How to gain weight / muscle quickly?

I'm a 27 year old guy and lately I have been trying more and more to become fitter and bigger.


My bodytype is ectomorph, so I have always been very slim, with very little muscle to speak of. Also, since I came to China, I probably eat even less than I did at home because I'm not a fan of the food.


Now, I'm tired of looking like this, so I finally want to work hard at becoming a lit bigger. Trouble is, I know very little about the best diet and / or excercises that would really help me.


I try to eat larger meals and supplement it with a lot of fruit (banana's, apples, oranges...), but is there really a better method to gaining weight? I don't think it even matters too much if the weight I gain is fat as my waistline is still very thin.


Also, in the gym, I was under the impression you need to lift fewer heavy weights with long intervals rather than lots of lighter ones faster.


Also, anyone have any idea how long it takes to see any kind of difference?


Thanks for any advice on the subject.

Since you are naturally an ectomorph, chances are that you will never look like Arnie (even with steroids).


It sounds like you would benefit from some advice from a personal trainer or someone like this - don't know if such people are easy to find in Shanghai. Make sure that whoever you find knows what they're doing.


If you have only just started going to the gym, it's probably best if you start by concentrating on proper technique rather than building big muscles. Yes, fewer reps of heavier weights is the way to build muscle, but not if you hurt yourself through not doing it properly. Start off slowly and work up to heavier weights gradually. You should notice a difference after a few weeks.