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Calisteniapp / Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs: your step-by-step plan.

The word 'ectomorph' has emerged as a way to categorize skinny people who have a hard time gaining weight and building muscle mass. In this program we will carry out a training adapted to gain muscle mass in this type of people, using a push-pull-legs approach focused on hypertrophy work.

Available in Calisteniapp for iOS and Android.

Explore my path
Ectomorphs

Objective

Gain muscle mass throughout the body, mastering the basic Calisthenics exercises.

Frequence
See program guidance
First session duration
34 min
Program
17 estimated weeks

01 / Requirements

Required prerequisites

  • × 5 Prone pull-ups
  • × 10 Dips

Necessary equipment

For this program you will need Parallettes, Box.

02 / Program

Build your path.

Each phase prepares you for the next. Weeks are a guide: repeat a phase when you need more practice before moving on.

  1. Week 1–2Exercises prior to the basics of calisthenics

    What you will practise

    In this phase, we begin to build the foundation that will allow you to progress safely toward the basics of calisthenics and, at the same time, create a useful stimulus for gaining muscle mass. The pushing work focuses on simple horizontal and vertical patterns, such as Incline push-ups and Short dips, to strengthen the chest, triceps, and shoulders without yet requiring too much technical demand. In pulling, Australian pull-ups and Short supine pull-ups will help you activate the lats, biceps, and scapular muscles, while the leg work with Squat, Lunges, and Bulgarian squat will begin to develop the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings with quite a lot of volume, something very important if your goal is to gain muscle mass throughout the whole body.

  2. Week 3–5Calisthenics basics

    What you will practise

    In this phase, you move into the classic basics of calisthenics, increasing the intensity and volume of work to better direct the training toward hypertrophy. Dips, Push-ups, and Prone pull-ups and Supine pull-ups become the core of the program, with a more complete stimulus for the chest, triceps, deltoids, lats, rhomboids, and biceps. In the lower body, Explosive squat and Single leg femoral bridge add more demand on the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings, combining strength-endurance work with a more powerful intent in the concentric phase.

  3. Week 6–8Basics with variations

    What you will practise

    Now we begin to work with variations of the basics that increase the difficulty and make the hypertrophy stimulus more complete. In pushing, Dips with dead stop and Diamond push-ups increase the demand on the triceps, chest, and shoulder stability, while also forcing you to produce force from less favorable positions. In pulling, progressions appear such as Wide grip supine pull-ups, Wide grip pull-ups, and One arm australian pull-ups, which intensify the work of the lats, biceps, forearms, and stabilizing muscles of the upper back. In legs, Explosive switching lunges introduce a more dynamic component without neglecting the main goal of gaining muscle mass.

  4. Week 9–12Explosivity

    What you will practise

    In this phase, the program takes a clear step toward explosiveness, while maintaining enough volume to continue promoting muscle gain. Explosive dips, Clap push-ups, and Explosive pull-ups force you to apply force at greater speed, which improves upper-body power and the ability to recruit muscle fibers more efficiently. In the legs, Box jumps and Explosive bulgarian squat reinforce powerful extension of the hips, knees, and ankles, intensely involving the quadriceps, glutes, calves, and all the stabilizing musculature.

  5. Week 13–17Advanced

    What you will practise

    With this advanced phase, we want you to consolidate well-developed musculature throughout the whole body and maximize the stimulus for muscle growth within a calisthenics approach. The volume increases in the main explosive movements, such as Explosive dips, Clap push-ups, and Explosive pull-ups, while in the lower body you progress with exercises such as Single leg femoral bridge with elevation and Explosive bulgarian squat, which demand more unilateral strength, stability, and hip control. The result is very complete work for the chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings, combining pushing, pulling, squatting, jumping, and hip extension patterns.

Estimated end of the plan

Choose a valid date to preview your plan.

This date reflects the planned duration, not a guaranteed date for completing Ectomorphs. Your progress may take additional weeks.

03 / Calisteniapp

Your first session, step by step.

Here is the first session of the program, so you have a reference for how the sessions are structured.

Estimated duration of 34 min depending on the rest periods you choose. Sets and reps are a reference: adjust them to your level.

The exercises you will discover.

Every movement that appears at least once across the program.

Understand the reason behind each step.

  • The program is designed to train 3 times a week, with an extra routine in case you can do a 4th day.
  • The first phases are adapted for beginners and we will gradually increase the level, if you have an intermediate or advanced level, look for the phase that best suits your ability and start there.
  • Use intermediate breaks of between 1 minute and 2 and a half minutes, depending on how difficult the routine is for you.
  • If your goal is to gain muscle mass, you should accompany your training with a diet according to that goal, in the case of people with a tendency to be very thin, this point is especially important.

They train with Calisteniapp.

App reviews already published on our website. These are not specific to this program.

The best. I've been on the pro plan for two years and have achieved excellent results. Resistance, strength, skill, and aesthetics, I've obtained it all thanks to the guidance of this app on this beautiful calisthenics journey.
Roberto Duarte
If the free option is already great, the pro option has to be amazing. I'm super happy. I'm a beginner, a very beginner, and really everything is simple, the exercises can be done anywhere without equipment, and it's helping me a lot.
Maite Ruiz

From “one day” to your first session.

  1. Download Calisteniapp on your phone.

  2. Find Ectomorphs and check its access options.

  3. Review the terms shown in the app and start the first phase.

If the app offers you a 7-day trial, check the subsequent price, billing period, renewal and cancellation before activating it. Availability and terms are those shown in your account and store.

Before you start.

Is it mandatory to do the reinforcement routine?

No, only if you want to add an extra day of training or if you notice that you are stuck and need extra work.

What rest times to use?

We recommend using intermediate breaks of between 1' to 2'30". If in any phase you find it difficult to advance and you feel stuck, you can try using longer rest times to try to complete it.

What requirements must I meet to be able to do this program?

You can start this program as a beginner, but we recommend being able to do at least 5 pull-ups, 10 dips, 15 push-ups and 20 squats.

Every step counts.

Start with preparation. Follow the path. Give your progress time.

Available in Calisteniapp for iOS and Android.

Your program continues in the app.

Download Calisteniapp and find “Ectomorphs” in Programs. If you already have the app, open the program directly.

I have the app: open Ectomorphs
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