Are you aware of your body type? In the 1940s, Dr. William H. Sheldon introduced the theory of somatotypes. He described three body types; ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. Most people fall in between two of these descriptions. This article may give you an understanding as to why it’s hard for you to gain muscle mass or lose fat.

ECTOMORPH

* Referred to as the “Banana”

* Fragile Body

* Flat Chest

* Lean

* Lightly Muscled

* Narrow Shoulders

* Takes Longer to Gain Muscle

MESOMORPH

* Referred to as an “Hourglass” (Female) or “Rectangle” (Male)

* Hard Body

* Athletic

* Muscular

* Gains Muscle Easily

* Wide Shoulders

* Gains Fat Easier Than Ectomorphs

ENDOMORPH

* Referred to as the “Apple”

* Soft Body

* Wide Waist

* Underdeveloped Muscles

* Round Physique

* Weight Loss is Difficult

* Gains Muscle Easily

As you might have guessed, there are typical stereotypes associated with each body type. Endomorphs are usually viewed as sloppy and lazy. Mesomorphs are seen as strong, and popular. Ectomorphs are thought to be intelligent, but weak. Once you identify which body type you are, you can use that information to your advantage, when creating a diet or workout plan.

If you’re an ectomorph, you want to start off slow and increase intensity gradually. Keep your workouts under an hour, and use proper form. Otherwise there’s a good chance that you’ll over-train and/or injure yourself. Be sure to eat a lot and keep your calorie intake up. Chances are, you have a high metabolism and you don’t have to worry much about keeping the fat off. Focus more on lifting weights, and less on cardio.

Since endomorphs have trouble losing fat, it’s a good idea to stick to a strict diet. Include a lot of cardio in your routine. Depending on your goals, you could choose to lose the fat first, and then put on some muscle, or you could try to do both right from the start. In general, you shouldn’t have too much trouble building muscle mass.

You could say mesomorphs are lucky. They gain muscle easily, and don’t have much trouble losing fat. People with this body type can handle high intensity and high frequency workouts. Their goal should be to try to balance their diet and workout. Continue to build or maintain their muscle mass while losing excess fat (if any).

There are certain aspects of your body type that you can’t change, such as your bone structure. However, you can work towards gaining muscle and losing fat so that you appear to be stronger, more athletic, and healthier. What body type are you? Are you happy with your body? Do you stereotype other body types? What do you do to change your body? I’m somewhere in between an ectomorph, and a mesomorph. If I don’t eat 4+ meals a day and workout to build muscle mass, I become very thin, and my shoulders stoop down. On the other hand, when I do have the muscle mass, people comment all the time about how athletic I look. The advantage to being slightly ectomorphic…year round abs, and an easily attained v-shaped back.

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