The best exercises for your body type Ectomorph The ectomorph faces the toughest challenge of all when it comes to building muscle mass. Ectomorphs tend to be very low in body fat by nature and have no problem showing off sharp muscle definition, even if their diet is anything but "clean". But when it comes to getting fat as an ectomorph, let's just say it's a lot easier said than done. If you're struggling to build muscle, your training choices should focus on basic compound movements to get the most bang for your buck, so you can use maximum load and recruit multiple muscle groups large and small to that time. Here are the five best exercises for the hard gainer! http://www.maggies-makeup.com/pills-and-vials/oral-steroids 1. Weight bench Since the 1940s, bodybuilders have called the flat bar bench press the king of upper body exercises, and with good reason. The flat bench activates all upper body compression muscles (pectorals, front deltoids and triceps) in one motion. Why use a dumbbell instead of dumbbells or a machine? The bar is one solid piece rather than two separate pieces and is easier to handle when loaded with heavier weights. Therefore, even if you can bench press 200 pounds for 10 reps, it's very unlikely you can do the same 10 reps with a pair of 100 pound dumbbells. Greater muscle loads correspond to greater gains. So why not just load up a machine with even more weight than you could use with a barbell? The machines do not require any basic activation and maintaining balance and coordination improves the difficulty of the exercise. The dumbbell bench press requires good balance and core activation, while allowing the upper body muscles to lift maximum loads.