I find the terminology instructive. They offer general information to the struggles the various types have in achieving their desired physique.
I feel that I am about 60% ectomorph and 40% mesomorph.
Notice how I haven’t “pigeon holed” myself. I assessed it as a variable and not a discrete attribute.
Does anyone like Incline Presses more than straight up Overhead Presses for shoulder growth?
I’ll meet halfway and overhead pretty with bad mobility so it’s like a standing incline press.
When using a barbell, yes, with dbs I prefer to do them more or less upright.
I don’t feel much shoulder impact from incline BB bench, but i suppose it’s hard to delineate shoulder growth from one movement to the next if training all Push muscles on the same day.
I like DB OH Press for shoulder growth much more than BB OH Press though.
I wanna throw in a plug for weight vest push ups as well. Those seem to completely blow about my front delts.
I’d say if you did what was needed for a 225 (2 plate) strict press, you would have big shoulders for your build. That might include a lot more things than just strict pressing, but I’ve yet to see someone who can do this lift that doesn’t have developed shoulders.
I have a tough time with subjective goals. Looking for minute changes to the muscles over time. The hit this weight on this lift is pretty objective. If you get there, I am confident you will have built up your shoulders to a good degree.
I guess I can’t argue with that.
But it took me like 15 years to press 225. Ugh!
Everyone has been filming themselves doing Burpees lately. I was really surprised by how much shoulder work is involved in one of those workouts.
About the same for me. Wasn’t always trying to build OHP though. Spent most of the time building bench, but was doing things (like the bench, incline, etc.) that helped it along the way.
I think if that was a specific goal starting out, it would go a lot faster. Although I am not sure if the shoulder developmental would be as good as if I was really training it a lot and consistently, versus being able to do it largely as a side effect of training other things with a 6 month or so focus on overhead pressing? I kinda think the latter approach would be better for development.
With shoulders, the more muscle you put on the larger they get (visually). Has nothing to do with being an ectomorph.
And yes, the more muscle anyone puts on, the more the shoulders will appear larger (because they will be.)
The problem is that the ectomorph has a much more difficult time putting on muscle, than a mesomorph.
I agree in principal, but also think that when people say “i cant xxx because I’m a yyy” - it self-perpetuates their claimed outcome. I think if these people never knew what an ectomorph was, that they would be bigger.
I have seen people lose balance in their life, leaving all to pursue a “career” in bodybuilding. That is extreme, and probably includes zero ectomorphs. But I have seen people with nearly zero genetics in bodybuilding sacrifice opportunities in life in favor to pursue what is unattainable for them.
Man needs to have full grasp of his limitations to achieve the best outcome in life.
On the flip side, our strongest 242lb lifter on our powerlifting team, before capitalizing on his genetic potential, was putting most of his effort at improving his golf game, struggling to break 100. I told him he would be better served competing against the best instead of striving to golf better than half the weekend golfers.
Before support gear he could squat over 800lbs.
Fair points all around. I always appreciate your perspective and experience.
That’s like saying that an ectomorph is a hardgainer. Nonsense.
The two pretty much go hand in hand.
A couple of points.
Weight: I don’t know how long you have been training, but if you are natural, increasing bodyweight by more than 1-1.5% per month will get you a lot of fat. So it seems to me what you’ve done so far is a conservative but reasonable bulk. Much better than gaining 50 pounds in one year and half (as I did years ago, most of which was fat). Also, on T-Nation you will find more than one article claiming that a bodyfat higher than 15% will limit your muscle building potential (via reduced insulin sensitivity and/or worse testosterone/estrogen ratio and/or increased general inflammation). I never saw scientific evidence supporting those claims. But they might still be worth considering before getting fatter.
Body structure: an ectomorph is defined by a relatively narrow skeletal frame. Training is not going to change that: your bones will remain the same. What it can change is the muscularity of your shoulders. I don’t mean to neglect the importance of systemic growth, particularly if you are a beginner or early intermediate. But if you are particularly interested in shoulders, you should prioritize shoulder training. Introduce a 4-week specialization cycle every now and then, during which you do a lot of shoulder work and reduce the rest (check articles by Thib on specialization). Improving lats can also contribute to make you look broader, particularly from behind.
By the way, according to Thib, 30-40 pounds of muscle is what most people can build during their entire lifting life, and it takes years. I wouldn’t take seriously a book that promises 30 pounds in 6 weeks.
Essentially someone who struggled with delts pre-TRT could get gains there easier once on TRT? In reference to the amount androgen receptor sites.
Don’t think difficulty growing delts is a reason to go on TRT. But yes, it is true.