The following sentence will save you hundreds of dollars and cost me current and future clients: for physique purposes, programs don’t matter. Or, they matter, but not to the extent you believe. Nearly any reputable program has some type of squatting, some type of pressing, some type of pulling from the floor, and some type of rowing. Mind blowing stuff, isn’t it?
You are never going to find a program that has a result increasing secret set of exercises or a secret sequencing of exercises. There are no Holy Grail exercises. There are no Holy Grail programs. So stop looking. Results come from consistent training. That’s it.
Yet we’re constantly misled. We’re told squats make bigger arms. And deadlifts do just about everything. Not to take anything away from those important lifts, but for all around development—what most skinny fat ectomorphs seek—you have to embrace vanity. If you want big arms, you have to curl. Sure, you can do chin-ups and rows, and, over time, your arms will grow. But you’ll never match the growth you would otherwise have with isolation exercises. It’s like math. Why do long division by hand when you can use a calculator and get the answer much quicker? Now, this isn’t a squat bashing. I squat. I always have. And I will until I can’t. But there’s simply more to consider for a well rounded physique.
PROGRAMMING
Everyone wants to know what program to use. But programs are poison. They lead to program hopping—the worst behavior any trainee can adopt. Progress is the ultimate motivator. And progress comes from practicing a handful of lifts consistently enough to get good at them. Doing barbell row for two weeks and then switching to dumbbell rows and then switching back to barbell rows before trying arc rows after moving to inverted rows after doing chest supported machine rows makes progress impossible to gauge.
Instead of focusing on a program, focus on having your mind in every session, lifting with a semblance of heart, and developing a worthwhile intensity while taking targeted muscles through a decent range of motion. Do that on a regular basis, and you can’t fail.
THE RATE OF MUSCLE GAIN
Skinny fat ectomorphs have to come to terms with their bodies. We will never be the Incredible Hulk. But that shouldn’t discourage anyone from reaching their maximum potential. Casey Butt created a rather accurate maximum muscular potential calculator.
Don’t use it.
Fixating on it yields an ill mind. Truly, it doesn’t matter. What should, however, is questing to always improve, regardless of where arbitrary numbers estimate failure. How fast muscle can be synthesized, however, is an important concept.
An idol of mine, Jon Call (Jujimufu), has undergone a tremendous physical transformation since 2001. I wanted to know his secret to lean mass gain, so I asked him. His answer was stunning.
It took years. 2002 I was 155. 2003: 165. 2004: 170. 2006: 185. 2007: 200. 2008: 215 (when I stopped tricking and started eating insane amounts of food). Now I’m 205 again. I’ve never gained a “lot” of fat no. But I have gained some of course.
Yeah. There was no secret. Unless you consider staying dedicated enough to train consistently over a span of five years a secret. Now, Jon gained fifteen pounds some years, which is encouraging. But the disclaimer is this: Jon is the most dedicated person I know. My birthday celebrations consist of cake, cookies, alcohol, and other guilty pleasures. Jon, on the other hand, celebrates with a shrimp circle.
For us peons, ten pounds of raw lean muscle gain in one year is downright impressive. This equates to less than one pound of muscle gained per month. Beginners will add a little more—fifteen to twenty pounds, and experienced lifters will add a little less—five pounds. And while this sounds good, on a tall(er) frame, it’s barely noticeable.
Recently, I was working with a college lacrosse player who wanted to put on some size in his off-season. At 6’2” and 180 pounds, I didn’t blame him for wanting to get bigger. We packed 15 pounds on him during the summer, and when he walked through the door on the first day of practice the coach looked at him and said, “I thought I told you to gain some weight.”
This kid went from 180 to 195 pounds, with only three pounds being fat, and his own coach didn’t pick up on it until he got on the scale.
Granted, it’s partially a height issue; if a guy who’s 5’8″ put on fifteen pounds it would be a lot more obvious. But my point is most people aren’t putting on fifteen pounds over a summer; they’re adding five to ten, tops. And since it’s spread over their entire body, no one really notices.
-John Romaniello
REASONS SKINNY FATS FAIL
Skinny fats fail because they either expect results too fast or they follow a program not suited to their own vanity (doing a squats specialization program when wanting big arms). This leads to either program hopping or bulking. (You might as well club baby seals.) Bulking is a pastime in which skinny fat ectomorphs try gaining fifty pounds of muscle in six weeks, resulting in tremendous fat gain, eight weeks of cutting, and being back at square one.
But this whole series of behavior cascade into lackluster progress and falling for gimmicks.
THE CREATION OF MUSCLE
Lifting weights signals for the creation of muscle as a survival mechanism. A barbell is a predator. Throw that sucker on your back or above your throat and the body only cares about not getting crushed. It responds by getting stronger. In the presence of the right signaling, the muscle grows because larger muscles give capacity for stronger muscles.
We know what exercises stress certain muscles. We know incline presses target the upper chest. We know rows build a big back. We know chin-ups do a lot of good for the upper body. We know curls work the biceps. And so on. So to build muscle, we simply need to pick a handful of lifts and consistently push the boundaries of our current level of adaptation.
RECOVERY AND FREQUENCY
Training frequency depends on recovery. The greater the stressor is, the greater the recovery must be. Martin Berkhan uses Reverse Pyramid Training, which consists of maxing out in some capacity every training session. This why he only train three days per week. Bodybuilders, on the other hand, train more frequently because they often use lower loads and stress the muscle on a local level. When a Powerlifter bench presses, he uses his entire body to push the weight. This is systematically stressful. A Bodybuilder, by contrast, wants the chest doing most of the work. So they localize the stress into the chest. Since the stress isn’t as widespread, they can train more frequently. This also explains why some bodybuilders aren’t as strong as their size indicates. They consciously neglect using more muscle mass because they only want the targeted muscle(s) working. Less muscle working means less weight lifted.
While training five or six days can work, it’s not optimal for a skinny fat. Not because of recovery, but because balancing between “bulking” and “cutting” requires fluctuations in nutrient and caloric intake. Maximizing absolute muscle mass is different than maximizing muscle mass while minimizing the likelihood of becoming Paula Deen.
There’s no reason to train, from a muscular standpoint, if you’re not optimizing the resultant growth. We want to grow on our training days and lose or minimize fat gain on off days. By training too frequently, this balance gets upset. So you can train six days per week, but you’re going to be growing six days per week. For most skinny fat ectomorphs, three or four training sessions per week is ideal because it means that three or four days you’re working on building muscle, and three or four days you’re working on losing or minimizing fat gain.
METHOD OF PROGRESSION
Initial strength levels don’t matter, so don’t get self conscious. It’s all about slow progression, consistency, and small wins over time. If every week of the year you added one repetition to the amount of chin-ups you could do, at the end of the year you would be doing fifty-two additional reps. Now that’s progress.
For the absolute novice, progression should be linear. Using the squat as an example, go to the gym and find a weight you can do for ten reps without extreme fatigue. Next week, do the same warm-up, but add five or ten pounds to the weight you did last week. The week after that, another five or ten pounds. There will come a point where adding ten pounds becomes difficult. Bump it down to five pound jumps before you fail. For upper body lifts, use exclusively five pound jumps.
People, at minimum, reach high 200 pound squats for five reps on Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. This simple concept of adding weight to the bar can take you a long way. But once five or ten pound jumps become too difficult, abandon the obsession of immediate strength gains.
People go ballistic after programs like Starting Strength because tangible weekly results fade. While strength gains are important, realize that no one trains with intensity and consistency and gets weaker. Progress comes with consistency. Yet people are apt to jump on programs like The Texas Method or 5/3/1 because there is a semblance of structure. But don’t get too caught up in this.
You need to do two things to get stronger: add weight and do more reps. The answer has never been: lift light weights for high reps, or lift heavy weights for few reps. The answer remains: Lift heavy weights for high reps.
-Dan John
Lifting a heavy weight isn’t a good indicator of hypertrophy. What is, however, is repping a heavy weight. Strength comes in many forms. Lifting a single weight for one repetition isn’t much of an indicator of anything unless you’re a Powerlifter or Olympic Weightlifter. Decreasing rest periods, increasing total volume, and altering time under tension are just some of the ways that overall difficulty can be jacked up without increasing total load. In, Getting Jacked for Dummies, Mike Guadango put together a sensible progression.
Week One: 3×8
Week Two: 3×10
Week Three: 3×12
Week Four: 4×8
Week Five: 4×10
Week Six: 4×12
Sadly, few people will follow this scheme because the weight on the bar doesn’t increase weekly. Yet, if five or ten pounds were added to the bar at the end of this six week progression, and it was continued across the year, nearly one hundred pounds would be added to any lift. If you can lift a weight for three sets of eight and, in six weeks, lift it for four sets of twelve, you’re stronger. And if you’re getting stronger you will also be growing provided correct caloric and nutrient intake.
THE PROGRAM(S)
Skinny fats want broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a low body fat. And nothing—nothing—contributes to this quite like the chin-up. The second most important lift is the deadlift. But in all seriousness, there’s no need to “neglect” any part of the body so ranking importance is silly.
These following programs are simple, not easy. They include high(er) reps than most programs. The reason the world is obsessed with 5×5 is because way back they found that 4-6 x 4-6 best produced strength. Five, being the middle, became the norm. But strength isn’t rep-range dependant. Like stated before, taking a set of ten reps at 200 pounds to a set of ten reps at 300 pounds means you got stronger. And that can happen without using low reps if you wanted it to.
For most everyone, I like upper and lower splits. Beginners, however, do well on a consistent three day per week total body routine. Upper lower splits can be done either four days per week (A-B-C-D) or three days per week (A-B-C / D-A-B / C-A-B ). Most skinny fat ectomorphs, are best served with three heavy training days if trying to cut down, and four heavy training days if trying to gain.
BEGINNER PROGRAM
Monday
A1) Back Squat 4×6-8
A2) Chin-Ups (25)
B1) Romanian Deadlift 2×8-12
B2) Incline Press 3×8
c1) Pushups 2 x max
C2) Thick Grip Barbell Curls 2×15
– Sprints
Wednesday
A1) Overhead Press 3×6-8
A2) Barbell Rows 3×8
B) Hip Thrust 2×10
C) Calfs 2×20
–Farmers Walks
Friday
A1) Deadlift 3×5
A2) Incline Press 3×8
B1) Front Squat 3×5
B2) Chin-Ups (25)
C1) Dips 2 x max
C2) Thick Grip Hammer Curls 2×10
–Sprints
Program Notes
- For all exercises do at least five sets, including warm-up sets. So a squat workout planned for 3x6x135 will look like this: bar x 6, 95×6, 135x4x6.
- Strive for 25 chin-ups in as little sets as possible. At first, shoot for five. Then four. Three is ideal. Two is great.
- The 1′s and 2′s mean the exercises can be supersetted to save time.
- Do two sets to failure of dips and push-ups. Strive to add one rep to the total each week.
- Sprints are preferably done on a hill of about 50 yards, with 6-10 total repetitions. Sprint to the top, walk back down, catch your wind, and then go again. Do that a minimum of six times and a maximum of ten times.
- Farmers walks are done for 100-200 yards. Just grab heavy dumbbells and go.
INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM
Sunday
A1) Incline Press 3-4×8-12
A2) Chin-Ups (50)
B1) Dumbbell Overhead Press 2-3×8-12
B2) Dumbbell Rows 2-3×8-12
C1) Lateral Raises 2×15-20
C2) Barbell Curl 3×10
–Farmers Walks
Monday
A) Back Squat 3-4×8-12
B) Romanian Deadlift 3-4×8-12
C1) Calfs 2×20
C2) Back Extensions 2×20
–Sprints
Wednesday
A1) Overhead Press 4-5×4-8
A2) Chin-Ups 4-5×4-8
B1) Dumbbell Incline Press 2-3×8-12
B2) Barbell Row 3-4×8-12
C1) Dips 2xmax reps
C2) Thick Grip Hammer Curls 2×15
–Farmers Walks
Friday
A) Deadlift 2-3×3-5
B) Front Squat 2-3×3-5
C1) Hip Thrusts 3×10
C2) Calfs 2×20
–Sprints
Program Notes
- For Sunday’s Chin-Ups, use as little sets as possible to hit fifty reps. If completed in less than five sets, add ten repetitions to total amount (60). Once sixty is completed in under five sets, add another ten (70). Etc…
- For the exercises that are prescribed ranges of sets and reps, use the progression referenced from Guadango’s Getting Jacked for Dummies Article.
- Sprints and Farmers Walks follow same protocol as Beginner Program.
LOOSE ENDS
- Both the rules and the method of progression change from the novice to intermediate stage. My general rule of thumb is this: if you can do ten consecutive chin-ups, squat or deadlift 1.5x your body weight, and incline press your body weight, go with the intermediate program.
- You may be wondering where regular old bench pressing is. Most skinny fat ectomorphs will benefit from more shoulder and upper chest, so I opt for more incline work. Bench press fanatics can substitute it in place of barbell incline presses on Sunday.
- You can swap the days around. The template is this: upper-lower-off-upper-off-lower-off.
The programs aren’t revolutionary, and there are hundreds out there that also deliver results. The routine itself isn’t important. Picking something, sticking with it, and working hard trumps the “program.” So if you have something good going, keep going. But if you’re looking for a fresh start, here it is. Adopt this philosophy and slow cook your way to solid gains.
Be sure to check out the previous installments in this series if you haven’t already: Solutions for the Skinny Fat Ectomorph Part I - The Basics & Solutions for the Skinny Fat Ectomorph Part II – My Story
Drop questions or comments below. Ask me on Facebook and Twitter, too. As for this post, like it, share it, or do whatever the hell it is the cool kids do today if you found it valuable. Let’s crush this disease and let the Skinny Fat Ectomorph Brohirrim be heard.
Once again, another solid article Anthony.
[The routine itself isn’t important. Picking something, sticking with it, and working hard trumps the “program.”]
Word.
Yeah. Consistency is king.
Great article Anthony. Very interesting read that confirms so many points that I know but fail to remember when training. Also like the looks of the program. Will be giving it a go and it looks like I start on the beginner’s program. Damn chins and incline presses.
Quick question though, I train at home and don’t have dip bars. Substitute for that one?
Any tricep exercise that suits your fancy. Overhead Tricep extensions?
Excellent. Thanks for that.
Thank you for reading.
Nice article Anthony.
Your program(s) put the basics together and will help many lost skinny-fat people to stick to a program.
What do you think about going to failure vs leaving one/two reps in the tank?
I’m currently on WS4SB, which doesn’t differ much from your intermediate template, so I guess I will stick to it (I’m doing it for 4 months now and I made some serious progress).
Greetings from Germany
I think failure is an overrated concept. If you’re looking for long term progress, you shouldn’t really “fail.” You should know your limits and push your mental barriers but getting stuck under a bar, in my opinion, shouldn’t happen.
“embrace vanity”, i like that haha. but for intermediate to advanced lifters, rotating exercises is necessary right?every 4-6 weeks or so
No. It’s a common misconception. One deserving of it’s own post. But suffice to say, rotating exercises simply changes the stimulus. But a change in stimulus can happen by adjusting volume, intensity, load, time under tension, etc…You don’t have to “rotate” you just have to plan slow progress over time.
People that max out weekly rotate because they hit a wall. You can keep adding five pounds to the bar forever. So then they switch exercises to allow them to add five pounds to the bar. Then they rotate again, etc. But if you view it as a long term journey and add reps and volume over time, you can get very strong without rotating.
Is this you on the first picture.Because this is realle remarkable progress.Did you jacked your body with this kind of training routine.Right now I am looking for a fresh start (I am doing it every two months,cause I am not enough consistent).I am doing 2xbodyweight deadlift but I think beginner’s program is better for me having in mind the bad recovery we have.I have a lot of questions but let me shoot some of them .How long should I rest between sets or it si better to superset them all, for example: A)1 superset with A)2 and so on.Should I train in fasted state in terms muscle growth is my goal.
There are many ways to skin a cat. You can train fasted. I do. But nutrition will be covered in the next article. Rest periods should be whatever is comfortable. Somewhere between 1-3 minutes. Or you can do 1-2 minutes with the superset to save time. Supersets aren’t anything magical really, unless you consider saving time magical. And no, that picture is not of me. But it kind of looks like it, doesn’t it?
Excellent article man. I don’t mean to sound patronizing, but I’m proud of you. You can definitely tell that this article was the result of many many years of ruminating and experimenting. This is revolutionary stuff right here. Time and a good, sensible head trump any gimmick out there. I’m going to pass this along to some of my other friends. I had a faint idea of the concepts you promote, because I’ve obsessed over the fitness industry for a while, but some of my friends don’t even know left from right, metaphorically speaking. So to show them an article that gives you the truth, without hyping anything but the real deal, is just exciting.
Truth be told, I’ve been neglecting my biceps, triceps, and calves lately, out of this minimalist sense that I developed after doing away with programs that tend to overdo it. In retrospect, it was needed to get me out of the overstimulated rut I was in, but now I know better. I’m going to train the guns today though.
I’m really happy for you, man. I may seem as too flattering sometimes, but it’s all a big compliment. I hope the best for you!
Anthony,
thank you again on all these articles that give us both hope and trust!
I have two questions:
1. Should we do some kind of HIIT or 30 min light cardio (incline walking, biking…) on the OFF days?
2. In “11 Tips…” article your training recommendation was to do Dan John’s “40 days workout” combined with Watterbury’s “PLP”. Do you now suggest us to replace “40 days” with the ones above or also to drop the “PLP” as well?
1. HIIT isn’t “light” cardio. It’s pretty intensive. If you wanted to go for a long walk though, that would be fine.
2. I recommended PLP and the 40 day program, yes. But usually those with some experience will be best served for that plan. And I think it’s also more ideal for a true 100% cutting phase. The programs above are more holistic and long term.
Great article. What do you think about sprinting on off days instead? Too much interference with recovery? On front squats, if you lack wrist flexibility, do you advise using the crossed arm method?
Sprinting on off days would make recovery more difficult. If you wanted to do something on your off days, keep it to light calisthenics, mobility, and walking.
Anthony–please do a post on the 4-6 week misconception. I’d be very interested to read this with all of the “muscle confusion” shit all over the place. I still change my routine once a month or so–not to “confuse my muscles,” but I enjoy the occasional change.
I used to be guilty of expecting the results to happen overnight. Like you said, consistency rules the day. To stay motivated and on track, I’ve started doing a once-a-month tape measurement and progress photo. Unfortunately this never reveals that I’m turning into the Incredible Hulk, but the occasional half inch-to-inch increase encourages me to keep it up.
As long as you don’t plan on stopping soon, those half inches will add up. And when they do, you’ll be glad you stuck with it and stayed consistent instead of bouncing around. You can vary things as long as you know what you’re doing.
Another great article
I have a question though : in your previous article you mentioned becoming a master in cutting after many failed bulking cycles.However,I can’t do carb cycling or IF because of budget and school.I’m planning to stop the ‘clean bulk’ in mid to late March,do you have any tips or techniques a 17 year old could follow?Last time I did a cut I ended up 8kg lighter with only small changes in my physique and I won’t let that happen in this summer
Chris, my “secret” to losing fat has always been to keep processed carbohydrates and simple sugars low (under 100 grams per day), and feast on meats, eggs, fish, and vegetables. It doesn’t have to be done IF style, either.
But budget shouldn’t stop IF since food consumption will be about equal. It’s just a matter of meal frequency not overall volume.
Great post Anthony.
It’s the old adage that I constantly refer to – The best training regimen is the one you aren’t currently doing. Everything works to a degree, you just have to stick with it.
Consistency, consistency, consistency.
C/.
Yeah, thanks for the input Clint. It is true. Those that are successful didn’t do anything special. They simply had the gull to fail many times. The more you fail the better because it means you aren’t quitting. Everyone figures it out over time though.
Really fantastic stuff! Two questions for you
“Calfs” refer to…? Is that a specific exercise or any exercise that targets calves?
Could you clarify your statement about five sets per exercise? Do you mean that, for example, the beginner hip thrusts (2 x 10) will require 3 warmup sets?
Any exercise.
In general, yeah you want either four of five sets to accumulate some volume. So two or three warm up sets would be nice. Depending on your strength level, one may have to be at body weight or something.
How much would training differ for a skinny guy with some abs for who knows how long?
You mean if you’re just skinny? Not much. The difference comes at the dinner table.
Great article, especially in how you emphasize patience. A lot of us just want to “get there” or “have it”, but have no idea what we’d do afterwards. There’s an old Zen expression about “Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water–after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” If you really hate what you’re doing to gain the muscle,how on earth will you maintain it? And if you’re enjoying yourself, then what’s the rush?
I had a huge improvement in my skill and enjoyment of the martial arts when some instructor pointed out to me that, when I got my black belt, I’d still have to train pretty much the same way. Only the belt was gonna change. So why not just pretend like I was already there, and live accordingly? Otherwise I’d just be setting myself up for disappointment when I was a “master” and didn’t feel any different.
This is great advice Bennett. I love it, and there’s so much truth here.
Regarding progressive overload for the beginner’s program, is the idea that you simply add weight to the limited rep ranges until you meet the strength thresholds for the intermediate program (at which point you begin the new program along with the expanded rep ranges and Guadango progression) (?)
Thanks,
BB
Add weight until you can’t. You may very well surpass the strength thresholds. No need to stop good progress.
Regarding the strength thresholds, specifically the 1.5xBW squat/deadlift and 1xBW for incline press: Are these for reps or simply “calculated” 1 RMs?
1RMs.
What would you think of adding a 4th day of eccentric and isometric work? I designed a program for a client similar to yours and was thinking of adding an eccentric/isometric day.
Thanks
To what end, Marco?
Oddly enough, just by you asking to what end made me think about it and realize that eccentric work is more advanced or at least not really necessary for the average skinny fat ectomorph. Got to remember to keep the goal the goal. Thanks.
Eye on the prize, Marco. Good job
Anthony,what do you think about HIT (one set to failure in slow controled tempo) done once every 5-6 days?
Not a big fan. Not saying it isn’t effective. But not for me.
Fantastic article, Anthony!
I’m also a recovering, skinny-fat ectomorph, and I completely agree with the patience that total-body transformation requires. Like what you said, I realized I was never going to “become the Incredible Hulk”, but if I could maximize my genetic potential, the results would still be tremendous.
I followed a program similar to your beginners program, and over the past year, I gained about 22lbs. Consistency is was vital in training and in diet. Great stuff, man.
Yeah, keep going Anthony. 20 pounds is great progress and within the beginners range I mentioned. It will become more difficult as you press on
Thank you Anthony for this post. I am new to your site but so excited I came across it because it is exactly what I’ve been looking for. For the most part I am in shape and have some muscle mass for my size (I’m very petite) but I lost too much weight and now trying to gain weight and muscle. Losing fat and adding muscle is more familiar to me, not adding weight so I’ve been searching for the right program. This info makes perfect sense. I thought by training 6x/week I would add muscle quicker but I haven’t been giving my body rest (maximizing fat gain). Completed my first workout routine and it was tough but quite the workout! Any tips or references on caloric intake? My diet is very clean and pretty much follow a paleo diet.
I’m working on the fourth article, which is a nutrition one. Here’s a primer I already wrote though:
http://blog.stack.com/2012/01/13/using-nutrient-timing-to-build-muscle-and-lose-fat/
Thank you so much Anthony! Another great article.
Thanks Marie.
Anthony – Great stuff. Keep it up!
As part of this programming do you recommend de-load (rest) weeks?
That is something most of us in this category will find very difficult to do, but I’m seeing more and more trainers recommend it.
Yeah, I think down weeks are good if you need them. I don’t think — for aesthetic purposes — they need to be scheduled. I also think taking “one week off” is a poisonous mindset as one week is a societal thing. The body might only need five days. Or it might need nine. Who knows.
But I think where people screw up the most is they take light “days” here and there. Chances are if it’s been a few months, three or four training sessions should be nothing but a warm up with light weights and whatnot.
This might help you: http://www.trickstutorials.com/content/backoff