The Definitive Guide To Body Types

Once people hear about endomorphs, ectomorphs and mesomorphs, they tend to fixate on their body type.

Of course, knowing your body type (somatotype), although it isn’t everything, is very important.

You may be in the gym doing endless reps, frantically trying to lose fat or you may be on the opposite end of the scales (literally)… desperately trying to gain muscle to augment what you perceive as a very “not masculine” frame. Maybe your gym regime is working but you just want more.

The key to progress may lie in understanding your body type.

The Truth about body types…

Almost no one fits into one particular body type 100%. Usually, your “broad” body type classification is used to find the most effective way to train you.

Whoever you are, you probably have mixed characteristics from two different body types.

It’s all about self improvement…

A lot of your ability to change what you look like stems from your ability to take your exercise and fitness as a journey of improvement by better understanding how your body in particular works and by aiming for self-improvement.

It all starts with making exercise a habit and controlling your diet.

You can change your body as much as you please once you understand its tendencies.

Somatotypes vs Body Types

“Somato” is basically science-speak for “relating to the body”.

The term originated in the 1950s, coined by a psychologist named William Sheldon.

His work was classifying peoples behaviour based on their body type, although it has since been discredited. I think it would be unrealistic to profile people based on their body types.

He looked at the general body proportions of people and decided to give them names.

Generally speaking, few people use the phrasing “What is my Somatotype?” when looking for answers about their body.

Besides, “body type” sounds a lot less anatomical and a bit more relatable to everyday life.

He classified body types into three:

1. Ectomorphs
2. Endomorphs
3. Mesomorphs

This is not in the same vein as some of the other ways body shapes are usually classified like those based off shapes like triangle, rectangle or hourglass… or the dreaded classification of body types with relation to fruits which to me has always sounded comedic.

This Somatotype classification, however, is more geared towards the way specific body types gain or lose muscle and gain or lose fat.

It also addresses major issues that are often downplayed or under emphasised like muscle response time and muscle tissue repair rate.

It isn’t all black or white…

Remember that most people and probably you included are a mixture of body types.

Each body type comes with its advantages and its disadvantages and body type can be changed to a certain degree.

When you take a look at the characteristics of the three body types (Somatotypes), you will start to have various epiphanies and a lot of your tendencies and difficulties will start to make sense very quickly.

You may begin to see similarities between some of these characteristics and the problems that you face.

You will finally understand why the guy you say “never gains any weight no matter what” or “the guy that can’t seem to shake that gut” is the way he is.

If you want to maximise your body types potential you may have to start discarding some learned behaviours.

Especially if you are addicted to steady-state cardio or chowing down a bunch of calorie-rich food which (depending on your body type) may actually be doing more harm than good…  

So play the game right and level up.

Adopt the right training style for your body type and the results will stun you.

Are You An Ectomorph?

The definition of an Ectomorph is someone who finds it easy to lose fat and generally doesn’t put on that much in the first place, but also finds it very difficult to put on muscle due to slow muscle growth and regeneration.

This is why ectomorphs are usually described as “hard gainers”.

If any of these characteristics sound like you, then you are an ectomorph or at least have a few ectomorph characteristics and tendencies.

Everyone has a different degree to which they are any particular body type so the more extreme of an ectomorph you are, the more necessary it will be to adopt a few principles to make your time spent exercising more effective.

Characteristics of an Ectomorph

• You’re slim

• Narrow hips and shoulders

• Narrow chest

• Long limbs

• Gain fat and muscle slowly

• Lose weight and muscle quickly

• High metabolic rate

Strengths of an Ectomorph

Being an ectomorph is fantastic.

Along with your natural tendency to be able to minimise body fat, you are blessed with a light body that will make you perfect for sports that require endurance.

In addition to this, you can eat almost anything without the effects immediately showing on your body (do not abuse your privilege though, with enough food anyone can get fat).

With a bit more in the way of muscle, you can improve on your body and make it the envy of many.

Disadvantages of an Ectomorph

The major disadvantage of being an ectomorph is the slow muscle gain and slow rate of muscle regeneration. Your body has favoured endurance over strength.

So generally speaking, bulging biceps with large arms set on massive shoulders is hard to come by on ectomorphs.

The fact that not everyone is an extreme ectomorph means that some will have it easier than others.

These mistakes could be costing you dearly

As an ectomorph, you will naturally tend towards slow, long-distance work and sports but that is probably the worst thing you can do.

Those are the first thing you have to ditch if you want to start packing on the size.

Another common mistake is your focus on exercises that target isolated muscles.

You should be focusing on compound exercises like squats that involve more muscle groups.

Working a lot of muscles will also give you a necessary growth hormone boost to help you build faster.

The ratio of compound exercises to isolated exercises in your workouts should be about 80:20.

This means that about 80% of the exercises on your workout routine should focus on working big groups of muscles.

Ectomorph training hacks

Leave out or minimise aerobic exercise

If you are an ectomorph, you likely enjoy long hours of aerobic exercise majorly because they come quite easily for you.

If you enjoy aerobics then you don’t have to give up on them forever. Reduce them to a minimum or completely remove them for the duration of time you intend to use to gain muscle.

The reason for this is that it won’t be to your advantage trying to speed up your already lightening quick metabolism if your goal is to gain muscle.

Lower your reps.

If you can do 30 reps of anything in a single go it’s most likely too easy for you.

As I mentioned before you need to challenge your body.

As well as being too easy, doing large numbers of reps can be very time inefficient.

That’s right, doing 500 push-ups is usually for bragging rights only.

If you can do too many reps of a particular exercise you can try to make it harder by increasing the weight you’re lifting, changing to a more difficult position, or slowing your reps.

You’ve got to go hard, use the maximum amount of weight you can carry.

Try to limit your number of reps per set to between 8 and 12 and number of sets to between 2 and 3. If you’re able to any more than 12 reps, it’s time to increase the weight.

Find your maximum lift and exceed your limits

A surprising number of people aren’t familiar with how muscle is formed.

The simple version of the explanation (or at least the version of the explanation less 6 syllable words) is that your muscles grow by repairing the microscopic tears that develop in them during rigorous exercise.

This would imply that your aim during each workout will be to work your muscles to the point of complete exhaustion.

You have to challenge yourself regularly to grow and it’s no different with your body.

Even if you start with the smallest of the weights available, if it is your max lift, stick with it and before you know it you’ll graduate to higher and higher weights.

Remember to rest big guy

As you push your muscles to their limits and beyond remember that you need to give them a break as well.

As I mentioned before, when you push your muscles to the extreme and the muscle fatigue occurs, that’s when the magic happens.

Your body sets to work repairing the muscles and this is when muscles gain mass.

Now as an ectomorph your muscle regeneration rate is the slowest of all body types.

Rest days are extremely important for you so your body has time to regenerate fully.

Another important thing to note is that you should keep your workout time to as short a period as possible.

Make them less than an hour-long or some people even say less than 45 minutes and about 3 or 4 times a week.

Aim to completely exhaust your muscles within these periods.

Sleep is more important than you’d think

Sleep and rest are similar because they are both more passive elements of your training, but they are still very important.

Muscle regeneration rate is fastest during sleep, so for your body type that has generally slow muscle regeneration time, this is very necessary.

Shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep.

Ectomorph Diet Tips

Food, food and more food.

As I mentioned before, you are blessed with the inability to gain large amounts of fats from your diet.

This is really good news if you’re someone that loves snacking throughout the day.

You should aim to load up on carbs every 3 hours or so. In direct opposition to regular gym and exercise conventions, you need not only more protein but more carbohydrates as well.

This is because of your body’s fast metabolic rate.

Be sure not to skip breakfast. You slept for between 6 and 8 hours and your body was left without nourishment during that time, so you will need to replenish.

Just don’t eat too, you can still put on fat…

Protein is very necessary

Protein intake is essential for muscle growth. As this is important, ensure that your body’s daily protein requirements are met, and then some. Chicken, fish and eggs are all readily available forms of protein.

If you’re vegan or vegetarian that is great as well. There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options.

Supplements

These are a great way to satisfy some of your protein needs as well as other dietary requirements.

Make sure that the supplier of your supplements is giving you stuff that is effective, safe for consumption with no side effects except Rippling Muscles.

In summary

Your body can work wonders for you. And with a little effort, it can assume any shape you want… within reason of course.

Begin today to make a few changes armed with the new knowledge you have about your body and in the months to come your morale will soar.

Are You An Endomorph?

The definition of an Endomorph is someone who can gain muscle and fat quickly but also loses fat slowly.

Fat for an endomorph is stored mostly in the midsection.

This means that you will have no trouble with gaining muscle, the problem comes when you are trying to lose weight.

As you have a body that naturally retains fat so going against your bodies natural inclination to store fat can be difficult.

This can create some problems like lack of muscle definition and a middle heavy frame that in today’s world holds very little aesthetic appeal.

As people are usually between two body types, the more extremely you lean to the side of an endomorph, the more the disadvantages will be pronounced.

Characteristics of an Endomorph

• Slow metabolic rate

• Large bone structure

• Short limbs

• Large Appetite

• Gains fat quickly

• Gains muscle quickly

Strengths of an Endomorph

Being an endomorph is amazing.

Coupled with the naturally larger body and stronger frame another advantage of an endomorph is that your potential for muscle growth is huge.

With proper routines and the necessary diet changes you can achieve the physique you want.  

Don’t wait for tomorrow, if you want to start sculpting your body, now is the time.

Disadvantages of an Endomorph

The disadvantage of being an endomorph is that due to your body’s tendency to retain fat, muscle definition is more difficult for you to attain.

Another problem is that your body will naturally store fat in your middle which can ruin your shape if not handled properly.

These problems can be eliminated majorly with diet changes and tweaking your exercise routines.

Finding a diet plan that is low calorie can be a hassle and is often not fun as you may be forced to cut out some of your favourite food.

This can be remedied by actively searching for food that you like that also meet your eating plan objectives.

These mistakes could be costing you dearly

As an endomorph, there are a few things you may be doing wrong from the get-go.

A good example is that you may be spending hours tramping on the treadmill desperately trying to lose fat.

It is true that aerobic exercise is a major way for you to try and shed a bit of weight; hours of steady-state cardio are not efficient.

Instead, you should be focused on high intensity interval training, box jumps or sprints.

If you are of this body type and you scared your joints will hurt, look into exercises like the sled push that are slower but just as intense.

You’re probably doing 2000 crunches a day in an attempt to shed your gut. Trying to reduce fat on one part of the body doesn’t work.

If you want to lose the fat in your middle you’ll have to lose it everywhere.

Endomorph Training Hacks

Aerobic Exercise Is Golden

Aerobic exercise is necessary because of the slow metabolism of an endomorph.

Your body burns calories slower than other body types. Therefore increase the amount of time and effort you put into aerobic exercises.

A bit of research will let you discover aerobic exercises that are conducive and convenient for you to do.

Experiment with different exercises to find something you enjoy.

A lot of sets and a lot of reps

You should aim to exhaust your muscles in at least 4 sets. Each set should be about 10 to 12 reps, if you can do more, increase the weights.

Use your maximum lift

Muscle is gained by your body repairing the microscopic tears that develop in them during rigorous exercise.

For each exercise that utilises weights (for example bicep curls or bench pressing), you should aim to choose a weight that will challenge you, a weight that you can’t lift more than 12 times in a row.

If you can lift the weight more than 12 times then it’s time to level up and choose a heavier weight.

Aim to exhaust your muscles during every workout.

Endomorph Diet Tips

Minimise your calorie intake

Fill up your plate with more vegetables and protein and drink lots of water to counteract your large appetite.

This will help you generally start to reduce your weight.

If you don’t burn more than you’re consuming you just can’t lose weight.

Get sensitive to what you’re taking in

In particular, this will require a bit of practice but the key is to condition your mind to think before you put anything in your mouth.

Learn to reject foods that aren’t good for you when they’re offered.

Go through the inventory in your house and dispose of any food that is not aiding your current diet plan.

If you notice that you like certain foods and it will cause you a lot of grief to avoid them, look for a healthy alternative.

This will help you avoid the temptation to stray from your diet and to keep your resolve strong.

Protein is essential

Fish, chicken, turkey and the like are packed full of protein.

Aside from the fact that protein is necessary for muscle formation, having it constitute a larger portion of your food will help keep you fuller for longer.

This will reduce your intake of carb-rich food

In summary

Some characteristics of the endomorph (like high amounts of belly fat) are not aesthetically pleasing.

The truth, however, is that most things require maintenance and management in order to fully attain their potential and your body is no different.

Being able to transform your harmful habits to beneficial one’s will see you achieve the results you want quicker than you thought possible.

So it’s time to stop fighting against your body type. Embrace it and work with it.

Are You A Mesomorph?

The definition of a mesomorph is someone who has finds it easy to lose fat and gain muscle. A mesomorph will have an average or a fast metabolism.

If this description tallies with you then you have this body type or at least something close, especially if you naturally have a great body shape and decent muscle mass.

The mesomorph body type is coveted by many just because of how easy it is to maintain and its aesthetic appeal.

A lot of people considered to be mesomorphs may have had tendencies that leaned towards ectomorph or endomorph and their current shape is as a result of lifestyle changes.

As a result of the mesomorph above-average metabolic rate, stripping away fat is not difficult. A little exercise can produce spectacular results.

Characteristics of a mesomorph

• Average or fast metabolic speed

• Hard rectangular shape

• Gains and loses muscle easily

• Gains and loses fat easily

• Shoulders are slightly wider than the hips

Strengths of a Mesomorph

Among the many advantages of a mesomorph is the fact that your body is easy to work with.

It is easier to manage your overall fitness and you have a naturally athletic build and it is relatively easier for you to build muscle.

Drawbacks of a Mesomorph

One of the disadvantages of being a mesomorph is that your metabolism is not as fast as an ectomorph, which means that any dietary slip-ups could make you slip in a direction you don’t want on the scales.

Probably the only other disadvantage of a mesomorph is that because their bodies tend to be aesthetically pleasing they may take their training lightly because they feel satisfied with what they have.

These mistakes could be costing you dearly

Sometimes having a good body may slow your progress mentally because you believe that you’re already better off than most.

If you have a goal though, self-motivation is extremely important. Find ways to continuously remind yourself of your goals.

You already have the potential to be an athlete and you can generally change your body very quickly.

Mesomorph Training Hacks

Balance your routine

We all know that guy who does a million bicep curls and is bench pressing all day but seems to be allergic to the gym on leg day.

Some people overwork their chest which causes a hunch in their back or have giant arms but not much in the way of chest mass. These imbalances come from having an uneven routine.

When deciding on a routine make sure it deals with all the vital muscle groups.

If you have a particular exercise you don’t like but that works for particular muscle groups, then look for alternatives.

Do moderate aerobic exercise

If you’re getting to the point in your life where you’re body stores fat in your middle(which tends to happen as you approach middle age), you may want to adopt a few aerobic exercises to combat it.

If your goal is to pack on muscle, don’t overdo the aerobics.

This is because since you find it easy to lose weight you could be losing valuable muscle mass. So if you’re goal is to gain muscle, ensure you achieve it by managing your aerobic exercises.

Increase the weight you lift

If you want to gain muscle you have to regularly challenge your muscles by choosing heavier and heavier weight but keeping the number of reps between 8 and 12 reps at 2 to 3 sets.

Rest is sacred

As you are working your body to extremely high levels it makes rest even more essential.

When you work out your goal is to exhaust your muscles and because of this, it isn’t advisable to work the same muscle on consecutive days.

Mesomorph Diet tips

Replace burnt calories

Keep the carb balance in your food steady to avoid oversupply or undersupply of carbohydrate.

However, carbs are essential because they are the body’s main energy source and they aid muscle recovery and allow your muscles glycogen stores to be ready for the next time you have to work out.

Protein is very important

As always with anything that involves muscle growth and development, protein is very necessary for muscle gain.

Chicken, fish and other protein-rich food are prime sources.

If you’re a vegetarian fear not because there are plenty of vegetarian options such as Quorn.

You can also use protein shakes adequately as a quick protein boost.

In summary

It will be easier for you to manage your body compared to the other body types and you are bustling with athletic potential.

You have what it takes to go the distance. So it’s time for you to step up to the plate and start hitting the home runs.

Here’s a Very Short Recap of Everything

Hopefully, this will summarise everything to make it easier to compare