It all happens to us: even if you are the worst case of an ectomorph, the first few months (or few weeks) of going to the gym gives us amazing progress and noticeable changes to our bodies. Even if we did many things wrong, had insufficient rest and nutrition, we still got stronger and our biceps bigger.

According to this great post by Chris Cameron Weekend Reading: The Dip by Seth Godin:

“‘The Dip,’ as Godin defines it, is valley between initial luck and long-term success. When learning any skill, the very beginning is fun and exciting as we quickly grasp new information and abilities. But at some point shortly after, the long, slow and difficult climb toward mastery makes us want to give up.”

In other words, most people, after going to the gym for a few months, quickly found themselves in this dip. Especially for us ectomorphs, 99% never manage to get out of it.

It takes hard work to get out of the dip. I recommend putting aside at least three months when training is your number 1 priority in life. Once you are out of that dip, it takes significantly less effort to keep progressing.

This book The Dip by Seth Godin gives you more instructions on how to get yourself out of the dips of any other area of your life. Read this post Weekend Reading: The Dip by Seth Godin to have a better idea of what this book is all about.

Here are three other related posts you should really check out too: Are you a quitter?, Interesting Post III, and How many goals should you have beside your training goal?