Ectomorph Workout & Diet Guide And The Skinny-Fat Hardgainer Solution

I love when people write articles about being a hardgainer and/or ectomorph. They start off by mentioning how terrible their genetics are and how borderline impossible it is for them to build muscle or gain weight.

This of course is done to make you see that they are (or were) just like you. Why? So you’re more likely to trust what they’re about to say about this subject (and buy whatever it is they’re usually trying to sell along with it).

I mean, a true hardgainer/ectomorph would be skeptical taking advice from someone who was born with amazing genetics, right? That’s fine. I totally get that.

But it’s when the writer gets into the specifics of where they started out that I tend to smile. For example, I’ve seen articles like this begin with claims of the person (a man) being a pathetic 150lbs when he first started working out.

Wow… you really had it rough with those genetics. Poor guy.

Here’s the thing though. I started out at nearly 120lbs (at 5’11) my first day inside of a gym. I had to put on 30 F-ing pounds before I’d even qualify as having the “bad genetics” this person had.

So why am I telling you this? Simple. So you understand that the following article is coming to you from a legitimate text book definition of what we’d all consider an ectomorph, hardgainer and genetic loser to be. Just like you are.

Or, at least… just like you think you are. There’s a big difference. Let me tell you all about it…

What Is An Ectomorph? What Is A Hardgainer?

Well, if you asked most people about these terms, they’d probably tell you that they’re the same thing and have an identical meaning. Usually something along the lines of the following…

That’s how most people would define this body type. And yeah, I’d agree with all of it. Except, there’s a bit more to it than that…

Ectomorph vs Hardgainer: Is There A Difference?

Alright, sure… an ectomorph is a naturally skinny person with a thinner overall frame and faster metabolism who has a harder time gaining weight/muscle than everyone else. And yes, I would say that all of this describes the hardgainer as well.

They are very similar, and there’s tons of overlap between them in that most hardgainers ARE ectomorphs, and many ectomorphs ARE hardgainers. But, if you ask me, there is one very subtle difference here:

Ectomorph + Fat = The Hardgainer

The best example I can give you of what I mean revolves around the word “skinny” which we keep throwing around here. How so? Because some ectomorphs aren’t just naturally skinny. They’re naturally lean. And therein lies a key difference.

I mean, a male ectomorph could be 15% body fat and look super skinny. Another male ectomorph could be 9% body fat and still look super skinny. Hell, in clothes, they’d probably look identical.

But take those clothes off and you’ll see the difference. One is skinny and lean, and one is just plain skinny. Or, more accurately with this body type… skinny-fat.

And that’s what I think a true hardgainer is. There are skinny ectomorphs that are naturally lean and defined (the good version), and there are skinny ectomorphs that are naturally skinny-fat (the bad version). Now granted, both versions suck if your goal is building muscle (and this article is aimed at helping both).

But, that second version — the bad one — that one sucks a little extra. Those are what I call hardgainers.

They’re essentially ectomorphs that aren’t naturally lean. They have all the negative aspects of this body type (super thin frame, fast metabolism, etc.) without the one positive aspect (leanness).

They’re the ones who, while in a caloric surplus, tend to put on more fat and less muscle than most people do with all else being equal. And in a deficit, they tend to lose more muscle and less fat. Basically, a hardgainer’s calorie partitioning is much worse than everyone else’s, including the “good” version of the ectomorph.

With me so far? Awesome. Now it’s time to send half of you packing.

The “Fake” Hardgainer

Here’s the funny thing about all of this. After learning what a hardgainer is, everyone thinks they are one.

I bet most of the people reading this were probably nodding along while thinking “Yes, this is totally me… building muscle is extra hard for me and happens very slowly. I gain too much fat in a surplus, I lose too much muscle in a deficit… thus leaving me skinny-fat. I’m clearly a hardgainer.”

Wanna know why I think that’s funny? Because out of the TONS of people who might THINK they are hardgainers, I’d guess that maybe (at most) 25% of them actually are. Probably less.

Why is this? I think there are two primary reasons.

1. Unrealistic expectations.
   As I’ve covered before, the rate of muscle growth is painfully slow. Yet most people expect to build 20lbs of muscle in 6 weeks like all of the bodybuilding magazines, supplement companies, fitness products and muscle building programs have been promising for decades. Our perception of reality is clouded by a combination of deceptive sales tactics (blatant lies and bullshit claims) and the amazing unrealistic results of steroid users. So when a person isn’t gaining muscle at the “lightning fast” rate they’ve been promised or somehow came to believe was possible, they assume the problem is their crappy hardgainer/ectomorph genetics. Nope. It’s that their expectations are way too high.
2. You eat and train like a moron.
   This is the most common reason of all. Take someone who has approached their goal of building muscle in a way that is less than optimal. Hell, take someone who has approached their goal of building muscle in a way that isn’t even remotely intelligent or effective. Guess what? I just described the majority of the population. Now guess what happens after a few weeks/months/years of training and eating that way? They all come to the incorrect conclusion that building muscle is harder for them than it is for everyone else, and they are… [cue the dramatic trumpets]… a hardgainer!

Sorry, but no.

They are just normal people who attempted to build muscle by doing things that don’t work very well for building muscle.

So the problem isn’t your supposed ectomorph body type or hardgainer genetics. The problem is that you don’t eat enough to support growth and your workout routine is horseshit. Or maybe that you weren’t consistent. Or maybe that you didn’t give it enough time. Or maybe one of the other 100 reasons people fail at improving their bodies.

Like I said, this describes most of the population. It’s why most of the people trying to build muscle don’t get great results. It’s not that the majority of the population are hardgainers… it’s that the majority of the population are dumbasses. (Don’t worry, as a proud long-time former dumbass, I’m allowed to say stuff like that.)

In fact, I think a better name for this group would be “dumbgainer” rather than “hardgainer.” It’s not legitimately harder for you to make gains than everyone else, you’re just going about making those gains in a way that is dumber than you ideally should be… and it just seems harder. It’s not.

So if you’re currently skinny or skinny-fat, and you’ve been trying to change it but your results have been poor, chances are it’s NOT your genetics. Chances are it’s because you’re just doing a bad job at building muscle and/or losing fat. True story.

The Real Hardgainer: Does It Even Exist?

Because this “fake” version is so damn common, it leads some people to claim that there is no such thing as a hardgainer (or even an ectomorph)… there’s just people who eat and train incorrectly for their goal.

To which I say… bullshit.

The true hardgainer definitely DOES exist in that there are people who, when doing everything right, are just genetically below average at gaining muscle. With all else being equal, they’re just physiologically worse at it than most people are. How so?

• Maybe their rate of muscle growth is below realistic averages in terms of the speed they are capable of building it and/or the quantity that gets built.
• Maybe their genetic potential for total muscle gained in their lifetime is below realistic averages.
• Maybe some aspect (or every aspect) of their hormonal profile (testosterone especially, cortisol, insulin, thyroid, etc.) is less ideal than realistic averages.
• Maybe their muscle fiber composition, tendon insertion points and muscle belly lengths are less suited for muscle growth than that of the average person.
• Maybe their overall bone structure, joints and tendons put them at a significant disadvantage for gaining muscle or even just lifting heavy things on a regular basis for the purpose of gaining muscle.
• Maybe their p-ratio is below realistic averages. Maybe with all else being equal, they do gain more fat in a surplus and lose more muscle in a deficit than the average person does.
• Maybe their recovery rate and/or work capacity is below average.
• Maybe they are more injury prone than others.
• Maybe all of the above and then some.

But whatever is it, there are most definitely men and women out there who, with all else being equal, are genetically less-good at muscle growth than the average person is.

You know, just like how there are a few lucky bastards who are above average in all of these categories (the “genetic elite”). And then there’s the majority of the population who is neither above nor below average… they’ll fall somewhere in the middle (aka average).

And some will just use drugs/steroids and make all of this stuff irrelevant.

But the point is, while most of the people who assume they’re hardgainers will fall into the “fake” hardgainer category described above (aka the dumbgainer), there is indeed a decent number of us who can legitimately be considered real life hardgainers.

If you’re one of them, welcome to the club. Please allow me to take your coat and remind you that as long as your diet and workout routine are designed intelligently and executed correctly, you CAN still build muscle (and get lean) despite your less-than-stellar genetics.

The Best Hardgainer/Ectomorph Workout Routine

Alright, so you realized long ago that you had an “ectomorph” body type and assumed you’re a hardgainer… an assumption which may have been confirmed as you read through the beginning of this article.

The next step is figuring out how you need to train to get the most out of your below average genetics and build muscle as well as you can. So, what kind of workout routine is best for people like us?

How You’ve Been Told To Train

If you have ever researched this kind of thing before, I can almost guarantee the majority of what you’ve heard is something along the lines of the following. This is supposedly how an ectomorph/hardgainer should approach weight training for muscle growth…

• Very low volume (very few exercises, very few sets… this body type supposedly overtrains very easily).
• Very low frequency (typically training each muscle group once per week, any more would supposedly be overtaining for this body type).
• Low rep ranges only (rarely if ever going above 5-8 reps).
• Very high intensity (go heavy all the time).
• Go to failure often, maybe even all of the time.
• Focus ONLY on a few big free weight compound exercises (squat, bench, deadlift, etc.). Nothing else.
• Squats, squats and more squats. (And milk.)
• No isolation exercises or machines… ever.
• Very short workouts (get out of the gym in 30-45 minutes!! Even a second longer will supposedly be overtraining for this body type).
• HIT (high intensity training) is a training approach that is often suggested.

Sound familiar? I’m sure it does. It’s exactly what I saw when I went researching the same type of workout years ago, and exactly what I’d find if I went looking again today.

And guess what happened when I tried training this way? Guess what happened when I put all of that advice into action? I got nowhere. (See #3 here for additional details).

Turns out that the type of workout routine that’s supposedly ideal for ectomorphs/hardgainers actually isn’t. It flat out sucks, just like how this type of training tends to suck for the rest of the population, too. I don’t recommend it at all.

How You Actually SHOULD Train

Now here’s what I actually recommend. This is what I’ve personally found to work best for those of us with the ectomorph body type and/or hardgainer genetics… including myself:

1. Progressive Overload = Still The Key

Regardless of your genetics and body type, and above all of the other workout factors I’m going to be mentioning here, the true key to building muscle for EVERYONE is progressive overload. Your #1 training focus is to make sure you’re getting stronger on each exercise over time.

Don’t lose sight of that. It’s more important than everything else.

2. Increase The Frequency

As I’ve written tons about before, pretty much all research and real world experience confirms that typical low frequency training (hitting each body part once per week) is the least effective training frequency for virtually EVERYONE with any goal, especially building muscle.

This is why I recommend beginners train everything about 3 times per week (ideally using a full body split), and intermediate and advanced trainees hit everything about twice per week (ideally using an upper/lower split, a smarter version of push/pull/legs or some similar workout schedule).

With hardgainers/ectomorphs, I find this recommendation to be EXTRA important. In my experience (and I wasted years training at a shitty once-per-week frequency), we lose muscular, neural and even technical adaptations surprisingly fast. It’s yet another of our crappy genetic traits.

Case in point, when some people take a full week off from training, they can often come back right where they left off and feel fine, sometimes even better and stronger. When I take a week off, I come back mentally and physically fresher for sure (the main benefit of taking that week off), but I require a good few weeks before I’m fully back to where I left off in terms of strength, performance and just feeling comfortable.

To a lesser extent, I think this is exactly why we are so extra bad at low frequency training. We lose way too much progress way too quickly during those full 7 days between training that body part again. So we make some progress and signal new adaptations, but lose some/all of it before that next workout comes along a week later.

Again, I find this to be true for most people… just to a much higher degree with our body type.

3. Avoid High Frequency Training/Full Body Workouts

I know, I just said to avoid low frequency training because we suck at it… and we do. But at the same time, I find that our body type also sucks at higher frequency training which in this case will be defined as training each body part 3 times per week (or more).

Beginners are an exception here. But if you’re past the beginner stage, I’d recommend training each body part more often than once per week, but less often than 3 times. So… about twice. I think this is BY FAR our sweet spot for progression AND I think it’s safer on our skinny/injury prone frame (joints and tendons especially).

I’d also recommend avoiding full body training (which is the most common high frequency split) for the same reasons plus the fact that I just think we don’t do best with full body workouts. When done right, full body workouts are usually a bunch of big compound exercises (sometimes with lots of supersets — another thing I think we suck at — to allow you to fit what you need without the workout taking forever).

But in my experience, our below average work capacity just isn’t ideally suited for training the entire body in a single workout. It’s not that we can’t tolerate something like 4 big compound exercises and maybe 2 smaller isolation exercises in a single workout. If we did an upper body workout fitting that description, we’d do just fine.

But the fact that the exercises being done are training the whole body makes it quite a bit more fatiguing and taxing overall on the CNS. Not exactly something an ectomorph or hardgainer does well with. Again, beginners are the exception.

Additional details here: The Full Body Workout Routine

4. Rest Longer Between Sets (Sometimes) 

In what will become a running theme here as you go through this list, our CNS (central nervous system) recovery and work capacity are both below average. All part of what makes our shitty genetics so damn shitty.

And this fact means we respond to certain aspects of training a bit differently than others and should tweak these things accordingly. One such area is rest periods. If I’m doing a big compound exercise like the bench press, squat or deadlift (for example) in a lower rep range (say 5-8) and therefore heavier, and I try to rest less than 3 minutes (2:30, 2:00, 1:30, etc.), my performance absolutely sucks and the drop-off from one set to the next is substantial.

In a scenario like this (big exercise done heavy in a lowish rep range), I ALWAYS take a full 3 minutes on most exercises. Not a second less, and sometimes slightly more (like 3:30). Doing so leads to a huge improvement in my strength, performance, form, ability to progress, and just my overall comfort level on subsequent sets.

Now I’m definitely not suggesting that you take 3 minutes or more between everything. I’m suggesting you do it during your couple of biggest/heaviest lower rep primary lifts of the day, where progressive tension is the main focus.

For your secondary exercises (the stuff in the 8-10, or 10-12, or even 12-15 rep range, where progressive tension is still a big focus, but metabolic fatigue and muscular damage is now a focus as well), I think slightly shorter rest periods (1-2 minutes) are still ideal.

BUT, you may still want to experiment with exactly how long you take. A 30 or 60 second difference doesn’t seem like much, but for us ectomorphs/hardgainers, that tiny time difference can have a surprisingly big impact on our performance. So, experiment. I know exactly which exercises I do best with more or less rest during. You should too.

5. Increase The Volume

I’ve found that the typical super low volume approach that is supposed to be ideal for our body type most definitely is NOT. Don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not suggesting a typical high volume bodybuilding approach or anything close to that either. We’re extra horrible at that too, just like most of the population is (like most things, we’re just much worse at it than they are).

I’m suggesting a point somewhere in the middle… a moderate optimal amount of volume that is neither too high nor too low. Something like 30-60 total reps for each big muscle group per workout, and around half that for smaller muscle groups (with again, about two workouts per week).

6. Widen The Rep Ranges, Vary The Intensity

In all honesty, I do believe that the 5-8 rep range is probably the most important and beneficial rep range for ANYONE trying to build muscle, including us ectomorphs and hardgainers. And if you were forced to only use one rep range, that would probably be the one I’d recommend.

But luckily, you’re NOT forced to only use one rep range. And in that case, I’d recommend using the 5-8 rep range for your big primary exercises (squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc.), but definitely go up into the 8-15 rep range on the accessory stuff.

There’s two main reasons for this. First, our CNS, tendons and joints aren’t built for nothing but heavy low rep work (no one is, really… our body type/genetics are just a lot worse). Second, while progressive tension is the biggest muscle growth signaler (and the 5-8 rep range is ideal for that), some degree of muscular fatigue and damage helps to signal growth too. Going into these higher rep ranges (8-10, 10-12, even 12-15) is ideal for that.

7. Avoid Going To Failure

Our CNS recovery is below average, and going to failure is an absolute CNS killer. This is why there are few aspects of weight training as bad for us as going to failure all the time, or just ending up going to failure more often than we should (which, if you ask me, would ideally be just slightly more frequently than never).

Granted, going to failure all the time sucks for most people, which is why I don’t recommend it. It just tends to suck a whole lot more for people with our genetics.

Case in point… when I’ve occasionally gone to failure on a set or two of my first heavy exercise of the day (especially in consecutive sets), I’ve found that it can sometimes completely blow me out for the entire rest of the workout. My performance on EVERYTHING after that is reduced. I’m more tired. Mentally and physically drained. Just a little out of it overall.

For this reason, I’d highly suggest stopping your sets about 1 rep before hitting failure 98% of the time.

Of that remaining 2%, save 1% of it for the occasional isolation exercise that happens to hit failure (much less problematic to reach failure on higher rep tricep push-downs than on lower rep barbell bench pressing… still not something you should purposely set out to do though), and the other 1% for the occasional time where you feel pretty sure that you’ll get that next rep but end up failing on it anyway (which is something that is bound to happen from time to time since progression is the #1 goal, but still not something you want to happen often and definitely not something should be purposely aiming to make happen).

8. Choose The Right Set/Rep Scheme And Progression Method

I suck at doing traditional straight sets, and I find many other ectomorphs/hardgainers do too. Meaning, if I’m supposed to be doing something like 3×8 with 200lbs on some exercise, I will take forever (if ever) to get 8 reps in all 3 sets with that weight. More likely, I’ll just keep on getting 8, 7, 6 over and over again, finding it extremely difficult (bordering on impossible) to add those 1-2 reps to those later sets.

I just naturally tend to lose 1 rep in each subsequent set with the same weight. Always have (which is why 5×5 with the same weight sucks for me too). Why is this? My theory is that, among other things, it’s a genetic work capacity thing. I’m just not capable of maintaining reps from set to set with the same weight (unless that weight is lighter than I want it to be).

And hey, wouldn’t ya know… hardgainers/ectomorphs typically have a below average work capacity (at least when it comes to strength training… we’re usually quite good at endurance). And pyramid sets? Where you start with the lightest weight and end with your heaviest weight while decreasing reps (e.g. 180lbsx10, 190lbsx8, 200lbsx6)… that’s even worse.

Instead, I’ve found 3 other set/rep schemes to be ideal for me:

1. Do straight sets, but with a rep range instead one specific rep amount. So warm up to my heaviest set, and then get one less rep per set with the same weight (so 3×6-8 instead of 3×8… thus allowing the 200lbsx8, 200lbsx7, 200lbsx6 I’m naturally prone to getting to be the acceptable progression goal).
2. Reverse pyramid. Warm up to my heaviest set, then reduce the weight in subsequent sets while increasing the reps (e.g. 200lbsx6, 190lbsx7, 180lbsx8).
3. Modified reverse pyramid. Warm up to my heaviest set, then reduce the weight each set while maintaining the reps (e.g. 200lbsx8, 190×8, 180lbsx8).

Additional info here: Pyramid Sets vs Reverse Pyramid Training vs Straight Sets

9. Focus Mostly On Big Compound Exercises

Exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, pull-ups, rows, various single leg movements, etc. should most definitely make up the majority of your workout and get the majority of your focus. That’s something I’d recommend to everyone.

10. Certain Machines And Isolation Exercises Are Perfectly Fine, Too

You read and understood #9, right? Good. Having said that, it’s perfectly fine (and often beneficial) to include certain machines and isolation exercises in a smaller secondary role in your workout.

For example, biceps and triceps isolation work is not the devil. When programmed correctly (i.e. tiny amount of it after the more important stuff), it will only help your arms grow… not hurt (seriously).

And stuff like leg presses, lat pull-downs, lateral raises, leg curls, chest flyes, various Hammer Strength machines, cable-based exercises and even the dreaded leg extension? They’re all fine and CAN serve a beneficial role in your workout routine. In fact, in some cases, you may find you’re not built well for certain supposed “required” exercises, but you’re built perfectly for others you’re often told to avoid for some stupid reason.

In my case for example, I avoid the incline barbell bench press (bothers my shoulders) in favor of the incline Hammer Strength machine (feels absolutely perfect for me). Another example below…

11. Squats, Squats And More Squats… Or Maybe Not

Look, if you want to build big legs, the back squat is a fantastic way to do it. This is why I include it in virtually every program I design by default. The thing is, for certain people, the squat isn’t always an ideal exercise.

What kind of people am I referring to? Taller people and/or those with longer legs (a common trait among many (but not all) ectomorphs), and those who are posterior chain dominant (hams/glutes take over during quad exercises).

Now I’m definitely NOT saying that anyone should automatically avoid squats completely. I’m just saying that some people (many of which are ectomorphs) have a body type that isn’t built well for squatting and they’ll end up struggling with it more so than most people will, and getting less out of it than most people will.

In these cases, they might be better off experimenting with focusing less on squats, and more on leg presses, deadlifts, and various single leg exercises (split squats, lunges, single-leg leg press, etc.). Or, just skipping squats altogether in favor of these kinds of exercises.

Oh, and by the way, if you’ve heard that squatting is a requirement for ectomorphs because it releases tons of growth hormones that will make your entire body grow like crazy… that’s bullshit. I mean, there’s truth to “it releases growth hormones” part, it’s just that this training induced hormone spike isn’t enough to actually matter in any meaningful way.

12. Avoid High Exercise Frequency (Maybe)

This one is something I’ve observed with myself, so I can’t say for sure if it’s the same for you (although I’d suspect it could be). And that is, I find I can train muscle groups twice per week with no problem.

BUT, doing the same specific exercises twice per week… something about that just isn’t right for me.

So I can squat on Monday and leg press on Thursday, but squatting both days sucks. I can do heavy weighted pull-ups one day and higher rep lat pull downs on another. But heavy pull-ups twice a week sucks. I can overhead press one day, and do lateral raises on another. But overhead pressing on both days? My body just doesn’t seem to like it for some reason, at least not as well as these other exercise selection scenarios.

Just something to think about and experiment with.

13. Deload

Again, deloading is something I recommend to everyone regardless of body type or genetics. But as you’ve probably figured out by now, people like us tend to “hit the wall” and “burn out” a bit easier than others with better genetics. I also find we hit that wall a bit harder than others, and stall out/backslide faster than most once reaching that point.

Our muscles might not have any problem at all, but it’s mainly our CNS that can’t really take as much hard/heavy training as others can, or at least not for as long as others might be able to take it. Our injury prone joints/tendons certainly can’t either.

For this reason, when we hit that wall, we really need to pay close attention and back off a bit. As mentioned earlier, I think we suck at taking actual time off (e.g. a full week off). Instead, we need to deload, and in my experience we (myself included) do much better by deloading intensity rather than volume. Full details here: How To Deload

14. Avoid Common Injury-Causing Exercises

Technically, every exercise is potentially an injury-causing exercise depending on your form and overall workout routine. And of course, individualization plays a huge role here as some people can do certain exercises forever and be just fine, while others will have problems.

In that same vein, I find that there are exercises that just tend to pose an increased risk to the thin bone structure, joints and tendons of an ectomorph.

First up on that list for me is the straight barbell curl. Now I did straight barbell curls on and off for years without any problem. It always felt a little weird on my wrists/forearms to curl a straight bar (sign #1 that maybe I shouldn’t be doing it), but it wasn’t until years later that it finally caught up with me and became a legit cause of injury. Stick with the EZ curl bar or dumbbells instead.

Heavy chin-ups (underhand grip) were almost an identical issue for me. It always felt a little uncomfortable on my wrists/forearms when gripping the chin-up bar (or lat pull-down bar) with an underhand grip (here we go again), and after doing it long enough/eventually getting heavy enough, they became a problem. Stick with pull-ups (overhand grip), neutral grip (palms facing each others) or rings.

Then we have skull crushers. Even when done with an EZ curl bar instead of a straight bar, they’re a known elbow killer. Either find a safer way of doing them (details here: skull crushers) or avoid them in favor of other less problematic triceps exercises (for example, cable press downs… with a rope or v-bar, not a straight bar).

And I’d be crazy if I didn’t mention dips… likely the killer of more shoulders than any other exercise in existence. Again, some people can do them without problems, but MANY can’t.

The biggest point here is that if ANY exercise (free weight, body weight, machine, barbell, dumbbell, cable, etc.) of ANY kind doesn’t feel completely “right” for your body now or at any point in the future (and again, I find the ectomorph body is more prone to having injury issues than other body types with all else being equal), you need to adjust or avoid that exercise. (For example: 6 Good Exercises I Will Never Do Again)

Unless you’re a competitive powerlifter, there’s not a single exercise you MUST do (yes, even squats). There are plenty of equally effective replacements that WILL be more ideal for your body. Do only those. Because, if you think building muscle is hard now, wait till you try to do it with an injury preventing you from doing what needs to be done.

15. Workouts Longer Than 30-45 Minutes Won’t Kill You

We’ve all been told that we should get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible, ideally within 30-45 minutes. This is supposedly a good guideline for most, but for ectomorphs and hardgainers, it’s supposedly an absolute requirement!

Why? It seems to be a combination of the fact that A) we can supposedly only tolerate super low amounts of volume, and B) at 46 minutes exactly, the cortisol fairy will supposedly show up, drink your testosterone, make your muscles fall off instantly, and add 1 pound of fat to your body for every additional minute you’re still inside the gym.

Or some crazy shit like that? I honestly can’t even keep track anymore. But whatever the claimed reason is, it’s nothing you actually need to care about.

As long as your workouts are intelligently designed and not filled with more than you need to be doing (e.g. stereotypical bodybulding workouts… which are horrible), it’s no problem whatsoever for your workouts to exceed this mythical time frame.

In fact, it’s normal for something like a perfectly designed “upper body day” (as part of an upper/lower routine) to take 60-90 minutes depending on the specifics. Don’t worry. You’ll be just fine. What matters is that your overall workout program is designed optimally… not that each workout lasts a specific (and meaningless) amount of time.

16. Warm Up Just Right

I’m not just referring to the general warm-up for the workout itself (like mobility stuff, prehab work, foam rolling, etc., which is also definitely important), I’m referring to your warm-up sets for each exercise.

Again, the body of the ectomorph and/or hardgainer is a little different than everyone else’s when it comes to building muscle and really just the act of lifting heavy things. One such example I’ve noticed is that if I don’t warm up for an exercise just right, my first set feels heavy as hell. In a “wow, I sooo wasn’t expecting this” kind of way.

And not even just heavy. Like unstable and awkward and weak and sloppy. Where my second set usually feels a lot better, stronger and smoother than the first. What… you’ve experienced what I’m describing before too? It’s not your imagination.

Like most of this stuff, this is something that is true for everyone… but again… just to a more significant degree for us. I’ve previously outlined how to do your warm-up sets before, so definitely check that out. But, here’s one specific tip I’ve found to be hugely beneficial for me.

And that is… the heavy single. My final warm-up set is just 1 rep with 90-95% of my working weight. No matter how thoroughly I’ve already warmed up, this last set primes my nervous system for my working sets better than anything else. For me, on certain exercises, it’s key.

17. Avoid HIT

Nothing else to say really. High intensity training (not to be confused with HIIT, high intensity interval training… although you may want to avoid that too, see below) is just an inferior approach to training (1 set to failure? no thanks) for damn near everyone… us especially. Yet it’s one of the more common forms of weight training recommended to ectomorphs/hardgainers. Avoid it.

18. Avoid The Unnecessary/Stupid Stuff

Off the top of my head…

• Dropsets. Supersets. Forced reps. Eccentric only. Random nonsense before/after/between sets (burpees, push-ups, kettlebell stuff, finishers, etc.). And on and on and on. Um, no. No to all of it. This kind of fancy unnecessary stuff is nothing but counterproductive to the needs of an ectomorph. Avoid it.
• Making sure the right muscle groups are doing the work during various exercises (e.g. making sure your back is working during back exercises and not just your biceps) is definitely important. But, training specifically/solely to get tons of pump in your muscles and be sore as hell the next day? That couldn’t be dumber. Avoid it.
• Changing your workout often? Shocking your muscles? Muscle confusion? Um, no again. Avoid it. You need consistency to make progress, and changing things all the time makes that impossible. As I’ve said before, your muscles don’t need to be shocked. They need to be consistently challenged. Change things only when needed.
• Doesn’t “feel like” you’re doing enough in your workouts? It “feels like” you need to be doing more? Nope. Trust me… you’re doing enough.
• Wondering if you’d build muscle better and faster if you used the popular bodybuilder routines you often see? You most definitely will NOT.
• Worried about your upper and lower chest? Stop it.
• Ladies… scared of becoming too big and bulky like a guy? Don’t worry… you won’t. Only want to lift light weights for high reps so you just get “toned?” Coincidentally, that won’t happen either.

These are just a few common examples of the many unnecessary and just plain stupid things that we often end up doing/thinking about doing which just prevents us from doing the things we truly NEED to be doing. Avoid it. Avoid all of it.

19. Cardio: Limit It Or Avoid It Completely

And speaking of counterproductive to the needs of an ectomorph, we have cardio.

As I’ll cover in detail in a minute, a caloric surplus is the primary dietary requirement of muscle growth, and as you already know, our “fast metabolism” (more on that later as well) makes being in this required surplus extra hard. It may seem impossible, but it’s not. It’s harder for sure, but it’s still very doable.

However, do you know what makes it even harder? Burning tons of additional calories through cardio.

For this reason, if you have trouble eating enough to support growth (like most ectomorphs usually do) and want to put yourself in the best possible position for successfully meeting your calorie intake needs, I’d highly suggest keeping your non-weight training activity limited to nothing but small amounts of light and easy cardio.

In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that most ectomorphs will do best if they just avoid all forms of cardio completely. I know I do.

For me personally, when muscle growth is my goal, I do absolutely nothing but weight training. Additional activity just makes things harder/worse for me. Trust me, I’ve tried. I do best when my rest days literally are rest days. No cardio, no “conditioning,” no anything. With the possible exception of stuff like foam rolling, I’m just resting, recovering and eating.

Recommended Workout Routines

If you’re looking for a routine that already incorporates most of what you just read into a complete program designed for muscle growth, I’d highly recommend checking out The Muscle Building Workout Routine. That routine is basically an improved version of the first routine I used that actually worked well for me. Extremely well.

Unless of course you’re a beginner, in which case I’d recommend starting out with The Beginner Weight Training Routine instead.

And if you’re looking for more than that, my compilation of The Best Workout Routines might be worth checking out, too.