K11 Fitness Management Co. Pvt. Ltd

Dear Ectomorph,

Yes, that term refers to all those for whom gaining weight is a lost cause... to all those who don't seem to gain weight despite eating high calorie fattening foods and downing a whole six-pack of beer cans every day.

Everyone should ideally have a fast metabolism to keep the fat at bay and have a lean and muscular body. But all good things in excess are bad.

Excessively fast metabolism will metabolise anything that is put into your mouth for energy. Thus muscle building protein ismisused for energy instead of tissue repair.

You not only require protein but also the back up of a lot of carbohydrates to provide calories to the metabolic inferno inside your bodies. This large quantity of carbohydrates has what we call as a protein sparing effect, meaning that it spares protein to perform its primary task of building and repairing broken down muscle tissue.

There is no big secret that leads to quality weight gain. It is about eating more of right foods and it is about training intensely and intensity is always inversely proportionate to volume and duration. The higher the intensity the more the requirement for recovery and thus lower the frequency of workouts.

The following is the training and dietary approach for building quality muscle and putting on size:

WEIGHT TRAINING (4 Days A Week)

Day 1 : Quads and glutes (squats, lunges, step-ups, stiff legged deadlifts and leg presses)

Day 2: Calves, jamstrings and abs (standing calf raises, seated calf raises, leg curls, machine/cable crunches, side bends with overhead cable)

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Lattissimus dorsi, trapezius, erector spinae, posterior deltoid and biceps (bent over rows, lat-pulldown / chin-ups, low rows, 1-arm rows, shrugs, deadlifts / good mornings, one-arm standing rows, incline dumbbell curls, machine preacher curls, reverse cable curls)

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Chest, shoulders and triceps (-15* decline dumbbell presses, incline dumbbell presses, pec decks flies, overhead presses, lateral raises, close grip bench presses, parallel bar dips and cable pushdowns)

Day 7: OFF

NUTRITION (3:1 Ration of Carbohydrates to protein)

Your diet should provide you with:

A minimum of 2 gms protein per kilogram bodyweight all from first class sources (eggs, chicken, fish, cottage cheese). If you are a vegetarian then you must supplement with whey protein supplements.

You must also have complex carbohydrates from source such as whole wheat chapatties, brown rice, sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetables, fruits to the tune of 5-6gms per kg bodyweight.

About 10 percent of the total calories must come from fats got from good cooking mediums such as olive or groundnut oil. Taking supplemental omega-3 fatty acid through fish oil capsules is also a great metabolic optimiser.

This means that a 50 kg individual must have at least:

100 gms of first class protein from animal sources

250-300 gms of complex carbohydrates

45-50 gms of preferably mono-unsaturated fats

The above must be had distributed over a minimum of 5 meals - breakfast, lunch, pre-workout meal, post workout meal, dinner.

Hence each of the above meals hust have at least 20gms of first-class proteins, 60gms of complex carbohydrates and 10 gms of mono-unsaturated fats.

Also useful are the meal replacement powders formulated keeping in mind the needs of an ectomorph. These are called as weight gainers and every reputable supplement brand makes quality weight gainers. One serving of a weight gainer could give you an ideal 1:4 ratio of protein to carbs, providing you with 20-50 gms of quality protein derived from milk and eggs plus 100-250 gms of complex carbohydrates in one easy to down liquid shake.

If you are a vegetarian then it is imperative that you get the carbs from rice, pulses, vegetables, chapattis, fruits, potatoes, etc and combine them with simple whey protein in water or milk. If you have only time for three solid meals or cannot bear the thought of eating five times, then the answer lies in taking two meals purely from weight gain powders.

Even if you do have the capacity to eat 5 times, please note that pre-workout (about one hour prior to your workouts) and post workout (within 45 minutes of your workout), supplements are preferred as you do not want your body busy digesting a meal befor your workout as it will restrict blood flow to skeletal muscles.

• Do not do more than 2 sets per exercise. Train with weights that do not allow you more than 6-8 repetitions. Do not compromise on form and technique.
• Warm up thoroughly before starting the workout and stretch after every workout to maintain flexibility.
• Avoid cardiovascular activity for the time being and simply rest on the off days. The metabolism of a classic Ectomorph does not allow for caloric leaks occurring from aerobic activity.
• Do not undermine the importance of rest and recovery. Have thedisipline to stay away from the gym on Off fays and focus on recovery.
• Please choose a gym with qualified certified instructors who can teach you the correct form and technique for the above exercise.
• Do not change the grouping of the body parts or the order of exercises. It is a varefully thought out workout plan that maximises recovery between workouts, thus maximising growth.

• Intense weight training with big power, compound movements (multi joint movements).
• Each body part to be trained not more than four total workouts a week to aid in recovery.
• A diet rich in first class protein and complex carbohydrates.
• Pre and post workout supplementation.
• Never miss a meal. Eat because it is time to eat. Whether you are hungry or not its immaterial.
• Don't just show your will power in the gym. You will need a lot of that on the dinner table too. Remember eating food when not hungry is a lot tougher than staying away from food when you are hungry.