Knowing your Body Type (Are you an Ectomorph, Mesomorph, or Endomorph?)

Fitness goals! Most people definitely have one. Some want to gain weight, some want to lose, and others want to maintain it. And why not? You probably want to look better, you have a desire to look unique and perfect, or you want to lead a longer and higher quality of life. 

According to your shape and body structure, you may be categorized as an ectomorph, mesomorph, or an endomorph. These are the 3 principal body types. Your body type is completely based on your genetics. But that doesn't mean that you can't change your body type. 

Bringing a little variation in your lifestyle can definitely help you achieve the fitness/weight goals you're trying to reach. 

What is your body type? 

↠Ectomorph. If you're body is thin and lanky with a small bone structure, you fall in this category. Ectomorphs have really fast and high metabolism. Which is why, whatever they eat won't help them gain any weight. 

        Some examples are Brad Pitt, Bruce Lee, Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, and Kareena Kapoor.  

↠Mesomorph. People in this group are generally sporty looking. Their bodies are athletic and muscular. Their aim is to lean up, gain muscle, and lose fat. 

         Some examples of celebrities who are mesomorphs are Chris Hemsworth, Hrithik Roshan and Janet Jackson. 

↠Endomorph. If you're more of a couch potato and want to lose weight and gain muscle mass, you are an endomorph. Losing weight is a struggle for you. But don't worry, in this post I'll give out all the necessary pointers to keep in mind that will help you shed off extra fats.

          Some examples of celebrities who are endomorphs are Dwayne Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, amd Beyonce.

There might be chances that you may not belong to a specific category and are a mixture of two categories. These categories are ecto-mesomorph, endo-mesomorph, and ecto-endomorph. 

↠Ecto-mesomorph. People who belong to this category are lean and muscular.

↠Endo-mesomorph. People in this category are strong. But their muscles aren't as well defined. 

↠Ecto-endomorph. People who fall under this category are typically what others call "skinny fat". They are naturally thin but because of sheer laziness, these people become fat. Their reason for gaining weight is lack of exercise. 

Training and Diet for all Body Types

1. Ectomorph

• Training

As an ectomorph, your chief focus is to gain muscle mass. For this keep the following things on mind: 

• Focus on Resistance/Strength Training. 
• Limit cardio and endurance training. 
• Your main focus is to gain strength. For this, you need to have hypertrophy. Hypertropy means to increase reps while decreasing intensity. 
• Lift heavier weights than usual. For this do less reps of an exercise you're doing. Take longer rest between sets. 
• Focus on doing compound movements. Compound exercises are exercises that work several muscle groups at the same time. 

Exercises that you should do are squats, lunges, bench presses, pull ups, dead lifts, and push ups. 

Training sessions. 

• Resistance Training: 3 to 4 times weekly
• Short cardio sessions: 10 to 20 minutes, 2 times weekly 
• These cardio sessions should be treated as warm up as it helps improves stamina and cardiovascular health. 

• Diet

Here are a few things to keep in mind as an ectomorphs for the perfect meal planning and diets. 

• Eat 700 to 1000 calories more than you burn in a day. 
• The meal must include high carbs, moderate protein and low fat. Thus, each meal should have 50% carbs, 30% proteins, and 20% fats.  
• You must eat more frequently, preferably after every 2 to 4 hours. 

2. Mesomorphs 

• Training

Mesomorphs are generally strong. Their main aim is to gain muscle mass, lose fat, maintain weight and stay lean. The three considerable workout types to keep in mind for these people are Strength Training, Hypertrophy, and Endurance Training.  

• Strength Training and Hypertrophy is to be done 3 to 4 times a week. Whereas, you must go for HIIT as cardio 2 to 3 times weekly. 

• Diet

As a mesomorph, you must considerthe following points in your diet. 

• 35% carbs, 35% protein, 30% fats. 
• If you're looking forward to shed a few pounds, lessen the intake of carbs and fats from your diet only by a few calories. 

3. Endomorphs 

• Training

Make sure to follow these guidelines for your workouts. 

• You're main aim is to lose weight. For this, you must stay active all day. 
• You must increase cardio and Resistance Training. 
• A little endurance too is good as this increases the metabolic rate and helps to shed fat. 
• You're aim is to develop that fat into muscle mass. 

• Training sessions 

• Try going for strength training 2 to 3 times weekly. 
• Make sure not to take longer breaks during sets and reps. This will lead your heart rate being elevated at all times. 
• Lift moderate weights which aren't too heavy so that it's easier to keep going and not stopping between sets. 
• Do more compound movements. In this way, you'll be moving more muscle groups at the same times. 
• Give importance to interval and strength training. 

Endurance Training

• 30 to 60 minutes a day 
• This can be done any way. You can ensure to do this through a light walk, light jog, biking, biking or a swim. 
• Do an HIIT workout at least once a week. 
• Keep one day for rest and recovery. 

• Diet

• Lower your carb tolerance 
• For this, limit your carbs. 
• Thus  your meal should consist of 20% carbs, 45% proteins, 35% fats. 
• In most cases, overweight or obese people do well on keto diets. Consult a dietician for the same. 
• Some starchy foods that may be included in your meals are rice, whole grains, quinoa, barley, potatoes etc. These foods are to be consumed post workout. 
• The diet must be protein dense, fat dense, and must contain vegetables. 
• You should eat 500 to 700 calories less than you burn in a day. This is your TDEE (Total Daily Calorie Expenditure). 

This was all for today. Hope you had a great time knowing about your body type, your diet plans, and training. 

Make sure to write about what your body type is in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!