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Anonymous
ECTOMORPHS report in.

I'd like to hear from skinny, small-framed guys that have managed to pile on some muscle mass.

Diets and routines, gogogo!
>> Anonymous
I gained 20 lbs in a year.

I then lost 7 lbs in a week when i had my wisdom teeth removed. yet to get it all back.

I suck at this.
>> Anonymous
20 pounds in the first 6 months, 5 over summer break, lost is when school started, began working out since the mid of Jan this year and I'm up 12+ pounds.
>> Guil
>>44810
Well.. ecto here.
Following Anthony Ellis's guide + Starting Strength
My diet is very odd. I don't know if I should start eating chips and basically junk food just to help push myself for more calories because honestly I can only eat so much oatmeal and eggs and chicken breast. Like, those three things are 3 regular meals everyday. Some days I wont have the chicken or some days I wont have the eggs or some days I wont have the oatmeal. I always have at least one shake a day, and have been adding foods like Goldfish and such to help.. but still , I feel I'm not getting enough calories and don't see how people do without eating junk food.

Routine is
Monday - Chest, Triceps, Lower Back
Wednesday - Legs, Abs
Friday - Biceps, Shoulders

I'm pretty sure I hit all my muscle groups at some point in the week? It seems to be working, sort of. Been doing it 3 weeks, and saw huge gains from week one to two obviously but today I couldn't even do as many pullups as I could last week. Like last week I did 11 the first time, then after that 7 after. Today I could only do 7, then lower after. Maybe because of different workout times. I am doing more on other excercises, so it's not a huge deal I guess.

Other days not listed I don't do much. My cardio at the moment consists of 20 minutes warmup on the bike/treadmill, sometimes less. I make sure to get 20 minutes on leg days. I plan on having cardio on Tuesday/Thursday and have Sat/Sun the only real Rest Days, but we'll see. Not sure if I should because god damn I don't want to burn calories that would otherwise help me gain weight, you know?

I really need a better diet I think, I need food ideas so I don't get tired of the same old shit and so that I don't have to repeat meals just to get enough everyday (something I really don't even want to consider)
>> Guil
>>44822(Cont)
I love after my workout today I look how I wish I looked all the time. My real goal is to have my upper arms to be wider from a palm-up, arm fully extended view than my elbow bone. I've always felt that was what defined me as a skinny person, and am tired of seeing my elbow bone stick out as the widest part. I just assume triceps are what I really want to get to achieve that faster
>> Guil
>>44823
Oh and I didn't mean that I looked after workout is how I want to look after I'm done, just that I look so much better compared to a day later or whatever.

I'm also considering changing my routine so that every other day I'm doing a different workout, rather than wait 7 days before doing it again. It feels like I'm waiting a long long time and may be losing some muscle during that, but anyway.
>> Guil
>>44824
This is my first /fit/ quad-post!
>I'm such a fag.

Anyway I also wanted to ask other Ecto's if, when they do pushups, they get more.. joint/bone pain/stress than it is on your actual muscles. I suppose mine just aren't strong enough, but it's crazy after doing 7 pullups I'll leg go and theres this shiver of pain that shoots up both my forearms, in the bone. It's very quick and not what causes me to stop. What causes me to stop is right on the elbow joint on the inside it just feels strained and gives too much pain. I guess my bodyweight is just too much right now for it to support for a long time.

Alright I'm done now I think. I planned on making my own thread but this was well timed.
>> Anonymous
I'm an ecto, I started working out about 5 years ago. I went from the skinniest, weakest, fragile kid you could imagine to one of the toughest, biggest(looking not weighing), and hardest working guys in the gym. I accomplished this simply by eating healthy(not even all the time), doing big compound explosive exercises, HIIT cardio, and judo.

Do exercises like Squats, bench press, pull ups, dips, jerks, snatches, lunges, chinups, military press, deadlifts, stiff legged deadlifts, rows, and cleans. Rotate your rep scheme so sometimes your lifting for power, other times your lifting for endurance.

My routine right now is Monday - chest/back, wednesday - shoulders/arms, friday legs. it literally takes me about 30-45 minutes to do a workout, i do absolutley no isolation exercises. just big compounds.

After Im done lifting weights Ill either bike, jump rope, row. On days I dont lift weights Ill run or swim in the morning then go to judo at night. Anyone can do this, get up an hour earlier to go swim, lift weights or whatever. All it takes is time and dedication. oh ya... never neglect your legs.. they are to you what wheels are to a motorcycle.

Also, judo will toughen you like nothing else.
>> Anonymous
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>>do absolutely no isolation exercises. just big compounds.

That is the absolute truth. If you are a really skinny guy then that is the key. Do things like squats and military presses and avoid crap like wrist curls.

Seriously. If there is one "rule" for skinny guys to gain weight and keep it on, it is to focus on nothing but big compound exercises.
>> Anonymous
I ate 4k calories a day, shakes, and compound excersises. I can't get past 130 lbs. Started at 110.
>> Anonymous
>>44889
How long did you workout for, of course when you first start youre going to get some newbie gains (maybe your 110 -> 130) but after that things are going to slow down considerably, this is not an overnight process..infact its the farthest thing from an overnight process. it takes years
>> Anonymous
>>44863
>>44863
>>44863

can u post some pics or something please. i just want to see what u look like. i do isolations and it takes me a long ass time at the gym to do a work out. i get results but not big ones but its only been 2 months
>> Anonymous
>>44889
How tall (or short) are you to be starting at 110?
>> Anonymous
>>44897
>>44897
Yah I sure can if you give me a few mins they will be cellphone so shitty quality
>> Anonymous
>>44900
>>44900

sweet. i just need a basic idea of what compound exercises can do
>> Anonymous
so got those pics?
>> Anonymous
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here there are, again im not the heaviest guy but i do look bigger then i weigh, started out very small very scrawny
>> Anonymous
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1 mroe a back shot 1 sec
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
you mean 2 more, 1 back and 1 leg... right?
>> Anonymous
ok sure i got a leg
>> Anonymous
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kinda hard to take this cause my mirror is so high lol, i feel they kinda lack in size but i know they arnt in strength, leg day is my hardest workout.
>> Anonymous
Take shorts off, put boxers on. Straighten legs as hard as you can to fully flex quads, take photo by pointing camera just above knees.

Or, ask someone to help you take semi-nude photos to put on the net.

as a whole though, nice physique, back could use a bit more thickness, but definitely wouldn't get laughed at shirtless.
>> Anonymous
well i think u look pretty good. u look solid.
>> Anonymous
are weight gainers healthy/worth it?
>> Anonymous
yea one side of my back is bigger then the other and it sucks cuz i can feel it and i feel deformed. it also effects my abs on the smaller side and my chest.im trying to even it out by concentrating my mind more on teh smaller side so that maybe it would get more of a workout and burn but its lagging hard.
>> Anonymous
>>44933
Looking solid, Sir.
>> Lil Dreamer !UYwMl8CsAs
i started lifting a little bit short of 3 years ago. started at 5'7" and 117 lbs. my heaviest weight was 157 lbs. i got sick fall of last year and went back down to 142 lbs. now i'm back to 148-149 lbs.

i eat as clean as i can but on weekends i eat alot of junkfood. i don't think my body fat ever got below 10% ever since i started lifting. i hover around 11-14% most of the time.
>> Anonymous
>>44936
not going through all that for a decent leg shot its too late, i know back is lacking and so are legs but i try to keep my weight down for comps. just working for explosive strength right now and cardio
>>44941
not sure if this is directed at me or about yourself but yah man it sucks having a smaller side, makes me =( my left is my smaller side but in time i hope it all evens out
>> Anonymous
>>44950
What do you compete in?
>> Lil Dreamer !UYwMl8CsAs
>>44939
for Ectos like us, they can be worth it. it definitely helps with bulking and alot easier to take in than 700-800 calories of solid food in one sitting(most Ectos are undereaters, like myself).

but weight gainers should be taken in moderation. if one is not careful, they'll end up with a considerable amount of bodyfat, even for an Ecto.
>> Anonymous
>>44952
I compete in judo
>> Anonymous
>>44957
Okay, fair enough you don't want to move up a weight class, BUT.
Have you considered moving up to the top of the next weight class?

And judo's got alot from the hip\leg yes? So you do LOTS of deadlifts and squats, right? :P
>> Anonymous
OP here; still skinny.

Impressive replies. I guess I shouldn't be surprised we're all a bunch of bony nerds.

I had enormous success doing a 5x5 thrice a week fullbody split emphasizing strength over everything else. For about three months I packed the food down, didn't count calories but was eating a full, protein dense meal every 3 hours. 6 eggs for breakfast, a pound of beef a day, chicken, veggies, the works.

Gained about 10-15 lbs in those three months. Unfortunately school started to kick in again (I'm a biochemistry major) and I lost it ALL within a month.

very distressing.

you skinny-> not skinny guys; how do you manage to eat enough to maintain your mass? I feel if I don't dedicate serious willpower daily to feeding even when I don't feel like it, I atrophy back down to 150 lbs.
>> Anonymous
>>44961
I already am top of my weight class, yah there is a lot of legs and hips in judo I do both squats and front squats weekly (very good for judo) and deadlifts about twice maybe three times a month. Lunges are really good for judo especially with a barbell, as are rowing movements which are delicious for breaking balance
>> Lil Dreamer !UYwMl8CsAs
>>44967
takes a lot of discipline and pre-planning. i usually plan out my meals during the weekdays and prepare them the day before. on the weekends, as i said, i just eat anything as long as i eat every 2-3 hours.
>> Lil Dreamer !UYwMl8CsAs
>>44967
oh, and also, meal replacement protein shakes help when you're running low on time and can't prepare a meal.
>> Anonymous
>>44967
I don't know, I don't follow any specific diet where I try to reach so many calories or so many grams of protein each day.

I honestly just follow Canada's food guide to healthy living as best I can, I drink milk, eat fresh fruit, eat chicken or beef, and pasta. I just try to meet their recommended servings of each of the four food groups each day. I also drink a ton of water and green tea.
>> Anonymous
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>>how do you manage to eat enough to maintain your mass?

It is not hard to scarf down a can of tuna, takes about 3 minutes eating it out of the can. It is cheap too, sometimes the grocery store has like big 10 cans for a few bucks. If you drain all the water out of it, a can is only a few forkfulls really. I keep cans in my desk at work and scarf down at least a can or two a day.

I also make a huge protein shake every morning (4 pretty good sized servings) and drink one right away and save the rest; right when I get home from work I'll drink another, right after working out I'll drink another and then right before bed I'll drink the fourth one.

Plus my normal meals I make sure are really tasty so they are easier to eat. Instead of just eating a straight cooked chicken breast I'll have a bunch of chicken marinating at all times in different tupperware containers of different marinades: lemon-pepper, teriyaki, bbq, etc.

You just have to make your food good so that wen it comes time to eat you can eat it and aren't having to force anything down.
>> Anonymous
>>45013
can of tuna is like 150 calories. I needed to suck back the better part of 2500. Unfortunately I can feel full off just one can
>> rage
>>45029
check the amount of protein in a can of tuna, cause thats the important bit that your going for.
>> Anonymous
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I'm 5'8 and up from around 100ish 3 years ago.
my diet has been crap until recently, I basically ate whatever but i tried to eat a lot dirty bulking basically.

right now my diet is basically

scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast
1/2cup rice as a snack
tuna/chicken sandwhich snack
lift then 2 cups milkandwhey and 1 cup grape juice / creatine
nap
1/2cup rice
tuna/chicken sandwhich
nonfat cottage chease and/or peanut butter sandwhich before sleep

basic diet on a lifting day. On a non lifting day I don't do rice I eat more eggs and i eat a can or two of olives and eat more chicken. basically minimizing carbs on non lifting days.

hoping to gain 10-15lbs in the next few months now that I'm on a diet I'll see.
>> Anonymous
I'm the guy above...
I'm basically doing HIT.doing some drop sets here and there though.