It’s not uncommon for ectomorphic individuals, also known as “weight gainers,” to become frustrated and discouraged when they start trying to build muscle and gain weight. Having an ectomorphic body type means that our body requires a completely different set of rules and techniques to exercise. The main reason for this is due to the fact that our muscles are much more sensitive to stress and tend to break down much faster, as well as taking longer to heal.

For an ectomorph workout to be effective, we need to take into account the way our body and muscles work and handle different types of tension and intensity. Here are 3 quick and easy-to-remember tips that will help you start gaining the muscle mass you’re working so hard for.

Rest more Lift less

It is absolutely crucial that you spend more time out of the gym resting and make up for that time in the gym lifting weights. It has been shown in a number of studies that an ectomorph’s body responds best to training sessions lasting no more than 1 hour, 3-5 times a week.

Compound exercises are key

This is another very important thing to keep in mind, since we only have about an hour to train, it is crucial that we work as many muscle fibers within the target muscle groups as possible. Remember that the more muscle fibers that are worked, the better the results will be. Compound exercises are exercises that affect more than one muscle group at a time and therefore work the largest number of muscle fibers in less time. It is for this reason that you should follow up with compound movement exercises such as:

-Bench press

-Squats

-Clean and Press

-Skull Crushers

-Curl with bar

-Military Press

-I’m asking

-Dead weight

More time under tension = more muscle gains

With an ectomorphic body type, you need to focus on lifting at a pace that allows your muscles to be under tension for a longer period of time. Most people lift at a rate of 2 seconds to lower 0 rest and then 1 second to push or pull the weight back to the starting position. However, studies have shown that increasing the time under tension, especially in the isometric phase, works more muscle fibers. So instead of a 1.0.2 ratio, increasing it to a 1.0.4 ratio would result in a lot more muscle fibers, which means more muscle growth. Other methods that would help would include things like:

-Supersets

-half reps

-Assisted Representatives