Thanks for the reply muscle man, some good info to start. I was doing some late nite web surfing and i also found this at the jpfitness forums posted by massive member.
WEIGHT GAIN 101
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- PART 1 -
This is for all Ectomorphs. Yea you. The thin, skinny, tall, flat chested, rapid metabolism, nervous, can’t sit still Ectomorph. You want to gain weight?
If you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough. You need to determine how many calories you’re taking in. Weigh yourself on day 1 first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Keep track of all the calories you eat for 14 days. On day 15 weigh yourself again, if your weight has not changed by plus or minus 2 pounds this will work. Add up the calories for each day and divide by 14. The number you come out with is how many calories you need to eat each day to maintain your current bodyweight. Now to start gaining weight you need to add 300-500 calories to this number. Go 7 days then weigh yourself again. Slowly up the calories until you see an increase in weight.
Only try to gain 1-2 pounds a week. More than this on a consistent basis will lead to more increases in fat than muscle. Check your progress every 4 weeks with skinfold calipers and a cloth tape measure. If you’re desperately thin, a 10-pound increase consisting of 5 pounds of fat & 5 pounds of muscle is ok. A 2:1 ratio of muscle to fat would be ideal. Dont be afraid of increases in fat. As long as it’s not settling solely around your waist you’re ok.
There are 8 basic components of nutrition.
Calories – besides what was mentioned earlier, you should be eating at least 6 times a day every 2-3 hours. A rough example would be 7:00am, 10:00am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 10pm.
Protein – 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. popular choices are chicken, turkey, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, milk, whey, lean cuts of red meat, fish
Carbs – 2.5 to 3 grams per pound of bodyweight. popular choices are whole grain brown rice, sweet potatoes, veggies, beans, whole grain breads and cereals, yams.
Fats – 20-30% of total caloric intake. good fats can be found in meat, fish, canola and olive oil, nuts, seeds, legumes, and sesame and soybean oil.
Water – 1 gallon a day.
Fiber – 20-35 grams daily.
Vitamins & Minerals – this is easily covered with a daily multi-vitamin/mineral.
Specifics on these 8 items can be found on this forum by searching.
Supplements besides a multi-vitamin:
If you cant eat enough calories or meals you should consider using a weight gainer or high calorie MRP.
If you can’t eat enough protein you should consider using a protein powder.
After these 3 you can add creatine and glutamine if you desire and more vitamin C and E. Now don’t get your priorities out of whack. If you don’t eat enough protein, you’re not going to grow no matter how much creatine you take. If you don’t eat enough calories, you’re not going to grow no matter how much glutamine you take. Don’t believe the BS in the muscle magazines about supplements. Get the 8 basics of nutrition down pat.
After your workouts get in some simple carbs, whey and creatine. Why? Hit the search button.
These ideas will not turn you into a 220 pound ripped ultra low bodyfat % hulking monster of muscular might. If you weigh less than 150 pounds you should successfully reach 170-180 pounds, but give it plenty of time. When you get to this point, where you go from there will depend on genetics.
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- PART 2 -
Nutrition was covered in part 1, this concerns training. This concerns the Ectomorph.
Most training programs you see are not meant for you:
No 3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off or whatever training split
No training twice a day
No “I’m using Cutlers leg routine from flex cause I’m going to kick his ass in 6 months”
No drop sets, supersets, strip sets, descending sets, pre-exhaust sets
No chest shoulder workout consisting of flat bench for whole chest then incline bench for upper chest then decline bench for lower chest followed by flyes and crossovers then shoulder press for shoulders followed by
front raises for front shoulder, side laterals for side shoulder then rear
laterals for rear shoulder
No 2-hour training sessions
No training just arms and chest unless the woman you desire gets horny from looking at a light bulb which what you’re going to look like.
Pretty much all routines you see. Training programs for an Ectomorph have to be short and intense. Get in, workout, get out, and then get plenty of rest and nutrients before next training session. Take at least 1 day off between workouts, 2 would be better. This would have you training every 3rd day.
These are the exercises you should concern yourself with: Squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, chin-ups, bent over rows, upright rows, cleans, hack squats, dips, stiff-arm pullover, stiff leg deadlift, dips
These are called compound movements because they hit more than one bodypart. Don’t waste time on isolation movements. These hit one
bodypart and are useless for a beginning Ectomorph.
If your arms are less than 15 inches, don’t train them directly.
If your chest measures less than 40 inches, do presses and dips only.
If your calves are less than 14 inches, don’t train them directly.
Learn the mind-muscle connection (no, not the rock and sock connection). Don’t just lift the weight from point A to point B. Make the muscle work throughout the entire range of motion. Concentrate on the quality of each rep rather than on quantity of weight. If you can’t feel the muscle working and cramping as the set progresses, you’re probably using too much weight.
Your workouts should last between 45-90 minutes. Realize that no matter how perfect your diet may be, or what great super spectacular wonder most efficient so called miracle muscle enhancing supplement you’re
taking, you won’t grow unless you abide by these guidelines.
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- PART 3 -
For an Ectomorph, getting bigger doesn't just happen. You have to put in the time and effort 24/7. Remember this is a lifestyle; it's not something you can just do whenever you feel like, especially if you want results. You have goals you have to meet each and every day.
You have to eat X amount of calories each day.
You have to eat X amount of protein each day.
You have to eat X amount of carbs each day.
You have to eat X amount of fat each day.
You have to drink X amount of water each day.
You have to eat X amount of fiber each day.
You have to take your supplements.
You have to do your workouts lifting X amount of weight for X amount of reps.
Each day make sure you hit all your goals. A way you can check this is to get yourself a calendar. If you did everything you were supposed to, put a checkmark for that day. If you didn't, mark an X and put what you didn’t do and the reason why. As time goes by, if you're not getting results you will start to see a pattern developing on your calendar. Like if you’re consistently skipping workouts, or neglecting your supplements or skimping on your protein intake.
At the end of your cycle, grade yourself. Take the number of checkmarks and divide by how many days in cycle and get a percentage. For example if you’re training for 10 weeks, that’s 70 days. Say you have 59 checkmarks; divide 59 by 70 and you get 84%. Anything below 80% on a consistent basis is not good (hey, I once got a 25).
This may seem anal, but if your a true Ectomorph, you need to do everything right each day to see results. Muscle growth for us doesn’t just happen; we have to work really hard for it. I use this for myself and those I help out and even though I’m not by their side each day, I can take a quick look at their calendar and if they’re getting results, it’s covered with checkmarks. And if they’re complaining that they’re not getting results, it’s covered with X’s.
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