My advice: Weight gain for thin Ectomorph bodytypes.(30lbs in 3 months)

[CAMAROBOY69]

Bottom line for gaining weight is you must take in more calories per day than you burn. Must be at a caloric surplus.

Ectomorph:
An ectomorph is a typical skinny guy. Ectomorphs have a light build with small joints and lean muscle. Usually ectomorphs have long thin limbs with stringy muscles. Shoulders tend to be thin with little width.

Typical traits of an ectomorph:
Small frame and bone structure
Classic hardgainer
Flat chest
Small shoulders
Thin
Lean muscle mass
Finds it hard to gain weight
Fast metabolism

My story:
If you fit into this category then maybe i can help. Here is my quick story back when I was 141lbs. I am 5'10".

I have always been able to outeat anyone I know but could never gain weight. About 9 years ago I decided to start training because I have always been a small guy and really wanted to put on some mass. I did a lot of research and decided to train with my bodybuilding friend. I researched ectomorphic bodytypes because that is exactly what I am. Ectomorph. So after some research I found a guy online that gained 30 lbs of muscle in 3 months. So I set that as my goal too and only bought a 3 month membership for the gym. With some very intense training and a very strict diet I obtained my goal!! Very very heavy lifting with low reps. Lots of dips and free weight training. I also had to eat 7-8 times a day no joke and I calculated and made all my own food all by myself. I gained right around 30lb and still had 6 pack abs. 19lbs was within the first 5 weeks. One of the best accomplishments in my life but it truly takes commitment and dedication. My bodybuilding friend could not believe my gains and even people around the gym commented on my gains after such a short amount of time. So now hopefully I can help others with my story and advise.


My advice for Ectomorph body style
-5,000 calories per day. Start with 3,000 and work your way up
-300 grams of protein
-Eat 6-7 times a day 3-4 hours apart. I at every 3 hours. (this depends on the person)
-never let yourself get hungry (this depends on the person)
-Eat lots of steak and pork. If you eat lean meat like chicken or fish, make sure you eat enough so you calorie intake is at a surplus.
-Also limit the amount of fruits and vegetables. Just enough for the proper fiber intake to balance out the protein.
-Lots of water. Drink water especially if hungry
-substitute protein drinks whereever necessary
-I highly recommend dips, dead lift, squats, wide arm pull ups, and free weights
-little to no cardio. Only add cardio if you start to see your abs disappearing or if your fat % gets higher than a desired amount.
-Reps should start with 6-8 depending on the sets. Very heavy and push as close to failure on the last set. You should be dang near dead by the end of your workout.
-Get lots of sleep. Muscle needs time to recover.
-Workout 3-4 days a week minimum.
-Stick with your diet routine especially during the week.
-workout could be something like this:
Tuesday - Chest / Triceps
Wednesday - Bicep / Back
Thursday - Legs / Shoulders

I am not a trainer and most of these results will differ per person and diet. I will also try to keep the information as accurate as possible and try to keep it updated. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

These are right after I gained 30lbs in 3 months. I went from 141 to 171 lbs in these pics.


Pic from 2010 190lbs.

 

[TofuStoreDrift]

Impressive, I'm an ectomorph aswell, but I started my transformation only about 1 month ago. Ofcourse my gain has only been about 4-5 lbs, nowhere near as good as yours, but I have been 125 lbs for the last 10 years. Once I finally get payed from my new job (been out of work for 6 months), I should be able to afford to eat more. Also I need to join the gym, although I get a great workout at work, but it is more reps and less weight (unloading shipping containers all day). Anyway, you've did a fantastic job on your transformation, and I can't wait till I look like you.

p.s. Could you pm or post a more indepth menu of your diet? Thanks

 

[Blitz187]

Nice one man, reading this gets me motivated to give it another shot

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

How hard are you having to work to maintain your weight/form?

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Thanks for the compliments. I will try to answer all the questions. I also have a correction. I gained 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks. 19 lbs in the first 5 weeks. 30 lbs after 3 months. Here are some of my size gains after 3 months. I also wanted to include that I not concentrate on my abs at all and no cardio.

Bicept flexed--2 3/4" gain
Bicept flacid--1 3/4" gain
Forearm--1" gain
Chest--6" gain
Waist--1" gain
Leg--2 3/4" gain"
calf--1 1/4" gain

My diet per day (Monday through Friday)
Took some research from 6 years ago but here was my diet layout during the 3 month bulk period per day Monday through Friday. I took a little break on the weekends.

7 meals and about 3-4 hours apart
4,000-5,000 calories
300-350 grams protein
30-40 grams of fiber?? I really cant remember how much fiber I had. If you are constipated add in more raisins or fiber to your diet.
Drink water all the time especially if you get hungry.

6:00 am
-3/4 cup oatmeal
-2 eggs (mixed with oatmeal)
-12oz glass of milk
-1/8 cup raisins (mixed with oatmeal)
-multivitamin

9:00 am
-protein shake(2 scoops=44g of protein)
-2/3 cup powered milk(mixed with shake)
-1/2 cup cottage cheese
-1/2 cup fruit
-1 apple

12:00 pm
-6oz steak(chicken,pork,tuna... can be rotated)
-1 1/2 cup brown rice(or something like sweet potatos????)
-1/2 cup cottage cheese
-1/2 cup fruit

2:45 pm-----------------------------------OR-----2:45pm
-1 potato or sweet potato-------------------------1 can tuna sandwich
-1 slice of cheese w/ little butter------------------12oz milk
-2 eggs------------------------------------------piece of fruit
-2/3 cup powered milk----------------------------2 eggs(mixed into tuna)
-1/2 cup cottage cheese-------------------------cheese
-1/2 cup fruit-------------------------------------tomato

4:45 pm (pre-workout)
-1/2 cup cottage cheese
-1/2 cup fruit
-2 tbsp NATURAL beanut butter

7:45 pm (post-workout)
-5g creatine (if necessary)
-2 scoops protein shake
-2/3 powered milk
-banana
-flax seed oil pill

10:00-10:30 pm (before bedtime)
-6oz steak (or something similar)
-1 1/2 brown rice
-2/3 cup powered milk (mix with food)
-12 oz milk

How hard are you having to work to maintain your weight/form?

I have not been to a gym since 2003 and only went for 3 months. I have been able to maintain my weight of 178-180 lbs for quite a while and still have my abs. They are not quite as defined because of some fat gain but they are still there and visible. just make sure to eat as much protein as possible throughout the day. Before this experience I always ate junk. Ate Ramen noodles, mac and cheese, chips, cookies and just plain junk. No matter how much you eat of that you will not ever gain any muscle mass because the junk food lacks in protein which is what you need to grow muscle mass. So now I make sure all my meals consist of protein one way or another. Meat! Steak, pork, fish,or chiken really are the key to keeping on the mass. Even a bolonga or ham sandwich is better than chips or junk. Even if you substitute in oatmeal instead of cereal for breakfast that will also help over time. I used to always eat cereal for breakfast and that will not bulk you up eating ceral at all. Oatmeal will help as a substitute. Also eat right before bed. This is very important for ectomoph bodytypes.

 

[Encyclopedia]

Nice work! It's harldy 30lbs of pure muscle though, probably alot of water as well.

Everything I've read suggests that you can only gain about 8-10 lbs of pure muscle a year, unless you're on steroids or are some sort of genetic freak.

Pretty damn good nontheless, I wish I had your work ethic!

 

[PureAwesomeness]

I'd like to do something like that but I don't think I could afford the grocery bills!

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Nice work! It's harldy 30lbs of pure muscle though, probably alot of water as well.

Everything I've read suggests that you can only gain about 8-10 lbs of pure muscle a year, unless you're on steroids or are some sort of genetic freak.

Pretty damn good nontheless, I wish I had your work ethic!

Thats true not all of it was muscle but quite a bit of it was.
Actually when people first start out its not uncommon to gain 20-30lbs of muscle in the first year. The hardest gains come after 6 months of training. Heck even after 3 months I started to have a hard time gaining and thats typical. The first 3 months are the fastest and easiest way to put on the most mass. You can even look up Ryan Reynolds workout. He gained 20 lbs of solid muscle in an impressive amount of time. I believe it was somewhere between 6 months to a year.

And yes the grocery bills are insane. I think I was spending around $100.00 a week just on food for myself. The list in post #5 shows how much I ate every day.

 

[Encyclopedia]

Hmm, 20-30 pounds still sound an awful lot to me, but you probably know more about it than me.
I decided to read up on stuff before I started weightlifting (and I still do quite a bit of reading) on forums etc. and the more experienced lifters (bodybuilders and such) seemed adamant that you could only gain 10 lbs or so a year, with less and less weight increase as you go. But I've probably missunderstood something.

I've been working out for 6 month now and haven't gained any weight whatsoever (I could never afford your grocery bills ), but I've become quite a bit stronger at least and I'm having a lot of fun.

Anyway, congrats on your results! 👍

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Yup you are going to have to eat and eat a lot to gain anything. At least you are having fun and have a routine. Once you can afford to eat the grocery list I have above, then you will have no problem gaining mass.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Holy crap I found the link that inspired me!!! It was Anthony Ellis. This link is what I found when I bulked up 7 years ago!!! This was the 30# in 3 months motivation. I have not been able to find it forever. How to gain weight and build muscle mass fast! http://www.fastmusclegain.com/?hop=dimaggio

 

[KSaiyu]

Thanks, will definitely be checking this thread and the links out.

I'm 6'2 and was around 155 before I joined a gym last September and am now at a roadblock after putting on some weight with good definition. I've started eating more since early Feb but my weight's holding steady at around 170 with only temp gains from a 4 day gym program.

Hopefully this will help out

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

You should add up your calories, protien, and fiber per day. You will want to be around at least 4,000-5,000 calories per day. So whatever yours comes out to be, add at least 500 more calories. Make sure you get lots of protein. I think I was around 300 grams or something similar. Post 5 has my entire daily intake per meal for 1 day.
I will be doing this again starting January 2011. But this time I will go for 6 months.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I wanted to update this thread because I already started my bulk up process. I was going to wait until next year but decided to start it a few months ago.

Personal best 2010

Bench
205x1

Deadlift
315 x 2

Hack Squat
315 X 1

 

[lbsf1]

Guys were can I find our about all the different types of body types. I don't think I'm ectomorphic however I have searched on gooooooooooogle and I can't find anything.

I up untill about 10 months ago used to be a bit of a stick insect, however then I started hanging out with the "popular" people and all the fit girls, so I decided to bulk up abit. So i just did press ups and sit ups when I could at home and did lots of cardio by doing lots of bike rides. I went from 35kg to 50kg and now an about average among the "popular" guys. I now want to build more. Any help would be great. I can't go to a gym so I can only do things I can do at home.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

You dont need much at all to bulk up and keep in shape. If you want to bulk up, it is critical that you eat and drink a lot more than you though possible. I explained most of that above.

My fiance and I have been working out at home in a 7' x 7' room and we can do pretty much everything we need to in there. You can do quite a bit with just a basic bench and some basic weights. You could also get one of those doorway pull up bars. Those also help a lot and are quite cheap. They have different grips to target different muscles. Its a great way to build your entire upper body. It just sits at the top of any doorway in your house. Then when you are finished you can put it away.

 

[Starfirebird]

That's pretty awesome man gaining all that weight.

I'm not sure if i'm an ectomorph anymore.When i was in High School i weighed 95 lbs and was 5'9".I wanted to gain some weight so i asked my guidance counsler if i could take weight lifting as a class.From freshman year to senior year i went from 95 lbs to 130lbs.I was still skinny,but i was bulky.

Now i'm 28 and weigh in at 145lbs.Before i got back to this weight i was a grocery manager and was stressed out all the time.I gained a lot of weight and weighed 163 lbs.,but it was unhealthy weight.I quit working out due to the stress.All in All i was out of shape and miserable,so i stepped down and 6months later i started working out again.

3 years down the road i still workout,do lots of stretches and keep active.
I consume at least 2,500 calories,take my vitamins(through foods),and eat lots of protein and fiber.The fiber is for digestion and to keep me from getting sick.I also drink 2 protein shakes a day 1 after i workout and 1 before bed.I've been doing this for a month as well and i'm also taking a Growth Hormone Activator before bed.(it's not what you think,it works with my amino acids and how i absorb foods)

I'm looking to get to around 163 lbs again,but this time it's going to be healthy weight and stress weight