People are different, which is particularly apparent when you look at people’s bodies. You can categorize people based on their physical constitutions into ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs.
Ectomorphs are the focus of this article, and they typically have a light build, lean and small joints. Ectomorphs are what you will usually call skinny people.
If you are an ectomorph, you have a more challenging time building muscle than endomorphs and mesomorphs. Therefore, you have to train and eat differently.
The following are tips to eat and train if you are an ectomorph:
Weight Training
As an ectomorph, you will have difficulty building muscle because of your physical characteristics. Therefore, you will have to do more weight training than endomorphs and ectomorphs.
Your training program should be focused on lifting weights to help you build muscle. You should be doing compound movements such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts that will help you make the most muscle.
It would be best if you forgot about toning and shaping your body, at least initially. Build your strength and muscles by going for as heavy as you can lift with exercises that target the entire body.
Eat More
An ectomorph is typically lean, partly because they eat less than other body types. Therefore, you will eat to increase your food intake if you want to gain more muscle and achieve a more balanced physique.
You should try and increase your calories by 500 a week until a level you are comfortable eating sustainably. It would be best if you looked for an ectomorph meal plan that is healthy and nutritious.
Though it may seem easy, consuming that much food will be difficult at first. However, you will see increased performance in your appearance and strength if you stick with it.
Cardio
The cardio issue is always a contentious one, especially as it pertains to building muscle. On the other hand, it is pretty straightforward regarding ectomorphs. Many ectomorphs prefer cardio as a form of exercise hence their long and slim physiques.
The more cardio you do, the more muscle mass you lose. Since, as an ectomorph, the main fitness goal should be to build muscle. Hence it would be best if you did as little cardio as possible.
Three cardio sessions a week of thirty minutes each should be enough to ensure you gain muscle but still maintain endurance.
Mobility and Flexibility
Ectomorphs tend to have small joints, so your training regimen should include joint strengthening exercises. It would be best to do exercises that strengthen your joints when doing resistance training, like lunges and curls.
You should also perform mobility and flexibility exercises that help improve the range of motion in your joints.
They will help you with everyday movements, improve your performance in strength exercise and enhance your longevity. You may also give stretching exercises like yoga for better mobility and flexibility as an ectomorph.
Eat More Frequent Meals
As stated above, ectomorphs have to eat more food and increase calories to build more muscle and strength. However, they should not do so by eating three heavy meals a day. Eating more frequent meals every two or four hours would be better.
Ectomorphs should figure out their calorie intake and spread it over more than four meals a day. More frequent meals help boost metabolism, and the body becomes better at using food for various physiological processes.
You may have to eat when you are not hungry, but by increasing activity levels and with time, you will soon become accustomed to it.
Before you begin training, you should always figure out your body type as it will have direct results on your results. Ectomorphs are the people who are typically skinny and have a hard time gaining muscle.
The above diet and training tips should help you gain more muscle and increase your performance.
