PMA Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) I'm skinny by nature. I recently and surprisingly gained 20 lbs. (wanted to gain weight before beginning to work out). I now weight 143 lbs and I'm 5"6. The 20 lbs. are still unnoticeable. I'm aiming to get bigger, not too bulky but just bigger. I want mostly to get formed and marked. I'm beginning to work out 3 days per week-20 minutes of cardio, 40 minutes of weight lifting, but I can do 5 days per week if it's recommendable. Maybe dumbbell exercises in between those days? Any tips on how to improve my work out and routine? Like I said I want to get bigger and especially formed, I don't know which one goes first or what's the best way to achieve it. Thanks in advance. Edited September 18, 2009 by PMA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Plaything Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 First of all you mean "ektomorph" and not "endomorph" - that would practically be the opposite! Second of all, if you wanna get big(er) and are ekto, you should definitely get rid of the cardio and just train hard on the lifting! Training more often would not be recommendable for a beginner. Go for sets of 12 reps so that your muscles are pretty much exhausted at the end of the set (so don't use weights were you could go on for half an hour ^^) and eat enough. Your metabolism should keep you from getting "too bulky" Ask the other ektos here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMA Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 First of all you mean "ektomorph" and not "endomorph" - that would practically be the opposite! Second of all, if you wanna get big(er) and are ekto, you should definitely get rid of the cardio and just train hard on the lifting! Training more often would not be recommendable for a beginner. Go for sets of 12 reps so that your muscles are pretty much exhausted at the end of the set (so don't use weights were you could go on for half an hour ^^) and eat enough. Your metabolism should keep you from getting "too bulky" Ask the other ektos here... Oops, I mean Ektomorph. Hm so is 3 days a week good? Or is it too much? And do heavier weights of 12 sets? I thought it was best to start with lighter weights.Thanks for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Plaything Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 The reps should be 12, not the sets Well, if you wanna build some muscle, you gotta give your muscles a reason to grow - so if you do three sets of 12 reps, you should choose a weight with which the last rep is hard, but doable, but you couldn't really do another one. That's what I'd suggest for the beginning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxxytam Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I have similarly the same problem. I recently have gained appx 20 lbs and am 5'6''. Most of it as accumulated around my hips and thighs. I work out 5 days a week, do 20 minutes of cardio, free weights,(rotating between biceps to triceps/back muscles everyother day) and at least 100 front crunches, and 200 oblique crunches. What can i do extra to build more leg muscles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 What can i do extra to build more leg muscles?Squats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CollegeB Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think i'm similar in body composition. Rob got me on a 5 sets of 5 reps routine. I'd work one body group each day. I took mondays off. I think it worked well. I packed on some mass an was pretty strong. I lacked definition for the most part, but that was not a big issue for me then. Rob may chime in and give you the details...it was like 4 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giorgos Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 prefer compound exercises instead of isolation excercises, select a weight that it's hard but doable for the last reps and eat a lot. 3 times per week is enough (your muscles will grow the resting days), and cardio is not really needed while bulking (especially for ektomorphs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMA Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 The reps should be 12, not the sets Well, if you wanna build some muscle, you gotta give your muscles a reason to grow - so if you do three sets of 12 reps, you should choose a weight with which the last rep is hard, but doable, but you couldn't really do another one. That's what I'd suggest for the beginning... Hm I had heard it was best to start off with light weights to form muscle...(?) I think i'm similar in body composition. Rob got me on a 5 sets of 5 reps routine. I'd work one body group each day. I took mondays off. I think it worked well. I packed on some mass an was pretty strong. I lacked definition for the most part, but that was not a big issue for me then. Rob may chime in and give you the details...it was like 4 years ago! That sounds like a good routine 25 reps each day on a specific body group. Was it isolation or compound or both? Also how long would it take you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMA Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Oh... and how much to you rest in between sets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im Your Man Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Oh... and how much to you rest in between sets? If you do sets of 5 reps, or 8-12 reps, you can rest about 2-3 minutes between eat set, because it's heavy loads. If you lift lighter, with 15-25 reps, rest 45-90 seconds. You can also train with supersets, you alternate different muscle groups so you don't need to rest, you save some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woode Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Glad I found this site and this thread! I'm about as ectomorphic as you can get. For most of my adult life, I've hovered around 130-135 lbs. Being a six-foot-tall guy means I'm skinny as hell. LOL! I've been ovo-lacto vegetarian for about a year now, with occasional omnivore tendencies when I eat out. At home, though, it's 100% vegetarian. I don't eat much dairy or cheese, just every now and then. For example, tonight's dinner was 15-Bean soup (love that stuff!), and wild rice/dried cherry/pine nut salad. I'm also a certified life-long peanut butter addict. My partner told me that when he became vegetarian, he gained weight. Looks like it's happening to me too -- I got on the scales the other day I was surprised to see that I was a now 141 lbs. It may not be much, but I've never weighed that much in my entire life, and my jeans have gone from 29s to 30s in the waist. It kinda freaked me out. I don't want to end up like a few of my friends who've met mid-life with the wrong kind of weight gain. I do want to gain, but not that kind. I don't have any illusions - I know I'm not ever gonna look like a pro bodybuilder. I just don't think it's in my genes. But, I do want to get fit and look better. Oh, and did I mention that I was diagnosed with osteoporosis recently? (Vitamin D uptake probs, we think.) Doc says I gotta start weight training to help build bone strength. I gotta say that from what I've seen on this forum, this is one amazing group of supportive people. I've really been impressed reading the threads about others and their progress, and the encouragement offered by all, especially those already in great shape. If it hadn't been for people like that, I would have been way too shy to post! I'm off to devour the rest of this forum and see what I can learn to get started! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMA Posted September 18, 2009 Author Share Posted September 18, 2009 I was wondering since Ectomorphs got a fast metabolism, do we still need to balance out carbs? And limit calories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegesus Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I was wondering since Ectomorphs got a fast metabolism, do we still need to balance out carbs? And limit calories? I don't really balance my carbs at all. I just make sure I am eating roughly 1.5x my weight in protein in grams. My calorie intake ranges from 3700 - 4200 calories net a day. I eat if I feel hungry basically every 2.5 hours I eat a meal of around 300 - 400 calories. I eat a larger breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can steadily say I am gaining a lb a week if I keep up with this. I've packed on 10 lbs in 2 months now (6'0" 165). So far so good 15 - 20 more pounds to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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