Hey all.
I’m relatively new to body training. As such, I’d like to learn more so I can go about it in the most effective and efficient way possible.
My goal is first hypertrophy. Once my physique is of a desirable size, or once I reach my size cap (whichever comes first), I want to tone and harden the muscular “fluff” I’ve created.
Also, I am an ectomorph and have never been fat due to my high metabolism. However, as most of you people surely know, this makes gaining muscle mass more difficult. I’m not complaining, though, ‘cause being free of concern for getting fat is pretty freakin’ great. Nevertheless, I’m out to gain size, weight, strength, and tone.
Since my body obliterates fat, I went ahead and got a big cylinder of protein powder, which is actually pretty tasty. I was wondering what you guys think of that stuff and what the consumption rate is supposed to be for someone with a high metabolism. Everyday? Every workout day? Every non-workout day? Diet is important, so aside from protein, any suggestions?
As for hypertrophy, I’ve never read on a subject with more conflicting information. I’ve heard three sets are best with repetition failure preferrably occurring around eight, nine, or ten. Then again, I’ve also heard four or more sets are optimal, failing at ten-plus reps. What to believe, what to believe…
About aerobic exercise, is it a detriment to hypertrophy? Cardio is good, they say, don’t cut it out. Cardio hurts muscle gain, they say, best to avoid it for now. That’s annoying. What’s true, here?
Because most bodybuilders are mesomorphs (understandably so, since they’re encouraged by the quicker results), most bodybuilding articles target that body type. I’m looking for MY most efficient and effective path, not someone with a different physical makeup from myself. Reference material for ectomorph-specific workouts is slim. I’d be grateful for any links or advice on this.
Last, I have some questions about terminology, bodybuilding vocabulary, such as “reverse curl,” “row,” or “skull crusher.” None of that means anything to me so when workouts articles use that stuff without providing a link to a term glossary, reading it is a waste of my time. I’ve look around but couldn’t find any list telling me what’s up. Anybody know of one?
Any responses will be appreciated. This is my first time posting here (though I’ve perused the site for about a month now), so I don’t know what the T-Nation community is like.
Thanks.