I've Been There

What makes me suited for this job? Well, I've been there. I was 145 pounds when I was a junior in high s hool. In four !ears, I built m!self to over "15 pounds and ompeted in a bod!building ompetition. I won't be mistaken for #le$ or #rank an! time soon, but I'll be darned if I don't ma$imi%e m! own potential. What m! journe! has taught me is that e tomorphs an build a respe table ph!si&ue with the right approa h.

Ectomorph Training
#1: Think Intensity, Not Volume
'o put it bluntl!, the high(volume, 1" e$er ise, 4)(set split routines seen in bod!building maga%ines don't work for e tos. *an! of us get thrown off tra k be ause what we read is the standard +,(1" reps for h!pertroph!+ re ommendation. -f ourse, that rep range has stood the test of time be ause it works . for most people. I spent a few !ears of m! earl! training areer doing the t!pi al 5(da! split, making sure to bomb and blit% ever! mus le with 4(5 sets of double(digit reps. If I didn't feel a mus le was e$hausted enough, I would toss in some drop set and superset a tion. /ooking ba k, I ould ki k m!self, be ause I probabl! broke down as mu h mus le as I ended up building0 1ot until I grew wiser did I a ept that I made mu h &ui ker gains in si%e and strength when I slashed the volume and bumped up the intensit!. 'his meant sta!ing in the 2(, rep range 3sometimes lower4 for "(4 sets, and doing no more than 5(4 movements per training session. 6emember, !ou alread! have a ridi ulousl! fast metabolism7 therefore !our goal is not to burn a motherload of alories in the g!m. *us le grows at rest and not during the a tual training session, so pra ti e that. 8s an e tomorph, !ou need to adopt the +hit it and &uit it+ prin iple9 :timulate the mus les with just as man! sets, reps, and e$er ises as needed and then get the hell out. 'his is ver! effe tive be ause !ou a tuall! end up putting some weight on the bar due to the lower repetition and set demands. 'his greater load will then tap into the fast(twit h

motor units that have the highest growth potential, the ones !ou obviousl! want to ma$imi%e for in reased mass. In short, make !our training more intensit!(fo used and less volume(oriented. ;ight! to ninet! per ent of 16* is !our sweet spot.

#2:

et Basic

Isolation e$er ises do not have an! pla e in an e tomorph's training program. 'oo man! e tos blindl! follow the popular bod!building routines endorsed b! gu!s who usuall! aren't e tomorphi and often have some hemi al enhan ement to boot. 'hose gu!s an grow just fine doing ,(1) e$er ises a workout, 2 da!s a week. <ou an't. It's time to ut the fat from !our program and fo us on what's going to give !ou the most bang for !our bu k. It doesn't do !ou an! good to be in the g!m for an hour and a half when !ou ould a omplish all !ou reall! need in 45 minutes. I know that's a hard on ept to swallow, but swallow it !ou must. -therwise, !ou're doomed to sta! where !ou are0 With that being said, appropriate e tomorph e$er ises need to meet three riteria9 1. =oes it stimulate multiple mus les? ". >an !ou load it to an appre iable degree? 5. Will it set !ou up for ma$imal su ess? ?ere's a list of the primar! e$er ises an e tomorph needs9

=eadlift 3an! variation4 @o$ :&uats 3ba k and front4 #loor Aress *ilitar! Ain Aress

'hese basi movements are going to form the meat of !our program, atta king !our fast( twit h motor units and stimulating a ton of mus le with 6-*s suitable to !our e tomorph limbs.

The !rogram

I've outlined a four(week meso ! le on a three(per(week training fre&uen ! that will ma$imi%e an e tomorph's spe ifi needs. <ou'll noti e it's straightforward, but it doesn't need to be ompli ated. 8gain, the obje tive is to get in, hit it, and grow.

Notes

#o us on adding weight to the bar on the primar! lifts and with the a essor! e$er ises ea h week. #igure out !our one(repetition ma$imums for the primar! lifts and use the appropriate loads for the pres ribed reps. If !ou don't do this, !ou're not going to have mu h dire tion in !our training. 'he numbers are essential.

In addition, the shorter time that !ou're in the g!m will re&uire !ou to absolutel! get after it on ever! single rep. We don't want an! missed reps from a la k of fo us or te hni&ue. 'his is wh! !ou're allowed to rest as long as !ou need between sets. If !ou finish the workout and feel like !ou didn't get mu h out of it, !ou didn't push !ourself as hard as !ou ould have. Bive !ourself at least 4, hours between sessions. 8t the end of the four(week ! le, assess how !ou feel. If !ou need a week to de(load, do it. If not, then simpl! start ba k at Week 1.

"ay 1 # "ea$li%t&Emphasis
Week:ets6epsC 16* 1 5 2 ,5C " 4 5 D)C 8>onventional =eadlift 5 5 , ,)C 4 4 5 D)C @>hin(Ep 1(4 5 2(, >@arbell 6ow 1(4 " 1) ;$er ise

"ay 2 # !ress&Emphasis
Week:ets6epsC 16* 1 5 2 ,5C " 4 5 D)C 8#loor Aress 5 5 , ,5C 4 4 5 D)C 1 5 2 ,5C " 4 5 D)C @*ilitar! Ain Aress 5 5 , ,)C 4 4 5 D)C >>lose(Brip =umbbell @en h Aress1(4 5 , ;$er ise

"ay ' # ()uat&Emphasis

Week:ets6epsC 16* 1 5 2 ,5C " 4 5 D)C 8@o$ :&uat 5 5 , ,5C 4 4 5 D)C @6ear(#oot ;levated :plit :&uat1(4 " 1) >:traight(/eg =eadliftF 1(4 5 , ;$er ise

*ther +actors
?opping onto the right training program is onl! half the battle for the eternal e tomorph. <our other war is fought in the kit hen, where the ommitment must be made to onsume plent! of &ualit! alories. 'he problem is, most e tomorphs think more alories means having a few more oun es of hi ken at dinner or tossing in an e$tra egg at breakfast. 'o put on serious mass !ou need a lot of all the ma ronutrients, not just protein. *ake sure !our diet ontains onsiderable amounts of the following9 ;ggs 3not egg whites4 -ats Water 3wh! is it onl! fat loss diets re ommend this?4 -live oil 1utsGnut butters @ananas 8pples #ish 6i e Arotein powder Aotatoes @ro oli *ilk @eef Aoultr! Aeri(workout nutrition 'his is just a ursor! list, and !ou ertainl! don't have to eat ea h of the above ever! single da!, but making sure ea h one appears regularl! in !our weekl! menu is a great start. 6emember, failing to plan is planning to fail.

,rap&-p
:ome of the most impressive ph!si&ues to ever gra e a over of a mus le maga%ine started out as painfull! skinn!, so don't use !our bod! t!pe as an e$ use . follow the rules and get after it0