If you're skinny and an ectomorph then it's natural that you'll want to get bigger. This is not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination; in fact, it can be very difficult. It can also be fun and fulfilling. You just need to know what to do and what not to do. I'll lay out some of the basics of weight training as a beginner and what you should do and look out for. This is just a general guideline, but a lot of people don't know these things.

The first thing you need to know is that you'll need to eat a lot of food. And by a lot I mean at least 4,000 calories a day, although preferably more. You also need to keep careful track of how many calories you consume on a daily basis - I don't mean "estimating" because a lot of people overestimate how much they eat. If you are going to estimate, then make sure you make the number lower than it really is. Otherwise, I suggest you weigh out your food and calculate the calories from the caloric density* of the food. This is the biggest problem that plagues the ectomorph - they don't eat enough food!

Eating a lot is important, but you also need to make sure your diet is in the correct proportions. I recommend that 30% of your calories come from protein, while 25% come from fat and 45% from carbs. This'll ensure that you get plenty of energy and enough protein to rebuild your muscles.

People looking to lose fat and gain weight should eat fewer calories than they burn. I recommend eating about 500 calories less than your basal metabolic rate.* For people trying to just gain weight, I suggest the opposite. Those trying to lose weight should also consider eating more protein and less fat.

*Your basal metabolic rate is essentially your resting metabolism. It's how many calories you eat daily from being hungry when sedentary (and maintaining weight). If you stay the same weight over a period of a couple weeks or months, then you're consuming just enough food to satisfy your BMR.

One thing that a lot of ectomorphs / skinny guys don't realize is that they have to "prep" their body first. I don't mean warming up, although I'll get to that later. When you're first starting out, your muscles won't be coordinated enough to lift heavy weights. Essentially, you won't know how to use all of them together to get the maximum work per lift. The best way to get your body to work that way is to do 1-2 weeks of strength training with low reps and perfect form before you start using higher reps to gain mass. This'll give you a significant strength boost and will also allow you to gain strength faster, since your nerves will be conditioned for it. I usually break up every eight weeks of bodybuilding with two weeks of strength training, just so I don't fall behind.

And now on the subject of warming up.

It is incredibly important that you stretch before and after working out. I always do 5 minutes of light cardio and then another 10 minutes of dynamic (active) stretching before working out. Static stretching, which is where you hold a stretch for several seconds will actually decrease your strength, so it is not recommend at the beginning of a work out. Dynamic stretching can consist of arm circles and progressively higher kicks or similar. After the work out, you should do another 15 minutes of static stretching. This'll help you recover faster and will also stretch the fibers in your muscles, which'll allow them to expand more easily (and will therefore give you larger muscles).

Supplements should only be taken as their name implies: as a supplement. I see too many people thinking that they're going to get huge from whey protein or creatine. This just isn't so. There is no miracle drug or supplement in the body building world, except the one you already know about, but that's both illegal and dangerous.  Ectomorphs should focus more on eating a lot of food than supplements, which should only be used to help achieve the former.

So what are some good supplements that you should try out?

I suggest taking a little bit of whey protein, especially after a work out. This'll allow you to replenish your muscles faster (since it's ground up and is absorbed faster). I use the IDS brand, Belgian Chocolate. It's actually pretty delicious. The recipe I use for my shake is:

2 scoops whey (Belgian Chocolate)
1 liter of milk
1 banana
6 tablespoons of peanut butter
and 8 ice cubes

This tastes good and the potassium from the banana will help you avoid cramping if you take some of the shake before the workout. It'll also speed up recovery.

Another good supplement you should take is a multivitamin. There's not much to say here other than that you'll be surprised how much better you'll feel with a multivitamin and how much it can actually help your gains. I was able to increase my weight gain rate by about 50% with the introduction of a multivitamin.

Some supplements you should stay away from are:

Creatine, which only bloats your body with water and has some annoying side effects.

Prohormones are hit and miss and can have serious side effects.

Human Growth Hormone will give you great gains, but is expensive and will make your head gigantic. Plus, it's not needed for beginners.

Isolation exercises don't typically work well for beginners or ectomorphs. This is because you're still trying to build a foundation for your muscles. You're going to need strong stabilizers and you also need to even yourself out. When beginning, I recommend that you do at least 24 weeks with heavy compound lifts. You should try to go up in weight with each subsequent workout, although this isn't always possible.

The three main compound lifts are the squat, deadlift, and bench press. All three are incredibly important and must be incorporated into your workout. I know some gyms do not allow deadlifts, but you'll still be able to do the exercise with dumbbells.

Compound exercises mean that you shouldn't be using machines and should limit yourself to free weights. A smith machine is not a freeweight, which means it doesn't work your stabilizer muscles. Not only that, but it'll make you move in odd angles, especially when squatting, and can damage your knees. The bar is also much lighter and balanced, so you can do significantly more weight on the smith machine, but won't need to even out your muscles. This'll keep one side dominant.

Lack of sleep has been linked to higher morbidity and a higher occurrence of some chronic diseases, including diabetes. That said, excessive or erratic sleep have also been linked to chronic disease and high morbidity. You should get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, nothing more or less. You can take a nap or two during the day, but you need to keep yourself awake by eating massive amounts of food.

But why is sleep important to bodybuilding?

Well, the answer to that is pretty simple. Your muscles gain mass by repairing themselves after you work out. Every time you lift, your muscle gets a bunch of microtears in the fibers. Your body repairs these and builds on top of them to make your muscles stronger and bigger; however, it only does this effectively when you're sleeping. If you don't sleep often, then you won't have time to repair your muscles.

You want to make sure that you don't injure yourself while working out. Stretching and warming up definitely decreases the risk of getting hurt, but those aren't the only steps you can take.

If you're going to try an exercise that you are unfamiliar with, you should ask someone in the gym for help or advice. Certain lifts can hurt you if you do them wrong. The squat is a great example of this; if you lean forward too much and then snap back while pushing up, you could throw out your back. I'm not going to explain proper form in this hub, but I may do that at another time.

I highly recommend that you get a lifting belt. This will always be beneficial, no matter how much weight you are lifting. It'll protect your lower back, which is the most common site for lifting injuries.

If you are injured

If you do happen to injure yourself while lifting, you need to immediately stop and assess the damage. Is the pain severe, can you move the limb? Does it feel like you tore or broke something? If it appears to be a minor injury, then it probably is. Either way, you should stop lifting for that body part (and completely if it's anything but a minor injury).

If you think you have a minor injury, but the pain persists for many days, then you should see a doctor. It could be worse than you think. For severe injuries with instant swelling and pain, you should go to the doctor immediately. Make sure you have someone else drive you; there is always the chance that you could go into shock.

For any minor injury, follow RICE, which is detailed on the side.

You can usually go back to lifting within 48 hours or after the pain subsides. Some people like to lift while there is still some injury because they think the blood flow will help recovery. I don't wholly agree with this and do not recommend it, especially not for fresh injuries. I have seen this work for chronic injuries, but that's not the topic of discussion.

I've only detailed some of the aspects of bodybuilding. There is a lot more that you can learn, but you'll need to experiment with yourself or find good resources for learning how to put on muscle. Just remember that this is not a fast process. It can take over a year to get the body you really want. Your gains will also become slower over time, but don't let this dissuade you. You'll feel better and more confident with each day at the gym. It really is worth it.