Ectomorph Workout & Diet Guide And The Skinny-Fat Hardgainer Solution

I love when people write articles about being a hardgainer and/or ectomorph. They start off by mentioning how terrible their genetics are and how borderline impossible it is for them to build muscle or gain weight.
This of course is done to make you see that they are (or were) just like you. Why? So you’re more likely to trust what they’re about to say about this subject (and buy whatever it is they’re usually trying to sell along with it).
I mean, a true hardgainer/ectomorph would be skeptical taking advice from someone who was born with amazing genetics, right? That’s fine. I totally get that.
But it’s when the writer gets into the specifics of where they started out that I tend to smile. For example, I’ve seen articles like this begin with claims of the person (a man) being a pathetic 150lbs when he first started working out.
Wow… you really had it rough with those genetics. Poor guy.
Here’s the thing though. I started out at nearly 120lbs (at 5’11) my first day inside of a gym. I had to put on 30 F-ing pounds before I’d even qualify as having the “bad genetics” this person had.
So why am I telling you this? Simple. So you understand that the following article is coming to you from a legitimate text book definition of what we’d all consider an ectomorph, hardgainer and genetic loser to be. Just like you are.
Or, at least… just like you think you are. There’s a big difference. Let me tell you all about it…
 

What Is An Ectomorph? What Is A Hardgainer?

Well, if you asked most people about these terms, they’d probably tell you that they’re the same thing and have an identical meaning. Usually something along the lines of the following…

Ectomorph/Hardgainer:
These words are most commonly used to describe a man or woman who is naturally (or better yet, genetically prone to being) skinny and has a harder time building muscle or just gaining weight in general than most people.
They have a “fast metabolism” compared to the average person and appear to be unable to gain weight no matter how much they eat. They often tend to be picky eaters with small appetites (although you do occasionally see the opposite too).
They have a small bone structure. Narrow shoulders, flat chest, narrow waist and hips, super small and skinny wrists, super small and skinny ankles. Sometimes, but not always, they’re a bit on the lanky side with longer than average limbs and longer than average muscle belly length.
They’ve probably been skinny/thin their entire lives.

That’s how most people would define this body type. And yeah, I’d agree with all of it. Except, there’s a bit more to it than that…
 

Ectomorph vs Hardgainer: Is There A Difference?

Alright, sure… an ectomorph is a naturally skinny person with a thinner overall frame and faster metabolism who has a harder time gaining weight/muscle than everyone else. And yes, I would say that all of this describes the hardgainer as well.
They are very similar, and there’s tons of overlap between them in that most hardgainers ARE ectomorphs, and many ectomorphs ARE hardgainers. But, if you ask me, there is one very subtle difference here:

An ectomorph is someone who genetically has a harder time building muscle.
A hardgainer is someone who genetically sucks at it.
To put it another way, I’d define a hardgainer as an ectomorph with worse genetics.

Ectomorph + Fat = The Hardgainer
The best example I can give you of what I mean revolves around the word “skinny” which we keep throwing around here. How so? Because some ectomorphs aren’t just naturally skinny. They’re naturally lean. And therein lies a key difference.

I mean, a male ectomorph could be 15% body fat and look super skinny. Another male ectomorph could be 9% body fat and still look super skinny. Hell, in clothes, they’d probably look identical.
But take those clothes off and you’ll see the difference. One is skinny and lean, and one is just plain skinny. Or, more accurately with this body type… skinny-fat.

And that’s what I think a true hardgainer is. There are skinny ectomorphs that are naturally lean and defined (the good version), and there are skinny ectomorphs that are naturally skinny-fat (the bad version). Now granted, both versions suck if your goal is building muscle (and this article is aimed at helping both).

But, that second version — the bad one — that one sucks a little extra. Those are what I call hardgainers.

They’re essentially ectomorphs that aren’t naturally lean. They have all the negative aspects of this body type (super thin frame, fast metabolism, etc.) without the one positive aspect (leanness).
They’re the ones who, while in a caloric surplus, tend to put on more fat and less muscle than most people do with all else being equal. And in a deficit, they tend to lose more muscle and less fat. Basically, a hardgainer’s calorie partitioning is much worse than everyone else’s, including the “good” version of the ectomorph.