What’s an Ectomorph? Are Body Types Even Real?
An ectomorph is someone who is naturally slim. We tend to have thinner bone structures, fewer fat cells, and faster metabolisms. We’re often taller than average, with longer spines and limbs and proportionally smaller stomachs.
I’m an ectomorph. I’ve also spent the past fifteen years helping other ectomorphs gain weight, build muscle, and improve their health. It isn’t a body type. Some of our clients have included college, professional, and Olympic athletes. You can do great things with it.
Still, ectomorph is a controversial word. It was coined by the disgraced psychologist William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s. He used it to describe the skinny body type and personality type, but he couldn’t prove a link between the two.
So, the word ectomorph isn’t scientific, but many of us still use it because it’s the simplest way to describe our thin builds.
- How to Know if You’re an Ectomorph
- Skinny Terminology
- The Origin of the Body Types
- Body Types Were Disproven
- The Revival of the Ectomorph
- Can Ectomorphs Get Big?
- How I Went From Skinny to Muscular
- Ectomorph Doesn’t Mean Skinny
- The Ectomorph Diet
- The Ectomorph Workout
- Should Ectomorphs Avoid Cardio?
- How to Bulk Up
How to Know if You’re an Ectomorph
If you’re naturally thin, you can call yourself an ectomorph. You don’t need to run any special tests. That’s what most people mean when they use the word. However, you can also check your bone structure to see if it really is narrower than average.
The easiest way is to measure your wrists and ankles, where there’s not much fat or muscle. The average man’s wrist circumference is a little over 7 inches. If yours is smaller, you might have ectomorphic traits.
You don’t need to factor in height. Taller people have longer, not necessarily thicker, bones. For example, I’m 6’2″ (taller than average), but my wrist circumference is 6.75″ (thinner than average). That’s totally normal for ectomorphs.
Another way is to get a DEXA scan. In the above photo, I’ve gained 70 pounds, going from 130 to 200 pounds. My bones became denser and heavier, but they didn’t get thicker. The DEXA scan still shows that I have unusually thin bones.
Skinny Terminology
There are a few terms describing the skinny body type. Each is related, but they all mean something slightly different.
- Ectomorph: someone with a thin bone structure. Most of us are naturally thin, but you could bulk up to become muscular or gain fat to become overweight.
- Skinny: someone with less muscle and fat than average, almost always because we have fewer fat cells, making it comfortable to be thin. It isn’t a body type. In fact, skinny people tend to build muscle faster than average.
- Skinny-fat: someone who has thin muscles but an unhealthy amount of body fat. It’s when you look thin in a T-shirt but overweight when you take it off. It’s another way of calling someone “out of shape.” It’s something you can change with diet and exercise.
- Hardgainer: someone who has difficulty eating enough calories to gain weight. This is the skinny guy who tries to bulk up but can’t budge the scale. This is usually because we have fewer fat cells and metabolisms that adapt easily to higher calorie intakes, burning away the calorie surplus.
- Non-responder: In the past, this is what researchers would call people who failed to build muscle during weight-training studies. However, that was usually because these people were hardgainers who didn’t eat enough food to gain weight.
- Low-responder: someone who has a lower-than-average response to the stimulus of lifting weights. It refers to someone with bad muscle-building genetics. There’s very little overlap between non-responders and skinny guys.
You could argue that “ectomorph” is a useful term because it describes something the other terms don’t. For example, I’ve gained 70 pounds, going from 130 to 200 pounds. I’m not skinny anymore, but I still have a thin bone structure, meaning I still have the same “body type.” I’m still an ectomorph.
The Origin of the Body Types
The term “ectomorph” was coined by William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s. It was part of his somatotype taxonomy, used to divide men into three body types: mesomorphs, endomorphs, and ectomorphs.
- Mesomorphs were muscular and athletic.
- Endomorphs were squat and overweight.
- Ectomorphs were tall, narrow, and thin.
You aren’t supposed to fit neatly into one category. Most people have aspects of all three. This isn’t what Sheldon got in trouble for. There’s nothing inherently wrong here. Not yet.
The etymology of the word ectomorph is especially interesting. The prefix “ecto” refers to our endoderms—our skin. Ectomorph is a more sophisticated way of calling someone skinny.
Body Types Were Disproven
Naturally thin bodies do exist. I know because I live in one. But Sheldon’s goals were somewhat more nefarious than that. He wanted to link body types with personality types:
- Mesomorphs were bold and adventurous.
- Endomorphs were friendly and lazy.
- Ectomorphs were introverted, anxious, and intellectual.
I happen to be introverted and a little bit anxious, and I like the idea of being an intellectual. That description actually fits me fairly well. But it’s just a coincidence.
Sheldon was never able to prove a connection. Moreover, he was criticized for stereotyping people based on their appearance. The somatotypes were pseudoscience right from the very beginning. They still are.
The Revival of the Ectomorph
Words aren’t static. Once they’re released into our culture, their meaning changes and evolves. My favourite example of this is how the word “awful” originally meant “full of awe” or “worthy of fear and respect.” Now, it means “very bad.”
“Ectomorph” is no different. When it was ousted from the scientific community, the bodybuilding community caught hold of it. They dropped the personality stuff and used it to describe people who were naturally slim.
If someone calls you an ectomorph, chances are they’re using bodybuilding slang, not old psychological pseudoscience.
Can Ectomorphs Get Big?
Ectomorphs can get quite big. Most research shows that the amount of muscle you can build depends on how thick your bones are (study, study). I wrote a full article on that here, including a calculator that will tell you how big you can get.
That means a thinner-boned ectomorph can’t get as big as a thicker-boned mesomorph or endomorph. That’s why you won’t see many ectomorph bodybuilders or powerlifters. Our builds aren’t sturdy enough to support record-breaking amounts of muscle mass.
However, our natural muscular potential is still quite high. I was able to gain 70 pounds naturally, going from an underweight BMI of 16 to a healthy BMI of 25:
We can build strong and muscular physiques that rival most athletes. In fact, many Olympic athletes have more ectomorphic body types. A popular example is the Italian Olympic swimming team that went viral for having such attractive bodies:
We also tend to have an easier time getting lean and staying lean. We don’t have a tendency to overeat, and most of us also have fewer fat cells (explained here). So even though we can’t get as big, it’s often easier for us to get into good shape.
If you’re interested in aesthetics, there’s more good news. It seems that our ideal proportions are linked to the size of our bone structures. So, if you have thinner bones, then you’ll probably look best at a slightly lower body weight. I made a calculator for that here.
How I Went From Skinny to Muscular
I had a really hard time building muscle. None of the conventional fitness advice seemed to be written for me. I couldn’t gain weight no matter what I tried. Then, I learned about ectomorphs, and I found a community of people with the same struggles. Their advice worked for me.
As I was bulking up, I blogged about it. I called myself an ectomorph, but I wasn’t talking about how I was anxious or introverted. I was anxious and introverted, but I was just talking about being naturally thin.
This was fifteen years ago, back before the online fitness community had really taken off. Seeing a skinny guy blogging about gaining weight was rare. The blog took off, so I started spending my evenings helping my readers bulk up.
That was around the time I helped my skinny roommate bulk up. Jared was 6′ and 130 pounds—similar to my starting height and weight. He was running into a number of health issues, too. His posture was crumbling. His tendons were giving out.
As our blog continued to grow, we teamed up with a world-class strength coach, Marco Walker-Ng:
Marco had a degree in health sciences (BHSc), was a certified strength and nutrition coach, and had interned with Eric Cressey, the strength coach for the New York Yankees. When we got in touch with him, he was helping his university football team bulk up, coaching a few professional athletes, and training some of our Canadian Olympic rugby team.
The three of us teamed up to create our Bony to Beastly and Bony to Bombshell programs, and we got to work helping skinny people bulk up, both through our blog and through our programs.
Then a funny thing started happening. People would come to our blog, see that we were calling ourselves ectomorphs, and accuse us of believing pseudoscience. If you want to avoid that, you could say you’re “naturally thin” instead of calling yourself an ectomorph. The terms are similar enough, and you won’t catch any flack for it.
Ectomorph Doesn’t Mean Skinny
Ectomorphs are often skinny, but not always, and we don’t have to stay that way. Having a narrow bone structure doesn’t prevent us from building muscle. In fact, we tend to build muscle quite quickly.
That’s where the term ectomorph comes in handy. Even after going from 130 to 200 pounds, even after filling out the sleeves of large t-shirts, I’m still an ectomorph. I still have trouble gaining weight, still lose weight when I get stressed, and still have thin bones.
The same is true in reverse. Some guys are naturally overweight “endomorphs” who succeed at losing weight. That doesn’t make them ectomorphs. They don’t have thinner bones, fewer fat cells, smaller appetites, or trouble gaining weight. They’re thin, yes, but they had to fight for it.
The Ectomorph Diet
Ectomorphs have different strengths and weaknesses from the average person. Having fewer fat cells makes it easier to bulk up leanly, control our appetites, resist cravings, and lose fat. That means some of the more popular diets don’t work very well for us.
For example, intermittent fasting restricts how often people eat, making it harder to eat as many calories. If you normally eat 700 calories for breakfast but skip it, you might only eat 500 extra calories at lunch, putting you 200 calories behind. That’s good for most people, but it doesn’t help us, especially since we often have small stomachs.
For another example, the ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrates. That cuts out some of the foods that are the easiest to overeat, such as croissants, frappuccinos, soda, ice cream, and donuts. However, it also cuts out nutritious foods that would help us bulk up, such as fruit smoothies, fruits, veggies, beans, lentils, whole grains, milk, and yogurt.
Low-fat diets aren’t popular right now, but you wouldn’t want to eat one of those, either. Fat is the most potent source of calories, and there are plenty of nutritious foods that are rich in fat. Think of eggs, nuts, seeds, olives, olive oil, avocados, avocado oil, peanut butter, almond butter, and dark chocolate.
So, the best ectomorph diet is one that helps you eat enough calories to maintain or gain weight. That usually means eating more often, eating lots of protein and plenty of carbs, and including healthy fat sources.
The Ectomorph Workout
Ectomorphs usually start with less muscle, usually because we have a history of eating less food. That can make it seem like we have poor muscle-building genetics, but we don’t. Our muscles grow easily when we lift weights and eat a proper bulking diet.
Hypertrophy Training is a style of training designed to stimulate muscle growth. It’s what bodybuilders do to build muscle. It’s also how powerlifters and athletes train when they’re trying to bulk up.
However, hypertrophy training is often confused with strength training, which is designed to make you stronger for your size. It’s how powerlifters teach their muscles to contract more forcefully for a single repetition instead of rationing their strength over many repetitions.
Strength training is great, but it works best when your muscles are already big. That’s why powerlifters go through “massing” phases, where they bulk up with hypertrophy training. If you’re still skinny, you should save it for a little later.
For example, I used hypertrophy training to build my bench press from 60 pounds to 225 pounds, lifting in a moderate rep range the whole time. When I could bench 225 for 15 repetitions, I knew my chest and shoulder muscles were big enough to bench 315 pounds, so I started strength training. After a few months, I benched 315—without building any extra muscle.
Should Ectomorphs Avoid Cardio?
Ectomorphs are often told to avoid cardio. The idea is that cardio burns calories, making it harder for us to gain weight and build muscle. That’s true. But cardio also makes us fitter, improves our digestion, and doesn’t interfere with muscle growth. There’s no need to fear it.
Everyone benefits from having a strong heart, a robust vascular system, and powerful lungs. Even ectomorphs.
However, if you’ve just started lifting weights, you don’t need to start doing cardio right away. It’s usually better to ease into exercise gradually. You can spend the next few months bulking up, which should be enough stimulation to improve your cardiorespiratory health. Then, when you finish bulking, you can ease back on the hypertrophy training and ramp up your cardio.
If you’re out of shape or new to cardio, you can start by going on brisk walks. For example, you could go on a 20–30 minute walk every morning.
How to Bulk Up
Alright, that’s it for now. If you want more muscle-building information, we have a free bulking newsletter for naturally skinny guys.
If you want a full foundational bulking program, including a 5-month full-body workout routine, diet guide, recipe book, and online coaching, check out our Bony to Beastly Bulking Program. Or, if you want a customizable intermediate bulking program, check out our Outlift Program.
Shane Duquette is the founder of Outlift, Bony to Beastly, and Bony to Bombshell, each with millions of readers. He's a Certified Conditioning Coach (CCC), has gained 70 pounds, and has over a decade of experience helping more than 15,000 people build muscle. He also has a degree in fine arts, but those are inversely correlated with muscle growth.
Marco Walker-Ng is the founder and strength coach of Outlift, Bony to Beastly, and Bony to Bombshell. He's a certified trainer (PTS) and nutrition coach (PN) with a Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences (BHSc) from the University of Ottawa. He has over 15 years of experience helping people gain muscle and strength, with clients including college, professional, and Olympic athletes.
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Interesting! I really appreciate learning that the TERMS may have come from a dubious scientist, but the body types are real. I understand the skepticism though. But bros coming on here saying this website is bogus is kinda like if people said, “What?! The science behind healing magnets has been disproven!! There’s no such THING as magnets!!”
Ahaha, yes! That’s the perfect analogy!
Ectomorph has been a very useful term for me. It has provided a way for me to understand my condition, and what I can do to work with, rather than against it. It has helped me to see what my qualities are, rather than trying to figure out whats ‘wrong’ with me.
The Term “naturally skinny” implies that I have the same strengths, weaknesses, and qualities as someone with another body type, that what works for them will work for me. My experience tells me this is not the case. It only describes my skinniness, not the particular quirks of my metabolism, or my bone structure, that is not going to significantly transform by eating and lifting more. So “naturally skinny” doesn’t work for me. Hardgainer is ok, but less descriptive. My own experience has proven out that using ectomorph as a body type has value, at least for me.
I hear ya, Alex. It was the same for me, a very valuable term to learn. When I finally found information for ectomorphs, that was when I realized that there were other people out there struggling with the same issues, and then learning how to overcome those common issues is what helped me finally build muscle. It’s not that I needed a totally atypical approach to training or anything, it’s just that I needed to focus a little harder on hypertrophy training, and I needed a diet that made it easier to eat more calories.
That’s interesting about how “naturally skinny” resonates with you less. I see what you mean. It doesn’t imply that we have a thinner bone structure or might struggle with higher non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), or have a more adaptive metabolism, or anything along those lines. And hardgainer describes the difficulty with gaining weight, but it doesn’t describe the thinner bone structure. It’s less complete as a term.
As per your email questions, I think it’s good to stick to “ectomorph” vs something like “hardgainer.” “Hardgainer” is more on the side of labelling oneself as having a weakness, which this body type is not. Your article does suggest other weaknesses that people may associate with “ectomorph,” but hell, I guess it’s impossible to find a term that will make everyone happy…
Now, when it comes to marketing efforts in things like Google Ads and Facebook Ads, I would on the other hands probably use “hardgainer” as I imagine it’s likely to actually either be a term ectomorphs search for or will quickly understand. But you know that way better than I do, just my copywriting mind drifting off.
Thank you, André. This is really helpful 🙂
The way I use the word, I don’t see being a hardgainer has being a bad thing. But I think we’re using different definitions of the word, and your definition is correct, too. I normally use “hardgainer” to mean someone who has a hard time gaining weight, even when intentionally adding calories into their diets. So it’s someone with a fast or adaptive metabolism. For instance, someone with higher non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) driving their metabolism up whenever they try to eat a bulking diet. Or maybe someone whose appetite completely turns off as soon as they gain a bit of weight, making it hard to keep eating in a calorie surplus. But they often build muscle just fine once they get into a surplus.
I think you’re using hardgainer to mean a sort of non-responder. Someone who has trouble building muscle even when they’re doing everything correctly. Sort of a genetic disadvantage for building muscle, maybe having a harder time pushing themselves during their workouts, having stubborn muscles, or requiring higher training volumes to stimulate muscle growth. For that, I’d say “non-responder,” but it’s not a word I really use at all, I normally just prefer finding the limiting factor and addressing it. Everyone can grow, some just have it easier than others.
But, yeah, being a non-responder has nothing to do with being naturally thin, an ectomorph, or a hardgainer. In fact, it seems like skinny guys are often able to build muscle much faster than the average person, and often more leanly, too. Especially while they’re still relatively thin. We’re just so far away from our genetic ceiling. We can explode into size.
So you’ve brought up a really good point. If I talk about hardgainers, different people view that word differently. There are multiple definitions that are widely used. To a lot of people, it will sound like I’m talking about a genetic disadvantage.
Shane, I do agree with how you view hardgainers – it’s sort of what I think myself, probably because of having been educated by you three (I joined b2B back in 2011 or 2012).
And also, after thinking it through a little more, I concluded that I actually don’t agree at all with my previous point.
I almost started down the dark and twisted rabbit hole of declaring an innocent word of being loaded with some secret, negative meaning. We could use a little less of that.
So I gracefully concede 🙂
Cool article, though. I agree with Lautaro. As always, you demonstrate that b2B has a lot of brain-powered effort behind what you guys do, which is still so ridiculously amiss in the health & fitness industry.
Thank you so much, man 🙂
Back in 2011–2012! A true original member! That’s so cool!
Also, I clicked your name and read the sales page on your website. You’re a sweet copywriter!
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. This is the best science-based content for skinny guys that there is. Period. Don’t let haters tell you otherwise. Nowhere else you can find articles so deep and so well-referenced with both studies and meta-analyses. You even take the extra steps of mentioning the limitations of certain studies when you cite them.
Haters/the misinformed always gonna hate, even if you are the best (in fact, especially if you are the best, because you are more exposed). You are right in not caring about it.
Thanks for existing and can’t wait for my gym to open up to properly continue the Outlift program. (I’ve been continuing it at home but it’s not the same :P)
Thank you so much, Lautaro! That means a lot 😀
Yeah, training at home can be tough. I mean, I train at home, but I’ve got my barbell home gym. Hard to train at home when you don’t have the equipment or space for it. You’ve seen our bodyweight hypertrophy training article, right? It’s definitely not the same as weight training. It’s harder, more painful. But it works.
Stoked to hear you’re liking the Outlift program 😀
Honestly, I found you guys using the terms “hardgainer” and “ectomorph”. That’s how I described myself. I personally don’t find them at all disparaging. When I discovered that there was a scientific name for my situation, I was floored. Once I understood what my body was doing, I knew where and how to look for solutions. Long story short, I found B2B. Keep doing what you’ve been doing!
Woot! Thank you, Jude 😀
This is exactly my experience. I’m 75 now, but about three years ago I was visiting my older son who had always seemed to look more muscular, even though he didn’t work out at all (but did favour a high-protein diet). I noticed that his wrists were obviously larger than mine and wondered what that might mean. Lo and behold, a web search on that led me to the ectomorph term and then to B2B. I had no idea of Sheldon’s work, but your description of the body types immediately resonated. Thanks to the wealth of information B2B provides, I boosted my diet and started gaining muscle mass, with only a small adjustment to my daily exercise routine.
Personally, I’m not sure I believe in the strict 3 body types as I’m sure even among ectomorphs there are people who gain muscle easier than others or are naturally leaner than others. Different bone size/stomach size/hormone balance also creating different muscular potential for different ectomorphs. I think it’s an important distinction though to really get that personalized workout plan that works optimally for you. For example, I would do all my workouts based on Jeff Nippard’s videos for the last 1.5 years and I only went from 135lb–141lb. After trying b2B these past 6 months though, I’ve gone up to 163lb! And with a much simpler gym, too, so I think the body type distinctions are important 🙂
Hey Sam, that’s awesome! Congratulations on those 28 pounds! 😀
You’re totally right. There are no three strict body types. The idea isn’t that someone is a pure ectomorph or endomorph, but rather that they might be 60% ectomorph and 40% endomorph, you know? I just so happen to be a fairly pure ectomorph, but the vast majority of people are some sort of blend of all three body types. And even then, it’s just a slang term. And you’re totally right. There are a bunch of genetic factors outside of being a so-called ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph.
Jeff Nippard is a true genetic beast. He talks about it himself. I think of all the naturals I’ve ever seen, his physique is raddest. He’s the top 0.01% of muscle-building genetics. What’s amazing, though, is that his content is absolutely amazing, too—completely evidence-based. He’s just an all-around badass. But I can see how his programs, which aren’t as directed at helping naturally thinner people bulk up, might not help you build muscle or gain weight as quickly. As you said, that’s where we excel 🙂
I do like the term ectomorph—I am definitely one. Always the skinny girl—didn’t play sports, ate whatever I wanted, etc. I currently receive the emails directed towards men. Is there one specific to women?
Yes! We’ve got a whole women’s site: Bony to Bombshell. That’s not to say you can’t hang out on this site, too, though. And at the moment, we send out more newsletter to the men’s newsletter. The programs and coaching communities are similarly developed/active for both programs, though 🙂
I am a physician. In medical school we used the term ectomorph. You are very correct, the term was coined by a quack doctor, but the truth is most medical terms were coined by quack doctors. Medicine today relies heavily on science, but medical science is relatively new, and many medical names were coined long ago. I have no personal preference for the terms. I just want to understand what is being said. I enjoy your blog, and find it to be inspirational and educational.
Hah, no way! I had no idea that the term was used in medical school, too.
That’s a really neat point. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Science evolves over time. Makes sense that when terms are first coined, we still don’t know very much, and the ideas are often wrong.
Great comments, everyone.
I think the term ‘ectomorph’ gets the job done. And I find that this term helps get the point across when I’m talking with someone about the topic. A lot of people either haven’t heard this term before or don’t know much about it anyway, and, if ever, they’ll use the term casually. That means I will likely never have to clarify that I’m not applying the term as it was originally coined by the quack doctor.
However, an older friend of mine who’s a psychotherapist, the other day, told me that he did study the theory about body types/personality in college, a long time ago.
The thing I think it is important is that we have clarity of what we have in mind, what we mean, when using the term ‘ectomorph’, or any other terms really. Once that part is covered, we should be fine. And this article is very informative on that very aspect.
Thanks for posting this and for all the work you guys have been doing into empowering and helping ectomorph guys develop their physical potentials.
Thank you, Doug! 😀
I’ve found it a really helpful term in my own life, too 🙂
Body types are definitely real. All you need to have to see facts is your eyes. I can easily see differences between different body types and can immediately spot one of us in a crowd. How can some people not see this is beyond me.
A month ago I’ve decided to track my calories (in surplus) and my protein intake (1g/lb) to see how much weight I would gain in 30 days. The struggle was real and I’ve never ate this much food. Well, guess what? I did NOT gain a single pound. If my endomorphic friend ate like this she would probably gain 20-30lbs in the same time frame.
Body types are different and you gotta know yours. I am adding another 300 calories and see what happens.
Ahaha yeah, I hear you. Simply looking around shows that different people have different shapes, trend towards different body weights, have tendencies to overeat or under-eat, can eat different amounts at meals, and struggle to have a healthy body composition for vastly different reasons.
And yep, good plan. Adding 300 calories sounds like a great idea. Keep weighing yourself every week and adding (or removing) calories as needed. Your metabolism adapts, and we tend to have especially adaptive metabolisms, so our calorie goals are always a moving target.
If ectomorph means skinny with belly fat and struggles to build muscle – then ectomorph it should be called!
Nothing wrong with that word to me.
Glad to hear it. Thanks, Rob 🙂
My advice would be not to use the terminology if it’s giving people fits. You can’t change people and their perceptions, so change the terminology. You don’t even need a nomenclature per se, just “guys who have to work overtime to gain muscle”, or something along those lines. As long as your terms are defined, I myself couldn’t care less what you use, but if ‘ectomorph’ and such has negative connotations, you won’t get rid of those, so get rid of the word.
I hear ya, Anthony, and I think that’s wise advice. Better to find a better word than to redefine a word that carries a ton of baggage along with it.
With that said, I do think ectomorph has some negative connotations, but perhaps not among the people it describes. It seems to be the bigger and more naturally athletic people that want to simplify things: just do sets of 5 reps on the squat, bench, deadlift (and maybe row and overhead press), eat a ton of food, and bulking up will be no problem. They seem to hate the term, for whatever reason.
But judging by the other comments, it seems like self-described skinny guys have no issue with the ectomorph term. And I never did, either. I always found it really useful, especially when I was at my skinniest. It helped me find information that was more tailored to my specific goals and struggles.
On the other hand, for whatever reason, the word bodybuilding seems to carry a ton of negative connotations. We’re technically a bodybuilding site, in the sense that we help people bulk up, build bigger muscles, get leaner, and improve their appearance. But when people think of bodybuilders, they think of bodybuilding culture—steroids, thongs, millions of isolation lifts, training 10 times per week, doing fasted cardio in the morning, being big but weak, being vain, etc. So we don’t really use the term very much. Too much baggage.
Thongs. Egads!
Yessir. And nothing but an orange spray tan underneath.
As a guy who has been through high school and seen first hand the morphing of almost everyone into a healthy weight/height ratio … except myself, it’s nice to know that there is a term for those like me. And to top it off, now I can describe someone who appears to have been bitten by a ‘radio-active spider’ during summer break.
Ahaha that’s when I noticed, too—in high school when puberty was making all of my friends bigger, but I was only being stretched thinner. I think it was at around 16 that I first became underweight, and then it peaked at around 21, when I reached my full height without having gained any weight.
I think “naturally skinny” is the most useful term. It’s immediately identifiable by those with no exercise background where “ectomorph” may be a foreign term. It’s no more or less accurate than ectomorph either.
FWIW, several years ago I treated content from this site as “additional info” alongside my “primary sources” of SS, GSLP, LeanGains, and others. Over time that has inverted, where this is now my first stop for info about training and eating that will actually work for me, and I pull in bits of additional info from elsewhere as needed. Keep up the excellent work! I’m sure it’s satisfying seeing the work you do really making an impact in people’s lives.
Thank you, man! That means a lot 🙂
And that’s a good point. People who already know the ectomorph term might find us by searching for it, but there are plenty of skinny guys who haven’t heard it yet.
Hey everyone,
The term ectomorph doesn’t bother me even a bit. I’ve been referred to as a hard gainer as well and these terms fit my situation.
It has always been a challenge to maintain weight and muscle and it seems like the older I get and less active it’s even more a challenge. I don’t know why I always thought that as I would get older my metabolism would slow down so that I could possibly hold onto more weight for longer periods of time. But I was wrong. I’m currently 170 and fluctuate in a day from 170-175 just by eating a heaping of food and water.
My main issue that i like to voice and hopefully receive some help is the nutritional diet part (like exactly what to eat at what time of day and all). I don’t know what to eat to help me with continuing to gain muscle and weight. I’m so discouraged at times and depressed every time I step on a scale to see I’ve lost 2 pounds in my sleep. Any advice will be much appreciated and thank you for creating a platform for us all. Peace bros
Hey Clifford,
There’s this idea that as people get older, their metabolism slows and they gradually gain weight. Oftentimes, like you said, that’s because they stop being as active, spending more time at the desk or on the couch, less time on their feet, less time playing sports and exercising. That’s more of what happens to the average person, though. We see a mix. A lot of naturally skinny people remain skinny indefinitely. Some gradually gain fat, becoming skinny-fat. And then, of course, the skinny guys who get into the habit of lifting weights and eating a good diet can become lean and muscular, and it tends to last until they’re well past 60.
It sounds like you already lift weights, though, yeah? And you’re already trying to eat a good diet, just confused about exactly how to do that? We include some examples of how to eat a bulking diet in our program, and you’re welcome to imitate those examples as closely as you like, but we can’t really tell you exactly what to eat. Different people have different preferences, come from different cultures, and have different budgets and interests.
One guy might enjoy cooking dinner every day, another might only want to cook up a big vat of chili on Sunday. A third might not like chili, so he makes a stew instead. And a fourth might prefer to make curries. Or eat tacos. And then there are people eating plant-based diets. People who eat lunch at work, or use a cafeteria, or in a mess hall, etc. So what we prefer to do is teach people the principles, give plenty of examples, give a big book of recipes, and then let people assemble the diet themselves.
What do you need to eat? Mostly real food. And it helps to make your main meals balanced, with some protein, carbs, and fat. That might be some salmon, peas, and roast potatoes. Or a chili, chicken curry, beef stew, stir fry, tacos al pastor, oatmeal with berries, hamburger with onions and tomatoes, trail mix, smoothie, etc. Totally up to you what you decide to eat.
As for when to eat, it helps to eat a few main meals per day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner is common. But you might want to add in some snacks between meal and another snack before bed. So, for a random example, here’s what a deskworker dad might eat:
8AM, breakfast: smoothie (with protein, fruit, oats, yoghurt, nuts, spinach)
10AM, snack: Quest bar and some fruit
12PM, lunch: leftover chili
3PM, snack: protein shake and some trail mix
7PM, dinner: homemade hamburgers with the family
10PM, snack: oatmeal with casein and mixed berries
You don’t need that many meals or snacks. You could eat 3–4 times per day and have no issues. But if you’re having trouble eating enough calories to gain weight, it often helps to eat smaller meals more frequently, and snacks are an easy way to do that.
You’ll probably look at this and want to make changes, and that’s perfect. Change it up as much as you want. That’s why we include a full recipe book along with the program, and even then, we encourage people to keep eating what they love, build a diet that they like. The important thing is having meals with protein in them a few times per day, to eat mostly whole foods, and to eat enough calories to gain weight, adding in more calories whenever weight gain stalls.
Now, as for for to regain the weight you lose every night, just have a glass of water in the morning to rehydrate 🙂
And for maintaining a higher body weight, just bulk a bit past your target. So if you want to effortlessly maintain your weight at 185 pounds, bulk up to 195, maintain that weight for a few months, and then go back to eating according to your appetite. Your appetite will naturally help you maintain almost all of that weight. But you might lose a few pounds as you settle back into a more comfortable diet. That’s why it helps to have that 5–10 pound buffer.
Doesn’t everyone lose a couple of pounds overnight? After all, we’re still burning calories and exhaling and perspiring moisture when sleeping.
Yeah, that’s normal 🙂
It was literally the term “ectomorph” that led me to B2B and to finally understand my body type for the first time in my life. It was such a refreshing feeling finding a community of people just like me, and I never would’ve done so without the word “ectomorph”. I’m actually super proud to rep that title.
It was the same for me. Learning the term helped me find better information. That’s why we’ve leaned into it. I’m glad it helped 😀
I first heard the term ectomorph as a kid visiting a science museum. There was a display explaining the 3 somatotypes. Ectomorphs were supposed to be good at cardio but bad at building muscle.
It’s a helpful term because it describes a particular group of people who share certain physical attributes, strengths and challenges. I first came across B2B because I wanted to know if it was possible for ectomorphs to gain muscle, and what that would even look like. Very glad I did, thanks guys!
So happy to help, DB. Thank you 😀
I have always taken at face value the descriptors of Ecto / Meso / Endo I learned at high school as indicators of body type.
What drew me to your program specifically was this focus on the Ectomorph body type, which helped me clearly aim towards the program that was right for me and suited my body type.
Not once have I ever considered, let alone heard anyone else, refer to this as being linked to personality type.
So I would say to whoever has commented on that has willfully ignored the decades since the re-appropriated definition. b2B didn’t reinvent the wheel. Medical science as a collective took the term and re-categorized it, of which B2B made it accessible, and understood, and put in to context.
I was not aware of the association of these body types to debunked personality types either.
Hardgainer is ok I guess – sounds like something an ectomorph came up to sound a little tougher/cooler though.
That being said, I am working on some biohacking content for ectomorphs and went with the title, “EctoMega” – I think I am going to stick with it.
Cuz you know, Bony to Beastly was taken
Hey Shane, if the somatypes theory is even halfway relevant we should use the term ectomorph to describe our body frames (but not our personalities). If it’s not then just give it up.
Thank you, Jean-Baptiste. I agree 🙂
I kind of like this term anyway, it supports the fact that we are different and we exist. From what I read in your articles and IIRC it implies a smaller stomach along with many other characteristics so it’s valid because we find them in many of us. The part of Sheldon’s theory regarding personalities or behavior should just be ignored. Let’s just keep the physical characteristics part.
Totally 🙂
I am proud to be an ectomorph, but sometimes i feel more like a xenomorph
Stop hunting people!
Being an ectomorph presents difficulties, but these difficulties are made much worse is you don’t recognize that they cannot be overcome with methods that work for mesomorphs.
Speaking for myself, if I ever saw a barbell, I would be perfectly content with its location at that time. It would never occur to me to pick it up, is what I’m saying.
I am 70. I do not take any prescription drugs, and I can walk five miles without pain or fatigue. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno who have both had hip and knee replacements, cannot rise from a chair and walk into the kitchen without discomfort, because both men destroyed their health with manic bodybuilding.
I do calisthenics. I can do 50 push-ups, for example. Has this resulted in big muscles? No. It has just made my shoulders stronger and more flexible, which is a good thing because, if I fall, I can break my fall without getting hurt.
My advice to ectomorphs, delivered from the 70 years of being an ectomorph? Accept your limitations, because if you try to exceed them you’ll hurt yourself.
“Speaking for myself, if I ever saw a barbell, I would be perfectly content with its location at that time.”
Ahahaha that’s amazing.
To be fair, Ferrigno and Schwarzenegger destroyed their health with drugs, not weight training. If they had stayed natural, they wouldn’t have jeopardized their heart health, they wouldn’t have been lifting as much weight, they wouldn’t have been training as often or as manically, and I suspect they would be fine.
Walking and push-ups are fantastic. Sounds like you’re doing great. Thank you for the wise words 🙂
Your capacity for being gracious is really quite extraordinary, Shane. Good manners and good will all the way seems to be one of your operating principles. Very impressive, and I wish I’d been more like you when I was younger, as this would have saved me a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Arnold and Lou are very easy guys to cheap shot, and I couldn’t resist. Nevertheless, their achievements in youth still stand, and should be respected, even if they came at considerable cost as they grew older.
Thank you for the info! I’ve long struggled with weight gain, and that included muscle. I was 6’3” and 130 when I graduated high school. When I started exercising in college, I put on about 20 pounds of weight and stayed in the 150s range until my early 30s when I got up to the 190-200 range. This was when I wasn’t working out and drinking a ton of alcohol. I quit drinking about 9 months ago and am now at about 160. I eat well and get a ton of exercise, with free weights, resistance bands (my favorite) and regular cardio. While I’m back down to a lower weight, I’ve never looked or felt better! Yes, I’m still “skinny” and do identify as an ectomorph, but I feel like my body is where it is naturally supposed to be with weight, though I continue to exercise and see regular gains in muscle, even if my weight stays about the same. For once I’m happy with my proportions, even if I could still be considered “bony,” “skinny,” or any of those other terms that aren’t exactly flattering.
Nice job, man! Congratulations for quitting drinking and turning your fitness around. Sounds like you’ve got a great lifestyle.
Nothing wrong with being naturally thin. When I was 130 pounds (at 6’2) I was underweight and unhealthy. By the time I bulked up to 150 pounds, I felt really good. I was thin but healthy. I can imagine being at 160 at your height feeling great, too. No need to get even bigger unless you want to.
Hello Shane,
I am a begginer who has just started lifting weights and bulking. 12 days in and I have gained marginally under 7 pounds. Is this too fast? If so should I be cutting back a little bit. Be very glad of your thoughts
Hey B Taylor,
It’s normal to gain weight unusually fast during your first couple of weeks of bulking. Creatine can pull more water into your muscles, your muscles can swell up as they recover from the training, you have more food in your digestive system, and your muscles might be holding more glycogen (carbs and water). I wouldn’t worry, but it’s good that you’ve noticed and are ready to adjust.
If you keep gaining 3–4 pounds per week, then it’s too fast, and you should ease back on the calories. I’d remove around 300 calories and see what happens. If you’re still gaining too fast, remove another 200. Better to gain more like 0.25–1.5 pounds per week, depending how skinny you are and how aggressively you want to bulk up.
We have an article about how fast to gain weight while bulking.
Sounds like you’re off to a great start. Keep it up!