Categories: Awesomesauce, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Strong, Workouts Tags: ectomorph, huge, manorexic, Men's Fitness, strong, Thor, weight gain.

Bandana Rules for Manorexics

Posted On July 3, 2012

Ectomorph /ˈektəˌmôrf/ n. – any dude who tries to “eat big and lift big” but ends up looking more like Napoleon Dynamite and less like Thor. See also: manorexic.

In a world that keeps getting fatter, it’s not easy being an ectomorph. When everyone around you can’t seem to keep the weight off, you have trouble keeping weight on. Your girlfriend looks at you with envy because you can pound a cheeseburger and fries without adding an inch to your waist, but the same fate seems to curse you when trying to add an inch to your arms. The fact is, ectomorphs have trouble adding fat AND muscle. Commonly referred to in the gym as “hard-gainers,” they are thyroid dominant, their sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive, and Oprah would do anything for their carb tolerance and metabolic rate. Their natural state is skinny and lightly muscled, which is perfectly fine if you’re into that sort of thing. But often, ectomorphs were bullied in the third grade and would absolutely LOVE to add some lean muscle to their frame. That’s when things get tricky.

If you are an ectomorph and you are trying to add lean mass, you need to lift heavy and hard. No question about it, lifting is a must. But in addition to a quality, well balanced resistance routine, you’re gonna need to take some of the nutrition rules that apply to weight-loss and turn them on their head.

Bandana Rule #1 – Take Advantage of Carbs

A much higher percentage of your caloric intake should come from carbohydrates. The nice thing about carbs is that we can eat butt-loads of them without getting full. Use that to your advantage by eating a generous serving of carbs at every meal. Starchy, unprocessed, whole grain carbs will help you feel and look your best (opt for sweet potatoes over white bread, whole grains over frosted flakes.) Drink simple carbs during your workout (you’ll feel energized and have more to give, especially towards the end of a grueling workout.) But HEADS-UP: don’t get in the habit of drinking simple carbs all day. Outside of your workout window (from the start of your workout until about an hour after), keep your carbs unprocessed, starchy, and whole to look and feel your best.

Bandana Rule #2 – Double down on the drinks

Also have a post workout protein shake. That’s right, in addition to a carb drink during the workout, you should have a protein shake immediately after your workout. Post workout protein does wonders for recovery and allows your hard work in the gym to pay off. Adding some carbs to your shake (berries, honey, almond milk, powder) is a way to sneak in some extra calories and make your shake delightfully effective and delicious.

Bandana Rule #3 – Watch to the Scale

Push your calorie intake until you start gaining mass. You want to do the exact opposite of someone trying to lose weight. Add about 500 calories to your diet and see if your weight starts to increase. If it doesn’t, try reducing your non-resistance exercise (any cardio-based exercise). Still no weight-gain? Add another 500 calories to your diet. Repeat until the scale starts to move.

Bandana Rule #4 – Eat often

You need to eat every two to three hours. Because your metabolic rate is so fast, you need to constantly be fueling your engine. If you want to get bigger, eating needs to become your job. That might mean you need to eat when you’re not hungry. Not everyone understands this, but gaining quality weight for an ectomorph isn’t easy work. You need to stay dedicated and focused upon quality calorie consumption.

Bandana Rule #5 – don’t go hogwild on garbage

Don’t allow ectomorphia to be an excuse to eat crap. Fruits and vegetables are still important. Vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients are in these foods that are absolutely essential for you to grow and be healthy. Protein is also still essential. Like all good eaters, you should be eating protein with every meal. That means eggs for breakfast, mid-morning nuts (which are mostly fat, but contain protein), chicken for lunch, a post workout protein shake, and steak for dinner. Mmm. Manhood. Just because you can afford to eat garbage without gaining weight doesn’t mean you should. Healthy nutrition choices still make for a healthy body.

Ultimately, getting hulked is not an easy task for the ectomorph, especially consider that most of the information out there is about weight loss. But you need to understand your body and tweak your nutrition accordingly: it’ll make all the difference when going from she-man to Heman.

*Something like this article was originally published on Men’sFitness.com on Jan 10th, 2012.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS. ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE PACKING ON MASS, LET’S CHAT ABOUT WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T:

Megadef

I would love to hear ones thoughts here. I am an ectomorph. I am 6ft tall and was at about 172 for what seemed like forever but after just simply upping my caloric intake I was able to gain some mass and get to 180. I look great all over but I have questions about those abs. I have been toyin with them for a while and THINK I have it down. They look pretty good-finally seeing some definition. It seems like the LESS I work them,the better they are!? Crazy huh! Aside from that though,touching on my diet-it’s emmaculate. I am a raw vegan. Like I said,when I eat more I seem to look better although AT TIMES my abs seem to be compromised and that’s what confuses me. I’m still trying to shed that last little bit of the dreaded lower ab-fat(slowly but surely) and my diaphram sticks out at times(prob.from a days grubbin)so I’m just confused. To get my abs to pop and have that flat stomach-ripped abs look do I keep eating more like i am or cut it back to shred the last of my body fat?
- BandanaTraining
  
  Megadef. I’ve heard of (and seen) athletes who lose fat by adding more calories to their diet. I know it seems counterintuitive, but it’s legit. Bottom line, pay attention to what works – if your abs look better with less work and more play, you’ve found your answer.
Dave

@286f8acdcf66e8cb2c096b71654898bf:disqus I’m a hardgainer as well and as with any mass gainer diet there is bound to be a little extra fat storage with the weight gain. To get the abs to pop on any given day use a diuretic, or something that flushes excess water from your system. Caffeine is a universally decent one. There are also supplements on bodybuilding.com, etc. But as always, good abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. It varies from person to person, but what I have found effective is the classic diet, high in protein, fat, and unprocessed carbs as mentioned above. In terms of lifting, my workouts have a strong emphasis on compund lifts and core movements which really help my abs pop so that could be another route. Hope this helps!
- BandanaTraining
  
  Good stuff. Yea, water manipulation can be super effective, but that’s a whole other bag.
ectogasmic

Always been a hardgainer. Used to be 6’0″ 140#, now I’m 190# au naturale (no supps, not even creatine) and only looking up. Weight still comes on slow (2lbs/month), but it’s doable.

For me it was HIIT combined with compound and learning Oly lifts in the gym, and the dedication to stick with it month after month. I also took on some maintenance routines / recovery days so I wouldn’t get bogged down with a bum elbow or shoulder.

And lots of high quality food. Even though I eat a ton (4,000kcal+) I had to eat more if I wanted to gain weight. Took me time to learn how to cook right and keep the habits.

Having a workout buddy really helps too. It gets me out of bed in the morning and we push each other during the workout, I wouldn’t be this heavy without a gym buddy, even if we only workout together once a week.
- BandanaTraining
  
  awesome advice. get some creatine bru…it’ll help.
mss

Can you give us some good examples of “simple” carbs, “unprocessed” , “starchy” etc…that works for you? Thanks
- BandanaTraining
  
  “Simple” carbs would be table sugar, honey, and fruit. “Starchy” carbs would be potatoes, peas, beans, and corn. “Unprocessed” carbs could be all of the above, depending on whether they’ve been broken down or made into other foods. Hope that helps to clarify.