For ectomorphs, the journey to getting big and strong is filled with unseen difficulties and worries. One of the most popular concerns that sooner or later every one of us will have is:

“All this lifting heavy weights is slowing me down. I want to get big but I want to be functional, too.”

In other words, in addition to gaining muscles, you also want to be quick, have great endurance and stamina.

First, about being quick: performing squats and deadlifts (and power clean in the strength training phase) makes you super explosive. Look at sprinters, they all have very strong and muscular legs, which help shoot them out of inertia and speed up the acceleration process. In fact, they are muscular overall, not just in their lower body.

Second, to have great endurance and stamina, you must have a super strong mentality. In case you don’t know this already, lifting weights trains your mental strength just as much as running a marathon (imagine squatting 20 reps!). In order to gain muscle, you must endure pain every time you go to the gym. By pushing yourself beyond your limit, you give your body a reason to grow some muscle.

Of course, just sheer mental strength is not enough to help you finish a half-marathon. Nor will big muscular legs alone help you finish a 100-meter race in 11 seconds. Specific training is required. However, my point is, all in good time.

As an ectomorph, gaining muscle is in a by itself a very challenging task already. Having another activities that takes away time and energy is a luxury that you definitely cannot afford. Especially when training to get big is neither your top priority in life nor the only priority, you should keep it as manageable as possible.

So:

Focus on lifting heavy to gain muscles. Along the way, you will prepare your body and mind for great endurance, stamina, and explosiveness. After you have gained enough muscles in the bulk-up phase, you can start cutting fat. This is when you can incorporate running and some other activities into your training program. And that’s why I said: all in good time.

RECAP: Lifting heavy weights trains your body and mind for great endurance, stamina, and explosiveness. Focus on lifting in the bulk-up phase. When you start cutting fat, other activities can be incorporated.

Sources:

1. First photo: www.thebetterweigh.com

2. Second photo: physbam.stanford.edu/~fedkiw/

3. Third photo (self-mixed): www.tmuscle.com