Looking to dial in your nutrition for solid muscle gains? Supplements can help you accelerate your muscle-building results once you have your calories and training nailed down. Your answers indicate you have characteristics of both mesomorph and endomorph body types. This means you might build muscle easily, but might struggle to keep off body fat. Your answers indicate you have characteristics of both ectomorph and mesomorph body types.
The three basic human body types are the endomorph, the mesomorph, and the ectomorph. These categories, or "somatotypes," were developed in the s by psychologist William Herbert Sheldon.
And while some aspects of Sheldon's system have been debunked, contemporary research has confirmed that body type does have implications for athletic performance. For example, a study in the journal PLoS One found that mesomorph men performed better than ectomorphs on squat and bench press tests. Their conclusion was that body type could predict as much as a third of strength potential.
On the cardio side, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that combination mesomorph-ectomorphs showed the greatest ability to improve their aerobic capacity in training.
Despite what it might feel like at times, you're not completely bound to one category or the other! Research has shown that both diet and training can influence your somatotype , allowing you to change the script over time. Here's what all three body types should know to help make the most of their potential.
An ectomorph tends to be thin, and struggles to gain weight as either body fat or muscle. They can eat piles of food and stay looking the same, even when gaining muscular weight is their biggest goal. People who battle to gain muscle are often known as "hardgainers. Ectomorphs tends to have a lean build, long limbs, and small muscle bellies. Even if an ectomorph manages to put on weight, they may still look skinnier than they are, particularly in the calves and forearms. Being an ectomorph doesn't mean you're doomed to be weak, though.
You can still get remarkably strong , and you can be every bit as fit and healthy as someone who looks larger and more muscular. But if you want to gain weight, you'd better be prepared to eat like you've never eaten before. The mesomorph has a middle-of-the-road build that includes the best of both worlds.
They tend to have wide shoulders , a narrow waist, relatively thin joints, and round muscle bellies. In short, if you're a mesomorph, you have a natural tendency to be fit and relatively muscular. Does this mean you can do nothing, eat everything, and get away with it forever? Definitely not! You should still eat well and train according to your body type , but you may be able to "bounce back" from being out of shape more easily than the other two body types, gaining muscle and burning fat with comparative ease.
An endomorph tends to gain weight easily and struggle to lose it. It could have something to do with your current body type. But is it really that simple? You can also find more information about this topic and many others like it within our online nutrition classes. Body type , or somatotype, refers to the idea that there are three generalized body compositions that people are predetermined to have. The concept was theorized by Dr.
Sheldon back in the early s, naming the three somatotypes endomorph , mesomorph , and ectomorph. According to Sheldon, endomorphs have bodies that are always rounded and soft, mesomorphs are always square and muscular, and ectomorphs are always thin and fine-boned. The theory that personality is determined by body composition has been wholly abandoned by the psychological community. Additionally, we know that no one is hopelessly predetermined to either be fat, muscular, or thin as a lifelong consequence of prenatal development.
What makes our bodies what they are is an absolutely vast array of environmental and social influences, genetic variations, geographic locations, and personal decisions across the entire lifespan. So then why are we even discussing this topic?
Because while the notion of a predetermined body composition looks far-fetched through a 21 st century lens, many of the physiological markers and observations associated with each somatotype do actually exist in the greater population.
No one exists within purely one somatotype; instead, we are all constantly in flux and fall uniquely on a spectrum somewhere between all three. The observable somatotype represents the current sum of their physical, dietary, and lifestyle choices up to that point in time, combined with a variety of uncontrollable factors influenced by both genetics and the surrounding environment.
For example, at one extreme end of the spectrum, a person who has easy access to high-quality food, makes habitually healthy diet choices, is free of chronic disease, and consistently trains at progressively higher intensities will always have a more functional, muscular, and leaner body composition.
But remember, a body type is not a life sentence. If it were, personal trainers , health coaches , and nutrition coaches would all be out of jobs. The fitness industry, at its core, is all about helping people learn to use tools they can control i.
Body type will shift based on lifestyle, activity, and diet modifications. Someone on the DASH diet will have a different composition than someone who doesn't have a diet preference.
This notion is made clear when looking at average physiques of elite athletes in different sports, where consistent training and diet standards lead to similar average body compositions grouped across the somatotype spectrum. Just to reiterate, a body type is not a life sentence. Just like a body mass index range isn't a clearcut indication that someone is obese or underweight. There are many metrics at work. Research continues to prove that physical training and consistent, habitual changes to the diet have a strong influence on improving body composition.
Metabolic conditions such as hyper- or hypothyroidism are fully within the realm of modern medicine to manage and improve, and chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes are manageable and can even be remedied in many cases through improvements to diet and exercise routines.
Similarly, if you want to start a weightlifting program, first measure up how fit you are for strength training. You will need some equipment, for example, a stopwatch, weights, bicycle, or skipping rope. This will vary depending on what exercise program you want to start. Nevertheless, most importantly, you will need a fitness instructor to help in identifying your fitness levels. To measure aerobic fitness, your trainer will target your heart rate zone.
They will determine how fast your heart pounds while engaging in aerobic activity. They will also take into account factors such as your age and the intensity of your activity. They will target a heart rate zone of 98 to if you are aged 25 4.
As you go up this age ladder, they will reduce their heart rate zone. For example, if you are 45 years, they will target 88 to beats in a minute. The sample above is one of the ways you can measure if you are athletic enough to take on aerobic activities. The method may change depending on your interested exercise program.
For example, if you choose muscular strength exercises, your fitness will be determined by how many reps you complete. Again, age will also play an integral role in determining how athletic you are.
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Getting a male or female athletic body type is achievable. However, you must be ready to put in some work and break your back, especially if you have the endomorph body type. Here are tips that can help you get this muscular physique:. Before you start working towards an athletic body type, you need to first determine your current body shape.
Such knowledge will help you understand what to work on to help in attaining this desired body shape. Likewise, this will help you figure out what exercises work best for you 2. You may break your back with some exercises and end up getting no results. This happens when you do not understand your body shape as well as what works best for it. You are advised to seek professional help when it comes to figuring out exercise programs to help you become athletic. This may save you from weeks, hours or months of doing the wrong exercises.
One thing you will notice in the fitness world is that fitness and diet go hand in hand. You will only attain favorable fitness results when you also improve your diet. This means nutrition is key and by necessity need to seek the services of an accredited nutritionist or dietitian.
Usually, these professionals will ask you about your fitness goals. In our case, the goal is getting an athletic body. Your goals help them craft practical meal plans that promote results aligning with your fitness goals. Below are more comprehensive diet tips for those of you who are looking to get an athletic body type:. They are their primary fuel 1. They are converted into glucose in the body and stored in your muscles as glycogen.
Glycogen is the component that is converted into energy whenever you exercise. As such, carbs should never be missed in your meal plan. Talk to your nutritionist to learn what carbohydrates you need to add to your diets and still consume enough calories. They tend to have a lankier, more wiry build and a fast metabolism , and they struggle to put on muscle. Marsac says ectomorphs should emphasize protein and carbohydrate intake in their diet to support muscle growth. Byrne says that the lean, lanky build of ectomorphs, combined with their naturally higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, means they tend to excel at aerobic exercise and may favor low-intensity steady-state , or LISS, cardio workouts like jogging, cycling, and elliptical trainers.
Byrne says ectomorphs should prioritize strength training to build muscle and keep cardio intensity low to limit caloric expenditure. Byrne recommends two to three 40—60 minute LISS workouts per week, which may include jogging, cycling, swimming, or hiking, to name a few, as long as the intensity is kept relatively low. Marsac specifies that this strength training should be focused on muscle hypertrophy. Mesomorphs have a naturally athletic build and tend to put on muscle rather easily.
Carbohydrates should be increased for those requiring more stamina and endurance, like runners, rowers, or cyclists, and fat should be increased for individuals participating in powerlifting and strength competitions for strength support. The naturally muscular build of mesomorphs tends to make them very responsive to strength training.
Marsac adds that a balanced program of strengthening and conditioning exercise is ideal and says that mesomorphs can benefit from some more targeted moves. Because of this, our experts suggest that people should consider their body type when making diet and training decisions, but should not become restrained by it, since body types can change over time to some extent. Somatotype, Diet and Nutritional Status of Women. Anthropological Review. Physical Education of Students. Thank you [email] for signing up.
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