Know Your Body Type

We all strive to get the perfect body in one shape or form.
We would like to help you understand your body type which will help improve your overall gains when trying to reach your final goal.
There are 3 different types of body compositions.

  • Ectomorph
  • Mesomorph
  • Endomorph

These different body types all react to exercise and diets in different ways, so we have to be aware of our own environment to adjust routines accordingly.
This rule cannot be set in stone as it is near on impossible for a person to be for example a total Mesomorph.
People could be either

  • Endo-Meso (Endomorphe-Mesomorph)
  • Ecto-Meso (Ectomorphe-Mesomorph)

We shall start by explaining:
Ectomorph
Ectomorphs are normally classed as hard gainers and would find they have to consume high of amounts calories to increase muscle mass due to them having a very fast metabolism, a plus side to this is they have less risk of increasing unwanted body fat and usually excel in high intensity, endurance driven sports.
The body composition of an ectomorph is normally classed as having a small skeletal structure, low body fat and viewed as a wirey muscular appearance.
We would usually see a stereotypical ectomorph excel in high impact endurance sports listed below

  • Cycling
  • Long distance running
  • Football
  • Swimming
  • Snow Boarding
  • Mountain climbing

A sports person that we can put in the class of an ectomorph athlete would be the British world champion long distance runner Mo Farah and Womens world champion Laura Radcliff.
The training style that normally suits a Ectomorph would be sessions where by the highest amount of reps would be within a 5-8 rep range with the maximum weight to their ability to gain muscular weight.
They should be incorporating heavy compound exercises such as bench press, dead lifts, squats, shoulder press and heavy barbell curls.
Reference to diet they should try and eat as much as possible of good quality food sources this can be maintained throughout due to being gifted with a fast metabolism that will aid with them not gaining unwanted bodyfat. This is where supplements are a great addition to the daily intake of calories as they can be consumed without high volumes of food.
Mesomorph
Mesomorphs are normally classed as the people we all “love to hate” due to the gift of the perfect physique.
Their body composition shows great attributes such as broad shoulders, visibally defined muscle groups, generally healthy looking and show high levels of vitality and energy.
Less exercise is required for a mesomorph to control body weight values
They will benefit from being able to enjoy their favourites foods with very little risk of gaining weight as weight management is not a problem.
Sports that are associated to a stereotypical Mesomorph are:

  • Contact Sports
  • Rugby
  • Extreme Sports
  • Powerlifting
  • Bodybuilding
  • Sprinting
  • Tennis

Sports persons we would add to this class would England rugby star Jonny Wilkinson , Olympic runner Husain Bolt and Olympic Cyclist Victoria Pendleton
A mesomorph would benefit from a high intensity style of exercise regime, such as a high rep isolation sets including heavy styled drop sets, super sets.
An example for a shoulder training session would be as follows

  • Side laterals x 1 set 25-35 reps to failure
  • Barbell shoulder press seated 1 triple drop set 8-8-8 to failure as heavy as possible
  • Rear laterals x 1 set 25-30 reps to failure
  • Barbell shoulder press seated 1 triple drop set 8-8-8 to failure as heavy as possible

Mesomorphs can get away with not having to do intense cardio sessions and would benefit from only having to do 2-3 sessions a week to maintain a quality sporting physique.
A diet for a Mesomorph can be of a wide array of food sources due to their enhanced metobolism that aids in low body fat retention and high muscle structure.
Usually they would come from a higher carb source ratio to protein and fats.
Endomorph
An endomorph is normally seen as a large boned person with a higher body fat percentage than a mesomorph.
They would have to work a lot harder to lose unwanted body fat due to their slow metabolism and varying degrees of carbohydrate sensitivity.
Endomorphs are usually very strong people and excel in short high impact sports such as ,

  • Discus throwing
  • Power lifting
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Shot Putt
  • Sumo Wrestling

A sports person we could add to this class is British Strongman Mark Felix.
Training for endomorphs would need to be of high rep and volume with a definite incorporation of regular cardio work.
Each weights session should be intense and of little rest between sets to ensure that stamina and endurance are worked throughout the session.
Their diets would be best placed to encompass very small meals but at regular intervals to ensure the metadolism is always working to break down the food sources which in turn assists in stimulating the metabolism and aiding with the burning of bodyfat.
An endomorph would need to be aware of their carb intake due to their sensitivity to it.
A typical ratio of Proteins, Carbs and Fats for an endomorph would be 50/25/25