Many bodybuilders put a lot of focus into the details of their nutrition. Learn how these 10 principals can promote muscle growth and balance.
"Give me a 64-ounce steak, double-baked potato with extra sour cream and an apple pie for dessert. No, not a slice - give me the whole pie, please."
If you have ever had the opportunity to go out with a bodybuilder for dinner, you would be familiar with that kind of order delivered to the distressed waitress. These high-carbohydrate, high-protein, and high-fat diet meals were the popular method for packing on muscle and climbing the scale. "I'll pack on all the weight I can now, then melt off the fat later," was the common motto.
Many bodybuilders put a lot of focus into the details of their nutritional strategy. A small food scale, calculator, note pad and pencil are common items found in their kitchen. Some competitive bodybuilders go to the extreme of weighing and measuring everything wherever they go and scribbling numbers into their notepad after every meal.
Today, I’ll take you through a detailed guide to help you transform that skinny frame from mini to muscular. Steer clear of programs that promise you change in 15 days, 30 days or even 60 days. I’m not saying you will not see changes in that time-frame, but if you would like to see a significant change in your body, you’ll need a minimum of 3-4 months. Sorry if you’ve bought into the hype that you can somehow magically add massive amounts of mass in just a few weeks, it’s not going to happen. However, all I want from your end is dedication for the next 6 months to see great results. Deal? Now let’s get started.
Body Types
Ectomorph ( AKA Skinny Guy)
For those of you that don’t know, there are primarily three body types that exist. You, the skinny guy, fall under the ectomorph category. Characteristically ectomorphs have thin and long bones, less fat and find it hard to put on fat or muscle. This, let me tell you is a good thing. Endomorphs and mesomorphs (explained below) find it hard to burn off stubborn fat, especially in their lower belly and sides which alone can take months of strict dieting and cardio to shift. This is something you won’t have to struggle with if you happen to increase body fat to an unwanted level, because you’re blessed with a fast fat burning metabolism.
That’s the good news, the bad news though is that your body doesn’t have the capability of putting on muscle as fast as the aforementioned body types can. Don’t fret though, with the right amount of hard work and dedication you’ll have the body of an athlete and if you work hard enough maybe even a little broader. Don’t expect to gain the size of a pro bodybuilder, unless you want to take extreme amounts of anabolic steroids, which I absolutely do not recommend.
The key aspect of your program will be nutrition, which I’ll cover in detail later. You’ll have to eat double the number of calories that is recommended for the average guy/girl of your age in order to “feed” your muscles and help them grow. Poor nutrition is one of the main reasons skinny guys struggle to build muscle.
Mesomorph
The mesomorph body type which is the ideal body type for bodybuilding as they have large, broad frames, put on muscle easily, have strong and well defined muscle. They don’t have a metabolism rate as fast as yours, nor is their metabolism rate as slow as endomorphs. They do stack on fat more easily than ectomorphs (skinny people) but not as much as endomorphs. They can easily put on muscle mass as well when compared to ectomorphs and endomorphs.
Endomorph
An endomorph on the other hand has the hardest of all the body types to work with. They have small frames, not much lean muscle mass, slow metabolism rates and put on fat very easily. They find it difficult to build muscle and burn fat. And here you thought your skinny ectomorph genetics were bad news.
This 5 day meal plan for skinny guys will help you gain weight and muscle size while also giving skinny guys the nutrition and energy needed to train hard and get big muscle mass gains.
Monday
Chest, Triceps And Abs
Flat Bench Press: 4 sets x 6 – 8, 8 – 12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 sets x 8 – 12 reps
Cable Flyes: 4 sets x 10 – 12 reps
Skull crushers: 4 sets x 6 – 8, 8 – 12 reps
Weighted Bench Dip: 3 sets x 12 reps
Triceps Pushdown: 3 sets x 8 – 12 reps
Ab Crunch Machine: 3 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Air Bike Crunches: 2 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Lying Leg Raises: 4 sets x 20 reps
Oblique Crunches: 2 sets (each side) x 20 reps each
Tuesday
Back And Biceps
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown: 4 sets x 6 – 8, 8 – 12 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row: 4 sets x 8 – 10 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Row: 4 sets (each hand) x 10 – 12 reps
Barbell Curl: 3 sets x 8 – 12 reps
Hammer Curl: 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps
Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl: 2 sets (each hand) x 8 – 12 reps each
Wednesday
Rest Day
Thursday
Legs And Abs
Squat: 4 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets x 12 reps
Leg Extension: 3 sets x 15 reps
Standing Calf Raises:4 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Crunches: 4 sets x 20 – 25 reps
Lying Leg Raises: 4 sets x 15 – 20 reps
Oblique Crunches: 2 sets x 20 reps
Friday
Shoulders
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 6 – 8, 8 – 12 reps
Front Lateral Raise: 3 sets x 8 – 12 reps
Side Lateral Raise: 3 sets x 8 – 12 reps
Reverse Flyes: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps
Smith Machine Shrug: 4 sets x 12 – 15 reps each
Saturday/ Sunday
Rest
Nutrition
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Supplements
Whey Protein
Whey protein is by far the most popular bodybuilding supplement and would make a great addition to the nutrition plan of hard gainer. There are different grades of whey protein depending on their purity. Whey protein concentrate is a less pure form than whey protein isolate but it’s a good place for beginners to get started. The reason why protein supplements are taken even though you can get all your protein from your food is because of the fact that due to the purity of the protein it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream offering faster recovery and prevents your muscles from breaking down.
A great protein for you to consume would be Optimum Platinum Hydrobuilder. It includes a variety of proteins including whey concentrate, isolate, egg albumin and casein for a delayed release into your system. Along with that it also has creatine in its blend which provides you with that extra boost during your workout and also greatly helps in muscle recovery. Some of the other key ingredients include important BCAAs and Glutamine which are the building blocks of your muscles. While many people might suggest you to buy a mass gainer what would be ideal is to take a whey protein isolate and back that up with heavy and nutritious meals like I have suggested above.
BCAAs
BCAAs, as they’re known, are the building blocks of the protein. They play a key role in the synthesis of protein in the body and not only help the rate of synthesis but also the cell’s capacity for protein synthesis. They also play a key role in reducing the rate of protein breakdown which prevents muscle breakdown.
That’s a wrap on everything you should be doing as an ectomorph. There are three key ingredients to having a great physique, firstly the right workout, secondly the right nutrition and lastly dedication. If you can give me these three things for 6 months, I can guarantee you your physique and life will have turned on its head.
thanks for reading.