Monday, February 21, 2011

Essentials for fitness

Hello again. I had a couple of questions posed to me over the weekend by some friends of mine. One question was about gaining weight. My friend is an ectomorph.

In a nutshell, ectomorphs (left) are individuals who have a naturally skinnier build. They don't store fat as easily and generally possess a smaller bone structure as compared to their mesomorph and endomorph counterparts. 


Endomorphs (right) are those imparted with a... thicker build. They store fat more easily (no ladies, you're not all endomorphs) and gain weight faster than their ectomorph and mesomorphcompadres. On the bright side, endomorphs are naturally predisposed for fast muscle gains... and uh... make great WWE Superstars? 

Mesomorphs (middle) are the genetically gifted bastards everybody loves to hate - a lighting quick metabolism and a genetic predisposition to accelerate the growth of lean muscle. In short, mesomorphs are lean, mean, ripped athletic machines. 



My friend wants to become more mesomorhpic, but due to his natural slim build and lightning metabolism, he's having a hard time putting on weight. For anyone with this problem, I recommend a weight gainer and a heavy lifting circuit such as the strong lifts 5x5 program. . 



The StrongLifts 5×5 Program. StrongLifts 5×5 is a full body strength training program that includes weight lifting & body-weight exercises. These will work each muscle of your body and build a strong, proportionate physique.


Workout A                                  Workout B
Squat 5x5                                    Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5                      Overhead Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF                 Deadlift 1x5
Push-ups 3xF                            Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12           Prone Bridges 3x30sec


Alternate workout A & B each session. Most people train Mo/We/Fr or Tu/Th/Su or Sa/Tu/Th. Always take at least 48 hours rest between 2 workouts. Alternate Pull-ups & Chin-ups each workout B. Do 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight on all exercises. Deadlifts is only 1 set of 5 reps. Do 3 sets until failure on body-weight exercises: 3 sets of as many reps as you can do with good technique.


Also buy this stuff and have it daily...seriously it will help with putting on muscle like no other.

Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass, Rich Chocolate, 12 Pound


Another friend had trouble maintaining energy levels, for him, I would try to avoid any crazy substances such as Jack3d and instead just take a multivitamin. If you are doing intense cardio workouts such as HIIT, you will want to make sure that any vitamins and minerals depleted during your exercise are replenished. Additionally a multivitamin has general health benefits such as clear skin, natural energy, greater immune response, etc... Just try to avoid vitamins with excessive amounts of iron, and vitamin A unless its in Beta Carotine form. These minerals are not water soluble and will build up in excessive amounts in your muscular tissue leading to things such as jaundice or even sepsis if the amounts are too great. Additionally, take a zinc pill and omega 3 fish oil. All increase energy and will leave you healthy and lean.
Nature Made Maximum Strength Omega-3 Fish Oil 1200 mg - 375 Softgels
Spring Valley Zinc
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men Multivitamins, 180-Count


Finally, another friend of mine has told me that his gains have been relatively slow in terms of muscluar development. When asked about his diet he told me he loved white breads, pasta, and other processed simple carbohydrates. It sounds like he's not getting enough protein, so if you are in fact not getting enough, I would recommend the following protein powder. There are various flavors out there so pick your fancy, but in terms of value, Optimum Nutrition Protein CANNOT be beat.
Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard, Double Rich Chocolate, 5 Pound

6 comments:

  1. Book marking this for later use. Thanks for the info.
    Also, I think I'm an ecto/meso mix. I'm okay with this.

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  2. Well, I think that results may vary too depending on the genetics and the metabolism of every different person, right?
    It might not be a problem with the routine.

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  3. watching diet just too much of a fuss to me.

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  4. Nice write-up, alot of people don't realise that there are these categories of body types, and that you have to design your workout and diet around this.

    ReplyDelete