic can burn your muscle and not help your goals.

>How often a wk should I workout??
Are you beginner, intermediate, advance??

 

[Tatyana]

Hi All!

I want to build muscle. I am naturally a lean person (ectomorph), so it is pretty hard for me to gain any muscle mass. Can anybody give me any tips on how I should go about building muscle, and a diet that would be most suitable for this???

I have tried researching it online but now I am bit confused. I do not want to waste anytime doing the wrong workout or eating improperly.

Some other questions that I have...

Should I significantly increase my caloric intake??

Yes, at least 20% above your maintenance (your body weight in lb x 14/15)

Should I just eat proteins, or eat everything because it is hard for me to build muscle mass??

Muscle is not just protein, it has cell membranes which are made of fat, and surface receptors which are glycoproteins. All three macronutrients are best.

Should I do any aerobic exercises or just stick to weight training?

I would minimise the aerobics, maybe walking.

How often a wk should I workout??

Serious ecotmorphs/hardgainers can often benefit by doing a full body workout twice a week. I wouldn't train any more than three times.

Muscle is built when you are NOT training.

Also include anything else that you think would be informative and helpful..

Thanks!

nel

Hello and Welcome.

The ladies have given you some great advice already.

I would also recommend you take in essential fish oils.

With regard to training, how long have you been lifting?

Have you tried many different types of training? 5 x 5, 10 x 10 (or german volume training), pyramids????

 

[Nelnyc]

Thank you ALL for your replies!!!! I finally have some help...

Here is some more info about me...

I am 22 y/o, 5'5, and 117 lbs. I am beginner. I really do not have much experience weight training, all I know is that when I do cardio enough I just start to melt away. As far as my diet so far I eat only breakfast lunch and dinner, which I know needs to change. For breakfast today I had 3 pieces of toast with peanut butter, and two hard boiled eggs...then about an hour or so later I had a banana. I am going to head to the cafe and have some pasta with salad or tuna fish. As far as dinner I really have no idea.

This morning I did not do ANY cardio. When I do do cardio I usually do about 10 minutes on the tread and 5 minutes on the bike. But this morning I just free weights like squats, lunges, and pushups. I used ten pound weights since I cant lift that more that 8 times. When I finished my legs felt like noodles and it was kind of uncomfortable to walk. I wonder if I did anything wrong?? Now should I not use the machines or should just stick to free weights??

So from what I am understanding sessa its ok to eat carbs as long as there are equal to my protein intake???

I decided I would weight training for 3 day a wk and swim the other 3 days. Is that too much??

Thank you so much for helping me gals...this means alot to me

 

[Tatyana]

Well if you are a beginner, then in a lot of ways, the world is your oyster.

Once you figure out what works for you with diet and training, the muscle will come.

Are you going to do a full body workout three times a week?

And yes it is normal for your legs to feel all wobbly when you finish.

 

[Nelnyc]

Yes that is what I was planning on doing...Should I only stick to certain areas??? Hmmm. How long would it take for me to see some results. Someone told me that it took her years?!

 

[Tatyana]

Yes that is what I was planning on doing...Should I only stick to certain areas??? Hmmm. How long would it take for me to see some results. Someone told me that it took her years?!

What do you mean by stick to certain areas?

If you are planning on doing a full body workout, then you should train your entire body, so for example

Legs - squats or leg press or lunges
Back - dead lift or bent over rows or pull ups
Shoulders - military press or upright rows or shrugs
Chest - bench press or incline bench (DBs or bar) or dips
Arms - frenchpress and or bicep curls
abs and calves

2 or 3 sets and between 6-15 reps (I prefer fewer reps most of the time)

Results, well, in some ways that question is like how long is a piece of string?

I completely transformed my body in about 6 months, but I was training very consistently, I had a great training partner who had me train with intensity (that means making all those funny grunts, trainging that hurts, moving more weight than you think is possible), I wasn't doing any cardio, and my diet was pretty good.

 

[nikkita]

Well, you have a good starting weight... when I was your age I was 95 lbs at 5'5.

If you plan to get serious about weight lifting diet and workouts should go hand by hand. By what you say you do a lot of activity and you don't eat enough to recover. You need a surplus to start growing, but without going overboard.

If you weight lift in the morning be sure to have your breakfast. Be sure to never leave your muscles starving... AND keep yourself hydrated all day long.

This is a sample of how your diet should be changing...
>For breakfast today I had 3 pieces of toast with peanut butter, and two hard boiled eggs

>then about an hour or so later I had a banana.
+ Change for tuna sandwich

>I am going to head to the cafe and have some pasta with salad or tuna fish.
+ Instead of tuna eat chicken breast or red lean meat about 150g keep the pasta and the salad

+ Add a whey protein shake with a fruit of your choice

>As far as dinner I really have no idea.
+ You can eat fish with salad

As for your workout... if you have someone in your gym who can show you proper form of exercises then try all with free weights or your bodyweight. If you use machines, try a weight where you can get no more than 10-12 reps.
If you are beginner have your weight training full body workout for a month. Then you can start focusing in specific areas.

Regarding the swimming... If you plan to do 3x3 then you need to up your calorie intake. You'll have to choose, either swimming or cardio... but (at least for now) not both.

Only you will know how your body respond, but be sure to feed accordingly to the amount of exercise you are doing.

 

[Nelnyc]

You are right nikki I really do not eat enough to replenish my muscles. I am really really really sore. I have been like this since wed when I did my workout. Like I mean its hard to walk sore. Did I go overboard?? Another thing is it ok to workout while you are still sore? I have not worked out since wed because I have been so damn sore. Is stretching a factor, because I did not really stretch before or after I worked out on wed.

thanks guys for the advice