With all the hype on having the perfect body, obesity is rapidly becoming just one half of the problem. The latest high profile body perception related issue to catch on like wildfire is a skinny body.

Often categorized as possessing ectomorphic bodies, these individuals are able to maintain very low fat percentages, a dream come true for women all over the world but the bad news is that these body types also attain the feat of maintaining very low muscle mass, a skinny guy’s nightmare.

 

Each body type comes with their own set of benefits and disadvantages, when considering Ectomorphs, the most significant obstacle is in developing and maintaining a significant amount of muscle mass.

 

Consistent exercise over the years will yield the desired effect but who has the time to wait that long? Here are a few quick fire ways to spark muscle growth.

 

 

 

Lift Heavy

 

 

 

 

 

The importance of lifting heavy couldn’t be stressed enough. How do you expect your muscles to grow into the size you’d like if all you ever do is lift the smallest weight you can find. 

Developing muscle mass is the body’s method of preparing you for danger in the future, the stress messages delivered through muscle breakdown and tears are the catalyst to driving your body into growing bugger.

 

Most skinny guys do not lift adequately heavy weights to build significant muscle. This is one reason why having a personal trainer or workout buddy at the gym will help you put on muscle faster. You can lift more weight when someone is there to help you, if the weight gets too heavy for you to safely handle.

 

When it comes to building muscle, the most efficient method to follow and the most basic one is to limit your reps to a range within 4 and 10 while increasing the weights to the highest possible.

 

So lifting those 5 pound dumbbells a million times won’t really get you where you want to go. Training to failure is a good principle to follow in this regard, meaning that once the last rep of the last set is done, you shouldn’t have the energy to lift anymore. 

 

 

 

Mix Your Routines

 

 

 

 

When I say mix up your routines, I don’t mean try out every schedule you get your hands on by changing your routine every other week.

 

Instead try changing your routine to incorporate a variety of exercises once every 4 to 6 weeks. Drastic changes to a schedule might not give you what you want to achieve, but a few tweaks here and there might help you train muscle groups that are undertrained, while allowing a little rest for muscles groups that might be over trained.

 

 

 

 

Protein

 

 

 

 

Protein is the basic building block of muscles, trying to develop muscles without fueling your body with enough proteins is like trying to build a house with no bricks. A good way to get the necessary protein stock is to invest in a protein shake, either in the form of a weight gainer or a whey protein.

 

For those of you who are reluctant to do that, stock up on meat, poultry, eggs and fish; all of which are excellent sources of protein, in addition to providing the essential building blocks. These food types also provide testosterone and other aminos which contribute to the muscle development process. 

 

 

 

6 Meals A Day

 

 

 

 

This might seem a little impractical to do, but the truth is this really isn’t that hard to follow. Apart from providing a constant fuel supply to your body, having 6 small meals a day also creates the perfect muscle building environment boosting your growth and metabolism.

 

A well balanced frequent meal plan is almost the backbone of a good muscle growth programme. 

 

 

 

 

By Dilshan Senaratne