How your body type affects your results
Being aware of your body type can be a very useful tool. It can help to guide your training and nutrition so that you have a greater perception of what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
[ Read time: 4 min ]
Being aware of your body type can be a very useful tool. It can help to guide your training and nutrition so that you have a greater perception of what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
Ecto, Endo and Meso morphs aren’t types of power rangers. They are terms used to describe a person’s body type. This includes their skeletal and muscular frame as well as the ability to build muscle and lose fat. Everyone reacts differently to training and food, and to a certain extent this is affected by their body type.
Here we describe the 3 main body types and break down general guidelines on how to train and eat in order to more effectively hit this goal:
Goal: To build a strong, lean and athletic physique.
[These tips are related to this particular goal and do not necessarily apply to more specific goals that might leverage the genetic advantages of each body type.]
Ectomorph: (Hard Gainer)
The ectomorph is your typical ‘I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight’ type of person. They have a thinner more delicate frame with lean body mass. Ectomorphs rarely gain too much fat but also struggle to gain muscle. Ectomorphs have a naturally fast metabolism and as a result can have a flat stomach 2 hours after eating a feast! Depending on what your goals are, this body type can be a blessing or a ‘curse’.
How to train:
Lift heavy weights using compound style lifts (eg. deadlifts, squats and bench press). This produces micro-tears in a larger proportion of muscle which stimulates a higher production of testosterone which leads to faster muscle growth.
Minimise cardio to 30 minutes, 3 times per week.
How to eat:
Increase carbohydrate and overall calorie intake.
Eat nutrient dense foods.
Examples of good carb sources: brown rice, sweet potato, oats, bananas, mangoes.
Mesomorph: (Muscular)
Mesomorphs have a naturally more athletic build. As a baseline, they tend to have a muscular physique, a larger frame and can gain muscle more easily than ectomorphs. Although they are blessed with the ability to gain muscle, mesomorphs will also gain fat more easily too. With an average metabolism, Mesomorphs lie right in the middle. You’ll see mesomorphs in the AFL, excelling in CrossFit games and competing in BodyBuilding competitions.
How to train:
Resistance training with a mixture of heavy and lighter loads. Stimulate growth through a variety of strength training.
Focus on cardio and high intensity training 3 times per week to negate the slight tendency to gain fat.
How to eat:
Balanced meals with relatively even amounts of carbs and protein.
Endomorph: (Stocky)
Endomorphs tend to be naturally heavier with a wide frame and a higher fat to muscle ratio. You’ll often see this body type in power lifters, wrestlers and field sports that require a high power-output such as shot put and discus. Endomorphs have a slow metabolism and as a result. Whilst they have the potential to gain large amount of muscle and power, they also gain fat quite easily too. Fat loss tends to be slower for this body type also.
How to train:
Frequent weight training 4-5 times per week at a moderate intensity to aid in maintaining a higher metabolic rate. Building more muscle is the priority as this will increase the base metabolic rate (the minimum amount of energy required to sustain the individual human body) and hence reduce the chance of storing and gaining fat.
Compound lifts that recruit the most amount of muscle (eg. squats, deadlifts and bench press) will give you the opportunity to develop the large amounts of power your body type is built for.
2-3 cardio sessions per week.
How to eat:
Moderately lower carbohydrate intake with higher protein and healthy fats.
This will help build muscle, limit fat gains but still provide you with energy to train hard.
Don’t feel ‘trapped’ in your body type!
As well as genetics, your lifestyle and training style over time effects your body type and this can be changed as you adapt to meet your specific goals.Everyone is different. Even though you might have a particular body type – your body might respond completely differently to a particular diet and training program. The key is to try, assess and adapt. Find the program is that tailoured to you.
If you’re looking for a bit more guidance on how you can train to suit your body type, give us a call on 1800 446 464 or email us at hello@getgoingpt.com.au – we are more than happy to help!
Make healthy lifestyle changes by choosing from our variety of fitness services which include one on one personal training, couples personal training, small group fitness personal training, group workout sessions, corporate personal training & workout, corporate fItness program, virtual personal training, nutritional planning, and personalised exercise plans.
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