Posted on April 03, 2018 by Kate Halsall
A couple of weeks ago, I looked into Body Type training to help with my Do It In 12 journey. If you want to know how that is going, stay tuned for my update blog on that! In the meantime, it’s time to look at one of the other body types as ultimately it could influence how your body responds to diet and training. Today we look at the Ectomorph.
The Ectomorph Revealed
If you Google “ectomorph” it comes up with a simple description: “a person with a lean and delicate build of body” – wow you poor, fragile things! Research suggests that Ectomorphs find it hard to gain weight and build muscle (they have a fast metabolism), have a flat chest and small shoulders. Wow. It’s not all bad though – an Ectomorph can lose fat very easily and have a good lean muscle mass.
Diet for Ectomorphs
Because of the fast metabolism, Ectomorphs need a lot of calories if weight and/or muscle gain is a goal. One article also suggests that Ectomorphs should eat within a few hours of going to be to prevent muscle catabolism over night (breakdown of muscle). From a carbohydrate point of view, an Ectomorph should eat complex carbs i.e. oats, sweet potatoes and brown rice. Protein is a must – one website suggests 2g per kilo of lean body weight, and of course don’t forget good fats should be added to the diet.
Exercise for Ectomorphs
If you’re not a fan of cardio – here’s some good news! If you’re looking to become more muscular, you need to keep cardio to a minimum and focus on short and intense weights sessions, utilising the big muscle groups through compound lifts. Based on research Ectomorphs should be doing 3 days of strength training with a couple of days of low intensity cardio (30 mins max). One website suggested that if you’re looking to gain mass, you should be looking at German Volume Training (10 sets of 10 reps); but if you’re not, stick with an 8-12 rep range and 4 sets.
If you’re an Ectomorph – does this help you? Let us know!