Ectomorph Workout Plan For Skinny Guys

The first thing you need to know is you’re going to have to eat a lot of food. And by a lot, I mean at least 4,000 calories a day, although preferably more, an ectomorph needs a ton of fuel. You also need to keep a close eye on how many calories you consume every day.

I don’t mean “estimating” because a lot of people overestimate how much they eat. If you are going to estimate, then make sure you make the number lower than it really is. Otherwise, I suggest you weigh out your food and calculate the calories from the caloric density* of the food. This is the biggest problem that plagues the ectomorph – they don’t eat enough food!

Ectomorph Workout and Dieting

Eating a lot is important, but you also need to make sure your diet is in the correct proportions. I recommend that 30% of your calories come from protein, while 25% come from fat and 45% from carbs. This’ll ensure that you get plenty of energy and enough protein to rebuild your muscles.  Also, it’s worth noting that ectomorphs require more carbohydrates than a lot of other body types, so eating more than I mentioned is not necessarily a bad thing.

People looking to lose fat and gain weight should eat fewer calories than they burn. I recommend eating about 500 calories less than your basal metabolic rate.* For people trying to just gain weight, I suggest the opposite. Those trying to lose weight should also consider eating more protein and less fat.

*Your basal metabolic rate is essentially your resting metabolism. It’s how many calories you eat daily from being hungry when sedentary (and maintaining weight). If you stay the same weight over a period of a couple of weeks or months, then you’re consuming just enough food to satisfy your BMR.  Many ectomorphs will have a high BMR for their weight, but this isn’t always the case.

One thing that a lot of ectomorphs/skinny guys don’t realize is that they have to “prep” their bodies first. I don’t mean warming up, although I’ll get to that later. When you’re first starting out, your muscles won’t be coordinated enough to lift heavy weights. Essentially, you won’t know how to use all of them together to get the maximum work per lift. The best way to get your body to work that way is to do 1-2 weeks of strength training with low reps and perfect form before you start using higher reps to gain mass. That’ll give you a significant strength boost and will also allow you to gain strength faster since your nerves will be conditioned for it. I usually break up every eight weeks of bodybuilding with two weeks of strength training, just so I don’t fall behind.

And now on the subject of warming up.

It is incredibly important that you stretch before and after working out. I always do 5 minutes of light cardio and then another 10 minutes of dynamic (active) stretching before working out. Static stretching, which is where you hold a stretch for several seconds will actually decrease your strength, so it is not recommended at the beginning of an ectomorph workout.

Dynamic stretching can consist of arm circles and progressively higher kicks or similar. After the workout, you should do another 15 minutes of static stretching. That’ll help you recover faster and will also stretch the fibers in your muscles, which allow them to expand more easily (and will, therefore, give you larger muscles).

An Ectomorph is slightly more likely to be injured when training

As an ectomorph, you will most likely have weaker connective tissue, so you’ll be more likely to suffer from sprains and other injuries.  As you gain weight, the risk of injury will increase because your frame is naturally smaller and not made to support so much weight.  Because of this, I recommend that all ectomorph be extra cautious when working out.  Proper form is important and the best way to avoid injury.

Supplements should only be taken as their name implies: as a supplement. I see too many people thinking that they’re going to get huge from whey protein or creatine. This just isn’t so. There is no miracle drug or supplement in the bodybuilding world, except the one you already know about, but that’s both illegal and dangerous.

An ectomorph should focus more on eating a lot of food than supplements, which should only be used to help achieve the former. Exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand–having one or the other will not help you significantly.

So what are some good supplements that ectomorph should try out?

I suggest taking a little bit of whey protein, especially after a workout. This’ll allow you to replenish your muscles faster (since it’s ground up and is absorbed faster). I use the IDS brand, Belgian Chocolate. It’s actually pretty delicious and great for the ectomorph. The recipe I use for my shake is:

2 scoops whey
1 liter of milk
1 banana
6 tablespoons of peanut butter
and 8 ice cubes

This tastes good and the potassium from the banana will help you avoid cramping if you take some of the shake before the workout. It’ll also speed up recovery.

Another good supplement you should take is a multivitamin. There’s not much to say here other than that you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel with a multivitamin and how much it can actually help your gains. I was able to increase my weight gain rate by about 50% with the introduction of a multivitamin since I (like many ectomorphs,) wasn’t getting enough nutrients.

Isolation exercises don’t typically work well for beginners or ectomorphs. This is because you’re still trying to build a foundation for your muscles. You’re going to need strong stabilizers and you also need to even yourself out. When beginning, I recommend that you do at least 24 weeks with heavy compound lifts. You should try to go up in weight with each subsequent workout, although this isn’t always possible.

Three best lifts for an ectomorph workout

The ectomorph workout consists of The squat, deadlift, and bench press are The three main compound lifts. All three are incredibly important and must be incorporated into your ectomorph workout. I know some gyms do not allow deadlifts, but you’ll still be able to do the exercise with dumbbells.

Compound exercises mean that you shouldn’t be using machines and should limit yourself to free weights. A smith machine is not a free weight, which means it doesn’t work your stabilizer muscles. Not only that, but it’ll make your move in odd angles, especially when squatting, and can damage your knees. The bar is also much lighter and balanced, so you can do significantly more weight on the smith machine but won’t need to even out your muscles. That’ll keep one side dominant.

Lack of sleep has been linked to higher morbidity and a higher occurrence of some chronic diseases, including diabetes. That said, excessive or erratic sleep has also been linked to chronic disease and high morbidity. You should get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, nothing more or less. You can take a nap or two during the day, but you need to keep yourself awake by eating massive amounts of food.

But why is sleep important to bodybuilding?

Well, that is pretty simple to answer. Your muscles gain mass by repairing themselves after you work out. Every time you lift, your muscle gets a bunch of microtears in the fibers. Your body repairs these and builds on top of them to make your muscles stronger and bigger; however, it only does this effectively when you’re sleeping. If you don’t sleep often, then you won’t have time to repair your muscles.

Many ectomorphs don’t sleep enough

Sleep is a problem that many ectomorphs face, and actually might be one of the contributing factors to their skinniness. Whether due to their high metabolisms or lack of nutrition, ectomorphs sometimes have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep. Since sleeping is just as important as working out, it’s absolutely necessary that you get it under control. I suggest taking Melatonin if you want to increase the benefit or frequency of sleep.

You want to make sure that you don’t injure yourself while working out. Stretching and warming up definitely decreases the risk of getting hurt, but those aren’t the only steps you can take.

If you’re going to try an exercise that you are unfamiliar with, you should ask someone in the gym for help or advice. Certain lifts can hurt you if you do them wrong. The squat is a great example of this; if you lean forward too much and then snap back while pushing up, you could throw out your back. I’m not going to explain proper form in this hub, but I may do that at another time.

I highly recommend that you get a lifting belt. This will always be beneficial, no matter how much weight you are lifting. It’ll protect your lower back, which is the most common site for lifting injuries.

If an ectomorph is injured

If you injure yourself while lifting, you need to immediately stop and assess the damage. Is the pain severe, can you move the limb? Does it feel like you tore or broke something? If it appears to be a minor injury, then it probably is. Either way, you should stop lifting for that body part (and completely if it’s anything but a minor injury).

If you think you’re hurt and have a minor injury, but the pain persists for many days, then you should see a doctor. It could be worse than you think. For severe injuries with instant swelling and pain, you should go to the doctor immediately. Make sure you have someone else drive you; there is always the chance that you could go into shock.

Follow The RICE method for any minor injury

You can usually go back to lifting within 48 hours or after the pain subsides. Some people like to lift while there is still some injury because they think the blood flow will help recovery. I don’t wholly agree with this and do not recommend it, especially not for fresh injuries. I have seen this work for chronic injuries, but that’s not the topic of discussion.

Remember, ectomorphs are more prone to injury

Ectomorph Workout – 4 Ectomorph Strength Training Tips

As I said before, ectomorphs have a smaller frame that makes them more prone to injury when working with heavyweights.  Due to the general frailty of their connective tissue, the correct form is important in order to avoid an accident that could wipe out all workout/bodybuilding progress.

In this ectomorph workout article, you’ll learn 4 simple tips to help you gain muscle strength, mass, and size, even if you’ve been frustrated in the past. It really can be so annoying when you look around the room at the gym, and you see the people you started training with are all starting to get bulked up, while you could be just as skinny as when you started.

This is a very common experience for many ectomorphs. It’s hard enough just to put some weight on, but gaining muscle is even more difficult. Most people don’t realize that ectomorph workout and strength training routines can be completely different from a normal workout.

Since ectomorphs have an extremely high metabolic rate with little fat to turn into muscle, you’ll need to follow a routine created specifically for your body type. Here are four tips you’ll need to follow in order to achieve muscles like your peers.

Ectomorph Workout Tip #1: Stick with simple exercises that work more than one muscle at a time

This step is crucial for building large muscles. Ectomorph workout cannot be as long as most other people’s routines, so you will need to concentrate on working your whole body each workout.

Some compound exercises you should perform include:

• Lunges
• Dumbbell Rows
• Dips
• Shoulder Presses
• Pushups
• Deadlifts
• Squats
• Leg Presses
• Upright Rows

Ectomorph Workout Tip #2: Rest Up!

Since ectomorphs are at a disadvantage, you may feel the need to push harder and workout for longer hours than your gym buddies. If this is what you’re thinking, then this tip will completely change your lifestyle.

Effective ectomorph workout and strength training routines require you to work out only three days a week. When you do a workout, it should only take an hour to do. Increase your intensity enough to be completely worn out by the end of the hour. You will need to take a rest day in-between gym days for proper recovery and muscle building.

Ectomorph Workout Tip #3: Increase Your Intensity

The key to a successful one-hour ectomorph workout is to increase the number of reps you work through. It should not be an easy-going time; you need to be struggling by the end of your sets for the best results.

High repetitions using a low weight will do absolutely nothing for you. Aim for six to ten repetitions and three sets. You should struggle or be unable to finish the last set.

Ectomorph Workout Tip #4: Consume Those Calories

Chances are that you are not getting enough food. Ectomorphs need at least 3,600 calories per day in order to build muscle. Don’t eat this all at once though. Spread out those calories between five to six meals with your largest caloric intake in the morning. Be sure to eat healthy food and avoid anything processed.

The only way to create good ectomorph workout and strength training routines is to take the tips above into consideration. 

I’ve only detailed some of the aspects of bodybuilding. There is a lot more you can learn, but you’ll need to experiment with yourself or find good resources for learning how to put on muscle. Just remember that this is not a fast process. It can take over a year to get the body you really want. Your gains will also become slower over time, but don’t let this dissuade you. You will feel better and more confident each day at the gym. It’s really worth it.

Remember, that some of the best bodybuilders of all time were ectomorphs — Frank Zane is a great example of this. It’s possible to go from skinny to huge with a proper ectomorph workout plan, diet, and a lot of dedication. Being an ectomorph isn’t all that bad.