Different Body Types

Understanding Your Body Type

Once you start getting into your healthier lifestyle you will start to learn new things about your body. This can be beneficial along your journey because lets face it the more knowledgeable you are about something you will be more effective in making adaptations to it. One thing that can help a lot is knowing what body type you have. Body types can be broken down into three categories: ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. Knowing the difference between the three can help with your training as well as your nutrition. This is not hard to determine, there's no secret test you need to take or certain measurements you need to make, you can determine your body type just by looking at your own body. Everybody is different so something that may work for your friend sometimes won't work for you just because of your different body types.

The Three Body Types:

Ectomorph

Also commonly know as a "hard gainer".. An ectomorph is someone that normally has a slim look meaning they have smaller wrists/ ankles, long limbs, and narrow shoulders. Now for those who are an ectomorph can become pretty frustrated especially when trying to build up muscle mass. Usually ectomorphs have longer limbs, longer limbs equal longer muscles. Why does this affect putting weight on? Well basically with longer muscles it can become challenging to put on any noticeable size since the muscle is stretched out. One way I like to think about it is if you take a balloon the one that is long and skinny and try and blow it up sure its going to grow but if you put the same amount of air in a shorter round balloon it will look like theres more size to it because the air is just dispensed over a shorter length opposed to the first one. Make sense?  Trust me I've been there and still am trying to get over it. Now what does this mean for your training and nutrition? Well since an ectomorph's body is stubborn to put any weight you need to constantly shock the muscle, you can do this by varying the rep ranges, number of sets, and number of exercises. If you are training a muscle group twice a week you could try focusing on lower reps/ higher weight on the first day to focus on strength then for the second workout for the week primarily focus on muscle hypertrophy (muscle building) with higher reps (8-12) and a lower weight. However if you're not following a training split that calls for hitting a muscle twice a week theres always the option of alternating between building strength one week and working on muscle hypertrophy the next. As far as nutrition is involved since ectomorphs can be a hard gainer some calorie calculators that are available online will come up with a number of calories you need to consume to put on weight but since their metabolism is burning so fast in some cases you may want to look at adding around 300 extra calories on top of that given number. 

Endomorph

An endomorph can be described as a shorthand stocky figure. Endomorphs tend to have thicker joints, wider hips, a "softer" appearance, and shorter limbs compared to an ectomorph. For endomorphs it can be easier to put weight on but a bit more challenging to lower their body fat percentage. As far as training with an endomorph body type it is recommended to do more cardio training along with weight training. Unlike an ectomorph and endomorph would benefit more with their nutrition if they keep an eye on their caloric intake so they can build muscle but avoid putting on excessive fatty tissue since they have a slower metabolism.    

Mesomorph

Mesomorphs can be considered as having an athletic "rectangular" look. What I mean by this is they have broader shoulders, a narrow waist, and thinner joints. However they can still gain fat faster than an ectomorph they can still put more muscle on faster. Since they have a slow metabolism they can put on fat easier than an ectomorph, they will also need to watch their caloric intake so they can find the sweet spot to build up muscle while keeping a low body fat percentage. Mesomorph's can make gains easier and their body types respond best to weightlifting. Mesomorphs don't necessarily have to shock the muscle as much as an ectomorph would since they can make gains easier and since they have a natural defined look with long and round muscle bellies cardio won't be as essential in their training as an endomorph. 

Now that you know the three main body types you can apply your knowledge to your own body to figure out which category you fall under and try and apply it to your fit life. For instance if your a ectomorph who does a bunch of cardio in a day and is wondering why the heck you aren't putting on any weight try cutting back a bit or if you are a endomorph and can't seem to get that defined look you want try looking into your nutrition and throw in some more cardio into your training. I hope this helps! Enjoy :)
Ronnie Vercruyssen,
"Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up"- Rocky Balboa