We’ve gotten a lot of questions about the best supplements for ectomorphs, what brands we recommend, and whether we need them at all. The answer to that last question is simple: of course you don’t need them. You can build muscle just fine with or without them. In fact, until you know how to build muscle without them you really shouldn’t be buying them at all. Once you’ve got the fundamentals down though, adding in some key supplements can drastically improve your results, make your life a hell of a lot easier, improve your health and even save you some money—if you’re smart about it.
These probably aren’t the supplements you expect though, and you might not be taking them for the reasons you expect either. Us ectomorphs need to supplement a little differently. So we’ve put together a protocol. We aren’t just recommending supplements, we’re recommending a specific combination of supplements taken at particular times that work incredibly well for strength training ectomorphs looking to build muscle and stay lean.
Ectomorphs Need to approach supplements differently
Most supplements are targeted at the average guy. The average guy is overweight and looking to get leaner. Maaaybe he’s also looking to pack on muscle while he’s at it. This is the world that the supplement companies are presented with, and they respond by making supplements that are targeted at these guys. We need something a little different.
Look at BCAAs, one of the most common workout supplements available these days. They’re an ingredient in pretty much every workout supplement out there … yet us ectomorphs don’t need them at all.
See BCAAs are found in protein, and different protein sources have different amounts of them. As naturally skinny guys we’re much better off eating their calorie-rich cousin—whey protein. A classic 30g scoop of whey protein actually has about 6g of BCAAs in it, which is more than a typical 5g scoop of BCAAs has. (Obviously.) Besides, the other nutrients present in whey boost muscle protein synthesis post-workout far higher than BCAAs alone, making whey far superior for us ectomorphs. (study) But if you were the average guy, calorie-light BCAA supplements become a valid option.
This supplement protocol has one type of guy in mind: the naturally skinny ectomorph.
Do ectomorphs need supplements?
Hell no. And we aren’t trying to con inexperienced trainees into buying supplements they don’t need, so I’m going to tell you right now: if you aren’t training and eating properly these supplements are not for you. They aren’t magic, and they won’t build muscles out of thin air. You still need wicked muscle stimulation from a solid strength training program, and a great nutritional foundation that’s able to build muscle.
A good program (like ours) that includes both training and nutrition is the #1 place that you want to invest. The next crucial ingredient for success is actually doing the program. These two things will get you further than any combination of supplements—guaranteed. No amount of supplements make up for a sub-par training plan. And no amount of supplements make up for not getting your ass off the couch.
The benefits of investing in a solid plan last for life. You won’t eat your way through $200 of information and then have to go buy more—you can invest in it once, develop a solid training and nutritional foundation, and collect your results. Until you know what you’re doing all the money you spend on supplements will be wasted, because you won’t be getting anything out of them. In fact, once you know what you’re doing, you’ll probably realize that you don’t even need supplements, because your results will be so good without them.
- Crappy program + supplements = no results, frustration, and giving up
- Mediocre program + supplements = slow and unpredictable results, if any
- Great program + no supplements = great, steady, reliable results. You’ll soon have a sweet physique and bear-like strength.
- Great program + intelligent supplements = “holy $%& man! Where did all those muscles come from!”
So, this supplement plan assumes that you’re an ectomorph with a plan. I’ll even take this one step further—this supplement list is for guys that can already get consistent results out of that plan. If you’re still working out the kinks save this stuff for later.
With those two elements in play these supplements will help you transform yourself much faster. All of these supplements are tried and true, and we’ve personally used this combination with great success. They’ll make you more muscular, stronger, and perhaps even healthier. Quickly.
We recommend a nearly identical protocol to our members, too. Albert’s a good example of someone kicking ass with a busy schedule (young doctor with 14+ hour shifts), finding a way to eat enough good food anyway, training as consistently as he can, and supplementing intelligently as the cherry on the cake. The supplements aren’t the key factor in his gains, but they probably helped.
Why this supplement protocol kicks serious bony ass
You can do fantastically well without any supplements, and some of our guys do go that route. In practice, though, this protocol can have a huuuuge impact on your results. The reason is simple: this protocol isn’t just a bunch of vitamins and fancy patent protected formulas—it contains a hell of a lot of calories, and calories are exactly what us skinny guys need. Consuming the perfect types of calories at the perfect moment is a pretty big deal when it comes to building muscle. The fact that you’ll be consuming these supplements as a calorie-dense liquid makes this combo even more powerful for us ectomorphs, because it makes it a breeze to down 1000+ post-workout calories.
And it’s cheap. It’s cheap compared with other supplements and even with regular boring old food. I mean if you want to build muscle your calories need to come from somewhere. Whey protein is a very affordable type of high efficiency protein (compared with meat, eggs and dairy, which are also high efficiency protein sources). Carbohydrates are usually pretty cheap, but the maltodextrin that we’re recommending is extremely cheap. Best of all, these simple ingredients we’re recommending don’t just undercut the price of the fanciest and most complicated supplements out there—they perform just as well or better.
As far as brands go we’ve done our best to hook you up with the best ones. Full transparency: these are affiliate links, so you’ll get us 5-15% commission if you buy them via the links—which would be fantastic. We’ve used these guys ourselves in the past and we really like them. They’re reliable and affordable and stock our favourite brands. You may save some money too, because we’ve tried to hook you up with the best deals we could find.
I’m going to explain the four different muscle-building powerhouse supplements that we recommend for us strength training ectomorphs. At the end of the article I’ll outline the specific protocol we’ve designed so that you know exactly how and when to take all this stuff.
Oh, and, of course, consult your doctor before beginning any supplement regime that you find on the internet 
CREATINE
Creatine is the most powerful legal muscle-building supplement. Ever. It’s also 100% safe, with no reported disasters after decades of rigorous testing. The studies are pretty impressive. This stuff actually works. Secretly mixing creatine into a trainee’s coffee in the morning radically improves his muscle gains? Pretty fearsome.
Some guys joke that creatine supports the entire muscle-building supplement industry, and that isn’t so far from the truth. When you start reading supplement ingredients you’ll be amazed at how many of them have a few grams of creatine tucked away into every serving. The stuff is cheap and it actually works. How many supplements out there would still produce results if you yanked the creatine out of them? Not many. Not many at all.
Think of most supplements like mix drinks. There are a lot of cool colours, flavours and ingredients, but the whole point of them is the alcohol. Creatine is the alcohol. We aren’t really fans of mix drinks, so we’re recommending that you skip all the fancy proprietary blends and just head straight to the good stuff: creatine monohydrate. (There are other types, like creatine ethyl ester, but they’re more expensive and less effective.)
Creatine helps your body replenish ATP, which increases anaerobic power—the type of power you need to haul heavy-ass weights. Being able to lift more weight increases the load you’re placing on your muscles and on your body, meaning that you’ll have pretty fantastic muscle stimulation and a greater hormonal response to your training. The real benefit comes from the increased skeletal muscle synthesis and glycogen storage that comes along with having high concentrations of creatine in your system. This means that you’ll get more muscle out of the food that you’re eating.
Now, as with virtually everything in the supplement world, there are a lot of extremely expensive and fancy variations out there. You don’t need them. Simple creatine monohydrate is still the king of creatine. You’ll save a ton of money and get all the benefits. You also don’t need to get fancy with how you take it, as you may have heard. Mix it into your tea, coffee, water—whatever.
Check out this study showing that following a great training program for 8 weeks with post-workout sugar produced 6 pounds of muscle growth, and 9 pounds of muscle growth with post-workout sugar + creatine. Not bad. That’s a 50% improvement in muscle mass due to creatine. And the post-workout sugar? That’s up next.
Click here to check out the creatine brand we recommend
MALTODEXTRIN
Most fancy recovery drinks are packed full of dextrose or maltodextrin and cost an enormously scary amount of money. This particular tub is scary because it’s so cheap. At 24 cents per serving it’s almost too cheap to believe. You’d think you were buying a tub of sugar … and you’d be pretty much correct.
Sugar is a little confusing, since there are a few different common types. The carbohydrates that you eat are all converted into glucose, at which point your body can store them for use as a fuel source. If you consume them properly you’ll keep all that fuel stored in your liver and muscles (glycogen), instead of converting them into fatty acids (flabs).
One option is dextrose. This particular type of sugar, glucose derived from corn, is one of the cheapest foods on the planet, digests extremely quickly, and is a dirt cheap source of muscle-building carbs. Taken while working out it’s a pretty effective supplement for ectomorphs trying to build mass. It’s a valid option, but it’s hard to find and hard to stomach (because it’s so damn sweet).
The supplement that we’re recommending is maltodextrin – a glucose polymer. It’s made up of many glucose units bound together. It’s a starch, so instead of tasting like sugar it tastes more similar to flour. It digests a teensy bit slower (probably a good thing), and we’ve found that our members prefer the taste.
That study in the creatine section is said to have produced “some of the highest non-steroid increases in lean mass”—badass. While the study was technically studying creatine, the carbohydrates they were giving them were a huge factor in producing muscle growth, which is why both training groups did so well. The training program itself was also a factor. It was a really well designed strength training program, which is surprisingly rare for studies.
Click here to check out the maltodextrin brand we recommend
We picked this brand because it’s so pure. It has one and only one ingredient (maltodextrin). It’s also really damn cheap.
WHEY PROTEIN
It’s a processed animal-based protein source. Nothing all that weird about it—drinking unflavoured whey protein powder is quite simply drinking a concentrated version of the quickly digested protein found in dairy products: whey protein.
Whey is a little bit cheaper and has a slightly smaller amount of corollary vitamins and nutrients when compared with meat, since it’s pretty much pure protein. It’s an easy, cheap and convenient way of getting in your daily protein, but there’s really nothing special about it. In fact, since it’s highly processed, it’s actually a little bit less effective than, say, a chicken breast. A chicken breast would taste pretty funky blended up into a fruit smoothie though, so whey is sometimes best
The only time when whey really shines is when you mix it with maltodextrin and drink it while working out. Whey digests extremely quickly and is really high in branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Combined with maltodextrin it will have a powerful anabolic effect and provide your body with exactly what it needs to build muscle.
Click here to check out the whey protein brand we recommend
This particular brand is good for three reasons:
- It’s a reputable company, and the whey protein itself is very high quality. An interesting (indie) study was recently done into many of the popular brands of whey protein. The study got a lot of attention because of how controversial it was – a lot of popular brands were making false claims. This brand (Optimum Nutrition) wasn’t, and was thus ranked the highest.
- It’s a whey isolate / hydrolysate mix, which is very quickly digested and absolutely perfect for drinking when working out.
- It has 4g of glutamine in every scoop. If you buy a brand that doesn’t contain glutamine, you can buy it separately, but this is a much cheaper and more convenient way of doing it. Glutamine is great at keeping your immune system strong and helping you recover from workouts, and it has a slew of other benefits as well. The main reason you want it mixed in with your protein powder though is that it’s acid-neutralizing. Everything else in this workout drink is quite acidic, which can leech nutrients away from your bones and muscles. The effects of this are fairly negligible if your diet is balanced overall, but the glutamine prevents it, meaning you’ll do an even better job of building up your muscles and bone density.
*If you want a non-workout protein powder to take along with meals use this casein protein, but keep in mind it presents no advantage over real food. It’s handy and affordable though if you’re not much one for cooking.
**If you don’t handle whey protein well (allergies) or you’re avoiding it for moral reasons (vegan) then you can go with rice protein. Most rice protein tastes like dirt and isn’t all too effective but this one, Sun Warrior, is actually pretty fantastic both from a quality standpoint and from a taste standpoint.
FISH OIL
My personal favourite. It directs more of your calories towards muscles and less towards fat. It improves carbohydrate storage, protein storage, metabolic rate, and, most importantly, muscle protein synthesis (MPS).
What effect will this have? You’ll gain more muscle and less fat.
The powerful type of omega-3s in fish oil (EPA and DHA) do this by making the plasma membranes in your cells healthier, and thus function like they should. Modern diets are deficient in omega 3s, so our bodies are a little off-kilter by default. This will help bring you back to the way you should be already. The side effects include better cardiovascular health, a reduced risk of developing cancers, and a reduced risk of diabetes. Many people report feeling “better” after spending a few weeks supplementing with fish oil. This likely because it can help reduce anxiety, improve your mood, increase motivation, and reduce inflammation and soreness.
The studies done into this are extremely promising, and fish oil is something that I highly recommend to everyone—including my parents.
Most of the body composition studies done with fish oil were conducted on obese males with sedentary lifestyles, so don’t follow the advice on the box. As a skinny guy you want to rack up about 2g EPA and 1.5g DHA every day. That’s a tough challenge to do with those dinky little fish oil capsules—so don’t use the capsules. Liquid fish oil is higher in purity and a hell of a lot easier to take.
Jared and I love NutraSea and it comes highly recommended by most nutrition experts we come across. All natural ingredients, a powerful blend of a key fish oils, EPA and DHA content that dreams are made of, and it has a pleasant subtle lemon flavour (no fish oil breath).
Click here to check out the fish oil brand we recommend
THE PROTOCOL:
Training drink: Whey + maltodextrin + creatine
A typical guy would want 30g whey, 60g maltodextrin, 5g glutamine (already in the protein) and 5g creatine to create a good hormonal situation (insulin and growth hormone, primarily) and optimal recovery from his workouts. This is similar to what you’d find in a pre-made workout drink or “recovery” formula. Some of them, like SuperPump, have just BCAAs + creatine instead, because they don’t want the calories from the whey and the maltodextrin. This is good—most guys eat too many calories, which is why most guys are chubby.
We aren’t typical guys who need to be avoiding excess calories though. We also aren’t trying to just “recover from our workouts”. We’re naturally skinny ectomorphs who are trying to add tons of lean muscle mass to our bony ‘bods. We want record-breaking results here that people gasp and whisper about, not three years of arduous work for a few pounds of muscle. We want you guys being (falsely) accused of rampant steroid abuse and top secret military muscle-building experiments.
As, say, a mid-sized 150 pound skinny male you’d want two or three times that amount to build the maximum amount of muscle. If you’re skinny-fat, take a double dose. If you’re skinny skinny—a ripped ectomorph—then take a triple dose. (And scale back the dosage as you grow.)
I’m a true ectomorph and I personally mix up 90g of protein, 180g of carbs, and 15g of creatine when I’m really trying to gain weight. (When I’m coasting I eat fewer calories and try to get more of them from whole foods.) I start sipping on it as I warm up, and I chug whatever’s left when I finish my workout. That bad boy racks up 1080 calories of exactly the kind of nutrition we want when training. It tastes pretty crappy (think liquid cake), but nothing will guarantee muscle growth like consuming tons of extremely effective calories at the most crucial muscle-building moment. For most of us skinny guys, who often have trouble consuming enough calories, this is the magic formula we’ve been missing.
“But Shane won’t this make me fat?!”
Hell no. This has to do with the glut4 transponders that are activated when training, and the synergistic anabolic effect that the protein creates—but that’s a lesson for another day. Don’t drink this beast if you aren’t training though. You’d get fat. If you are training, don’t worry. All you’ll build is muscle. And you’ll build a lot of it.
Daily Creatine: Take 3-5 grams every day. Sprinkle it on your cereal, put it in your coffee/tea, mix it with water—whatever you like. On workout days you don’t need to worry about it, since it will be in your workout drink.
It will take a few weeks for your body to reach maximum levels from steadily taking it, so If you want to load up on creatine quickly just take three or four 3-5g doses for the first week (if you take more you’ll just pee it out). Research is unclear about whether there’s an advantage to loading up quickly vs steadily—both ways work wonders. I personally load up steadily.
Daily Fish oil: 2g EPA, 1.5g DHA daily.
If you go with NutraSea this works out to one tablespoon of fish oil every day. Pretty simple. Ideally you won’t want to have it right before or after training, as your body won’t need to the slowly digesting fats. Any other time is good.
And there you have it!
If you use our links to buy the supplements, thank you! We appreciate it. If you don’t, that’s cool too. The supplements will work just as well wherever you find them.
And once again, if you aren’t ALREADY getting results, don’t spend any money on supplements. They aren’t the magic solution—you need a better plan. Think of supplements like a multiplier. If you gain 0 pounds of muscle and increase your results by 50% you’ve still got 0 gains. If you’re gaining a pound of muscle every week and you add in that same 50% increase, you’re now gaining 1.5 pounds of muscle every week. As an ectomorph who’s tired of being skinny that may be worth your hard earned money. Or it might not be, because, see, either way you’ll end up a beast!
Questions? Ask ‘em in the comments!
Hoping to join in 3 weeks. But thought I would suggest you give affiliate links to more than just bodybuilding.com – how about to Amazon as well – maybe at the end of the article?
- LinkThat’s a good idea Dave. We’ve personally used Bodybuilding.com and enjoyed it, as did Albert, so we feel very comfortable recommending it to others.
Have you used Amazon in the past for this? Good experience? Reasonably fresh supplements? (Hard to tell sometimes, but they should have an expiration date.) I love Amazon for books, so I’d imagine they’d be good.
Looking forward to having you join the program!
- LinkHaven’t ordered any protein or supplements off amazon yet, but my experience with bodybuilding.com was good. Their optimum nutrition protein wasn’t old. I even tried their own casein protein — cookies and cream flavor. No complaints overall, and price is generally cheaper than name brand.
Another thing I like to do is go on slickdeals.net, the “hot deals” forum. Often people will post up good sales on whey protein (amongst a million other things). I just bought 10lbs of EAS whey protein for $44 shipped to my house in 2 days. That was a good deal.
- LinkActually I checked Amazon and they were more expensive, and ended up ordering from your link.
- LinkAh that’s awesome Dave! Thanks. Let us know how you find it!
- LinkI’ve been following you guys for a while now, and noticed that you (primarily from the looks of it) focus on the muscletone of ectomorphs… with all those extra pounds of muscle and the tough workouts, do you also feel more energetic?
The reason I’m asking is because from what I notice with myself, I really need to do some serious cardio to even feel slightly more energetic (I get tired after 5 minutes of intense cardio-biking, so that says a lot on how bad my stamina is).
- LinkCorrect. Our program is geared at making an impressive visual and strength transformation first and foremost. It’s about becoming big, strong, healthy, and having great alignment and posture to support it.
With that said, all of our workouts are functional, and Marco’s specialty is athletic performance and strength. His day job is training athletes. All of our workouts and nutrition advice should increase your performance—explosive performance. You’d be able to sprint much faster (football, basketball, running, soccer, etc) but not necessarily do a better job of running a marathon or long distance biking.
I personally found my stamina and energy levels went way up after strength training, and strength training is well known to be great for cardiovascular health.
If cardio work makes you feel better keep at it! We let our guys to cardio on their off-days if they enjoy it. It isn’t necessary to get results, but there’s no downside whatsoever, and many guys get a lot of value from it
- LinkShane is right about the increase in explosive performance. I’ve noticed I can jump much higher and run much faster after completing most of the program.
- LinkAlso, how many times do you actually work out on a weekly basis? I’ve read in one of your articles that it was every other day or so (correct me if I misread though)… does that mean your program is also specifically targetted to people able to go 3-4 times a week?
- LinkWe train 3 times per week for a few reasons. Some guys add in cardio, sports and recreation in between, and if they enjoy it, we highly encourage it. Jared and I just do the 3 weekly strength workouts, whereas it’s rare to find Marco NOT doing something physical.
Is 3-4 times a week ideal for you?
- LinkHah, I guess I still have too many questions… I’ll put it all in an email
I plan on putting some serious effort in my workouts when I’m back from my holiday (in 3-4 weeks). I have a new workout bench at home (I can do plenty of different full body exercises with it), so I was also hoping that that would also be enough… anyway, writing a rather large email again!
Sorry to bother you guys with them though
- LinkNo worries we like comments
Benches are definitely effective, and it’s absolutely possible to get great results using a homemade gym. Our program is designed for a gym, but it’s pretty easy to modify for guys training at home, and we help a few of our members do that.
- LinkWill starting out with push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups help a bit at the beginning of this program, or do I strictly need to start at a gym? I really don’t have the money right now for a gym membership so that’s why I’m asking.
- LinkIf that is all you can do at the moment then yes! Anything is better than nothing. I would switch the situps to front and side planks as they tend to give you a bit more bang for your buck! It would also be helpful to throw in some bodyweight squats! hope that helps Nick!
- LinkWouldn’t slurping regular rapeseed and olive oil have the same effect or is the Omega 3 concentration so much lower?
- LinkFats can get confusing. Olive oil is an incredible source of monounsaturated fat (omega 9), and you should definitely eat plenty. Monos should make up about 1/3 of your fats.
Saturated should make up the second third. That’ll likely happen naturally. And then you get into the polyunsaturated fats:
Rapeseed is polyunsaturated, but has twice as much omega 6s as 3s, which isn’t ideal. We already get too many omega 6s from nuts, bread, cereals, poultry and vegetable oils.
Fish oil is an omega 3, which is great on its own, but a ton of the advantages come from the high concentrations of EPA and DHA
If you’re a vegan and can’t take fish oil then opt for flax oil instead, which is also an omega 3.
Hope that helps!
- LinkThanks. I did a little more reading and it seems the main difference between flax and fish oil is the DHA and EPA. Flax contains ALA only which has to be converted into DHA/EPA by your body and apparantly it’s not so good at it. But ALA is also needed for other fat conversions, so I probably try out 2 spoons of fishoil and add another of flax to get them all.
I just hope this won’t make digesting all the kalories even uglier.
- LinkYou don’t need to get neurotic about fats. You likely already eat plenty of saturated fats and omega 6s, so if you make a conscious effort to eat olive oil and then supplement with fish oil (or flax) you’ll be doing stellar.
It’s not like we measure out our fats or anything. Our bodies are pretty good at taking care of themselves if you give them the rough ingredients they need.
- LinkGreat article Shane.
2 questions:
Do you guys not use say a post workout and pre workout drink and just have the one mentioned in the article during working out instead?
Also have you guys come across Udos Choice Oil Blend for your fats and if so do you think this could replace what you have specified in this article?
- LinkCorrect. That one monster of a shake is the pre, intra and post workout drink.
Udo’s is a great balanced source of fats, so if you like it definitely take it. It wouldn’t replace anything on this list though. You’d still want the EPA and DHA rich fish oil. If you had to pick one or the other go for the NutraSea.
- LinkHey Guys, i have a few questions before i sign up. It seems as if this has been what i have been looking for. Im 20 years old now and have only been working out seriously for about 4-5 months. i have gained about 5lbs of muscle but would really like to gain another 20 or so on top of that, it just seems like im stuck now though. You can see the difference in mostly my arms. should i do my same workout and start drinking your drink during and see if that helps? any tips?
- LinkI am only 134 lbs now and 5’10″ to put it into perspective. I use a pullup bar, dumbells, and my own body weight for my worksouts (pushups, dips, etc) and i primarily refer to this workout
- LinkThat’s a good question. That workout looks pretty quick, pretty light, and doesn’t work your entire body, so you’d probably want to calm down with the workout drink dosage. Maybe take a single dose instead of a double or triple.
Hehe and make sure to also do a leg workout! Nothing will make you grow more than also hitting your legs, especially with squats and deadlifts. You’ll wind up with a way way better looking and stronger body everywhere. Your entire posterior chain will be much more powerful (back, butt, legs), as well as your arms, shoulders, and grip strength.
(I deleted the upper body circuit video you posted, as it was glitching out our comment box)
I hope you decide to join us man!
- LinkHi Guys,
I’ve been following you quite from the beginning on the foxhound website. After long long time researching myself I think your program fits the gap, great work. With 169 lbs and 6,45 ft I think I´m facing a challenge. Because I´m a vegetarian on the way to vegan I would like to know, If you are planning some tips or if you have some user experiences with special veg diet plans? Do you know if vegan protein (soy, rice, wheat) supplements are as effective as the the animals proteins – like whey – are?
Thank you very much for some help, and again: great work.
mark
- LinkWe’ve got a few vegetarian members who are doing great. There a million and one easy options for vegetarians. You can follow our diet verbatim as a vegetarian, as it’s flexible to begin with.
- LinkVegans are a trickier beast, and we currently only have one vegan member. I have a feeling he’ll do fantastic, but he only joined just last week, so I can’t really report on his progress yet.
Good question! Soy protein comes from monocultures and is heavily processed, so stay away from that one. Lots of problems associated with it. (Fermented soy, like soy sauce, is okay.) Wheat I actually don’t know anything about, which makes me think it’s neither great nor disastrous. Rice protein is awesome, and that’s what our vegan member is using. He has it enriched with BCAAs, too, which makes it fantastic for strength training and building muscle mass. It’s very comparable to whey protein.
Vega also makes a “sport” protein supplement which is very effective for building muscle, but our vegan has informed us that it tastes … not too good.
You may want to supplement with vitamin b12 and flax as well, as vegan diets are low in those nutrients.
I’d love to have you join the program! I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no vegan expert, but I’d be glad to offer my two cents and help out in any way I can
Hey, thanks for the fast and detailed information, helped a lot, especially the info about the rice and the negative issues about soy. Unfortunately, my currently Work/Lifestyle makes it hard to start the full programm, but I will change that soon and I´m “warming up” ´til then now.
Thanks
Mark
- LinkI calculated the monthly costs in the case of taking the amount you recommend: about 50€ jeez
- LinkWant to add a question: are the 197 USD for the program to be payed a single time? Or is it some monthly fee or something?
- LinkJust one payment
- LinkOoo but did you contrast it against the same number of calories coming from similar whole foods? All of these, except for the creatine, replace nutrients that you’d otherwise need to consume in the form of regular food!
- LinkHey Shane! Very interesting article. I was interested to know your measurements for this monster shake. I see you have 90g protein, 180g dextrose, and 15g creatine, but do you take this with water? If so, how many ounces? Let me know man
- LinkThat’s a very good question. I fill up my water bottle with as much water as I can, which is around 12-16 oz. If you find you’re thirsty, which is quite common, you can bring along a second water bottle with just water in it. Hope that helps!
- LinkThat doesn’t sound like it would dissolve at all. I use 30 g of whey protein in 8 oz and it’s fairly thick, triple that while only doubling the volume and add in the sugar and creatine, sounds like sludge.
- LinkIt can be pretty sludgy, yeah, but it does dissolve! You can always, of course, use more water. Or divide it up into three servings (1/3 before, 1/3 during, 1/3 after).
I’m not going to lie though — it isn’t a fun drink to drink. It’s a lot of calories and it hits your stomach like a brick.
Works wonders at producing lean muscle mass though.
- Linkhey shane! i also have an ectomorphic body, i want to follow your supplement intakes, just want to ask if can i use Serious Mass (optimum nutrition) instead of Gold standard whey protein (Optimum Nutrition) ?
- LinkHey Ian,
- LinkYep! You could use Serious Mass instead of the WHOLE workout shake. The weight gainer has all the carbs you’d need, so no need to add dextrose. It’s perhaps slightly less effective than our mix, but that’s hard to say, and the difference would be very negligible. The reason we don’t use it is because it costs around $10 a serving, whereas ours costs around $2. (Cheaper than food.)
Serious Mass tastes much better though!
Outside of your workout shake I wouldn’t use gainers. Stick to whole food or smoothies instead. Healthier, and you’ll get better results.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
I figure I should give you some more details, since this stuff can get really confusing. The number one ingredient in Serious Mass is maltodextrin, which is their equivalent of dextrose. Very similar, except it’s a starch, making it more similar to flour. It’s one of the cheapest ingredients you can buy, and it allows them to list a sugar content of nearly 0. Since people are scared of sugar on nutrition labels this is a plus for them. And that’s fine — maltodextrin contains glucose just like dextrose does, just in disaccharide form. Our body will use it in exactly the same way. No advantage or disadvantage here, just a different way of accomplishing the same thing.
Next up on the ingredient list is a blend of protein. The reason why I prefer our homemade blend here is that we use a whey protein isolate. The purity is much higher. They use a blend consisting of whey concentrate + calcium caseinate in Serious Mass. Not quite as good.
All that is relatively minor though. The main difference is that you’re paying like $8 for a couple scoops of sugar, which should cost you pennies.
- LinkWow , thank you Shane! That’s a big help! you’re a Genius. This site is awsome. I will refer this site to all my gym buddies so they can learn also the truth about training and supplements. Thanks!
- LinkHey bro shane, i got this 12lbs serious mass and 5lbs Gold standard whey as a birthday gift from my uncle, can i use whey along this serious mass? Just want to ask how to use these 2 type of supplements, how and when to take it? Thanks bro,
- LinkNiice.
Serious Mass makes a good intra-workout drink, so you could drink it during or right after training. The protein content is a little low, so you could drop the dose of serious mass a bit and add in some whey. You’d want to do it so that you get the carb/protein ratio listed up above in the protocol (with total calories depending on your bodytype and goals).
You can also take the whey along with meals where the protein content is low. Ideally in that case you’d mix with with milk, to slow down your digestion a bit.
Hope that helps Stephen!
- Linkthank you shane! i’m also planning to buy creatine powder and fish oil, im an ectomorph an i want to gain fast just like you. i will drink serious mass in the morning, and then serious mass again pre or intra work out with creatine owder on it, then whey protein post work out. and in bed time, serious mass before going to bed. is that ok?
- LinkI would just use the serious mass while/after working out. Maltodextrin, the main ingredient in serious mass, is basically just flour, so having it for breakfast and pre-bed wouldn’t be great for your health. Might result in some fat gains too.
There are a lot of complex issues as to why, but as a basic rule you want lots of vitamin-rich foods that digest at a steady pace. Serious Mass is like having a slice of cake with a whey shake on the side.
If you like having shakes versus regular meals, I’d suggest blending up some whole foods, like fruit and dairy, instead of the weight gainer.
- Linkoh i see, good thing i ask you first before jumping into actions, thank you so much shane! i will follow your advice.
- LinkHey Shane what you think about casein protein before going to sleep? Is for us ectomorphs important or it dont worth that money and is better to eat some cottage cheese instead for example ?
- LinkActually I bet casein protein is cheaper than cottage cheese. Protein powders are actually usually a pretty good price compared with whole food.
Cottage cheese would be more ideal, but probably a bit more expensive.
Greek yogurt is great, too, and also packed full of casein. It has tons of probiotics in it, which are great for ectomorphs trying to digest more food than their bodies are used to. It’s expensive though. Start mixing in berries and stuff, to make it taste better, and it gets even more expensive.
Eggs are another good source of pre-bed protein. So is milk. The sugars in milk digest extremely slowly, too, making them a great source of pre-bed carbs.
You can eat anything before bed though. So long as you plan on having breakfast at a reasonable hour it won’t matter too too much!
Hope that helps Matthew!
- LinkI’m an ectomorph weighting 155 pounds and currently have a large meal consisting of meats, mixed veg, and sweet potato about 1 hour and 15 minutes before I hit the gym. Currently I have 60g of dextrose and 35g of isolated protein straight m workout.
Should I have a 90g protein, and 180g dextrose instead split 1/3 before work out, 1/3 during and 1/3 after or instead have 60g protein and 120g dextrose due to my large meal before work out and have 1/2 during workout and 1/2 after workout? Thanks.
- LinkI’d do the double instead of the triple … if you have no problem getting in your daily calories. That pre-workout meal sounds pretty great, so if your diet consists mostly of vitamin-rich whole foods like that you should be pretty good.
If you aren’t eating enough though or struggle to, switch to a triple dose.
I eat well … but when trying to quickly build muscle I still have a huge 3x workout shake. My appetite isn’t that hefty, so even though the workout shake isn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve ever had, it helps me out a ton. These days I’ve actually grown kind of fond of it, since it seems so closely associated with my being able to consistently up my weight.
Hope that helps, Craig! Good luck!
- LinkGreat article man! I’ve read a lot that just aren’t as straight to the point as yours was, so thank you for saving my time!
I am currently 70kg guy and I’m really into running long distances but now want to bulk up for football. Would it be possible to just have post workout supplements because I’m a bit low on cash so can’t afford it all, what would be the best thing to buy? Thanks!
- LinkYep, you could buy something like Universal Torrent and take a 2-3x dose! It isn’t, however, a money-saver. Buying the ingredients separately and mixing them yourself is the most cost-efficient way to go.
The main reason for this is that when you buy pre-mixed formulas you’re paying quite a bit for the carbs, where all you’re really eating is sugar/starch. It shouldn’t be any more expensive than, say, rice. By buying the dextrose separately you’re keeping your carb costs ridiculously low, and only really paying for the protein, which is always expensive, whether you’re buying whey or chicken.
Universal Torrent tastes a whole hell of a lot better though!
And keep in mind that money spent here you’d have to spend anyway—on food. It isn’t adding costs to your life, simply replacing grocery store costs with supplement costs.
Hope this helps you kick ass on the football field!
- LinkQuick question – is the “couple of tablespoons” thing with the fish oil a typo?
It seems to me that if you want 2g EPA and 1.5g DHA, you’d need only 1 tbsp. According to the label, in a 1 tsp. serving, you get 750mg EPA and 500mg DHA. So, you’re looking for 3 TEAspoons to hit that 2g and 1.5g. This is equivalent to one tbsp. Or did I miss something?
I only ask because this stuff is so pricey, one versus 3 tbsp / day makes a big difference. You’re only getting 33 1-tbsp servings out of the 500mL, $38 bottle. At 3-tbsp / day, you’d need 3 bottles per month.
Thanks!
- Link*correction
I noticed that the article says 2 tbsp, one morning one night, not 3. Still, don’t we only need one tbsp to get to that 2g EPA 1.5g DHA?
- LinkGah no you didn’t misunderstand. Kitchen fail on my part—I’m going to switch it to read teaspoons, not tablespoons.
Taking 2 tablespoons would be great for you too, but it’s beyond the point of diminishing returns, and certainly wouldn’t be necessary to get killer results.
Thank you for catching that!
- LinkHi Shane,
Thanks for your information packed articles! What are your thoughts on adding AAKG to the training drink? I have seen numerous proponents supporting AAKG specifically for ectomorphs. What say you?
- LinkArginine? That’s a good question. I’m going to give you a bit of a long answer, but the main reason we didn’t include it is that we feel the results are too insignificant to be worth it.
There are too solid studies I know of looking into this, and one of them uses very similar conditions to the concoction we’re recommending.
The first found that there were sliiiight power improvements with the arginine, but they were so slight that it was considered
“statistically insignificant”. (study)
The second found that arginine did not change the “hemodynamic and vascular response” to training, i.e., it doesn’t accomplish what it promises to. (study)
Considering that arginine is a performance enhancer, and not a muscle builder, it doesn’t really jive with the purpose of our drink, which is muscle gains, not improved energy/power while lifting. Caffeine would be the ultimate supplement for performance enhancement there, making coffee or an energy drink a great choice. These won’t improve your gains, but they might make the experience more enjoyable.
If you want to really geek out you could check out this review into arginine, which basically says that regular protein (or BCAAs) contain everything that arginine offers and more, making arginine a poor supplement when you could use protein instead. (review)
- LinkMy recommendation is to save your money. (At least until further research is done!)
I hope that helps!
- LinkAs an ectomorph’s I naturally have a fast metabolism which means I burn calories very quick. Do you think it would be better as to have other weight gainer supplements during the day to add more calories to my diet?
- LinkI think there are much better alternatives when it comes to trying to eat more calories, even if you have a small appetite.
The whole food equivalent of a weight gainer would be something like a fruit/protein smoothie, and that’d be much healthier and give you way better results. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was cheaper too, considering how expensive weight gainers can be (considering you’re basically buying flour and protein powder).
A really cheap alternative is a simple PB&J sandwich. Whole grain bread, natural peanut butter and your favourite type of jam. Bonus points for peanut butter and banana sandwich instead.
- LinkPingback: Los Biotipos y sus Suplementos: Compra lo que necesitas. | Culturismo.cl
I’m Blessed this morning! I’ve been on so many different protein powders, weight gaines did wonders to help me get to my small body frame goal of 105-107, however, it caused fat weight in my Gut(48) woman & bloat. I started using regular protein powders mixing it with Almond/Coconut milk, which is fine, but NOW Loosing weight again. SO MANY website promoting their products. I’ve got upset stomach from a few of the whey powders, some not. I just bought Dymitize Isolate, but little anything in it. I don’t want to go back to the Weight Gainers, but I need to keep easy weight gain on me. Busy travel lifestyle. HELP, I relate to what you are saying. I also started loosing definition & small layer of fat over it. HELP? I eat pretty clean, but never know if I’m eating enough. I feel up pretty quickly, but breakfast is my best meal of the day. Thanks so much for this AWESOME site. You know what you are talking about, that is why I am reaching out for help in what you say. I take Creatine, BCAA, FIsh Oils, L-Glutamine, CLA, I need to put on more muscle gain, but fearful of the weight gainers shakes again with such high carb content. As I have to watch for no Pre-Diabetes.I had instance two years ago. Fine now, but Im only 5’2″ and want to maintain 105-107 Lean Muscle tone, not fat weight. As I said, Im down to 102 and not happy I’ve lost. Bless you & all that have great knowledge. Goin to a health food store, it like No Help, they don’t really know.
- LinkI sense that there is a question in there … but I must admit that I’m struggling to find it.
- LinkHello, I am ectomorphic and tired of it. I stumbled upon this blog in my quest to gain muscle. With reference to the supplements listed in this blog:
1. Should I mix the whey protein and dextrose powder before a workout, during a workout, after a workout or all of the above?
2. How should I attempt to consume creatine on a daily basis? Should I mix it with any liquids I consume?
3. Could I purchase any of these listed supplements at my local nutrition store (such as GNC), as I don’t feel like waiting for them to ship to my apartment? If so, what brands of these supplements do you prefer?
Thank you in advance for the response.
- Link1. All of the above is good. I drink it all during my workout, but 1/3 before, 1/3 during and 1/3 after is probably the ideal.
2. Yep. You can mix it with anything. Tea, coffee, water, etc. You only need a few grams a day.
3. Yes sir! And most of the brands we list you should be able to find at the local GNC. That’s where I get my stuff when I don’t think ahead.
- Linkbut of course you will most likely save a lot of money ordering online over local GNC.
- LinkHello, I just stumbled across this blog and it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, I am going to try and follow your supplements however I am from Australia so am struggling to find them, another thing, I read somewhere about a payment plan, I am interested if it’s still available?
Cheers.
- LinkRight on Sean! It’s a tough monster to drink, but the results are undeniable.
We’ve had a few Australians sign up recently – I’ve heard the head down under is brrrutal! You Aussies seem to kick ass at this, too. Some great transformations going on down there!!
Regarding the payment plan, shoot me an email at us@bonytobeastly.com and I’ll give you the details
- Linkyo yo yo this sounds awesome brother! not able to run “gear” because I am joining the police academy in 2 years and they polygraph about that kind of stuff. I used to run PH’s and just eat healthy foods all day and train twice a day, gained 40lbs lean muscle in 1 month! But it had it’s very horrible side effect. Saving money, energy, and my body using this post! Takes a bit longer then the banned PH gods, but it is a hell of a lot safer. Keep up the good work my dude!
- LinkGlad you like it, man! We’re fans of doing this naturally, and I’m pumped to see that you’re getting into it! As far as we’re concerned it’s well worth it, and so long as you aren’t trying to be Coleman you’ll still make a pretty beastly cop. Won’t need a custom made uniform, either
- LinkHey,
- Linki was one of those really skinny guys and couldn’t gain weight at all so i finally decided to join the gym. I was 46 kg’s, 5’9 when i joined and now after 6 months of lifting i’m now 56 kg’s ! Till now all i have gained is because of a natural, high calorie diet with protein rich vegetarian food (pulses, nuts, cheese etc), eggs and a very basic protein supplement powder (32 gms normal protein per 100 gms)
I have gained significantly in my chest, decently in my back and have increased my tricep’s lifting capacity (although they still don’t look very big). My problem is that i do not gain in my arms, even though i pay full attention to them and they are still very thin. I don’t want to use whey protein and mass gainers (i take a good enough diet). I have a few questions and would be really obliged to get a response from you on them:
1.Can i use only creatine ?
2.Does it also help in muscle building and getting bigger, apart from providing energy to get those extra reps ?
3.If i use creatine, how much quantity is safe and sufficient ?
4.When should it be used before or after the workout ?
5.Is the loading phase necessary ?
6.Does the ability to lift more and size of muscles reduce if i stop taking it ?
7.And lastly, what are it’s side effects ? Is it hard to digest like whey protein ?
P.S i’m 20 years of age
@Sushant
- Link5 grams pre and post workout, technically the loading faze is not needed but recommended for ectomorphs.Not really any side effects just drink a gallon of water a day and you’ll be all good dude. I’d recommend getting 100% whey isolate for post workout to mix with creatine, also I’d recommend getting a pre workout to mix your creatine with like jack3d or super pump. Creatine is a really good supp for natural lifters you just gotta stay consistent with it to see results.
Hey Will, thanks a lot for your reply mate.
- LinkYou recommended me to get a pre & post workout mix as well whey but i’m actually a little hesitant using any powders right now. I had started taking Universal’s Whey Pro sometime back and it didn’t suit me much (maybe because i’m lactose intolerant) and i couldn’t get any results. Since then i’m a little worried about taking them but once i feel i’m ready to give them a shot i’d definitely go for exactly what you recommended. Creatine on the other hand i read is completely natural and found in red meat, but since i’m a vegetarian, my diet would certainly lack the sufficient quantity of it that is needed and i feel i should make up for it with a creatine supplement. Can i just go for creatine without any other pre/post workout mix and whey ?
I already have 6 eggs, protein biscuits, nuts and a very basic protein supplement (as i mentioned before) along with other protein rich food. So that makes up for about 55-60 gms of protein daily. Before workout i have 2 bananas, 2 eggs, 2 protein biscuits and almonds and immediately after workout i have 2 bananas along with the protein supplement (mixed with whole milk), 2 protein biscuits, 2 eggs and a high carb meal 2 hours later. Can i just add 5 grms of creatine to this diet ?
Hey Sushant – cool questions. First off, congrats on the 10kg! That’s a pretty sweet accomplishment. You must be pumped!
1. Yep. Vegetarian diets are low in creatine (it’s found in meat) so that could help for sure!
2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Check out the creatine section for details about what it does (it does a lot beyond helping with reps), and check out the protocol at the end of the article for how to take it. No need to mix it with anything or get all fancy with it.
6. The swelling your muscles will have from the water uptake that creatine causes will disappear (slowly) when you stop taking it, yes … but that’s not why you take it in the first place. The muscle and strength GAINS you make as a result of training/eating while taking creatine will stick around.
It seems like your real question is how to increase your arm size though, and that’s a whole different ballgame! Creatine won’t cause your arms to grow a disproportionate pace compared to the rest of your body, after all, so it sounds like what you need to do is:
a) Increase your weight on the scale by adding muscle to your frame.
b) Encourage more of that added muscle to be in your arms by increasing the training volume with your arms.
So, more chin ups, yates bent over rows, cable curls, tricep extensions, close grip pushups, etc. You could try tossing in some really high rep stuff too (50-100 reps) to build up some vascularity (if you like veins in your biceps) + get your body to store more glycogen in there (temporary, but visually impressive). And whatever you do don’t neglect your steak and potato lifts! (Squats, deads, bench, chins, carries, planks, etc.)
- LinkHey Shane, thanks a lot for all that information man. You guys are doing an amazing work with this site, kudos to you for that. I live in Delhi, India and unfortunately the body building industry here hasn’t yet become very professional. We have a lot of gyms here but sadly not many knowledgeable trainers, so there are a lot of us here looking for professional help in trying to understand our body better and gain and this site with people like you are doing a tremendous job. Thank you for that !
- LinkYou cleared almost all my doubts about creatine and i might be going for it soon after gaining a little more weight. I followed your advice about the arm training and am waiting for some good results.
And now I’ll be coming back very often to ask u lot more questions, clear my doubts and ask for advice which might help me improve my training and getting better results.
Cheers man !
Hi, as I am from Australia I can’t find anywhere to get the allmax creatine, I was just wondering if dymatize creatine is a suitable substitute? Sorry on my phone so can’t work out how to copy in website.
- Link@Sean
- LinkGo on bodybuilding.com you’ll ALLMAX Nutrition supplements there and even better creatine supplements for decent prices, and they ship to you. Buying products at shops is usually a rip off, trust me I worked at one for awhile Jesus would we sell supps for super high prices lol. Good luck with your supplement search brotha.
Yep Will’s right – it’s often expensive to get supplements at supplement stores. Luckily creatine is often relatively low in price, so you could probably still get a few months supply for a decent price.
Dymatize is cool, yep. 100% micronized monohydrate – exactly what you want.
If you’re buying a few things though you’ll probably save a bunch by ordering. Depends how much of a time pinch you’re in though, and how much saving a bit of money matters!
- Link180 grams of dextrose is 45x the recommended serving size; is that right? It seems like you were only tripling the dose of whey and creatine….
Great site by the way. I just stumbled upon it after getting a gym membership and looking into supplements.
- LinkYeah, we take quite a bit of dextrose. Keep in mind that we’re quite ectomorphic and doing fairly involved strength training. You can still do great with a much smaller dosage!
And I’m glad you’re digging it
- Linkhmm, where did you guys get your ideas to use dextrose? It sounds like it could be pretty dangerous on blood sugar levels…do you have a study reference?
Lately, I’ve preferred working out on an empty stomach. I believe the blood needs to occupy the muscle instead of aiding in digestion, but to each their own.
I’m not completely biased here…I may give this article some more thought.
- LinkHey Brandon, that’s a really really good question.
Check out some of the studies linked in the dextrose section regarding the effectiveness of the protocol. I see what you’re saying about it being a pretty devilish prank to play on our blood sugar levels – and you’re right. When thinking of blood sugar we need to think not so much about the glycemic index and more so about the glycemic load, i.e., the quantity of quickly digested things and also how it compares to the quantity of slowly digested things in our system. You’ve probably done this and come to the horrifying conclusion that whey protein + dextrose consumed in isolation and in large quantities will absolutely spike our insulin. And your conclusion is correct – it will.
Let’s put that on hold for a moment.
You’re also correctly pointing out that blood should occupy the muscle when training. This drink won’t stop that, and that’s easy enough to test. Pump out some bicep curls at the end of your next workout and, with the help of this drink or not, you’ll pump that muscle up with blood.
Now let’s consider the role of insulin – it transports glucose, amino acids and fatty acids into our muscle cells (and other cells). By spiking our blood sugar levels and then sending all that blood into our muscles we’re creating the ultimate muscle-building scenario. We’re loading ourselves up with nutrients and then shooting those nutrients exactly where we want them to be used: our soon-to-be-bigger muscles.
This is why the studies show such rad results.
You’re worried about our health though, and that’s a very valid concern. We’re on the same page as you, too, as we think a rad physique should accurately indicate a healthy physique. This would have a negative impact on your health if you were shooting all these nutrients into fat cells, but we’re instead shooting them into muscle cells, and thus insulin is working how we want it too: as an anabolic hormone. And the healthier and more insulin sensitive you are, the better this technique will work. That’s why we recommend higher doses for the ripped ectomorphs, not the skinny-fat ones.
Will this reduce your sensitivity to insulin? No, it shouldn’t, unless you were taking it frequently (a few times a week is fine) or you were becoming obese from it. Plus, it’s maintaining high blood sugar levels that blunt insulin sensitivity, not never spiking it. (As always, though, your health is in your hands, so follow the advice of your physician!)
Does that answer your question?
- LinkYes, it pretty much does answer my question.
One more thing. Are you advocating that this concoction is a big secret to adding weight to your muscles? Is this one of the major catalysts to quick weight gain targeted at the muscles?
I’ve researched that for every pound of muscle you gain comes with it a pound of glycogen (or
- Linkwater weight) and fat. I’d have to assume that’s what the explosive weight is in the form of, not pure muscle.
Is there a reputable supplement that contains dextrose, casein and whey (or similar equivalents)?
- LinkTons and tons of them! They’re expensive as hell though. One I recommend is Universal Torrent, just keep in mind that you may need to adjust your serving size!
- LinkHi Shane,
- LinkI only comment on this post because it was the one that lead me to this site, I’ve been all over this site. I’m not sure if you understand the holy grail this site seems to be after never gaining and exhausted research. And after reading many of the other posts about posture and ratios and watching some videos etc… I still wanted to ask you a question. I lifted all throughout high school and then some and never gained (hence finding your awesome site) then a gym accident and I stopped going around the age of 20. I turned 23 little over a month ago and have decided to go back to the gym and incorporate it into my lifestyle as I believe yes it does in general lead to a better life and happiness. To the question. I broke my left arm at the age of 14 and I have a slight labrum tear in my left shoulder and my growth plate in my humerus (bone that connects shoulder to elbow, I’m sure you know but just in case) on that arm fused and my left arm is slightly shorter than the right and the left shoulder sits a little higher. I know that you arent a doctor but you seem like a pretty smart guy. I am just curious as to your input on the arm situation in terms of symmetry and alignment and how you think it may develop in comparison to my right arm.
And the Dr. told me the fuse meant the arm wont grow much more if at all. I dont know if that means in length or density or altogether. I also dont know if the growth plate on my humerus has anything to do with the growth of the rest of the bones in that arm like the bones in my forearms, wrists, and hands. I just figure the more info I give you the better you are able to get an idea. And sometimes I do notice differences when using an olympic bar for say some wrist curls or regular curls the bar will not be straight. I know there are dumbbells and cables but I dont want to cut out exercise where I have to use both hands on one bar. I am just kind of stumped as to the best route to take with it.
- LinkFirst off, thanks for the kind words! Glad you dig our style.
Second, everyone has their challenges, limitations and setbacks. While it might feel like you’re different because of your funky shoulders … you’d actually be more unique if you were totally symmetrical and uninjured! Jared has super damaged knees from skateboarding + severe tendonitis (from computer nerding), Marco has a ton of issues from sports and weightlifting, and I’ve got a shoulder that used to like to dislocate (which building up muscles via weightlifting fixed). If you play sports or lift weights you’ll eventually run into a problem (while also probably living a very healthy overall life) and if you stay safe and sedentary you’ll likely run into a slew of dastardly health problems from being inactive along with a bunch of imbalances from spending so much time sitting. Anyway, life takes a toll on us, and that’s not necessarily bad, so long as you get the most out of life while you’re at it!
As for your shoulder being higher … are you certain that has to do with your injury? Everyone has a higher left shoulder – and I mean everyone. This has to do with asymmetrical organs and innards, and how that affects our breathing.
There was ways to “fix” it and develop a more symmetrical torso, but that’s hardly the norm. Jared, Marco and I all have high left shoulders, as do 99% of our members!
And regarding whether your arm will grow symmetrically with your other arm … that’s a very good question. I would go with your doctors advice on that one, as he presumably knows your situation (and the human body) far better, and work with a coach or personal trainer while you train. We can do that online if you like – we’d love to have you, and Marco has tons of experience dealing with injured dudes – or you could seek out a more local expert
Does that help at all?
- LinkNo, thank you. And yes your information does indeed help. As far as the shoulder sitting higher that could be I just dont know if the growth plate ties into muscle or tendon growth as well, just something I will have to look into. I am looking into getting a second opinion on it for sure. As far as joining I would like to but at the moment I am a little strapped for cash as in I couldnt even offer you the $200 to do a couple weeks and then do money back but when i do have more cash flow I am definitely interested if time allows (new career choice is a little rocky but it makes me happy). And also yeah I see what you mean about muscle building helping to keep the shoulder in place because it only popped out once while i was in high school and doing padded football almost everyday with people bigger than I and we also had to lift just about every day. And now it cant even hold up in a game of sandlot? Definitely a defining moment in wanting to take my fitness life back on the right track. I checked out the creatine, dextrose, whey, and fish oil and will probably be purchasing that and giving the super drink a try at least due to it being amazingly low in price and actually may be even better for me in general considering whats on the rest of the market. I just finished some Intek evolution protein powder that Lou Ferrigno at total nutrition recommended when I went in asking for the equivalent of a product I used to take and saying that was the same thing but this just has more natural vitamins and it tastes good even after I said I dont care about taste just how it affects my body in terms of health and results. But I am pretty positive he just looked at my size (males subconsciously judging other males based on shoulders etc…) and figured I was a January resolution monther and just wanted me to buy what he needed to sell. So I would rather buy from people who actually care about what they are telling people to put into their body. I can at least use your links to throw some kickback your guys way. I would like to get the largest amounts possible from those sites but like I said a little strapped lol. So I will probably get 1000 grams of creatine, two lbs of dextrose, two lbs of whey, and 200 mL of fish oil for around $100. I would love to discuss more and more like how I workout and where the hell you guys go and jump in water with icebergs in it and everything but hopefully I will be able to in the near future. Thanks for all your help and if you have anymore you feel like offering please go right ahead haha. Have a good one.
- LinkPingback: Bony to Beastly – 17 Ways to Save Money on Groceries and Supplements while Bulking
So you rate universal torrent better than optimum serious mass then? Or would i be better of just starting with the gold standard 100% whey (even though it has no casein/dextrose)
- LinkHey Shane, thanks a lot for all that information man. You guys are doing an amazing work with this site, kudos to you for that. I live in Delhi, India and unfortunately the body building industry here hasn’t yet become very professional. We have a lot of gyms here but sadly not many knowledgeable trainers, so there are a lot of us here looking for professional help in trying to understand our body better and gain and this site with people like you are doing a tremendous job. Thank you for that !
- LinkYou cleared almost all my doubts about creatine and i might be going for it soon after gaining a little more weight. I followed your advice about the arm training and am waiting for some good results.
And now I’ll be coming back very often to ask u lot more questions, clear my doubts and ask for advice which might help me improve my training and getting better results.
Cheers man !
Right on man, good luck packing on some muscle! Look forward to hearing about your progress
- LinkShane-
Great read dude, Checking in here from Los Angeles. Just came across this website on Sunday and I’ve been reading all the articles. I really dig ectomorph fitness articles, as long as they’re written by actual ectomorphs, which upon thorugh reading, I can see is the case. There’s just some things only another ectomorph would know or understand, and you guys obviously understand and have dealt with these issues personally. Honestly, every single thing you described in the video (on the product description page) has been a feeling or experience that I have gone through personally. Props to you for speaking the truth.
I’ve been training for 5+ years but I’m just working my way back from a year long battle with Crohn’s Disease, where I fell from 6’2, 173 lbs to 147. I wasn’t able to work out in the gym for the entire 2012, so 2013 is my redemption year. This is my first month back in the gym and I’m back up to 160 after 4 weeks of training, solely from compound lifts.
Just ordered my Dextrose, Creatine, and Protein from the links and I’m pumped to get started with that. I used to make a similar drink with gatorade/juice instead of dextrose, but hopefully this will be a little more efficient and better tasting. Should be a lot better and more legitimate.
As far as the program, I’m curious. Gonna have a sample sent to my email from the product description page. I’ve been working out with mostly compound lifts for the last couple years, with decent success, and they’re pretty much all I believe in, for the most part. But the program I use (Stronglifts) is not necessarily tailored specifically to ectomorphs. It works, but I feel if it was more personalized, I could legitimately have a chance to reach my goal of 185 lbs, with a nice body (not a fat ass).. I’m wondering if you guys have ever seen Stronglifts, and some of the key differences from you program and Stronglifts? I’m tempted to join your program, but just want to know a brief outline of how it’s structured.
Otherwise, great work guys. Thanks for keeping it real on your site. Hope to hear back from you soon.
-Jay
- LinkFirst off congrats on the gains! Everyone runs into a challenge at some point, and I’m really glad to hear that it sounds like you’re already overcoming yours! That’s a huge accomplishment man. Congratulations!
That’s a very good question, and I have to admit I don’t know much about Stronglifts. I mean, know a lot about 5×5 training plans, and strength training in general … but not much about the Stronglifts brand.
I gave the site a look and it looks like classic strength training, which is pretty badass. It’s not tailored for ectomorphs, no, but strength training has positive effects on nearly everyone, as you know obviously know
I’m a fellow 6’2 ectomorph who’s gone from 130 to 190ish so I can definitely relate to your goals and your struggles!
Let me try to answer your question as best I can, but go easy on me, as I’m only guessing based on a cursory look through the Stronglifts material. I can’t really pinpoint differences, but here are some things you may love:
1. We’re a program for naturally skinny guys – ectomorphs. I find it’s a pretty different perspective, and we run into some unique challenges, both with nutrition and training. We also have some cool things we can take ADVANTAGE of. I don’t see being an ectomorph as being a disadvantage. I quite like it.
2. We place a big emphasis on nutrition, and mastering things from that side as well (results, health and feeling great). If you’re having trouble getting to 185 I can almost guarantee that smart ectomorph-style nutrition is the fix.
3. We aren’t just a strength training program. Marco’s big into athletics, postural correction, alignment, mobility AND strength. You’re going to get strength, athleticism and aesthetics.
4. We try to make it easy and enjoyable. We’re all about cooking food in bulk (or cheap, or easy, etc), avoiding unnecessary restrictions, loving the gym and building a fun lifestyle around it.
5. You get as much coaching as you need/want. This isn’t a program where we hand you a pdf and bid you good luck. We can help you track your results, tweak the program to fit your goals and situation, and give you feedback and suggestions as you go through. Our members are all great guys too – I love it.
6. You’ve been at it 5 years, so I think you’d learn a ton and enjoy the change. Training in a slightly different style could give you some sweet results, too, as it gives you a new arena to master.
7. I agree with you – I think we can get you to 185 and looking rad
I hope that helps! If you’re curious about anything just let me know and I’ll answer any specifics you’re interested in.
I hope you decide to join us man, it’d be great to have you!
-Shane
- LinkFantastic article, Shane!
- LinkI weigh 148 lbs and stand at 5’11. My blood glucose level has always been normal.The last time I ‘d consumed Serious Mass, I gained 22 lbs. But it caused my fasting glucose level to shoot up to 103. Ever since I gave up Serious Mass, my blood glucose level has returned to normal. My question is, can I consume your ‘training drink’, without the dextrose? Or how could I safely substitute the dextrose?
Hey man that’s a really good question! If you scroll up to a couple questions above you’ll see that this shouldn’t have too much of negative effect on your blood glucose levels or insulin sensitivity, since you’re doing it just a couple times a week and combining it with physical exertion.
With that said, there’s no need to take a risk if you have a history of having glucose issues when dealing with this kind of thing. Truth be told this is quite similar to Serious Mass, just a bare bones cheaper alternative with dosages designed for ectomorphs. Some questions – were you taking the serious mass peri-workout, or as a meal replacement? Were you taking it in a fasted state, i.e. first thing in the morning, or in combination with other foods? I’m very curious, as I want to do everything I can to make sure that the things we recommend are, in fact, good for people’s health, and not just their muscles.
Can you ditch the dextrose? I wouldn’t, as you need those carbs! Those are possibly responsible for even more muscle growth than the protein! But you can certainly replace them. Bananas, bread, fruit, potatoes, ground up oatmeal (as some of our members do) … or even milk. A popular bodybuilding trick among the DIY crew is to buy a litre of chocolate milk and have that as their post-workout shake. That’s a valid approach, so long as you aren’t intolerant to lactose.
One benefit of these workout drinks is that you do get an insulin surge, which, combined with training, is extremely anabolic – some bodybuilders even inject insulin to achieve an exaggerated effect – but in order to get a hearty anabolic effect you don’t need to worry too much about the glycemic index or anything. Using casein, milk, non-dextrose starchy carbs – it’s all good.
If you’re looking for a powder supplement, you could always go for waxi maize. Expensive, but it’s one of those big-ass heavy starches that takes longer to digest.
I’m not sure what affect subbing this out would have on your glucose levels, if any – I’m not expert when it comes to that – but I hope my 2 cents help!
- LinkThanks bro, for your reply! I will certainly try out the dextrose- substitutes suggested by you. Could you please suggest a few more subs? Looking forward to gain some lean mean muscle.
- LinkTo answer your question, I used to take Serious Mass as a post work out shake, thrice a week. On the days I didn’t work out, I took take it either with breakfast or after dinner.
im 15 is that to young to start?im tired of calling me weak im 5 9 and skinny i need to gain weight need bigg time help can i take the stuff above
- Link@livestrong
- Linkmate, i would suggest you to indulge in all kinds of physical activities rather than starting with gym at this age. Play basketball, tennis or any other physically demanding sport and take proper nutritious meals with a balance of protein, carbs, vitamins and minerals. You are at a stage of your life where you will notice a lot of changes in your body, your muscles will naturally get bigger, you will become broader and grow taller. Don’t worry about your weight as at this age, the metabolism rate is usually very high, so even if you eat a lot you won’t gain much weight.
Play as much as possible, run around a lot, keep your physical activities high and eat well (especially meat, eggs, green vegetables, fruits, whole milk). Rather than having 3 big meals a day, try to eat 5-6 medium sized meals everyday
But if you still want to go for supplements, there’s definitely a strict no-no for creatine until you’re 18, about whey and other stuff, Shane would be able to tell you better.My advice to you would be to eat naturally nutritious protein and carb rich food and play physically exhausting sports or do any physical activity regularly, you’ll definitely be big and strong by the time you’re 18 and come through puberty !
Can I take nutrasea?
- LinkLots of relatively young guys get into weight training, especially if they’re heavily into sports (football, wrestling, etc). I know Marco trains some high school sports teams in the gym to improve their performance on the field and help keep them injury-free.
Weight training, while it has a badass rep, is actually pretty safe compared to sports that are often assumed to be kid-friendly, like soccer.
Here‘s a study looking into weight lifting in school-aged children (6-18). Out of over 4000 participants who had engaged in weightlifting, only 3 reported an injury. One was serious. Only 500 participants had engaged in rugby … but 50 of them sustained injuries. 10 of them were serious.
This matches my personal experience. I dislocated my thumb playing dodgeball (hospital, quick recovery), tore my calf muscle running (hospital, long recovery) and cranked my shoulder being a goof in the gym without proper instruction (university health clinic – quick recovery). Of all of my friends in high school, none had any real weight lifting injuries, but concussions and torn muscles were popping up everywhere on the sports field.
There’s a risk of injury with every physical activity … and problems that could results from AVOIDING engaging in any physical activity. (Look at all the health problems out of shape people have.) Generally in the sports world weight training is seen as a way of improving performance and protect them against injury! Marco coaches a pro football player and an olympic athlete doing exactly that: keeping them in perfect condition so that they can compete injury free.
In the end it’s up to you (and your parents, doctor, etc) to weigh the risks!
- LinkRegarding supplements though you could always try milk! Drinking tons of milk, if you tolerate milk well, would have a very very similar effect (and even some advantages), and your mum might be more inclined to supply you with it
Fish oil might be a good bet. You could ask your family doctor about NutraSea + vitamin D. I would imagine that would be a solid supplement for you … but this is just a guess!
- LinkThx dude, I always thought sups were the way to go because my friend always gets free samples at gnc and he gives them to me and I took c4 for a bit but that did nothing because I stopped. so fish oil and milk? Could I eat stuff off your diet tho?
- LinkYeah of course!
And I mean if you struggle to eat enough protein you could definitely grab some whey. Nothing too sinister about dextrose or anything either. These aren’t crazy experimental supplements or anything.
Marco started training at about your age, and he slowly grew to 6’3 and 200+ pounds. I wish I had started younger.
- LinkCould you send me a gourshy list so my mom can go to the store what about creatine
- LinkCreatine has proven to be safe in every study I’ve seen … but I haven’t seen anything about younger guys taking it. I’m not sure.
If you want to make it easy on your mum, and she shops once a week, just tell her to get a litre of milk for every day of the week. Drink a litre of milk a day, in addition to what you’re already eating, and see if that moves your weight up.
Some extra fruits and vegetables won’t hurt. Maybe some whole grain bread, peanut butter and bananas, so you can make peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
- LinkOkay sounds good
- LinkDo you mix your (creatine/dextrose/protein) workout shake with water or milk?
- LinkI mix it with water, although many recent studies are showing that milk, while it digests slowly, is actually pretty good as a post-workout drink. Lots of DIY guys will either make a drink like ours our down a bunch of chocolate milk! So hey if you want to mix it with milk more power to ya! Just use a bit less powder to take into account the nutrients coming from the milk
- Link(Skim or 2% is fine, but I wouldn’t go for whole fat post-workout.)
- LinkHey guys,
First of all, a MASSIVE thanks for this site. It’s so refreshing to see scientifically grounded advice given by real ectomorphs who also have anecdotal experience. Following your guidelines, I’ve gained 15 pounds in a month and couldn’t be happier. Excellent articles, and really love the fact you’re intelligent guys who want to help others through what you’ve learnt. So thanks! I’ve also got a specific question or two…
Regarding creatine: do you guys cycle it? If so, how long are you on and off it for? And, is there a noticeable loss in mass and strength gains?
Cheers guys
- LinkHey Sam so glad to hear you’re doing such a rad job! Congrats man, that’s awesome! Glad we could help
Cycling could be good, yep. We often recommend holding off for a few weeks and building muscle sans-creatine to get a better idea of what just food and training will do for bumping the scale up. Guys will often gain 10+ pounds in the first 5 weeks and realize they can kick ass with or without supplements, which is reassuring. After that, if they hop on creatine, they usually get some sweet creatine “honeymoon” gains and love it. The 0-10 pounds from the fluid uptake will disappear (very slowly) when you stop taking creatine, sure, but the gains made while on creatine (often quite significant!) will remain so long as you keep eating and training well!
You could do a couple months on and a couple months off. As far as I know research isn’t very clear on creatine cycling. I haven’t ever heard of downsides from continued use – except to your wallet – but the acceleration of muscle gains from the creatine definitely definitely slows down. Cycling is more of a theoretical danger-dodger as far as I know. Better safe than sorry though!
Plus, unlike exercise and healthy whole food, creatine and supplements aren’t necessarily something you’d want to work into your lifestyle forever. We suspect that after our 5 month program most people will ditch most of the supplements. I regularly take fish oil and I often use whey protein … but that’s about it these days.
Does that answer your question?
- LinkAmazing, that more than answers it! I definitely think a good amount of the mass I’ve gained is due to the influence of the creatine although I only started using it recently. Eating like a beast is certainly the way to go!
Thanks again for taking the time to respond – you guys put in a hell of a lot of effort helping others and it really has transformed my whole mindset when it comes to getting in shape.
Cheers bro
- LinkNo problem Sam! We’re pretty passionate about this stuff, and we love working with all you guys.
Good luck man!
- LinkHey guys, I’ve been reading throuh your articles for the last few days and have found them throughly enjoyable to read and full of useful information. Thanks for all your hard work, it’s given me the motivation to try harder and hopefully put on some weight.
I’m 5′ 9″ and have always been skinny with small muscle structure, I weigh 58.5kg. I decided to start bulking up recently and started a new high calorie diet last week. Full of protein and carbs. I’m hitting about 3500 – 4000+ calories a day, I am almost a week in and I am waiting for my gym induction before starting strength and weight training.
I was wondering, what would be a good regime to get me started in the gym, what exercises are good to start with/what exercises should I avoid?
- LinkHey Sean glad you like our stuff! That’s sweet that you’ve decided to kick some ass and take control of your situation, too
Your question … is a big one. There are a lot of components to a solid workout program, but they can often be broken down into: squats, hip hinges (deadlift variants), upper body presses (overhead, bench, etc), upper body pulls (chins, pull-ups), core stability and anti-rotation (e.g. planks, pallof press) and loaded carries (e.g. farmer carries).
I’d try and find a program designed by someone you trust that includes all of them, and then just follow it to a T! Workout programming is something I’d leave to people who fully understand it, or you might not get the most out of it.
If you’d like to join our program, we’d love to have you! Marco’s a champ at building unbelievably smart and effective workouts. Otherwise … stay tuned because in the next couple days we’ll be posting an article about weightlifting for ectomorphs and modding classic exercises to suit our anatomy. We’re always trying to put out sweet free content.
Hope that helps man, and good luck!
- LinkHey Sean,
- Linki read your post and couldn’t help myself but to relate to it. You’re about the same physique as myself. Great that you’re starting with gym soon and believe me no one better to guide than Shane and this site (they are definitely genius’s of this field). Adding to what Shane wrote, i would like to give you just a small advice (this helped me gain and will hopefully help you as well), rather than training an isolated group of muscles, train the whole body (or maybe upper body one day and lower body the next day) with about 3-4 sets per group of muscles for about a month. This would help you in 2 ways-
1.warm up your muscles & make them use to the exercise regime which would prevent any risk of injury when you do isolated exercises.
2.when you do mixed exercises, the body tends to release more testosterone (growth hormone) which means you’ll gain more as compared to the isolated exercises.
And eat like crazy as soon as you finish your workout.
Hope this helps you in some way. Happy gym-ing mate
Hi Guys,
I’m glad I’ve come across your awesome website. By the way, I live in the Philippines and I’m wondering if you have payment plans for your membership fee?
Also, I checked on the Dextrose brand you recommended but the site no longer sell them. Do you recommend another brand similar to NOW Dextrose?
Thank you in advance for your reply
- LinkI too would like to know if you have a recommended alternative for the NOW Dextrose?
Many thanks.
- LinkAny brand of dextrose is cool – I just selected that one because the price was good. (It’s sometimes called glucose too, so look out for that.) Other alternatives are maltodextrin and waximaize – great options both.
- LinkAny brand of dextrose is cool. (It’s sometimes called glucose too, so look out for that.) Other alternatives are maltodextrin and waximaize – great options both.
- LinkHey Khevin, any brand should work. It’s really nothing magical – just a particular kind of sugar. Any brand of dextrose, maltodextrin or waximaize will do
I’ll shoot you an email with the payment plan info!
- LinkHi Shane,
What about women who are ectomorphs and would like to build a great posterior? I do not gain muscle easily in my lower body.
Thanks!
- LinkWe’ve had a few requests from women looking to do strength training and build up some muscle … but with the goal of getting curvy, not beastly. So. We’re beta testing a strength training, athletics and aesthetics program for women called Bony to Bombshell. It’s still in development, but we’re taking on beta testers. Check it out:
http://www.bonytobombshell.com
If it sounds like your cup of tea shoot me an email! (us@bonytobeastly.com)
- LinkHi Shane,
Ill try and be brief so that I get the best answer from you.
- Im 26, 5 foot 6, 122lbs – small boned or slim. I dunno if im skinny fat because I do have a bit of fat around my stomach & chest area (nipples), however struggle to gain and retain muscle.
My questions:
- Ive read that protein consumed over your recommended is taxing on your kidneys and leads to issues..Is that a fact?
- Also is there any damage done to your heart with excess of protein?
- Im also a bit skeptical about not working out enough to the protein i take and this leading to becoming fat. How long does your program recommend a single training session? Or does this depend on your body type etc etc??
- I can’t afford the gym but I do have a home gym which i train on. Is this ok??
Thanks for the help
- LinkJake
Hey Jacob, good questions man.
Check out our article on protein, and you’ll see that for us slim guys we don’t need THAT much. You’ll likely be better off getting around half of your calories from carbs and just 20-25% of your calories from protein.
The kidney/protein thing is largely a myth. I mean if you ate a ridiculous amount of calories to the point where you became obese and developed diabetes, well, you’d be at a huge risk for kidney disease. And yep, you can become fat by eating tons of calories – whether from protein, fat or carbs – so becoming fat from protein, while unlikely, is possible.
It’s unlikely because:
-Your body doesn’t convert protein very easily into fat.
-Protein, unlike, say, cola, is very filling, so it’s quite hard to consume “too much” of it. You’d almost certainly run out of appetite first.
-Around 25% of calories from protein are burned off as you digest them, due to the thermic effect of food – the highest of the macros.
Check out this study. A bunch of obese people at risk for kidney disease were put on a high protein diet (33% of total calories) and their health improved in pretty much every way versus the control group.
Taking it even further, many athletes and bodybuilders eat upwards of 2g/lb/day of protein and are in stellar health.
There are many factors at play here though, including our training, our bodytypes and our goals. Most guys in our program are trying to gain weight overall, too, which means we’re “bulking”. When bulking we need a smaller percentage of our calories coming from protein, as we’re playing with so many calories.
(We train for about an hour at a time, and we train three times per week.)
A home gym is great! I personally prefer the gym, but we’ve got a ton of guys using home gyms.
Hope that helps Jake! Does that answer your questions?
- LinkHi Shane,
The issue I run into when lifting and drinking supplements is that my body looks fine but I start putting on alot of weight in my face. any advice on how to handle this?
- LinkOne solution would be to not take supplements, if that’s what’s causing the problem. Supplements aren’t by any means necessary – just the cherry on top of the cake. If they don’t suit you, ditch ‘em.
It’s possible your face is bloating up because of water retention or some such when you start eating more calories … and it’s also possible you’re allergic to something that you’re drinking and you’re swelling up. (Check this allergic reaction out ahaha.) Hard to say without knowing more.
Does that help at all?
- LinkInstead of consuming the Dextrose…Can I substitute it for the brand Universal Nutrition : Carbo Plus???
- LinkYeah for sure. We just chose dextrose because it’s the cheapest and most generic. You can really use any type of carb with an underlying glucose structure for the same effect, whether that’s dextrose, maltodextrin, waximaize, etc – they’re all either straight glucose or glucose polymers. (Carbo Plus lists “glucose polymers from maltodextrin” as the carb source.)
- LinkHey Shane,
Great site and great article. As a long time ectomorph (now 34), I’ve always struggled with adding muscle. I’m very tempted to try your plan as I plan on hitting the gym again after a 4 month hiatus. I’m been out due to a herniated disc in my lower back. Prior to the injury I did p90x and classic power lifting techniques. P90 killed my back with the plyometrics. It sounds as though some of the complex movements (ie squats, powerlifts) would put a lot of strain on my injured disc. Do you guys have other excersises you could recommend that would be more safe with my ailment? I was planning on doing leg press instead of squats, but it doesnt seem to be as much of a complex movement. Thank you so much and again great job. The video hit home.
- LinkHey Eric, have you read out latest article? (Ectomorph Weightlifting.)
Many back issues can be corrected over time by strengthening the musculature in your back and working to improve your posture/alignment. Exercises like deadlifts, done correctly and with care, can often work magic on back health. That isn’t always the case, but I wouldn’t necessarily prematurely start totally avoiding training your back.
Avoiding exercises that strengthen your lower back won’t do much good if you do exercises (e.g. a military press) that require stability there.
If you think of your body like a 2 story house with a damaged first floor … the solution wouldn’t necessarily be more mass in the basement and second floor – you may want to fix the damage on the first floor.
I would recommend getting your back checked out by an expert and seeking out a solution that sees it getting stronger. Chances are you’ll be back to performing perfectly with a little bit of a smart training and some patience
- Linklink for dextrose:
NOW
Dextrose
IS A DISCONTINUED PRODUCT !!!
danger ?? useless ??
- LinkI got my NOW Dextrose 10lb from Amazon today. I believe the order was fulfilled by NOW. I think Amazon may have stopped selling it themselves so you couldnt get it via prime. Checked the NOW website and their still selling it.
- LinkWhoops good catch!
They replaced it with Maltodextrin. Probably not a bad idea, as we’ve had tons of guys having a hard time with the sweetness of the drink, especially combined with the sweeteners in whey protein.
I just updated it to their new product: Carbo Gain. Dextrose, if you can find it, is still a totally valid option though.
- LinkHey, question. I’m naturally a pretty skinny ectomorph but I’ve managed to put on 7 lbs in 3 weeks with the right eating so I’m not sure how much of an ectomorph I am, but anyways. With the training drink what do you suggest a double dose or your suggested triple dose? Almond milk? 16 oz? 8 oz?
Thanks!
- LinkThat’s awesome man, congratulations! 7 pounds in 3 weeks is badass.
I think there’s a tendency to think that ectomorphs suck at building muscle. That’s not necessarily the case. Most of us, once we start training and eating well, can pack on muscle at alarming rates.
Almond milk? Why almond milk?
A double dose, or even a single dose, is fine if you’re already succeeding at gaining weight at a sweet pace like that. The main advantage of going beyond that is simply the calories, and you’re obviously already consuming enough of those!
- LinkGreat article. I am very interested into your mid workout drink – did i read it was 1000 calories! :O ! I am 6ft2 and 150 pounds and my strength has been increasing however I know that my calorie intake is no where near bulk stage. I find it difficult. What makes your mid workout shake so high calories and do you need an post workout shake after it?
- LinkWhen doing a single dose you can do it right before, during or right after working out. If you’re doing a triple dose I’d say drink a third of it before, a third during, and a third after.
What makes it so high in calories? The carb and protein powders
Yeah … not consuming enough calories is something most of us skinny guys struggle with. This is one creative way of helping to solve that problem. I hope it helps you man, good luck!
- LinkWhat if I’m 17, is it bad to drink whey and creatin seeing as my body isn’t fully developed
- LinkI haven’t seen any research indicating that creatine is bad for guys who are still developing, and quite a lot of research has been done into possible downsides. I also haven’t seen any research indicating that it’s safe for guys still developing either … so that’s a toughy. Creatine is hardly necessary though so if you aren’t comfortable using it, just ditch it.
Is whey bad? Nope. It’s just a processed form of the protein found in dairy. Having a solid protein intake is likely more beneficial for guys who are still growing, if anything. (Getting most of your protein from whole foods though, since whole foods are higher in vitamins and minerals, is still a good idea.)
Does that help at all?
- LinkYes, thanks a lot my older brother has a jar of whey protein I might use that in a couple months after I develop more muscle at least
- LinkThx for super posts. Feel I’m at Supplement Overload, listening to too many w/out checkin sites as this due to body structure.
- LinkI’m still 5-7 lbs away from goal. I’ve just stopped gaining & muscle definition/tone is less. Even tried N.O.only 4 terrible Side effects. I’m 48, having hormone issues, so that can be the case. I’d appreicate any “Advice & Direction” on Pre-Post-Supplements & Diet. Even considering IGF, which is last resort for a lady. Thanks much.
Hey Tammy,
I’d say supplements are a great bet for healthy people who are already getting the results they’re looking for, and just looking to take things to the next level. If you’re struggling to see progress I’d look at the foundation of your diet and training plan first – that’s where the real results are made!
Hormonal issues can definitely throw a wrench into things, and we’re no experts at dealing with abnormal hormones. I would trust your doctor for advice on that one. Whatever issues you’re dealing with though, don’t let that become an excuse not to accomplish your goals. Everyone has challenges, whether that’s hormones, time, money, appetite, injuries, etc.
Keep in mind that if your goal is a very lofty one, that it takes more time, effort and sacrifices to reach it!
I hope that helps!
My best,
- LinkShane
Shane, with reading all the suggestions you’ve given to many, you seem to Rock at helping others. Great job!
- LinkThanks for the kind words Tammy, I hope it helps!
- LinkShane, It truly does help. I’m enjoying reading many of your articles and putting them into practice. Thanks again.
- LinkShane -
In your training drink you mix whey + dextrose + creatine, but in the text of the post you mention malodextrin? Are you recommending malodextrin in the training drink, or dextrose, or are those terms somewhat interchangeable? Great advice, looking forward to giving this a try! Thanks!
- LinkGah – we just switched the above link to maltodextrin. Forgot to switch it everywhere, I suppose. I’ll fix that up.
To answer your question though – you’re correct. They’re quite interchangeable (in this context) and either will do the trick. They’re both made out of glucose, and that’s what really matters.
- LinkHey Shane, nice article. I’ve been following the blog on here for a while and taking the advice on board and incorporating it into my lifestyle and training. I am a 5ft10 ectomorph that weighed 130lbs. I started training in mid January this year and since then I have managed to gain 20lbs. Mostly through eating lots of whole foods and upping my calorie intake and incorporating compound lifts (bench press, barbell squat, deadlift, chin ups and t-rows) into my training plans following your advice.
I have now reached a point where I have decided to start taking supplements and being in the UK I couldn’t use the links you posted in the article so I decided to source some alternative brands/products but still follow your advice.
Just wanted to throw a recommendation out to any other UK people that myprotein.com products are pretty badass and very reasonably priced.
I bought their Impact Whey Protein (Cookie and Cream flavour), Maltodextrin, L Glutamine and Creatine Monohydrate. Mixed up the double dose (slightly concerned about the triple dose making me fat) and it tasted good! Either I have weird taste buds, or these products seem to go together well. Mixed up great to my surprise with no lumps and wasn’t as thick as I expected either.
Plus I worked out that it only costs me £1.45 to make this shake up, so doesn’t break the bank at all!
Not so much a question in here, just thought I’d recommend the above products for UK based people and say keep up the good work!
Money is tight so can’t afford to buy the program yet, but definitely interested in getting it soon. Can you shoot me details of the payment plan, if there is one?
Cheers
Not so much a question
- LinkHey Steve, glad you’re liking our stuff man! Your results are awesome! 20 pounds is totally badass.
That’s awesome man, thanks for the tips! That stuff’s really helpful. We’ve got a few UK guys doing the program, and it seems like every continent has to adjust things ever so slightly. Our Australians have been buying ground up oats instead of maltodextrin, for example, and our Germans are getting dextrose from DIY beer breweries (for unbelievably cheap). Pretty cool.
Yeah man, I’ll shoot you the payment plan info. Hope to see you on the other side!
- LinkIs it safe to drink 50g whey protein, 100g maltodextrin, 10g creatine and 5g glutamin mixed with 450ml in one serving?
- LinkDo you mean from a hydration standpoint? I would recommend drinking plenty of water. Maybe that means bringing a water bottle with you. We have water fountains at our gym, so if we make a particularly hearty concoction we also mix in some sips of water.
If it’s especially hot and sweaty you might want to be extra careful to avoid dehydration.
I hope that helps!
- LinkHey, great site! I had a few questions as I really don’t know how to go about getting to where I want to be physically. I’m 22, ectomorph, 5’10, around 60kg, i’ve always been about the same size. My body is out of proportion. Luckily i’ve been blessed with naturally large calves and my legs are a nice size generally, it’s just my torso and my arms. My arms are so skinny and always have been and I have NO chest and my stomach is fairly flat, not much really going on, so I know that if I can do things right, I could end up getting a pretty decent body. As for now, it seems like the bottom half of me doesnt match the top. I’ve tried gyms before but never managed to get it right, ending up in no improvements and giving up.
- LinkAt the start of this year I’ve moved to Mexico, Playa del Carmen, so for anyone who knows this place and who are also in my position phsically will understand that after the first day I went to the beach it started a new fire in me to really do it this time. So I spoke to friends, watched endless youtube videos on workouts and diets and read endless articles. Money right now is a bit of an issue so the gym was a no no. The first 2 months went ok, a lot of different variations of push-ups and squats, changed my diet, started eating a lot more, I noticed some kind of improvement in muscle size but in weight I have no idea as I have no scales in my apartment to keep a check. As I wasn’t seeing as much improvement as I wanted to I had a lapse and gave up again for about 3 weeks and then after going to the beach again I kicked myself and realised i’m not gonna get anywhere if I keep giving up and I pushed myself back into it, this time changing what i’m doing working out, adding burpees, mountain climber, other push up variations, sit-ups, planks and squats, i’ve been doing this new routine for 2 weeks now and I definatley feel like its working out better this time. So right now I find your site and all this great advice and all these questions with great responses and I feel like I can get some genuine great advice now.
So first I wanted to ask about the supplements. As I feel like this new routine is working for me and will have some money in a few weeks I want to invest in a these suppliments and this great recipe for a training drink, but is it really necessary for me to get EVERYTHING mentioned above to really get great improvement that I want?
2. What else could you recommend for how I could get a workout better without any equipment (as I don’t have any)? and how long a good workout should be?
3. How many calories should I be consuming daily and how often do you think I should be eating?
Also after explaining what it is i’m doing, do you even think its gonna get me anywhere at all and do you think I should even be going anywhere near supplements yet?
Any response would be greatly appreaciated as I am so clueless about what I really should be doing and how!
Thanks in advance
Hey Sambo, thanks for taking the time to write us! That’s a pretty hefty message! Congrats for finally taking control of your life and trying to accomplish your fitness/strength/health goals, too!
Let’s see what we can do about those questions.
1. None of these supplements are necessary no, and regular whole food has a whole bunch of advantages too, like being unprocessed and packed full of micronutrients. These supplements may be cheaper than food, so in theory they should help you save money though. Whole food protein is usually more expensive than whey, and whole food carbs are usually cheaper than dextrose/maltodextrin. This presents an advantage as far as appetite goes, too, as it’s relatively easy to consume and very easy to digest.
2. Calisthenics (working out using your body weight) is cool, and you can make muscle gains at first. At a certain point the exercises become too easy, and it becomes less about strength and more about endurance. (Going from 15 pushups to 30 pushups, say, will increase your endurance, not your muscle size/strength.) You can be constantly making things more difficult (having someone push down on your back, doing explosive clap pushups, etc) but it quickly becomes complicated, and often takes a lot of athleticism (handstand pushups, say). With weights you can constantly be increasing the heaviness, resulting in progressively bigger muscles as your strength increases – much simpler and more reliable. But, as you probably know, sometimes the cheaper route comes with more challenges. That doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish your goals though … it will just be trickier.
3. How much should you be eating? Enough for your weight to increase! There are some advanced ways of figuring that out, like what we use with our members, but you can often get a rough idea by taking your weight and multiplying it by 20. If that still doesn’t have you gaining weight … then you need to eat more. You also need to make sure that your weight is coming in the form of muscle though, so you’ll need to make sure you’re giving your muscles a reason to build strength, not just endurance.
Does that answer all of your questions? I hope that helps man!
- LinkHey, ha thanks for the reply, I realised after that the last message was an essay!
- LinkBut yeah everything you said makes a lot of sense, I’m gonna see what I can do, mainly I think now I just need to maybe get a gym membership more than anything, calisthenics are gonna have to do for the time being though but better than nothing at all!
By the way I forgot to say before, that video is very impressive and really sold me and if I was in a better financial situation right now I would sign up. I’ll put some money aside when I can and if I can’t get any improvement alone I’ll sign up for sure, finally the real deal!
Thanks for the help and good luck man, I’ll spread the word!
Great article. Just wanted to ask for your opinion on using waxy maize starch as opposed to dextrin or maltodextrin in post-workout shake.
- LinkYep, that’s totally cool. It’s a “heavier” starch, which just means there are more glucose molecules connected together. It’s sort of a more slowly digested form of maltodextrin. Great substitute.
- LinkHey Shane,
- Linkhow’re u doing mate ? I started with creatine a couple of months back as per your suggestion and have noticed gains in my lifting capacity but not so much of muscle gain. I also took a gainer called N-large 2 by Prolab but i didn’t gain much at all. It seems like i’ve probably reached a plateau. I am now looking to gain some big ass muscle and hence have a few questions..
1. How effective are the gainers available in the market ? Are they really effective ? I’ve heard people saying that they are useless and one should rather make their own using whey and adding stuff like peanut butter, oats, bananas ets to make a gainer. So should i buy a gainer or whey, considering that i’m looking to bulk up ?
2. What is the best gainer out there in the market which is really helpful for ectomorphs like us ?
3. How much of it should be taken per day ? Is 1 scoop after breakfast and 1 after workout enough or should i be taking more ?
Hey Sushant, glad you got some gains man! Everyone responds to creatine differently … and it isn’t magic. So if you aren’t gaining weight and building muscle it won’t make any results burst out of thin air. If you’re ALREADY building muscle though it can certainly accelerate those gains. Does that make sense?
1. I agree with what other people are saying. If you look at what’s actually in them, gainers are like eating cake + a protein shake. It’s mostly maltodextrin (very similar to flour) along with a bunch of other cheap processed calorie-heavy carbs. You’d be better off having the protein shake along with peanut butter, oats, bananas, etc. Some other favourites of mine are: yogurt, milk, other nuts, coconut milk, dark chocolate and raw eggs.
(If you’re into cake, you can, of course, actually have cake along with a protein shake. Ironically, it’s cheaper than most weight gainers and just as effective … but it tastes better. Still not as good as making your own though.)
2. Optimum Nutrition is a very professional company that produces products that actually seem to be “as advertised” perhaps not in terms of results, but at least in terms of ingredients. If their mass gainer (Serious Mass) says that it’s got 30g of whey protein it will actually have 30g of whey protein … which is surprisingly rare in the supplement world.
3. If you’re making your own out of whole foods, you can eat as much of it as you want – it’s healthy afterall! If you’re buying a store bought one that’s heavily processed … then it’s kind of like junk food – you want to eat it in moderation. When bulking you’re probably cool getting 20% of your calories or so from “empty” calories, i.e., calories that aren’t nutritious. As for how much you should consume to grow? You don’t need to consume ANY. But your overall intake should be enough for you to gain weight on the scale and improve on your strength in the gym.
Surrounding training though you can take advantage of a pretty potent advantage that nutrient timing offers. Studies are pretty promising there (as explained in this blog post) so I’d take a hearty amount. You could use it as a more expensive version of what we’re recommending, so just read the end of the article to figure out the dosage that works best for you
Hope that helps man! Good luck!
My best,
- LinkShane
Hello,
I’m 118lbs and 5’7” and I would like to gain at least 15 lbs by Mid August when I go to college. Would it be possible, especially increase my arm size. Any advice helps I’m pretty desperate.
- LinkYeah man, I’d say that’s definitely possible! You should get started soon though!! That’s no small amount of weight and August is getting closer each day
We’d love to help you get there so I hope you join us!
- LinkI’m sure you’d be able to do it yourself though, given enough motivation and effort!
Hey Shane,
- LinkI’ve been concerned about taking too many calories because I’ve heard high calorie diets increase risk factors for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer…basically decreasing longevity. Now I don’t believe 1000 calories for a workout shake is too crazy. It’s what you’d find in a typical Five Guys bacon cheeseburger. However, if I wanted to workout 4 times a week, do you think there would be any negative high calorie effects associated with taking that many calories?
That’s an interesting question, because the main point of consuming a shake that large is because we’re actively TRYING to eat more calories.
My understanding of the health component of consuming a lot of calories is that it depends on where those calories are going. It also depends on whether you’re consuming too little, enough or too much, not whether you’re consuming a little or a lot. Does that make sense?
Overeating > obesity > diabetes.
Eating enough to build muscle but not so much to get fat > lean muscle gains > beastliness.
Does that make sense?
- LinkHi guys,
What a great article, I love the fact that you use research studies to back up your claims. Your photos are also a great testament to your hard work.
I’ve been a skinny guy my whole life but have recently, through training and eating, started to increase in size. My situation is made more complex by the fact that I’m gluten intolerant which rules out wheat pastas, lots of training shakes, bread, and many of the easily available carbs.
I’d love to get a little more info from yourselves relating to the ingredients that you use in your recipe book before I go ahead and purchase your product. How gluten free friendly are you guys?
I’m currently working on a few recipes using quinoa is a flour substitute for protein bars and cakes. Nutritionally they should be very beneficial with the complex carb and protein base of the quinoa so I’d be happy to keep you posted.
If you do have any advice relating to gf training I’d love to hear it.
Kind regards
Alex
- LinkUnited Kingdom.
Hi guys,
What a great article, I love the fact that you use research studies to back up your claims. Your photos are also a great testament to your hard work.
I’ve been a skinny guy my whole life but have recently, through training and eating, started to increase in size. My situation is made more complex by the fact that I’m gluten intolerant which rules out wheat pastas, lots of training shakes, bread, and many of the easily available carbs.
I’d love to get a little more info from yourselves relating to the ingredients that you use in your recipe book before I go ahead and purchase your product. How gluten free friendly are you guys?
I’m currently working on a few recipes using quinoa is a flour substitute for protein bars and cakes. Nutritionally they should be very beneficial with the complex carb and protein base of the quinoa so I’d be happy to keep you posted.
If you do have any advice relating to gf training I’d love to hear it.
Kind regards
Alex
- LinkUnited Kingdom..
Hey Alex, glad you like our stuff man!
Being gluten intolerant actually isn’t all too bad for bulking up! I had a girlfriend who was gluten intolerant for a while … at which point I realized I ALREADY wasn’t eating any gluten. I eat a ton of beans and plenty of potatoes. Lots of guys eat tons of rice and quinoa. Flour isn’t all that nutritious, and, well, I haven’t found it all that delicious either. Pizza and pasta have never been big favourites of mine even from a taste perspective. I’d much rather have chili (beans+corn) or stew (potatoes). At restaurants I always go for the meat+potato meals, too. Or seafood.
So I’d say we’re very very gluten-free-friendly
Does that answer your question?
I hope you decide to join us man!
My best,
- LinkShane
Hi Shane! I’m really tiny. I’m 120 lbs at 5′ 9″ and I want to start this plan soon. What dosages do you reccomend for me personally?
Very good article though.
Thanks!
- LinkHey Tremayne, I’d start with a regular size drink and then, if you feel good, increase the size of it up to the 3x size
- LinkHey man, I started taking 2 2.5g of creatine in chewable wafers daily for the last 5 days. I’ve noticed that it makes me much thirstier than usual so i’ve been drinking a lot of water. I know that creatine has a unique relationship with water but if i have a lot of water, will i flush the creatine out of my system when i go to the bathroom?
- LinkSome, sure! You want to take in a bit more than you need for that reason. For your body to take in 3g (which is around what you want to be giving it) you need to consume 5-6g
- LinkWhat is the best dosage for the NutraSea Fish oil? Just pour into a tspoon and consume once a day?
- LinkYep, consuming once a day is perfect. You’d likely want to pour it into a tablespoon though, not a teaspoon.
- Link—-”That bad boy racks up 1080 calories of exactly the kind of nutrition we want when training.”—-
- One question, are you factoring in the calories from whatever it is you’re mixing it with? -
I ask because I normally like using a half a liter of whole milk (~300 calories) as the basis for my own workout shake.
Or are you just using water in your shakes? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to using milk instead of water?
So many questions…
- LinkMilk is a surprisingly potent workout drink, considering how ridiculously slowly we digest it! It has a lot of muscle-building benefits built into it, since there are so many rad vitamins and minerals in there, alongside a great source of protein.
The protein shake we drink, however, is mixed with water.
If you’re mixing yours with milk just use a bit less protein and maltodextrin in your mix so that you wind up with the same total amount of carbs and protein in there.
You may dig this article, too:
http://bonytobeastly.com/milk-muscle-and-marcel-the-ectomorph-dairy-guide/
Does that help?
- LinkHi there. I have a very limited budget so I would just like to ask if buying creatine and whey protein will be enough? Or should I buy whey protein and fish oil isntead? I am a beginner when it comes to working out so forgive me for this question. I also read that there are harmful side effects when using fish oil, are those claims true? thank you.
- LinkIf you’re using a quality fish oil like NutraSea I can’t imagine you running into any harmful side effects at all … it’s pretty universally considered an incredibly healthy supplement. You can certainly ask your doctor though! (With any exercise or nutrition program that’s always a wise idea, as everyone is a little different.)
Creatine is cheaper and is absolutely incredible at building muscle, so if that’s your main goal I’d go for that one.
Fish oil is great for your longterm health though, so perhaps that’s something you’ll want to incorporate into your diet down the road if you ever have a bit more disposable income to invest in your health
Does that help?
- LinkHey I had no idea what an “ectomorph” until yesterday
- LinkI watched your video and like yourself I struggled for years gave up tried again and to avail came close to my aspirations.
I tried protein drinks but I’m not sure what happened once I stopped sweating.. I would also get kidney stones.. Or bowel movement would stop or go crazy if you get what I mean lol..
I even messed up my back by doing squats and slipped a disc
I’m 6ft and 140lbs and man I’ve tried it all!..
You think this program can help me
Hey Rafeh, it sounds like you’ve had a rougher than average run of things! Almost all of us run into our share of mishaps, struggles and challenges with this stuff—I know I did!—but you seem to have struggled with quite a few!
Yes, I think our program could help. We take a pretty methodical approach to this and the goal is to make you even more resistant to injury, not set you up for it. We’re also trying to recommend a healthy diet that has you naturally building muscle, not one that has you sacrificing your health in order to look a certain way.
I haven’t ever heard of whey protein causing kidney stones or causing people to stop sweating though. Stopping taking whey protein sounds like the right idea, especially since having bowel issues makes me think you may be allergic or intolerant to it, but you may also want to ask your doc just incase it’s something unrelated to the whey protein.
You may want to get clearance to do squats and deadlifts again, too. When done properly these exercises have the potential to fix disk issues, or at least remove the symptoms, since you can build up a lot of protective muscle surrounding your spine + learn how to move better / more safely / more athletically / more naturally … but if you have a pre-existing injury you should definitely get it checked out by a medical professional.
The good news is that a couple months or years from now you can be a fearsomely healthy, strong and athletic dude with a body that makes you proud of what you were able to accomplish … and all these struggles could be something that you affectionately laugh at
Does that help?
- LinkAnd I hope you decide to join us man
You may find value in this article, too:
- Linkhttp://bonytobeastly.com/ectomorph-weightlifting/
Do you take the maltodextrin on days you don’t lift? If so, how much do you take?
- LinkNo sir! On non-lifting days I try to eat as much whole nutritious food as possible. When it comes to starches my go-to favourites are: legumes (e.g. beans), whole grain bread, peas, potatoes and fruits. There are tons of options out there—another big favourite for a lot of healthfully-minded dudes is quinoa.
So long as it’s a real food and it’s been minimally processed you should be good to go! (So processed white rice and processed white flour aren’t ideal, while, say, oatmeal and whole grains would be.)
Hope that helps!
- Linki would like to know more about your products
- LinkRight now we’ve just got one landmark program: Bony to Beastly. Check it out:
http://bonytobeastly.com/the-program/
I think you’d get a lot out of it. Give it a read and see if you’d be a good fit?
- LinkIf you are, we’d love to have you man
Do you consume the same amount of supplement servings on your rest days as well, or is it only on workout days?
- LinkOnly workout days. On rest days it’s best to stick with nutritious whole foods
- LinkAre there any alternate body building supplements without Creatine, because doctor suggested me not to use because. Creatine is not suitable for me.
- LinkFor sure, just don’t add the creatine
Maltodextrin + whey protein still makes a fearsome workout drink. And fish oil is still a great addition to your daily nutrition.
Does that help?
- LinkHi. I’ve been following your website, and am considering getting your program, but I have a few questions.
I’ve a skinny skinny ectomorph (quoting what was said in the article). I’m ripped skinny, and I’ve been trying to do body weight exercises and compound exercises like squats, pull ups, crunches, but have not added much to my mass. It’s a little hard for me to prepare high calorie meals because of family members (and I cook for everyone), so I was considering supplements to aid me.
However, the protocol seems a little scary. I’ve had reservations about supplements for years because people kept telling me that I’d be fat when I’m older (I’m 23 now).. What do you suggest? I was thinking of going for whey protein first. But would that not add a lot of gains? I’m 174cm, weighing 54kg? 5’9, 121 pounds. I hope I converted that right. I wanna gain muscles so bad..
Hope to hear from you. And thank you for this article, and for helping me.
- LinkThat’s sweet Ree, glad to hear you’re considering our program. I hope you do wind up deciding to join us
Bodyweight exercises are a good place to start, and they can often spark some initial gains and get things going … but since they aren’t necessarily “heavy” it’s often hard to keep your muscles growing beyond a certain point. You begin to build up muscular endurance instead of muscle strength / size. Guys who can do 50 pushups don’t necessarily have bigger chests than guys who can do 20. Does that make sense?
We’ve got a lot of sweet strategies for eating more calories, so I think you’d be set there, whether they come from supplements or not. On that note, I’m a little confused by your concern with supplements. What do supplements (like creatine, whey, fish oil, etc) have to do with becoming fat when you’re older?
Haha I know what you mean about wanting to gain muscles so badly! It’ll happen.
- Linkhey shane,
thank you for the great article
I’m considering joining the program. I went through the comments and i hope that you reply on the few ones on top. That will clear out and help me a big time.
- LinkHey Sultan, I try to answer every single question! Sometimes they slip by though on here, so if I’ve missed anything give me a shout and I’d be happy to answer it
- Linkhey shane the article is quite impressive definitely going to try it, I just want to know one thing you said to consume 3-5g of creatine a day.
- LinkDo i have to take creatine dosage plus add creatine it to my drink for workout day or the drink is enough?
The workout drink is more than enough creatine for the day! If you’re taking a triple dose of the shake and you triple the amount of creatine that’s likely enough creatine that you don’t even need to take it on rest days!
- Link