Are you built more like a marathon runner than a swimmer? Do you consider yourself long and skinny, thin and wiry? Is it very difficult for you to build up any muscles? If you answered “Yes” to at least one of these questions, then most likely your body type is an ectomorph. Or a hardgainer (from the English hardgainer - a person who finds it extremely difficult to gain weight, no matter how often and how much he eats). Due to the too intense metabolism, gaining muscle mass for an ectomorph may seem like a hopeless endeavor to some. But don't rush to conclusions!
Body types
According to Professor William Sheldon, depending on the formation of the proportions of the torso and limbs, three types of human physique are distinguished.
Endomorph
This is the classic "fat guy". Round, soft proportions of the body with excess subcutaneous fat in all parts. Even the head takes on a spherical shape. Despite the body type changing throughout life, even an endomorph who has gained muscle mass or is hungry will still have rounded shapes.
Mesomorph
He is a large man with broad bones and pronounced muscle mass. There is enough fat, but it is distributed evenly throughout the subcutaneous tissue. Powerful shoulders, muscular legs and easy tolerance to physical activity complete the picture.
Ectomorph
This is a classic "lanky" one.
Tall and thin, with thin bones and almost complete absence of subcutaneous fat. Muscle mass is evenly distributed, but it is clearly not enough for intense physical training. A fast metabolism is typical, so even with an abundant diet, he is not in danger of gaining fat deposits. Most people have a mixed constitution, but the characteristic body type is quite easy to distinguish.
What are the advantages of an ectomorph
Each body type has its own advantages. For an ectomorph they are as follows:
- Incredible endurance - you can endlessly increase the intensity and duration of the load.
- Intensive metabolism - high-calorie nutrition is available without the fear of gaining excess weight.
- Easy achievement of muscle definition.
- According to William Sheldon, ectomorphs tend to be highly intelligent.
- A healthy body has a predisposition only to hyperthyroidism (increased function of the thyroid gland), but this is a kind of “payment” for intense metabolism.
Ectomorphs have some problems with the rate of muscle fiber hypertrophy, but they disappear with long-term training. Difficulties may arise due to the congenital thinness of the muscles and the relative weakness of the tendons, but with a gradual increase in physical activity, they are leveled out.
Can an ectomorph gain weight?
Somatyping is the process of determining whether your body belongs to one of three groups: ectomorphic, mesomorphic and endomorphic.
This theory was first proposed by Dr. William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s. Each of the somatypes can be characterized as follows:
- People with an ectomorphic body type are naturally thin and fragile with a flat chest and poorly developed limb muscles. They can often eat enough without becoming fat. Extreme ectomorphs are often described as skinny.
- Mesomorphs, or athletic people, are stocky, with a strong and muscular body. Representatives of this category find it much easier to gain weight than ectomorphs.
- Endomorph people easily gain weight (muscle or fat), but they have to work hard to get rid of excess fat.
What is the situation with fat burning in ectomorphs?
Literally every definition of ectomorphic body structure implies thinness. Although some insist that ectomorphs simply move a lot (highly active in everyday life or engage in physical exercise), but eat little.
I believe that ectomorphs can easily gain weight, especially after leaving adolescence. However, such people have a predisposition to thinness. This means they have a hard time developing muscles. Conversely, when there is a calorie deficit, the body breaks down muscle tissue.
How to get rid of fat for ectomorphs?
While proper calorie control is important in any fat loss program, ectomorphs should be especially careful, as not eating enough calories will lead to muscle loss (more likely than other body types).
Some people get rid of body fat by simply cutting back on calories. In the case of ectomorphs, any calorie restrictions must be carefully monitored. Cardio exercise will be the most effective way to burn fat along with muscle glycogen.
Some people will get the coveted six-pack abs with much more effort than others.
Basic rules of training
Less is better
Perhaps the most important principle of gaining mass for an ectomorph: it is very easy to overtrain and negate all your efforts. There is also a high probability of injury due to insufficient development of joints, ligaments and tendons.
Basic exercises
Usually the classic ones are bench press, deadlift and squats with a barbell. Heavy multi-joint exercises provide the greatest load on the most muscle groups. In this case, the ectomorph lifts greater weights than in single-joint (isolation) exercises, to which your body responds by releasing anabolic hormones. Plus time savings - effective muscle development in a shorter workout.
Load progression
The key to gaining muscle mass regardless of body type. Our goal No. 1 is to increase results (weights) over time in each exercise . We must not forget this!
More rest between sets
The recovery abilities of the muscle tissue and central nervous system of the ectomorph are genetically slightly slowed down, so it is absolutely normal to rest for up to 3 minutes between approaches. In fact, you can experiment here, but most often the “standard” 60-90 seconds of rest is not enough for effective mass gain.
Ectomorph training
In nature, there are about 20% of pronounced ectomorphs, the rest of the remaining 80% are people of a mixed type (ectomorph-mesomorph), and it is precisely for these 20% that the desire to gain at least some muscle mass is not just a problem, but an unattainable goal. However, there are effective ways to get the ball rolling and achieve first results.
Frequent workouts
Due to high metabolism, you need to train more often, up to 4-5 workouts per week; in ectomorphs, muscles recover quickly, and since there is less opportunity to overtrain muscles, you can load them more often.
You need to train 1-2 muscle groups per workout
The body of very thin people responds very poorly to loads, so there is no point in training the whole body using the circuit training method; here you need to actively implement a separate training scheme and direct all efforts to training 1-2 muscle areas in order to actively load them and give an initial increase in muscle mass .
Taking sports nutrition
You need to eat not just a lot, but a LOT, the ectomorph’s body is simply not able to take in so much food during the day, that’s why sports nutrition exists. Gainer and protein are the main supplements, for example, to get 100 grams. protein from milk, you need to drink 3.3 liters during the day. milk or 2-3 protein shakes per day. Moreover, these supplements need to be taken not for 1-2 months, but constantly until the result is achieved, then you can reduce the norm to maintain the desired body weight.
More base
It is necessary to include the golden three in the training program - bench press, squats, deadlifts, these exercises will involve all the muscles of the body, practically using every muscle area. You can find out the correct order of doing the exercises here. Perform isolated exercises at the very end, preferably one and the last.
You need to consume 15-20% more calories than you burn, otherwise the result will be = 0
Short training duration
The duration of the workout should be 50-60 minutes, this time is enough to perfectly train 1-2 muscle areas.
Average number of repetitions and sets
Each exercise should include 1-2 warm-up and 2-3 working sets, and the number of repetitions in the region of 8-12 is no more, this is the same range that is designed for muscle mass growth.
Less activity during the day
Minimize aerobic exercise; if you simultaneously lift, run, swim, ride a bike, the number of calories burned will be many times greater than those taken during the day, and this is a fat point for weight gain.
Frequent meals
Try to eat every 2-3 hours, actively use a variety of cocktails, a list of which you will find here. The number of calories gained during the day should be 15-20% higher than those consumed. At the same time, you should not only eat a lot of protein, but also do not stand on ceremony with fats and carbohydrates, and then the mirror will show you which foods to add and which to subtract.
Eat a lot, train actively and things will get off the ground, the main thing is not to stop halfway, good luck!
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Ectomorph nutrition
Due to the intense metabolism, you can eat high-calorie foods without the risk of gaining subcutaneous fat.
The emphasis should be placed not only on proteins, but also on fats. The composition of the diet is not even as important as the total number of calories consumed. Therefore, the division into meals is arbitrary; you should try to eat up to 6-8 times a day. Often you have to resort to gainers 2-3 times a day. These are protein-carbohydrate cocktails that stimulate muscle growth.
Menu for ectomorph
A sample menu might look like this.
Breakfast. At least 600 calories. Up to 5 eggs (soft-boiled), cheese, cereals - buckwheat, oatmeal or rice and bread - are excellent. One medium-sized egg contains 6-7 grams of protein, and the energy value is about 70 kcal.
2 breakfast. Two or three bananas or oranges and a gainer drink.
Dinner. High-calorie soup - solyanka, borscht with meat. Then at least 300 grams of beef or pork with any side dish, preferably vegetable. You can increase the calorie content with a salad with the addition of 50 ml of olive oil. Lunch - at least 2 hours before the start of training.
Afternoon snack . 15 minutes before class. Multi-ingredient drink - gainer, apple or banana.
Second afternoon tea. 30 minutes after class. Gainer plus fruits.
Dinner. Fish, beef or lamb with side dish. Bread and high-calorie juice are allowed.
Before bedtime. Cottage cheese 3% fat approximately an hour before bedtime. 200 grams of cottage cheese contain approximately 32-38 grams of “slow” casein protein, which can supply muscles with sufficient protein for 5-6 hours while you sleep.
Monitor your weight every week and if weight gain does not occur, it is important to increase your caloric intake by 500 kcal per day.
Gainer
This is not a magic elixir for gaining weight. It is necessary when, for various reasons, a person simply cannot satisfy the body’s need for proteins, carbohydrates, fats and calories from the food they eat. For a real hardgainer who cannot gain weight no matter how much he eats.
Ingredients
- Multi-component protein - 2 scoops (2 scoops)
- Whole milk - 2 cups
- Oatmeal - ½ cup
- Banana - 1 piece
- Mix in a blender.
Compound
The resulting drink contains:
- Proteins - 70 g
- Carbohydrates – 80 g
- Fats - 30 g
- Energy value - 850 kcal
You can drink it with breakfast, before, during and after training, as well as before bed. Three of these drinks a day will add 2500 kcal, 210 g of protein, 240 g of carbohydrates and 90 g of fat to your daily diet. This should definitely be enough for any ectomorph!
What sports nutrition can ectomorphs use?
Here you should pay attention to only two things: gainer and creatine. Gainer should be taken between meals, 3-4 times a day. However, it should be added only when the diet is adjusted and there is no result in weight gain. If there is progress, even if it is slow, then there is no need to add a gainer. Remember, no supplements can replace regular food. That's why they are additives - in addition to the main food.
The next supplement is creatine. It should only be used by experienced athletes who have been training for at least 1.5 years. It should be borne in mind that when taking creatine, the total energy expenditure of the body increases, and you should increase your caloric intake and also drink more water, because. Creatine has the property of accumulating water in the body. Otherwise, if there is not enough water in the body, it can cause significant harm to health. This is why this supplement should be used with extreme caution.
Additional recommendations
I would like to note some more useful points for ectomorphs and for all those who have difficulty gaining muscle mass.
The reason for slow weight gain is often improper functioning of the intestines: too fast peristalsis (the intestines simply do not have time to get nutrients from food), or a lack of enzymes (substances that help better digestion of food). There may also be other reasons... I am not a doctor, so I cannot give full advice on this issue. Therefore, the best option would be to undergo a gastrointestinal tract examination in a clinic, so to speak for prevention, it will not be superfluous.
Conclusion
Actually, this article comes to an end. If you still have any questions, ask them in the comments, I will try to answer them all. I hope you got a lot of useful information from this article, good luck!
Your personal trainer online
Important! If you are determined to achieve results and want to achieve your goal as soon as possible (gain muscle mass by properly creating a diet/nutrition plan, training program and daily routine), then use the services of a personal fitness trainer online ==> an individual scheme.
Ectomorph rest
No matter how much you would like to gain muscle mass as quickly as possible, without proper rest there will be no benefit from training. Fatigue will appear, and exercise will only have a detrimental effect on the body. The main rules of rest can be presented as follows:
- sleep should be at least a third of the day;
- A day's rest, at least 30 minutes, is very useful.
Gaining muscle mass does not occur during exercise, but during sleep, so only by following the correct training regimen, nutrition and proper recovery can you quickly achieve impressive results.
Why is it difficult for an ectomorph to gain weight?
Ectomorph has very fast metabolic processes in the body. What does it mean? All cells in our body constantly consume energy: for regeneration, production of hormones, maintaining temperature levels, etc. On average, the entire human body renews itself in 40 days. Those. During this time, old cells die off and are replaced by new ones. But in ectomorphs this process occurs faster. Consequently, the body needs more energy per unit of time.
However, it is not always possible to eat properly and plentifully, and it turns out that the energy level of ectomorphs is constantly at a low level, and it is barely enough to maintain the natural functions of the body, not to mention the growth of muscle mass. All food is literally burned and spent on metabolic processes, and there are simply no resources left for muscle growth.
There are also advantages to this: an ectomorph will always look lean and have a low percentage of body fat, and the gained muscles will look very aesthetically pleasing!
Why beginners should not take anabolic steroids
- Most of these drugs are contraindicated under the age of 21-25 years .
- A considerable number of side effects - masculinization in women, gynecomastia in men, increased blood pressure, toxic liver damage, testicular atrophy. Although most of these changes are reversible, the risk is still high.
- In order to achieve results from the use of steroids, you must already be an “advanced” athlete, that is, be able to train, rest and eat properly. In addition, “pharma” is mainly used by professionals who can assess the potential harm of drugs and make an informed choice.
- It is unethical for an athlete to gain an advantage over an opponent by taking anabolic steroids, and unethical in relation to the very essence of sport: after all, its goal is health. This is the opinion of the International Olympic Committee.
- According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, criminal liability has been established for the sale of anabolic steroids under Article 234 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation .
Good luck
Beta-alanine
What is beta-alanine?
Beta-alanine is one of two amino acids (along with histidine) that make up the protein carnosine. The latter is present throughout the body, but is especially abundant in skeletal muscles.
The effectiveness of taking beta-alanine has been proven by many studies. Increased carnosine levels lead to increased performance during intense exercise. Beta-alanine availability is a limiting factor in muscle carnosine synthesis.
Carnosine is an important metabolic buffer in skeletal muscle. This means that it helps maintain acid-base balance in the presence of high concentrations of H+ (hydrogen ion). H+ is a byproduct of energy metabolism and lactic acid production that causes a burning sensation in muscles during exercise (such as high-repetition leg extensions). During exercise, H+ levels increase, causing fatigue and reducing performance. Supplementing with beta-alanine keeps H+ levels low, thereby delaying the onset of fatigue and increasing performance.
Why is beta-alanine needed?
Recent studies have found the following:
- Beta-alanine availability is a limiting factor in muscle carnosine synthesis.
- Muscle carnosine levels were higher after 10 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation than after 4 weeks. Therefore, the effects of beta-alanine are best experienced when taking the supplement on a long-term basis.
- Consumption of beta-alanine increases the time spent performing aerobic exercise.
- Taking beta-alanine along with creatine results in greater gains in muscle mass than creatine alone.
- Beta-alanine may slow the onset of neuromuscular fatigue, allowing you to train longer and more intensely.
- Beta-alanine reduces fatigue.
- The substance slows down the onset of the ventilation threshold (a disproportionate increase in pulmonary ventilation, which is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in oxygen consumption), thus increasing endurance.
Who can use beta-alanine?
Any athlete or healthy adult who wants to increase strength, improve performance, or gain muscle mass will benefit from consuming beta-alanine.
How, when and how much to take the amino acid beta-alanine?
Beta-alanine studies have used dosages ranging from 3.2 to 6.4 g per day. Recommended dosage regimen: 2 g before training and 2 g 8 hours before or after training.
What can beta-alanine be combined with to improve results?
Beta-alanine has been shown to work great when combined with creatine. Citrulline malate, arginine and BCAA also work well with this product.
Does beta alanine have any side effects?
Beta Alanine is a safe supplement that has no side effects when taken by a healthy person. Consuming beta-alanine may cause skin tingling. This effect usually disappears after 2 weeks of use.
Can you fail a drug test using beta-alanine?
No. Beta Alanine contains only natural ingredients. It contains no anabolic steroids.
