Whether you want to become a professional or you just want to sculpt the body of your dreams, becoming a bodybuilder is a challenging journey but a highly rewarding one. And according to many people, bodybuilding has a lot of benefits. Not only will it help you achieve a fit body, but it will also develop a fit mind. When it comes to Ectomorphs, we all know and heard how hard it is to gain weight and build muscles so it’s logical to ask yourself: “Can Ectomorphs become bodybuilders?”, “Can Ectomorphs become bodybuilders If they can hardly gain weight?”
Although it’s more challenging for Ectomorphs, becoming a bodybuilder is quite possible. It all comes down to having a workout plan that’s well adapted to your body type as well as a diet that will provide enough energy for your body to grow muscles.
If you’re a beginner Ectomorph bodybuilder or you’re just thinking about starting your journey, here are 8 tips to get you up and running instantly:
Be Proud Of Your Current Body
If you’re still hesitant about starting your bodybuilding journey, then you’re probably too afraid to challenge yourself. I get it, as an Ectomorph when you’re first starting out, your goal weight is probably everybody else’s starting point which can be pretty demotivating. But keep in mind that everybody starts somewhere. No one starts with the body of their dreams and not everyone will have the same advantages when it comes to weight lifting. So in order to succeed, you need to get over this hesitance and just start. Think of it this way, what are you gonna lose if you start right now?
Challenge Yourself In The Gym
When you’re first starting out in the gym, the weights that you consider a challenge are probably someone else’s warm-up and that’s totally okay. This should get you motivated to keep pushing yourself and breaking those Ectomorph boundaries. Nothing comes close to the feeling you get when you manage to lift a new heavyweight and start progressing. That progress is what kept me motivated and excited to go to the gym the next day to see if I can break my record again. And as I keep mentioning in pretty much all my articles, Ectomorphs NEED to lift heavy focusing on compound movements. Because of their rapid metabolism that always burns calories, lifting heavy and doing compound movements is the only way to maximize your muscle growth while consuming the least amount of energy.
Eat a Lot
This should be pretty obvious, no matter how good your workout plan is, you won’t see any results if you don’t have a good healthy diet. Ectomorphs tend to burn calories at a rapid rate due to their fast metabolism. In order to overcome this burden, they need to always have a calorie surplus. To put it simply, this means that if your body needs 3000 calories per day, you need to consume 3500 calories. Those extra 500 calories are what we call a surplus. This surplus will be beneficial in order to gain weight and gain more muscle mass.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
I didn’t just emphasize that word for no reason, staying hydrated is one of the most important rules for Ectomorphs. Preferring water over any other drink is a challenging skill (Yes, I consider it a skill) to learn but a very rewarding one. Learn how to love it, and constantly drink it. Did you know that 70% of your muscles are made up of water? How do you expect them to grow if you’re not giving them what they want? For Ectomorphs I recommend drinking about a gallon (3.5 to 4 liters) of water every single day.
Avoid All Sorts Of Distractions
When you’re at the gym, you need to focus on the task at hand. The task of becoming a better version of yourself. The task of sculpting that dream body of yours. Avoid all sorts of things that can distract you. Avoid using your phone during your workouts (except if you’re using it for music). Minimize your interactions with people. This doesn’t mean that you have to ignore everybody and become a jerk, if somebody says hi or wants you to spot them then do it. But useless interactions that will just get you distracted should be avoided at all costs. You’re there to do a job so focus only on working out.
Don’t Follow Random Workout Routines
Because you’re an Ectomorph, you can’t afford to just follow a random workout plan and expect to see results. In fact, you need to follow a workout routine that’s adapted to your body type in order to maximize your muscle growth potential. If you’re lost about finding a program, consider following my own personal Ectomorph workout plan that I’ve been using ever since I started and that’s been giving me some really good results. You should also check out my Ectomorph home workout plan if you don’t have the option to go to the gym.
Be Respectful In The Gym
You want to avoid being known at the gym as “that guy”. So make sure you’re respectful to everybody around you. Before using any equipment, ask if someone else is using them. Make sure to bring a towel to wipe out all the sweat from the machines and weights that you used during your workout. And most importantly, don’t be the guy that yells while lifting just to bring attention to yourself. So annoying!
Don’t Quit
As an Ectomorph, there will be times when you’ll constantly think about quitting. Trust me, I know how frustrating it can be when you’re training hard but barely see any results. I’ve also thought about quitting, but I managed to overcome this thought every single time. That’s because I kept reminding myself of the reason why I started this journey in the first place. I want to gain weight and I want to sculpt my dream body and I will never stop until I achieve that goal. The Ectomorph bodybuilding journey is a long stressful one. So don’t quit. Not only will it concern just your body, but it will also teach you to achieve anything you want in this life.