Confucius is famous for saying:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
This idea translates perfectly into the world of ectomorphic muscle building, and strength/fitness in general.
It’d be ironic to complicate this article by blathering on, so for the sake of consistency, here are the 7 rules of simplicity for an ectomorph:
- Never train with exercises that make you look stupid. If you’re jumping around or swinging your arms like a lunatic you’re making things too difficult for yourself. Stick with simple exercises.
- Avoid isolation, stick with compound. Focus on pull ups, squats, presses, and other exercises that work multiple muscles at the same time. Focus on compound movements and forget about isolation exercises.
- Eat when you’re hungry. The key is to be mindful of your hunger and understand the truth about why skinny guys don’t eat enough food. Keep snacks nearby and roughly track your calories to see if your goals are being met.
- Rest when you’re in pain. Is a part of your body hurting? Don’t train. Kick back on the couch or have a nap. You need plenty of recovery as an ectomorph, and you’ll certainly be resting far, far more than you could ever train.
- Lift heavy things. Muscle building is just your body adapting to new stress. When you lift heavy things you apply that stress and your body soon adapts. Lift enough heavy things over a sustained period of time and you’ll have more muscles.
- Find your why. Clearly understand why you’re trying to build muscle, or just put on weight. Use muscle building as a means and connect it with an overriding purpose to pull you through times where you lack motivation.
- Use less gear. Home gyms are rife with unnecessary equipment. I’m planning to just have a pull up bar and dumbbells. But even the most serious trainers shouldn’t need more than a barbell, bench, and potentially a squat rack (but there are still ways around the need for that rack).
