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Ecto’s Bible - A hard-gainers standard for success Chapter 5
by Superior1, Moderator @ www.Anabolic-Paradise.com
For more information about Superior1 and his line of Superior Nutraceuticals supplements, please click on the above banner.
Over the next five months we will be featuring the Ecto's Bible - A hard-gainers standard for success, two chapters at a time. We will also be highlighting metabolism, nutrition, training amongst many other topics. Please check back monthly for the next installment.
Chapter 5 - Training Principles
Less is More
Years ago, early in my training history, I made the mistakes many make when it comes to taking on the quest of building muscle. I had the mentality like many young men or women have. I thought lifting weights in and of themselves would build big bulging muscles. Really overlooking everything that went on outside the gym that really made the difference or at the very least placing far to little emphasis on it. After educating myself and having a better understanding of bodybuilding and my particular body type. I would look back at my diet and lifting program and compared it against my results, I knew something had to change. Now understanding the 2 hours, 6 times a week was only tearing down my muscle and this wasn’t the time that muscle was growing I realized that I needed to seriously alter some things. I would focus in the gym, I would train hard long and often. I was thinking the more time and effort I spent there would result in more growth. I had come to realize that the typical workout I used to read about for those guys in the magazines was just not working. I knew something was just not right with my program as a whole. I realized 80% of my energy and focus was spent inside the gym tearing down muscle and only 20% outside where the growth actually occurred. It was then I decided to try a new approach. It was going to be an approach that just felt wrong, one that felt easy and lazy to me. But I knew it was what I needed.
Now not only had I been begin to realize the lack of emphasis I had been placing on my diet, but I also realized I was spending far too much time in the gym and far too frequently. It’s true in the previous months I had been eating better, eating more even, and making some progress. I knew I could do better. I had this feeling I was focusing my efforts in the wrong place. My body was just not growing in relation to the amount of sweat and effort that was being applied. There was NO WAY IN HELL. Those guys can train more intensely as I had been, NO WAY!!! I had puked on a few leg days got light headed on many. Couldn’t even walk out of the gym and had to go sit down for half an hour first. I could wash my own hair or scratch my own back at many occasions. I would do this day in and day out for hours. I realized my body was over worked and under rested, I simply needed more time off!! I know this is an area when many new overly eager bodybuilders make mistakes. Over training is a reality and very common if the balance of training is not balanced with the diet and rest. A decent diet with too much training can constitute over training. A mediocre training regimen with a poor diet and lack of sleep can constitute over training. It’s not just hard, intense training that results in over training, but the balance of the three.
You can be focused, intense with frequent training, and as long as your diet and rest is equivalent your not necessarily over training. Be sure you re-evaluate where you are and alter your whole plan to take from the areas you have strengths in and apply the effort to your weaker ones. Why bust your ass in the gym time and time again for poor results, just because you fail to eat and sleep properly? For me, I had put myself in a routine year after year, it was hard for me to mentally make a drastic change. Swapping my 2 hours a day 6 times a week approach (12hours a week in the gym) to 45 minutes a day and 3-4 days a week ( 3 hours a week in the gym) seemed like a huge step backwards. I felt lazy , felt I was failing to train like the big boys! I felt I was giving up even though I really knew deep down I wasn’t. After a couple months though I begin to realize some changes, I knew then I had made the right choice. Making the change was hard in a few respects. First just getting out of the old routine wasn’t easy. Secondly having the faith that less training meant more growth was hard to grasp based on my old thinking. And third, the feeling of guilt that I was taking too much time off! Or so I thought?? The gains proved otherwise.
Making the change enabled a few things of me. One was more time and effort could now be spent outside the gym where real muscle growth occurred. Not only just my personal life but in direct relation to the areas that I needed to apply my new muscle growing effort. I could eat more, rest more and have time to prepare more food. It was great!!! I knew the time I spent missing the gym shouldn’t be laying around or goofing off, I knew I better make the best use of it. I thought where better than my diet, and obviously me rest. I also realized I was able to reach a new level of intensity on my days in the gym. I felt stringer and more focused when I was there. Before I was spending 2 hours in the gym. Even though I believed I was focused I now realized I wasn’t. I could condense that previous 2 hours of effort into 1 hour now. I know now I better focus more on each rep, I should make the precious time I have in the gym worth every minute of it. Hell I had to my time constraints was now cut in half so I had better crank my intensity up by double!! Whether I did crank the intensity up double, there are not many ways to measure that. But I can honestly say my intensity had increased and the results where now showing and my work finally paying off. In many ways this approach was easier on me. Or at least my body said so and it rewarded me for my efforts much more than it did when I bet the hell out of it before.
Avoiding the catabolic aspects of training
Scientifically my new methods had caused a few things to occur. It was a method that translated into a much more anabolic environment for muscle growth. Firstly, after an intense training session especially a long one your body is no doubt in a catabolic state. This means your body has been stressed and you have released an array of catabolic hormones. The primary one being coritsol, which is trigger by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) , which is triggered by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). First, the CRF travels to the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. There it triggers the release of ACTH. This second hormone travels in the blood to the adrenal glands, which sit on top of each kidney, and instructs them to release a third hormone, cortisol. Cortisol has a very adverse effect on skeletal muscle tissue. And it’s actually our biggest enemy in out battle to grow. While cortisol does have benefits to help in metabolizing your macronutrients in the time of stress; it’s not the greatest thing to have floating around your system for any extended period of time. There is no way to avoid it even if you wanted to, and in reality you would not want to totally shunt your adrenal gland from cortisol production. But what you do want to do is to inhibit the peaks and the duration of the hormone in the blood. There are drugs to accomplish this, but there are also some very effective supplements to use in order to lessen this attack of negatively impacting hormone. These we will discuss in Chapter 9. Right now we will discuss training methods to avoid extreme peaks of cortisol.
Session duration
Studies have shown that extended intense resistance training, as well as cardio and long distance running dumps this hormone into the blood stream. The latter two are what’s called aerobic training. Heavy intense training is an anaerobic training style. And study after study has shown that short intense burst of intense resistance has a much less effect on the amounts of cortisol being produced. This is the main reason I saw substantial jumps in my gains when I went to a less than 1 hour training session versus the 1 ½ - 2 hours sessions I was once doing. This method of training is important for any type bodybuilder. But for an ectomorph it’s so much more detrimental to the end results. Ectomorphs’ base line catabolic state is much higher than a meso or endomorph, thus an ecto is much more sensitive to the effects of cortisol for a few reasons. One is an ecto can not tolerate any loss of muscle mass such as someone with an endomorphic body type can. It’s just not there to risk losing. Also an Ectomorph genetic makeup will generally dump cortisol much easier than one who is not. It’s an area that is often not emphasized and taken into consideration when applying a training method to an ectomorphs regimen. It’s a fact that different body types need different training styles. If you don’t have a trainer to make sure you apply the proper training style it’s time you do this on your own.
We’ll discuss in a few moments in more detail how you should train and what aspects you should place emphasis. But before that I want to talk about what to avoid. As stated earlier, the training routines in the magazines of professional level bodybuilders is something you can rip out and wipe your ass with. It will do you more harm than good to read and practice them. Actually lately I have seen many more articles suggesting a training routine that requires much less volume than I read back in the 80’s and early 90’s. So the general theme is beginning to lean towards a more anabolic style of training. This method is so much more important if you are training in a drug free state. Even more so as a hard gaining ectomorph.
Cardio
Ouch!! A very touchy subject. One that honestly has a lot of benefits, especially when you’re consuming 7500 calories a day. But I honestly believe that the negative influence cardio has on an ecto’s chances of growing outweigh any benefits he has of doing it. And when I say this I don't mean avoid it like the plague, I think some is necessary. But I would limit to the periods of time that you are actually entering something that even resembles a cutting phase in your training. I suggest you do it only a couple times a week for no more than an hour and for no more than a 4 week stint. I think if you are a true hard gaining ecto then the need for any more than that questions whether you really qualify as a hard gainer. If you are truly battling against genetics and you are on the extreme end of ectomorphism then 4 weeks of cardio training more than 3 times a year is probably not at all necessary., and probably a negative approach. Now with all this said I am not talking about improving overall health as much as I am talking about growing muscle mass. It’s two different topics. While you will become healthier doing the things it takes to grow muscle. Not everything you practice is a reflection of good health measures. So don’t get me wrong… There is a time for it but it needs to be very controlled and very limited.
Intensity
The first and probably the most important aspect of training that nearly always needs perpetual improvement in is intensity. Intensity is best described as a great degree of concentration of focused force. It starts in your mind and is made evident in you workouts. I can’t express the number of times and the number of people I have seen time and time again in the gym over the years just going through the motions of their workouts. I think to myself, Do they think they are actually doing something? Or are they here just to say they train? I don’t know but I do see it’s the guys who look the same year after year. It’s a question I sometimes even ask myself, and something you may also want to consider. It’s something that can easily sneak up on you if you let it. Laziness and complacency is going to be the primary reason you lack intensity. Others can be injuries or just periods in your training where your body needs a break and you go through the motions just to keep yourself in the gym and in the habit of going. But failing to train intensely can come upon you without you realizing it, and that’s the area you want to keep yourself in check. There is a time for rest and a time for intensity, but neither should be outside of your own plan and outside your own control.
Some may ask, how do I know if I am training intensely or not. If you have to ask this question chances are you are not training with peak intensity, and it would be time to ask yourself why not? Intensity however is a relevant term When you first begin training you may very well be training intensely for your training level. At very least you will feel as if it is. You’ll be sweating and tired and sore for the next week. But soon after, once you adjust to the weights and the movements and your body begins to get used to what you’re putting it through and you train yourself to use proper form, it is then time to focus your efforts n really hitting your muscle fiber and really training intensely. It’s not a matter of doing more sets and reps but better quality sets and reps. Learning to really focus on the muscle being trained and localizing the resistance to that body part. Learning to squeeze the muscle and tax the fiber with resistance more so than with just sheer weight. The two go hand in hand but learning to train intensely will be key to additional growth and maximizing your genetic potential.
Intensity is 99% controlled by your mind. It starts with the ability to block out factors that occupy your mind outside the parameters of your current training session. This could be financial, female, or family related problems. They can weigh heavy on you and adversely affect your training if you let it. Use the bad times to take stress out in the gym and on the weight. They can be both your friend and your enemy so use any and every angle you can. Just keep in mind that your goal of gaining mass is first and foremost and there is no such thing as an obstacle when it comes to your drive to mass. It’s also possible to let issues inside your training effect the intensity of your session. This can be giving too much thought to your next set while your performing one and not really focusing on the one your on currently. Doing that can cause you to apply less effort thinking the next set will count more of will be better. If each and every set you do is your best one at that very moment then you are not prone to slacking thinking you will make it up on the next one. Give it your all each and every set, and each and every rep.
Once you develop that acute focus and block out everything except your current set and even your current rep you will be better able to place the level of resistance on the muscle needed for breaking down that deep muscle fiber. Being zoned in on your form, your breathing, your rhythm and staying focused on squeezing out the last few reps that count the most and really make the difference. Your level of intensity is going to be your key factor to growth. It’s not the exercises you do the motions you go through as much as it is the sheer concentration of focused force during each training session.
Success through Failure
Simplicity
It’s amazing the number of people that are caught up in marketing. By that I’m referring to the mentality people have when they walk into the average health club of the 21st century to see the vast sea of state of the art equipment, the neon lights, the glass and mirrored walls and all the other glamorous amenities that these clubs are displaying. It’s clear these people think they can sell fitness, or at least that is what they have the unsuspecting client to be to believe. They are into selling memberships to the masses and they do it quite well. I got locked into one of these long term contracts myself early on. I have to give it to these clubs they do a good job of selling social clubs disguised as fitness clubs. Your met at the door by Johnny Bright smile, personal trainer/sales consultant. He commences to take you on a tour of the club, pointing his fingers in the shape of a gun an shooting at various people in the club as he winks. He does a good job painting a picture of a new you but fails to tell you of the sweat and sacrifices involved in building a better physique. You here more talk behind the scenes about membership stats and numbers than you do about the progress of club members. It’s more of a business than it is a avenue to help people achieve their best. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing at all wrong with capitalism and making a buck. But when it comes down to it, you just don’t need all that.
I wonder how many mainstream people would sign the dotted line if they walked into the gym to be greeted by some 300lb behemoth and the aroma of sweat, Bengay & protein farts. On top of the sights and sounds of savage purple faced talc ladened freaks mounting up under a 600lb squat screaming out 20 rep sets? My kind of place indeed!! But for the general population they don’t want any part of hard raw work. They’d rather be lied to so they can sign up for the glitz & glamour only to soon get discouraged by their lack of results, then complain when they’re paying there monthly fees on their 3 year contract to a club they haven’t seen the inside of in the last 18 months. Maybe the clubs don’t need to lie to them, Maybe these people are lying to themselves and know that they are not really serious about changing their lifestyle. Or else they think signing contracts show there seriousness and not 20 rep squats like it should be?? Anyway, enough of my rant of flaky wannabes, back to my point.
Maybe you don’t want to train in the environment where you approach a bench press drenched in sweat from the last guy, and your not sure if the moisture under your feet is sweat, spit, blood or tears. But point to be made is, no matter what scenario you find yourself in you don’t need all the new sophisticated equipment that’s strewn across the new health clubs of today, you really only need the basics. So don’t fall for excess and non-essential amenities. I know what your thinking already!! But these are where the chicks are!! Ok I can’t fault you there. Sign up for Christ sake. But let’s focus on sticking to the basics and what is required to enable your training and that motivates you to train. I just see to many people going through their circuit training routine only to finish with nothing more than a little broken sweat on the brow. I know this isn’t you, I know you’re an exclusion from this, I mean you have read this far already. But this is the norm out there in today’s society. This was just a bit of me expressing my disgust of this gullible yet lazy mentality of the majority. It is these people that don’t realize the hard work and sacrifice that goes into an elite physique. They think it’s easily come by and bought with money or accomplished with a pill. Thank God this isn’t you!!
Simple and basic, that’s all you need, that’s all you want! Basic yet intense heavy multi- joint compound movements, with good form.
Summary
Keep in mind as you go through your routines and training regimens not to fall into the rut that the next man does of going through the motions by just counting reps and sets and not really paying attention to the level of intensity being applied. It’s about working the muscle to failure not reaching 10 reps of 3 sets. Remember as an ectomorph your lack the genetics to get there as fast as the next guy with better genetics required to develop the ideal physique that you seek. With this in mind it’s time for us to say, “I need to apply twice the intensity as the next guy for the same results.” Your body may have limitations but your mind is no less powerful and influential than the guy with better genes. So exercise the unlimited parameters of your mind and use it to your advantage.
In case you missed the last two months articles in this series, just click on the below hyperlinks to check them out.
Ecto's Bible - A hard-gainers standard for success, Chapters 1 & 2
Ecto's Bible - A hard-gainers standard for success, Chapters 3 & 4
* Article by Superior1, Moderator @ www.Anabolic-Paradise.com .
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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