I’m an ectomoroh by definition and trying to bulk. Made some good progress initially but struggling recently. Obviously gained some body fat along the bulk but want to gain a bit more before cutting. Ideally want to build bigger broader shoulders. Is that possible as an ectomorph and any tips?
I’m 5’11.
Top pic 160lb April 2021
Bottom 174lb November 2022.
Just off the top of my head, I’d say it’s time to Eat More. You’re bigger than you used to be, so that means you need to eat more now.
You’ve done a good job not getting fat. But 14 pounds in 17 months is going pretty slow.
That’s a fair point. Never really considered now I’m a bit bigger my calorie intake may also need to increase. I’ve been eating more or less the same amount of calories for last 2 years. I figured it worked initially so was the correct amount for me. How much extra calories would you up it by? I’m guessing not by huge amounts if I want to avoid gaining too much body fat.
Short answer, A Bunch.
You’ll want to eat enough that you feel Strong in the gym, You don’t want to be struggling, you want to be energized and kicking ass to make gains.
And from there, you’ll want to eat enough that the scale goes UP.
If you’ve been stagnant and undereating for awhile it may take a bunch.
Ah yes, the self-fulfilling prophecy of the hardgainer.
*Identifies as a hardgainer*
*Barely eats in surplus because ‘hardgainer’*
*Stays looking small because eating/training like a hardgainer*
*Blames genetics before food intake*
What’s your daily calorie intake?
I came for advice. Not condescending comments. I’m aware I’m not gaining, and looking for advice and ways to change this and not just blaming genetics and refusing to do anything about it. But yes by definition I am an ectomorph. I’m aware that means I can still gain and I’m not going to let it stop me from gaining but equally I am also aware it may mean my calorie intake may need to be higher than others.
My calorie intake is currently 3500. However from the previous comments that were actually helpful and not judgemental, I will look to increase this as whilst it was working, I had not considered it would need to increase as my weight increases.
Not judgemental at all; this is a common thing, but it’s dumb because it’s self-limiting.
How are you training? Are you incorporating any strength work into your routine? Do you track your training in any format?
Buy, read and follow this book
You will build bigger and broader everything.
I only think it’s self limiting if you say you can’t gain as your an ectomorph. Being aware of your own individual needs and learning and realising what different or extra requirements is not self limiting. I struggle to gain weight, but I CAN gain weight with hard work and that’s what I’m trying to do. But I also know I can drop body fat much easier than most others when needed. We all have individual differences.
Yes I track everything through an app. I train 4 days per week training each muscle group twice a week and use a 2 week split with week A and week B to try and get more variation of exercises. Rep ranges are usually between 6-12 so mostly train for hypertrophy and not too much for strength. Every 12 weeks I try to change my workout programme to stop tedium and my body getting used to same programme.
Would welcome any feedback or tips.
Have you tried high pulls and shrugs. This really worked for me. Granted I am overweight.
I followed Chris Thibeaudeau’s writings to train a little like an OL lifter . This worked for me.
Also the Strict shrugs to power shrugs in a rack Use a little bit of lower body help to a lot of lower body help. Use straps unless you have a great grip.
You will be very sore until you get used to it.
15 /16 lb in a year while maintaining lean is impressive to me. If you not growing, you need to eat more. But don’t eat so much that you get fat.
Why are you thinking of cutting any time soon?
I do some upright rows and shrugs with a trap bar but not huge amounts of these. Not done high pulls before. I might look to incorporate a bit more of these, cheers for the suggestion.
Thank you. Yes I’ll be increasing calories slightly but mindful not to increase calories too much and gain too much fat.
It’s easier in the rack, as it is easier on the lower back.
It shouldn’t be the only thing you do though. Possibly place it last, as it takes a lot of energy.
I’m not yet. Wanting to gain more. Possibly in the next 6 to 12 months. Will depend on fat gain really. Body fat current around 17% so don’t want it going too high.
Ok no worries, i would make it 12-18 months. I dont think you need to worry much about getting too fat, if you struggle to gain but lose easily then you are all good to push a little harder and get a bit softer.
The main thing you need is more muscle, any time you spend not pursuing that is wasted time at this stage, especially as you are no where near being too fat.
How does your current training week look, exercises, reps and sets?
Absolutely - great attitude!
We could all do a lot worse than following @T3hPwnisher’s suggestions. I’ve never done super squats, which is now embarrassing because all the tough people on this forum have, but folks have certainly put on some size and learned to find some new limits.
For myself, I’ve noticed I make actual, honest-to-God, delt gains when I’m doing a lot of targeted rear delt work. Not training economy type stuff, but like 100 reps of the reverse pec machine.
As others have mentioned, you’ll really have to grow overall to see significant Delt gains. @RT_Nomad hypothesized something about the amount of androgen receptors in delts being lower, making it less responsive than other areas. Following that logic trail definitely speaks to a need to just get bigger in general for your delts to come along.
IMO, it is just the opposite. The delts have a high density of androgen receptor sites. I can identify a person on a cycle because their delts get bigger faster than the rest of the body. But there are exceptions to this rule.
Got it - I misrepresented your point! Thanks for clarifying
Appreciate it. It’s amazing the full body growth one can get from it.
My other prescription would be to pick up something that doesn’t want to be picked up, like a keg, and get it over your head, and then make it a goal to add 50lbs to that weight in 12 weeks, but then people want to know the exact program to do that and it gets muddy.
There is absolutely NO SUCH THING as an ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph. There are almost 8 billion people on Earth and we all have different body structures and hormone levels. To pigeonhole one’s self into a category is a fruitless and stupid endeavor.
