If you’re constantly putting hours into the gym and in your diet but struggle to put on muscle mass and gain body weight in general, you’re definitely an Ectomorph. And you probably ask yourself this question a lot: Is it bad to be an ectomorph?
The short answer is no. In fact, being an Ectomorph has a lot of perks, you can eat absolutely anything without a single worry about gaining too much weight, you have more chances of not getting affected by all the problems that come with obesity, your body will always look lean throughout the whole year and you will never struggle with losing weight.
More on the Ectomorph body type here.
Before we talk about all the advantages of being an Ectomorph, let’s get the traits and disadvantages out of the way first.
Traits of being an Ectomorph
Ectomorphs are people that always struggled with gaining weight since childhood. Their metabolism is like a factory that always requires energy. So from the outside, ectomorphs tend to have a small-looking physique that’s wrapped around a small skeleton structure, thin wrists and they’re above average when it comes to height. That’s because they have long legs and long arms which is not really advantageous to lifting heavyweights.
Ever since I was a child, people would always come up to me and say that I wasn’t eating enough or that I looked like a skeleton, and no matter how much I ate at the time, I didn’t see any results.
So to summarize, the most common Ectomorphs traits are:
- Thin-bones
- Narrow shoulders
- Narrow hips.
- Flat chest
- Usually tall
- Lean
- Thin wrists
- Long legs
- Long arms
Disadvantages of being an Ectomorph
When it comes to muscle growth potential, Ectomorphs are usually considered ‘hard gainers’, this means that they will always struggle with putting on muscle mass and gaining weight, the main reason being their extremely fast metabolism which is constantly burning those much-needed calories on basic activities. And that’s been my situation and my struggle when I was younger, me and my friends would lift weights every day, drink shakes and eat raw eggs and we would all get stronger. They gained weight, but all I did was just get stronger, nothing else!
Ectomorphs are the type of people that can become endurance athletes like marathon runners for example because they are naturally gifted in terms of endurance but they find a hard time trying to compete in sports that require strength.
Advantages of being an ectomorph
Even with all the drawbacks of being an ectomorph, it still has a lot of amazing and unique perks. In fact, many ectomorphs managed to make incredible transformations in a short period of time. Yes, you’re not gonna become a professional bodybuilder but at the very least, you can still pack on some serious muscle mass, it’ll just require tons of hard work, dedication, commitment, and patience.
Check out our awesome ectomorph workout plan if you want to get serious about building those muscles.
Let’s take a closer look at all the unique benefits of being an Ectomorph:
Forget About a Strict Diet
Everybody loves eating, right? Well, as an Ectomorph, you have a free pass to eat whatever you want and whenever you want because as I mentioned multiple times, you have a fast metabolism that requires you to always provide energy to it. All other body types are extremely jealous of this perk, but everything has a limit, so don’t overdo it.
Your Small Gains Will Make You Look Big
Because of the small skeleton structure that all ectomorphs tend to have, packing just a little bit of muscle mass will already make you look big and lean. Now imagine if you put in tons of work and dedication and actually manage to build some serious muscles, you’ll look like a supermodel! This sort of illusion is such a nice perk to have as an Ectomorph.
Long Limbs For The Win
As I said before, Ectomorphs tend to have longer limbs (arms and legs), this will help you hide all the excess body fat that you may gain by having more surface area for your fat to be stored in, contrary to someone who has shorter limbs.
Dominate All The Sports
Just imagine all the possibilities and mechanical advantages you can have as an ectomorph with long limbs in all types of sports. You’ll have a longer reach, a larger stride, and a better endurance overall.
Aesthetic Look
As an Ectomorph, you’ll look pretty good in clothes and even better naked. With all those unique muscle definitions and veiny arms, you’re bound to get a lot of attention and as you get older, your metabolism will start to slow down which gives you the ability to pack on even more muscles and know what it feels like being a mesomorph.
In conclusion, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of your body type is a great way to recognize your strengths and address and balance out your weaknesses. So you’re going to have to train harder and smarter in order to see better results.
