T Nation

Advice for skinny guys

Bodybuilding
#1

I’m a newbie looking for good info (site’s, articles, books, etc) on ectomorphic workouts and nutrition. (Suggestions from personal experience greaty appreciated) I am 5’ 11’, 175 - 180 #’, and 38 yrs old with the metabolism of a chipmunk. I average between 2700 to 3000 cal a day and work out 6 days a week.(chest/back…shoulders/arms…legs (abs every workout)) I’m not really sure if I’m obtaining maximum results or not. (especially the biceps and foreams) Gains seem to come extremely slow. If other ecto’s have advice from personal experience to offer on routines, nutrition, supplements, books, etc., I’m all ears. Thanks.

(a little background: 3 months on BFL and 1 month on Arnolds encyclopedia beginners routine)(eat 98% clean, take vitamins daily, only 1 cup coffee per day, no processed sugar, low fat diet, 7-8 hrs sleep, have active job, no drugs, no supplements, quit cardio)

#2

There’s a bunch of links in the reader mail section of T-mag this week that would help you out. Look under the ‘Naturally Skinny’ heading. Also, do you keep a food log? Shit, I’m starting to sound like Shugs! :slight_smile:

#3

Skinny, you haven’t told us what it is you want to accomplish. I assume that you want to gain weight, but how much, and over what period of time? What is your final goal for what you want to look like? If we have more of an idea of where you’re headed, we can help out better.

#4

At 38, in a few to 10 years, middle age will help you gain weight without even trying, so keep that in mind with whatever you do now. Working out 6 days/week is also keeping your metabolism highercut half of your workouts and you’ll see the middle aged syndrome appearyou can still alter your workouts to help with this metabolism slowdown, ie, go for heavy weights to build bigger muscles (hopefully); and if you start getting too big (and/or fatter), circuit train to re-increase your metabolism.