Which body type are you?

If you are dutifully plodding along to the gym, doing a cookie cutter program from a magazine or website, eating well, you might be overlooking a factor that will have a pretty big effect on your success in the gym - your body type. Thats right, your body's basic shape and traits will have pros and cons when it comes to bulking up and slimming down.

This overview will give you an idea of how to tailor your training, nutrition and supplements to maximise results.

There are 3 body types:

•  ectomorph - the skinny guy, the hard gainer.
•  endomorph - the chunky guy, the hard loser.
• mesomorph - The lucky guy, hard luck to the rest of us

Here's a look at the pros and cons of each...

 

ECTOMORPH

An ectomorph is a typical skinny guy, this is the guy who can eat all day and their super fast metabolism burns through it all like wildfire. Generally ectos have a smaller build with small joints and lean muscle.Usually they will be long limbed with narrow shoulders. Think Will Smith or Angelina Jolie ( although in my opinion she has gone way too skinny recently...)

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Pros of being a hard gainer:

Fast metabolism
Can lose fat very quickly

Cons of said hard gainer:

Hard gainer
Narrower shoulders
Hard to gain weight
Smaller bone structure
Fast metabolism (thats right, I put it in both, gift and a curse!)

Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain weight. They have a fast metabolism which burns up calories very quickly meaning we need a huge amount of calories in order to gain weight. Workouts should be short and intense focusing on big muscle groups. Cardio can be cut back as gaining weight is difficult enough.
I would definitely recommend supplements.  Generally, ectomorphs can lose fat very easily which makes cutting back to lean muscle easier for them.

MESOMORPH

A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique. Mesomorphs make for great body builders, their natural shape and ability to put on muscle is a great place to start! They find it quite easy to gain and lose weight. They tend to be naturally strong which is the perfect base for building muscle.

Think Daniel Craig or Gabrielle Reece.

Pros of being a mesomorph:
Naturally athletic in shape
Strong
Gain muscle easily

Cons of being a mesomorph:
Gains fat easily
Need to watch their calorie intake 

The mesomorph body type responds the best to weight training with gains usually seen very quickly, especially for beginners. The downside to mesomorphs is they gain fat more easily than ectomorphs. This means they must watch their calorie intake. Usually a combination of weight training and cardio works best for mesomorphs.

ENDOMORPH

The endomorph body type is stockier and generally soft. Endomorphs gain fat easily and are usually of a shorter build with thick arms and legs. Generally they are strong, especially the upper legs, usually are naturally strong in leg exercises like the squat.

Think  Russell Crowe or Dita Von Teese

Pros of being an Endomorph:

Usually naturally strong
Gain muscle easily


Cons of being an endomorph:
Gains fat easily
Shorter limbs
Harder to drop fat
Slow metabolism

When it comes to training endomorphs find it very easy to gain weight. Unfortunately, a large portion of this weight is fat not muscle. To keep fat gain to a minimum, endomorphs should watch their calorie intake and train cardio as well as weights. Supplements may not be needed as long as the person has a high protein intake in their diet.


There it is, a basic look at body types.These are general guides to somatotypes and you may find that you are a mix of two. But if you are aware of your body type and know what the pros and cons are then you know how to tailor your training and nutrition to maximise your results.

And remember that regardless of your body type, your genetics won't hold you back from an awesome body if you take care of your nutrition and train hard!

Stay healthy.