Body Types
Body Types - Which One are you?
The Ectomorph; The Mesomorph; The Endomorph; or a Combination?
It is very important to be aware of what your body type is so that you can design a training and workout program accordingly. Different body types require different training methods and diet plans.
Listed below are the 3 male body types: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph, along with their characteristics.
The ECTOMORPH
The Ectomorph Body
Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain weight.
They have a fast metabolism which burns up calories very quickly.
Ectomorphs can lose fat very easily which makes cutting back to lean muscle easier for them
The bones are light, joints are small and muscles are slight.
The limbs are relatively long in proportion and the shoulders droop.
The ectomorph is a linear physique
Workouts
Workouts should be short and intense focusing on big muscle groups.
Focus on long rest periods
Minimum cardio: The ectomorph looking to maintain cardiovascular fitness for general health and longevity should only do cardio at a moderate pace for 30 minutes three times per week.
Strength training: Since strength training also burns calories, strength training can be done in a 3-day split. Rest time should be kept between 2-3 minutes as much as possible. Rest days can be spread throughout the week, with at least one day of rest in between the last lifting day. Do abs at the end of each workout.
Eg.: Day 1 - Chest/Triceps, Day 2 - Back/Biceps, Day 3 - Legs/Shoulders
Nutrition
Focus on calorie intake: Ectomorphs can and should eat a lot a day. It is going to be important that an ectomorph eats at least every 2.5 hours. Each meal should include quality protein and healthy fats as much as possible, with at least 1.5 grams of protein consumed per pound of body weight daily. The ectomorph can also consume carbs all day long without having to worry.
Ectomorphs should eat before bed to prevent muscle catabolism during the night.
Ecto’s need a huge amount of calories in order to gain weight.
The MESOMORPH
A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique.
The torso tapers to a relatively narrow and low waist.
Features of the face are clearly defined, such as cheek bones and a square, heavy jaw.
Arms and legs are developed and even the digits of the hand are muscled.
Workouts
The mesomorph body type responds best to weight training and cardio.
Gains are usually seen very quickly, especially for beginners.
The mesomorph is right in the middle of the spectrum, and can generally put on quality mass or reduce body fat relatively easily. Once the desired body composition and appearance is achieved, the mesomorph can usually just maintain by making sure to continue exercising regularly and living a healthy lifestyle.
Strength Training: The training program should be resistance training. Since mesomorphs muscles are so thick and powerful, moderate to heavy weights are required to stimulate growth.
After a thorough warm-up, do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps with increasing weight load each set.
Mesomorphs should strength train with moderately heavy weight with rest times between 90-120 seconds.
Cardio: Mesomorphs can get away with doing the same amount of cardio as an ectomorph.
Nutrition
The downside to mesomorphs is they gain fat more easily than ectomorphs. This means they must watch their calorie intake.
When training to build muscle, you'll need 1.5 or more grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. So a 200 lb bodybuilder should be eating 300g of protein or more per day. Try to get a protein: carb ratio of 3:4 (300g protein, 400g carbs). So if you are eating 6 meals a day you should get 50g of protein and 66g of carbs per meal.
The ENDOMORPH
The body of the extreme endomorph is round and soft.
The mass is concentrated in the abdominal area.
The hands and feet of the endomorph are comparatively small, and the upper arms and thighs are often more developed than the lower parts of the arms or legs.
Endomorphs gain fat very easily.
Workouts
Muscles are strong, especially the upper legs. Endomorphs find they are naturally strong in leg exercises like the squat.
Strength Training: The endomorph must focus on burning as many calories as possible to decrease body fat during strength training. Rest times should be kept as short as possible in between sets. Moderate weight should be used.
4 days of weight training throughout the week will ensure that the after burn increased metabolic response from each training session will spill over into all rest days.
An increased amount of muscle mass will increase their base metabolic rate, thereby decreasing the chance of storing/holding onto fat cells.
Cardio: The endomorph's main focus should be to cut body fat to reveal the muscle that is underneath. After each workout, hit the cardio machine of choice (preferably the treadmill) and do 15-30 minutes of cardio. After weight training, your muscles will be depleted of their preferred energy source (glycogen) and start consuming adipose body tissue for energy. Do interval training (2 minutes slow, 1 minute fast, etc), as this type of training has been shown to elicit the greatest hormonal response.
Nutrition
The most important consideration is to keep overall calories in check. No matter what the food, too many calories over maintenance level will cause fat gain. Cutting calories may seem like an easy way to shed weight, but not eating enough will prevent one from being able to complete workouts and will actually encourage the body to store fat in extreme cases.
Supplements may not be needed as long as the person has a high protein intake in their diet like lean protein such as chicken, turkey, seafood & eggs. For carbohydrates vegetables such as potatoes are great to fuel intense workouts. Fibrous vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli are also nutrient-dense and are filling, an important fact for endomorphs to consider. Beans, whole-wheat pasta and oats are other high-fiber foods should be included as well.
A combination of body types
Some people have a combination of two body types. These combinations are either ectomorph/mesomorph or mesomorph/endomorph.
The Ectomorph; The Mesomorph; The Endomorph; or a Combination?
It is very important to be aware of what your body type is so that you can design a training and workout program accordingly. Different body types require different training methods and diet plans.
Listed below are the 3 male body types: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph, along with their characteristics.
The ECTOMORPH
• Small “delicate” frame and bone structure
• Classic “hardgainer”
• Flat chest
• Small shoulders
• Thin
• Lean muscle mass
• Finds it hard to gain weight
• Fast metabolism
The Ectomorph Body
Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain weight.
They have a fast metabolism which burns up calories very quickly.
Ectomorphs can lose fat very easily which makes cutting back to lean muscle easier for them
The bones are light, joints are small and muscles are slight.
The limbs are relatively long in proportion and the shoulders droop.
The ectomorph is a linear physique
Workouts
Workouts should be short and intense focusing on big muscle groups.
Focus on long rest periods
Minimum cardio: The ectomorph looking to maintain cardiovascular fitness for general health and longevity should only do cardio at a moderate pace for 30 minutes three times per week.
Strength training: Since strength training also burns calories, strength training can be done in a 3-day split. Rest time should be kept between 2-3 minutes as much as possible. Rest days can be spread throughout the week, with at least one day of rest in between the last lifting day. Do abs at the end of each workout.
Eg.: Day 1 - Chest/Triceps, Day 2 - Back/Biceps, Day 3 - Legs/Shoulders
Nutrition
Focus on calorie intake: Ectomorphs can and should eat a lot a day. It is going to be important that an ectomorph eats at least every 2.5 hours. Each meal should include quality protein and healthy fats as much as possible, with at least 1.5 grams of protein consumed per pound of body weight daily. The ectomorph can also consume carbs all day long without having to worry.
Ectomorphs should eat before bed to prevent muscle catabolism during the night.
Ecto’s need a huge amount of calories in order to gain weight.
The MESOMORPH
The Mesomorph Body
• Athletic
• Hard body with well defined muscles
• Hourglass Shaped (Female)
• Rectangular Shaped (Male)
• Strong
• Muscular Body
• Excellent Posture
• Gains Muscle Easily than ectomorphs
• Gains Fat More Easily than ectomorphs
A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique.
The torso tapers to a relatively narrow and low waist.
Features of the face are clearly defined, such as cheek bones and a square, heavy jaw.
Arms and legs are developed and even the digits of the hand are muscled.
Workouts
The mesomorph body type responds best to weight training and cardio.
Gains are usually seen very quickly, especially for beginners.
The mesomorph is right in the middle of the spectrum, and can generally put on quality mass or reduce body fat relatively easily. Once the desired body composition and appearance is achieved, the mesomorph can usually just maintain by making sure to continue exercising regularly and living a healthy lifestyle.
Strength Training: The training program should be resistance training. Since mesomorphs muscles are so thick and powerful, moderate to heavy weights are required to stimulate growth.
After a thorough warm-up, do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps with increasing weight load each set.
Mesomorphs should strength train with moderately heavy weight with rest times between 90-120 seconds.
Cardio: Mesomorphs can get away with doing the same amount of cardio as an ectomorph.
Nutrition
The downside to mesomorphs is they gain fat more easily than ectomorphs. This means they must watch their calorie intake.
When training to build muscle, you'll need 1.5 or more grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. So a 200 lb bodybuilder should be eating 300g of protein or more per day. Try to get a protein: carb ratio of 3:4 (300g protein, 400g carbs). So if you are eating 6 meals a day you should get 50g of protein and 66g of carbs per meal.
The ENDOMORPH
The Endomorph Body
• Soft & round body
• Is generally short and “stocky”
• Underdeveloped Muscles
• Round Physique
• Weight Loss is Difficult
• Gains Muscle Easily Like the Mesomorph
• Finds it hard to lose fat
• Slow metabolism
The body of the extreme endomorph is round and soft.
The mass is concentrated in the abdominal area.
The hands and feet of the endomorph are comparatively small, and the upper arms and thighs are often more developed than the lower parts of the arms or legs.
Endomorphs gain fat very easily.
Workouts
Muscles are strong, especially the upper legs. Endomorphs find they are naturally strong in leg exercises like the squat.
Strength Training: The endomorph must focus on burning as many calories as possible to decrease body fat during strength training. Rest times should be kept as short as possible in between sets. Moderate weight should be used.
4 days of weight training throughout the week will ensure that the after burn increased metabolic response from each training session will spill over into all rest days.
An increased amount of muscle mass will increase their base metabolic rate, thereby decreasing the chance of storing/holding onto fat cells.
Cardio: The endomorph's main focus should be to cut body fat to reveal the muscle that is underneath. After each workout, hit the cardio machine of choice (preferably the treadmill) and do 15-30 minutes of cardio. After weight training, your muscles will be depleted of their preferred energy source (glycogen) and start consuming adipose body tissue for energy. Do interval training (2 minutes slow, 1 minute fast, etc), as this type of training has been shown to elicit the greatest hormonal response.
Nutrition
The most important consideration is to keep overall calories in check. No matter what the food, too many calories over maintenance level will cause fat gain. Cutting calories may seem like an easy way to shed weight, but not eating enough will prevent one from being able to complete workouts and will actually encourage the body to store fat in extreme cases.
Supplements may not be needed as long as the person has a high protein intake in their diet like lean protein such as chicken, turkey, seafood & eggs. For carbohydrates vegetables such as potatoes are great to fuel intense workouts. Fibrous vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli are also nutrient-dense and are filling, an important fact for endomorphs to consider. Beans, whole-wheat pasta and oats are other high-fiber foods should be included as well.
A combination of body types
Some people have a combination of two body types. These combinations are either ectomorph/mesomorph or mesomorph/endomorph.
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