Who are ectomorphs? How to build a diet and training plan for people with fast metabolism? Bodybuilders answer.
There are people who are naturally thin. They can eat whatever they want and not gain extra pounds. Girls can only envy such a successful coincidence of circumstances, but for men it is a little more difficult in this regard. A person with an accelerated metabolism - an ectomorph - has difficulty gaining fat mass. This is a big plus. But the situation with muscles is not very good either: most men want to be big and strong, but due to the characteristics of the body, muscles do not want to grow. But don’t despair, a skinny guy can still rock out. The main thing is to follow a few rules.
Stanislav Lindover
master of sports in bodybuilding, European champion in the classic bodybuilding 180+ category
If I could choose my metabolic type, I would like to be an ectomorph. After all, properly structured training and nutrition give them fantastic dividends. You can eat more often and more, you can eat what people with a slow metabolism cannot afford.
14 Myths About Bodybuilding and Fitness That Are Misleading
We pump up the back and biceps. Training for those taking their first steps in fitness
What features of ectomorphs need to be taken into account when gaining muscle mass?
The main feature of ectomorphs is an asthenic body type with weak muscle development. With this type of body structure, even with an ideally selected training regimen, progress in muscle mass gain is minimal, and often completely absent. The results of training appear weakly and slowly.
With an asthenic physique, gaining muscle requires a lot of calories - at least 20% more than normal. By comparison, an endomorph, who is naturally predisposed to obesity, requires only 10% more calories. Moreover, you should not consume “empty” calories, i.e. sweets, soda, fast food, etc. You need a proper diet with a base of animal proteins, complex carbohydrates and unsaturated fats.
The advantage of an asthenic physique is a fast metabolism, in which the body burns all consumed calories like a stove. This makes it easy to achieve sculpted abs even without serious dietary restrictions.
What to remember
Having decided to change your lifestyle in favor of training, increased nutrition, rest and regularity, remember: this must become a system, that is, a way of life, otherwise you may not even dream of the result.
Tune in to qualitative changes, work and your body will be transformed. Moreover, it is easier and more pleasant for ectomorphs to change their lifestyle.
Instead of starvation and long exhausting workouts, they will have to indulge in delicious food. And get plenty of rest, devoting about half an hour to exercise a day (and even then, not everyone).
The result depends only on your determination to act. And I say goodbye to you until the next article and suggest that you familiarize yourself with other blog materials.
Ectomorph nutrition for maintaining and increasing muscle mass
Before starting weight training at home, an ectomorph needs to understand nutrition, since it plays a primary role. No amount of training will help without a well-designed diet. Nutrition rules for an ectomorph:
- Eat at least 4-5 times a day. This rule is easy to follow, since the amount of food needed for an ectomorph is difficult to eat in 2-3 times.
- Gain your daily caloric intake through the right foods, not sweets and fast food. Junk foods promote fat storage rather than muscle growth and disrupt the functioning of the digestive system.
It is equally important for ectomorphs to ensure adequate nutrition:
- The amount of carbohydrates is at least 5 g per 1 kg of body weight: oatmeal and buckwheat porridge, durum wheat pasta, fruit, rice. If the muscles do not grow, add another 0.5 g per 1 kg, and then monitor the progress.
- The amount of protein is at least 2 g per 1 kg of body weight: dairy products, red fish, eggs, chicken and turkey, pork and beef. This will be enough for both recovery and muscle growth.
- Amount of fat – 1 g per 1 kg of body weight: avocado, nuts, flaxseed oil, fish oil, omega-3. Fats are also important because they ensure normal hormonal levels and increase the overall caloric content of the diet.
Omega-3 Gold (120 caps) Fish Oil
MAXLER (GERMANY)
Omega-3 Gold Complex is a beneficial dietary supplement produced by MAXLER, designed to support and improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Not recommended for use…
To favorites
Compare
23 reviews
4.9
- Efficiency 4.9
- Price quality
4.9 - Compound
4.9 - Design
4.9
990 rub.
Offline
1 PC. at the address: Chekhov, st. Moskovskaya, possession 96, shopping center "Carnival", 3rd floor +7(929)911-48-77 Mon-Sun: from 10:00 to 22:00 2 pcs. at the address: Serpukhov, Borisovskoe highway, building 1, shopping center "Korston", 1st floor +7(929)552-18-69 Mon-Sun: from 10:00 to 22:00
Servings:120
On this topic:
What are the benefits of avocado?
Although ectomorphs are not recommended to eat sweets, a small amount of simple carbohydrates will not harm them. They are useful to consume immediately after training. You can eat a high-calorie protein bar. This product is also useful for gaining muscles.
On this topic:
The real benefits of protein bars: why they are better than regular sweets
On this topic:
Review of sports bars (not just protein bars): what they are, who they are and what they are suitable for
Particular attention should be paid to nutrition before training. Meals should be taken 1.5-2 hours before. It is important that the food is rich in carbohydrates, as they are needed to supply the body with energy.
On this topic:
Nutrition for energy before training: proper nutrition and sports nutrition | When and what to eat
Due to the difficulty of gaining weight, ectomorphs are especially recommended to resort to sports nutrition. Of particular value are high-calorie gainers, which help you gain the amount of calories necessary for muscle growth.
On this topic:
Is it possible to pump up at home without sports nutrition?
But this is not the only type of sports nutrition that will speed up the process of gaining weight. You also need whey protein. It is taken before and after training, as well as between meals. Ectomorphs will also benefit from micellar casein, which supplies muscles with amino acids for 9-12 hours.
Casein is taken before bed so that throughout the night the muscles are protected from catabolism, which destroys muscle fibers. For ectomorphs, this is especially important, including when it is not possible to train in the gym. If there is no casein, then 250-300 g of cottage cheese can be used as an alternative.
On this topic:
What is the difference between micellar casein protein: when and how best to take it for weight loss and muscle growth
Why you need to do basic exercises
The more muscle groups involved in strength training, the more damage there will be, and therefore increased weight gain.
Training an ectomorph with dumbbells will give an excellent isolation effect, but you shouldn’t expect much growth from it.
In addition, basic exercises allow you to lift heavy weights, which has a beneficial effect on hormone production.
But you need to be careful when doing them. You should not immediately lift heavy weights, otherwise you may get injured.
What should a home workout program be like for gaining weight?
Like nutrition, the training regime for gaining muscle mass at home should also be special. In the program for ectomorphs, basic exercises occupy a central place, since they involve more muscle groups than isolated ones. The latter should be given minimal attention. Before starting a workout, be sure to do a warm-up, and after finishing, a cool-down, for example, in the form of stretching.
On this topic:
Set of stretching exercises | How to stretch correctly without pain and discomfort
The optimal frequency of training at home to gain muscle mass is 3 times a week. If you haven’t exercised for a long time, it’s better to start with 2: the first time you load the entire top, and the second time the entire bottom. For full-fledged training at home, it is worth having a horizontal bar and prefabricated dumbbells. You can consider such equipment as a suspended block trainer, TRX loops, Beres loops and various types of expanders.
-13%
Shoulder expander V76 4 strings rubber Outdoor
PRIME SPORT (RUSSIA)
Rubber expander V76 with strings for working the muscles of the shoulder girdle and back. Comfortable handles increase the comfort of using the projectile. In general, the design of the expander is reliable...
To favorites
Compare
1 review
5.0
- Efficiency 5.0
- Price quality
5.0 - Design
5.0
459 rub.
399 rub.
Offline
1 PC. at the address: Moscow, st. Starokachalovskaya, building 5a, shopping center "Krug", 1st floor +7 (929) 911-48-98 Mon-Sun: from 10:00 to 22:00
Genetic limit
No matter what diet the athlete follows and no matter how he exercises, home workouts for an ectamorph can give the same effect as going to the gym, but over a longer period.
Such athletes no longer become participants in world-class competitions because they cannot achieve impressive muscle volumes. Their limit is a muscular, toned body.
But modern pharmacology throws a lifeline to those who wish to exceed their genetic potential. To do this, you need to use various hormonal or stimulating drugs that will give the body an impetus for additional growth.
However, this method has its pitfalls. If you do not consult an endocrinologist before use, you can get serious problems with the body.
In addition, after an athlete completes a course of medications, the resulting progress may quickly disappear as the body will not maintain hormone levels at the same level.
If used incorrectly, such drugs can reduce the levels of naturally occurring substances.
Sportspit
- As mentioned above, an ectomorph’s morning begins with taking amino acids or a protein shake;
- Before training, take full cycle amino acids, and after - BCAA;
- After training, you can use a protein shake or gainer instead of eating;
- 30-40 minutes before training, ectomorphs are recommended to take creatine, a natural substance to increase strength and training performance.
Complex for creating relief in the gym
The main difference between a training program in the gym for an ectomorph, aimed at giving the muscles definition, differs from mass-gaining training in the pattern of exercises. Such workouts are performed in a multi-repetition mode using moderate working weights. The number of exercises in this mode can be increased to eight or “scattered” over four workouts.
Chest/triceps
- Bench press at an angle 3-4 x 12-15
- Dumbbell bench press 3-4 x 12-15
- Mixing the upper blocks in a crossover 3-4 x 14-16
- Lying dumbbell flyes 3-4 x 14-16
- French press 3-4 x 12-14
- Upper block pull with rope handle 3-4 x 12-14
- Crunches/leg raises on parallel bars (superset) 3-4 x 25/25
Back/biceps
- Wide grip pull-ups 3-4 x 12-14
- Pull-down of the upper block behind the head 3-4 x 12-14
- Row in a lever machine 3-4 x 12-14
- Standing arm curl with dumbbells 3-4 x 12-16
- Close grip curl on Scott bench 3-4 x 12-16
- Hammer curl 3-4 x 12-16
- Hyperextension 3-4 x 25
Legs/deltoids
- Leg press in the simulator 3-4 x 12-15
- Leg press with wide feet 3-4 x 12-15
- Leg press with narrow feet 3-4 x 12-15
- Calf raises in the Smith machine 3-4 x 15-20
- Vertical press in Smith machine 3-4 x 12-14
- Dumbbell lateral raises while standing 3-4 x 12-15
- Frontal swings in the lower block with a “crossbar” handle 3-4 x 12-15
- Abduction of the upper blocks to the rear delta 3-4 x 12-15
Main features of the ectomorphic body type
The main feature of the ectomorph somatotype is the predominance of height and limb length over the transverse lines. The build is fairly lean, with low body fat and little muscle. The type is blessed with a high metabolic rate, which keeps the muscles dry. At the same time, the ectomorph is prone to catabolic processes due to the rapid absorption of nutrients and the onset of hypoglycemia - low blood glucose levels. Therefore, energy in the body of an ectomorph is not able to accumulate in the form of fat or be retained in the form of free glycogen in the muscles and liver for a long time; all energy is quickly consumed for vital processes.
Pros of the ectomorph body type
- Not prone to obesity or significant increase in subcutaneous fat.
- The predominance of red (fast) muscle fibers makes the ectomorph capable of endurance exercise, for example, distance running.
Disadvantages of the ectomorph somatotype
- Has great difficulty gaining muscle mass.
- Predisposed to muscle breakdown due to the high rate of metabolic processes.
- Prone to low blood pressure and hemoglobin.
