[The Lizard of Oz]

A great way for a skinny guy to add good clean calories that will put on weight and muscle mass is through Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) supplementation.

I think Udo's Oil is the best EFA oil supplement out there. It's been around for a long time and the quality has remained consistent and extremely high throughout. Udo Erasmus who developed it probably knows as much or more about fats and oils as any man alive.

http://www.iherb.com/Flora-Certified-Org...46-ml/4779

Take like 4-5 tablespoons of this a day and you will put on weight and muscle mass, and it's the opposite of junk; it's one of the best things you can possibly put in your body.

I mix it in with my yogurt for breakfast; you can also put it in your fruit or vegetable juices (it's fantastic in juices), or on top of a salad. I even like its taste naked, just sucking it down from the bottle, but that's for real playas, LOL.

Anyway, get it and your body will be thanking you in all sorts of ways.

[alexdagr81]

(03-03-2015 02:49 PM)Kieran Wrote:  

I agree that everyone can make progress and it often doesn't help to place limitations on oneself, but if you're trying to say that there aren't people that are pre-disposed towards being muscular, skinny, or fat, then you must have your eyes closed. I know people with amazing bodies that have never touched a weight in their lives, and I know people that are still pretty skinny despite doing everything right. I also know a kid that I witnessed benching 200 for 4 reps at about 150 on his first ever day in the gym (verified by his cousin who was my training partner at the time), while I know others that have been training for years, have decent training and nutrition and can barely put up 225.

Genetics play a massive part in these things, just like they do in intelligence, speed, punching power, etc.

Most people would do themselves a great service by not worrying about their genetics and comparing themselves to others. The only person you need to compare yourself to is "yourself: yesterday". Believing in somatotypes feeds way more into the former than the latter. If you are training consistently for over 1 year, you need to drop the concept of somatotypes and look at external factors. Not getting big enough? Eat more. Not getting as strong as you could be? Try more CNS work and eat more. Trying to lose that last bit of stubborn body fat? You may need a little tweak to get rid of it. 150 lb guy squatting 315 for reps in the gym? Don't worry about him, you don't know his path. There are people out there with bad genetics, but they are far and in between

[Phoenix]

Endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph are completely valid category terms used to refer to genetic bodily predispositions. Avoiding comparing oneself with other men has no benefit whatsoever. It is weak and soft. Other men are your competition, your motivation and inspiration. You are not at competition with yourself. Women don't care that 'you've lost a few pounds', they just care 'is he low fat and high muscle, or the opposite'.

These categories are only excuses to guys who were never going to change anything anyway. To other men, understanding your body's tendencies assists you in pushing the opposite way.

[Brian Shima]

I'm a naturally scrawny guy, the biggest I have ever been was when I ate like Shit and did outdoor work. I would eat a huge Mexican breakfast every morning, maybe sandwiches and snacks for lunch and hamburger helper for dinner. I was outside lifting and sweating so I didn't have a belly but my arms, chest and back started getting big quick. I gained almost 20 pounds in a month!! The point is to eat like a pig and lift everything you can while making sure to do some sort of cardio. Ever seen prisoners go in scrawny and come out like tanks?? They are eating crap processed food and plenty of it

[HughMyron]

(03-03-2015 03:32 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

A great way for a skinny guy to add good clean calories that will put on weight and muscle mass is through Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) supplementation.

Nah I think the secret sauce for skinny guys is to get a big ole tub of peanut butter. It has about 640 calories per 100g, most of it being really healthy fats but also a good amount of protein (I think 24g per 100g or something). It can be eaten straight out of the container or put just about anywhere since the taste is pretty mellow and neutral: mix up or blend in shakes, put it in your yoghurt/cereal, smear on some bread. You can even toss it into some meat sauce you're frying up. Same with coconut oil, wherever you would usually pour in some milk or make that meat sauce with water, pour in some coconut oil instead.

tl;dr skinny guys are skinny because they don't eat enough, but also because they get satiated real quick, so they need to shovel in some high fat/high protein stuff into them to pile on the calories. They could get those calories from fast food, but fast food is made up of mostly low-quality stuff and funny enough costs more than normal food, especially staples

[alexdagr81]

(03-04-2015 12:19 PM)Phoenix Wrote:  

Endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph are completely valid category terms used to refer to genetic bodily predispositions. Avoiding comparing oneself with other men has no benefit whatsoever. It is weak and soft. Other men are your competition, your motivation and inspiration. You are not at competition with yourself. Women don't care that 'you've lost a few pounds', they just care 'is he low fat and high muscle, or the opposite'.

These categories are only excuses to guys who were never going to change anything anyway. To other men, understanding your body's tendencies assists you in pushing the opposite way.

No, somatotypes have no scientific basis whatsoever and there's more to the body than somatotypes would have you believe (some endos and mesomorphs have long arms for instance). They are only used by people who have inadequacies; for instance I have never heard of someone refer to themselves as a mesomorph. Why would they? They would be pretty much mitigating all the hard work they put in over the years. Also comparing yourself to others does more harm than good. Everyone has different goals in the gym. A lot of guys here want to look good with their shirt off to have an edge when it comes to women. Personally, I'd rather just be strong. Would it do us any good to compare ourselves with each other? Not as much as me being stronger than I was last week, or actually having progress vs. their prior to working out pics. Granted the lack of validity of somatotypes is a little off topic

[Hannibal]

deleted

[civpro]

Try nut butters like peanut butter and nutella. This should help you get over the high metabolism or appetite issues you have as an ecto and get into a daily caloric surplus. But remember, that's all it'll do, different foods don't have magical properties to make your muscles pop and shine like no other. The point of diet in bodybuilding is to serve basic needs: get your vitamins/minerals, adequate protein, caloric surplus. After that your progress and results are determined largely by two things you can't control like the rest: hormones and bone structure... aka genetics.

[LastKing]

I know they're absolutely terrible for you but my guilty pleasure is Cheetos. Regular or Spicy ones doesn't matter but oh my fucking god that artificial cheese flavor, that perfectly crunchy mouthfeel, the way the gunk sticks to your hands....I have to avoid 7-11's and convenience stores as much as possible to avoid them. I also pay for gas with a credit card, ditto.

[Steelex]

You fucking douche why would you even revive this thread to post that.

[The Beast1]

Now now Steelex, no need to roast a newbie.

But curiously Lastking, what provoked you to post in this thread?

[The Man w/ the Golden Gun]

(02-28-2015 03:27 PM)Bushido Wrote:  

Sometimes what a super skinny guy needs is to know that he CAN actually gain mass.

I looked through this thread and Bushido's comment resonates most with what I have to say:

Have always considered myself a skinny guy, an ectomorph, whatever. Other people thought the same. I was embarrassed when a friend's girl openly wondered if she weighed more than I-she was a tiny asian girl.

That was when I was 130 lbs. After hitting the weights for 2-3 years and reaching 160 lbs recently, I still thought I was a twig. Especially after browsing Instagram, I still have a long way to go towards what I desire: a body carved from marble.

Maybe it's funny to say this, but reading this thread affirmed that I've already made good progress towards my goal. Click on http://bonytobeastly.com/the-tale-of-two-ectomorphs/ (thank you ball dont lie) and there's a bunch of guys who have traveled the same path I have. They're satisfied enough to post a before and after picture; why couldn't I be proud of my progress?

Reading this thread also reminded me that I believe that I can bulk or cut at will. It's easy to believe because I lift consistently and I love to read and learn more about fitness, dieting, and bulking. Really just a matter of time.

I'm 162 lbs right now. I'm sure I'm not the only "hardgainer" who believes in himself.

[LastKing]

I didn't know I needed some sort of justification to post in threads, I just felt like posting. Did I break a rule or something? If so my bad.