# I Have skinny legs. What can I do to gain mass?



## im2cool4u54 (Mar 10, 2010)

I am a true ectomorph. I do squats, but I still dont see any gains.

Any pointers?


----------



## CandySays (Apr 6, 2008)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ectomorph_pyramid_training.htm

Just search around bb.com to gather a wealth of information on your own. Pick up a Muscle and Fitness from your local magazine stand. Go to Crossfit.com to train like a harda$$. Talk to really jacked guys at your gym, possible even the ones that look like they're juicin' if you felt so inclined.

It's difficult for someone to just give you a blanket reply that can accurately depict _everything _you'd need to grow. Keep your workouts HARD, split 'em up so that you're getting plenty of rest in between training each of your bodyparts (oh yeah, don't neglect any), make sure you're macronutrients are in check (protein/carb/fat ratio is clean and balanced), and consume tons of protein. Those are some cardinal rules for anyone looking to see change, I'd say.

Most importantly though, don't get discouraged if you don't see results immediatately. Being that you're an ectomorph, you aren't going to have crazy gains like a mesomorph, right away (KEY: _right away_). As long as you're eating right, resting plenty, and training with high intensity though, you'll see improvements in time. Actually, you're lucky. Since you have such a small frame, and joints, any muscle you pack on will contribute to a potentially sick physique; tons of muscle separation! Lucky you  Keep up the training, 2cool, it'll pay off.


----------



## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Eat a lot more than you're currently eating, learn proper squat form, get a good routine like starting strength, westside for skinny *******s, bill starr, etc.


----------



## STKinTHEmud (Jun 21, 2009)

Eat. 3000+ calories a day, depending on how tall you are. I'm an ectomorph too, and couldn't stop being skinny (even though I lifted weights regularly) until I did, and gained about 10 lbs of muscle and look just about "average" (perhaps on the lighter side of that) and still getting bigger.

bodybuilding.com is a great website, but you might get lost among the articles. CHeck out this site: very easy to read, no conflicting advice, and free.

http://www.gain-weight-muscle-fast.com/


----------



## alecia (Mar 12, 2010)

Eating more food may be what you need to do along with exercise, just make sure you're getting healthy calories. You'd be surprised how much muscle can be built by eating fruits and vegetables.


----------



## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

I suggest kickboxing for building up your thighs. If you get skilled enough it works all round the back too. Learn a skill, close dirty doors with your feet(very useful for tackling ocd i imagine) get fitt in the process.


----------



## JimmyDeansRetartedCousin (Nov 28, 2009)

Box jumps, sprinting, squats and lots of food.


----------



## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Eat until you feel like puking.

I thought I just had a fast metabolism for the longest time, but no, I just wasn't eating enough. 

Also, lift heavy weights until you feel like puking.


----------



## googlous (Dec 24, 2009)

20 Rep squats
20 Pullovers

.5-1 Gallon milk per day.

It is a fast workout, 10 min of warmup and then another 7 min for squats and pullovers but it will **** you up. I saw my legs growing noticably from one week to another. Eat lots of eggs, meats, veggies, fruits and of course lots of milk. No processed food esp refined carbs. 

You take a your 10 rep max weight and lift it 20 times. at around rep 10 you increase the time between reps. Do not forget to breathe, although proper form dictates you take a big breathe and hold it while you squat. Exhale once you reach the start position again. Try to increase the weight by 10 lbs/week. Set the safety bars a few inches below your deepest squat depth so you can just dump the weight onto them if you get in trouble. These are olympic style squats so you go well below parallel, try to touch the back of you quad to your calfs.


----------



## SunnyFriday86 (Apr 16, 2011)

Try doing 20 rep squats.You can google 'em.I gained 15 pounds in...1 month.But I wasn't doing them regulary.But they work .


----------



## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

Variations of squats, lunges, and leg lifts sure added muscle to mine! Jump squats are what I hate the most but I'd wager they're probably pretty efficient among all the exercises I try. :b


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

im2cool4u54 said:


> I am a true ectomorph. I do squats, but I still dont see any gains. Any pointers?


I have that problem also. With all my limb muscles (especially arms/forearms and calves). I honestly don't know and I've tried everything over the past 20+ years of training. I can gain weight pretty easily now but it goes as fat around my waist so I stop. I'm currently doing supplemental leg work at home with my bodyweight on top of my in-gym training. I do 1-legged calf raises (very slow) and 1-legged deep squats and frog squats. I'm skeptical though because I think a lot of of this is genetics. For instance my chest develops very easily. One of the guys I used to work out had the opposite problem. He had huge calves and forearms but his chest hardly budged no matter what he did.

Edit: Maybe our core musculature (chest, hips, back) is taking the brunt of the load leaving the limbs with little in the way of development? But I tried routines completely made up of more isolation-type movements when I was younger and it didn't seem to make any difference. Same with another on-line trainee who had the same problem.


----------



## PaysageDHiver (Jun 18, 2011)

I don't know if this is optimal (but bear in mind, 99% of weightlifters aren't doing what's optimal for them), but I'd advise a major leg workout once a week (this prevents overtraining, which is an awful, self-defeating thing). Base the workout around the squat and absolutely demolish your legs (I'm talking 10-12 sets). Then, the rest of the week is for eating tons of calorically-dense foods as you recover from the carnage of that one workout. Rinse and repeat.


----------



## Rap (Apr 29, 2011)

Continue doing squats. You might also want to incorporate some form of running, or biking, as well. Do calve raises for your calves to get bigger. There's also another exercise you can do on a bench, where you put your legs under those things and lift the weights with them, but I forget what it's called. That one will also help out a lot.


----------



## uffie (May 11, 2010)

stop reading, start doing push ups


----------



## Iced (Feb 7, 2011)

Squats and Oatz


----------



## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

uffie said:


> stop reading, start doing push ups


Or lift a bunch of books. That would help you gain muscle mass.


----------



## mrdeez (Jul 29, 2010)

I would say it's something wrong with your exercise, diet, or rest. If you are doing the following three things I would be very surprised that you aren't putting on any mass:
-Eating alot (at least 800calories/day more than you are used to)
-Doing squats with good form and increasing the weight once/twice per month
-Resting your legs enough (getting enough sleep, not overtraining them)


----------



## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

im2cool4u54 said:


> I am a true ectomorph. I do squats, but I still dont see any gains.
> 
> Any pointers?


Another important thing is the rep range. When it comes to legs 12-25 rep range works better.


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Skinny legs? Enjoy it - you clothes fit better. I have to either get loose fit or go up a waist size to get pants to fit my "speed skater" legs. I am athletic, though, so I guess it is part for the course. I have had people comment on my legs - they're from my dad (miss him!  It's been 4 1/2 years now.)


----------



## showtime123 (Jul 27, 2011)

In order to gain mass you need to work out. Eat right and lift a lot.


----------



## TheoBobTing (Jul 8, 2010)

I suppose you could experiment with your diet. You could lift weights, and gradually eat more and more calories until you reach the point where you make relatively lean muscle gains. Just randomly throwing loads of food down your neck could lead to both fat and muscle gains. Barbell squats are definately a good start for building your legs up, especially your quads. You could do straight-legged deadlifts for your hamstrings. 

Don't neglect the eccentric portions of your repetitions. Keep them quite slow and controlled. 8-12 reps per set is typically seen as the ideal rep range for building muscle mass, and until you become more advanced it would probably be best for you. However if you keep training for months and months you might need to throw in some higher/lower rep sets in order to progress further.

EDIT: Actually I've just read in a book that 6-8 reps per set is ideal for building muscle mass.


----------



## jimbo00 (Nov 28, 2010)

Yeah go the 20 rep squats. Real mental battle to do em (as well as physical).



SunnyFriday86 said:


> Try doing 20 rep squats.You can google 'em.I gained 15 pounds in...1 month.But I wasn't doing them regulary.But they work .


----------



## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Walking or cycling uphill, stance work + all of the above...

Stance work - hold the positions for as long as you can


----------



## ForeverStallone (Apr 4, 2011)

Obvious question, how much do you squat?


----------



## Emanresu (Jun 2, 2010)




----------



## Kennnie (Oct 21, 2010)

Take steroids


----------



## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

Kennnie said:


> Take steroids


Let me complete the sentence.

... in order to get bigger legs and smaller balls.


----------



## kirankumar (Sep 5, 2012)

*skinny legs*



im2cool4u54 said:


> I am a true ectomorph. I do squats, but I still dont see any gains.
> 
> Any pointers?


 Some people what ever they workout in the gym or outdoor exercise skinny legs wont develop. First of all find out if you stand in attention position that your knees wont allow your ankle touch together. This happens to at least 6 to 7 percent of population, it is not proved by any scenes.

Because the bone structure of such (skinny) legs are different from others.

Due to this while riding bike the pant will sag towards side. That will look more skinny.

You can start sleeping side wards and try to keep your legs straight and keep your knees one on the other.

I hope this may at least gives you some relief.

If you are interested you can mail me for some more tips.


----------



## kirankumar (Sep 5, 2012)

*skinny legs*



im2cool4u54 said:


> I am a true ectomorph. I do squats, but I still dont see any gains.
> 
> Any pointers?


 Some people what ever they workout in the gym or outdoor exercise skinny legs wont develop. First of all find out if you stand in attention position that your knees wont allow your ankle touch together. This happens to at least 6 to 7 percent of population, it is not proved in censes.

Because the bone structure of such (skinny) legs are different from others.

Due to this while riding bike the pant will sag toward side. That will look more skinny.

You can start sleeping side wards and try to keep your legs straight and keep your knees one on the other.

If you are interested you can mail me for some more tips.


----------



## carven (Jun 19, 2012)

SunnyFriday86 said:


> Try doing 20 rep squats.You can google 'em.I gained 15 pounds in...1 month.But I wasn't doing them regulary.But they work .


Sorry but I call bull $hi+, you didn't gain 15 lbs in one month of just doing squats.


----------



## Velorrei (Jan 30, 2011)

Do anything you want with an incline. 

Years ago, I accidentally made my calves bulkier when I focused more on increasing speed while running. This kind of happened again recently. Anything involving using strength with your legs will do it.


----------



## Kakumbus (Mar 27, 2012)

Eat


----------



## nitro eh (Jul 18, 2011)

proper diet with correct amount of macros that is at a surplus in calories, high volume leg workout that includes at least squats (atg, front) and calf raises. other good exercises are leg press , leg curls, leg extensions etc but try to avoid machines as best you can. Hit them twice a week as muscle protein synthesis is only 48-72 hours. Get as much sleep as you can (8 hours at least)

you do all of that, you will gain mass no doubt.



Kennnie said:


> Take steroids


not to be rude but that is such an ignorant statement. Steroids are only effective when a person is close to their genetic limit for their body. When i say close i mean after a good couple years of properly and effectively working out. Diet, rest, properly working out will be wayyy more effective for a beginner-intermediate athlete.


----------



## rayantrifoli (Sep 10, 2012)

I dont know your age .. but if you are young a think that you can use walking and running on the sand on the points of the feet ... it s a good method... i used it in Kickboxing !!


----------

