Ectomorph, Mesomorph, and Endomorph
There are three universally-recognized body types:
Most good rock climbers are ectomorphs
- Ectomorphs are slender, small-boned, and skinny – they don’t carry much muscle or fat on their frames. Their small muscles are probably of the slow-twitch fiber type. They excel at endurance activities like long-distance running or rock-climbing.
- Mesomorphs are the classic athletic type – they exhibit the “greek god” body shape and have no trouble adding muscle mass to their well-built frames. They are all-around good athletes who excel at the Olympic decathlon events.
- Endomorphs tend to be rotund – they have thick, sturdy skeletons and they usually carry a substantial amount of fat. Their muscles consist predominately of fast-twitch fiber. They make good powerlifters and defensive linemen in American Football.
In the mid-20th century, researchers tried to use body type – or somatotype – as a way of predicting a person’s predisposition to certain psychological traits. Their conclusions are still with us in the form of stereotypes: the happy, jolly Endomorph, the dumb jock Mesomorph, and the smart but nerdy Ectomorph. Although most of this pseudo-science has now been debunked, the jargon remains.
Greek gods are mesomorphs
Developmental biology – the study of how undifferentiated fetal cells separate themselves into different structures in the body – is the least-understood field in the biological sciences. In the mid-50′s, the behavioral psychologist W. H. Sheldon learned of the work being done in developmental biology. He and others used it to lend legitimacy to their own unproven (and possibly baseless) theories about how personality is defined by somatotype.
Eventually, it became fashionable to classify everyone by perceived body type. This had the feel of scientific truth, even though it was based not on provable science but on unprovable philosophy. Writers of articles in popular publications were quick to seize upon these new-age theories; they introduced the jargon into the popular consciousness.
These days, bodybuilders and others who are involved with weight training will immediately size you up by body type. It’s clear that most of us fit into a readily-defined somatotype. What’s not so clear is what it means for your training and diet, if anything.
Should body type dictate your style of training?
Some people find it easy to bulk up and add quality muscle mass. Others have a terrible time keeping the fat off or losing weight. If you spend a significant amount of time on this website, you probably eat like a horse but fail to gain weight. You’re probably an Ectomorph.
Defensive linemen are endomorphs
Is it possible to change your body type? No, there’s nothing you can do about your body type. What you can do is to learn from the people who have succeeded despite the things that hold them back.
As a skinny guy who has trouble bulking up – an Ectomorph – you don’t need to worry about gaining excess fat while you are on a bulking diet. In fact, many Ectomorphs use the “see food” diet – they eat everything they can see.
Skinny guys who want to add muscle mass need to increase their calories past the point where Mesomorphs or Endomorphs would get fat on a similar diet. Additionally, skinny Ectomorphs need to lift heavy weights while always keeping in mind the principle of overload. It is not sufficient to lift weights; as an Ectomorph you must continually challenge yourself with more weight than you are accustomed to lifting. If your workout does not feature overload and progression, you will fail to gain muscle mass. Ectomorphs can’t work out as frequently as Mesomorphs. Make sure you get enough rest and recovery.
To summarize, there are three things an Ectomorph must do to gain muscle mass:
- Eat big – shovel the calories into your body and force yourself to gain a pound of body weight per week.
- Lift heavy – always challenge yourself with more weight or intensity. If you don’t get stronger, you will burn calories without bulking up.
- Take adequate recovery time – reduce your cardio so the calories you consume go towards building muscle mass.
Don’t worry about your body type
Concentrate on making progress. If you let your body type worry you, you are wasting energy thinking about something that you can’t change. Like the old-time gamblers used to say: you have to play the hand you’re dealt.
If this article helped you, help us by "liking" or "+1" to spread the word!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
what a piece of advice for me and my buddies.this is what a guy of late twenties like me need.my weight is less than 60kg today.i promise to make a change after reading through your article.watch out kim is coming to hit the 75kgmark very soon.
Finally, some advice that fits. Im so sick of reading generic internet crap helping the 2 larger body types.
Im mid twenties and 58kg and quite tall, so, obviously very skinny.
Ive been trying to gain weight since I was 16! Hopefully this is work!
Thank you!
Hi,
The writer doesn’t know the basics of ectomorph workout
mistakes of ectomorph workout
1.Lift heavy
2.working more than 50 min
Wow, thanks dude! I guess my website is complete now!
Hi,
I’m having a hard time figuring out what body type I am, and what approach to take to bulking up. I figure I’m an ectomorph, since my limbs and chest are quite skinny and don’t gain much muscle despite training quite hard. But what I don’t understand is why I have so much fat on my stomach and it always looks bloated – almost like a beer belly. Does that make me an endomorph???
I’m 29 yrs old and have been weight training 6 months, and have completely changed to a healthy high protien diet for that duration.
Ben
Ben, I think I fall into somewhat of the same camp. I think this is what an ectomorph skinny kid turns into in his late twenties and early thirties after years of a sedentary lifestyle, and his metabolism slowing down somewhat without his appetite or diet changing! I don’t think one’s basic body type can really change that much in one’s life (and going from ectomorph to endomorph would require a change in your overall frame size, not just your fat deposits).
What has been working for me is a set workout routine 3X/week. It begins with an active dynamic warmup (jog around a track while performing some calisthenics and active stretches), then lifting weights in a progressive pattern. I’m nowhere near being comfortable with doing “5×5″ now, but I do a light 8 rep warmup set (say, for front squats), followed by 4 sets of 6, increasing weights with each set. I do several different exercises (front squats, back squats, bench press, incline press, deadlift, dumbbell lunges, rows, etc.), switching up which ones I do each day. We can’t do “Olympic-style” lifting at our gym, as it’s prohibited (presumably to protect the floors and people’s health who don’t know how to do them correctly). So, for explosive, whole-body work, we use squats, deadlifts, and step-ups with weight. Walking dumbbell lunges are surprisingly effective and really get your heart rate up.
Then I move on to do some abs and back exercises (including pushups, pullups, knee-ups) before a brief cardio cooldown (generally a 5 minute jog-down-to-walk), and some careful, extensive stretching for about 10 minutes. I have increased my strength from having difficulty with squatting or bench-pressing the bar, to lifting 95 pounds for multiple sets, in a matter of one month. Obviously, I’m not saying I’m super-strong now, by any means, but then, I’m a small dude, and I have seen a noticeable improvement in my core strength and in my energy level, as well as my waistline, which is returning to a more “classical” V-shape — 38″ chest, 30″ waist). My goals aren’t necessarily to become huge, like many others on this site, from what I gather, but rather to focus on building a certain level of usable strength, and to keep a healthy and sustainable level of physical activity.
I’d like to hear Thomas’ thoughts on this, too, but I thought I’d share my experience as being in somewhat of a similar boat.
-K