ECTOMORPH

• Narrow hips and clavicles
• Small joints (wrist/ankles)
• Thin build
• Stringy muscle bellies
• Long limbs

MESOMORPH

• Wide clavicles
• Narrow waist
• Thinner joints
• Long and round muscle bellies

ENDOMORPH

• Blocky
• Thick rib cage
• Wide/thicker joints
• Hips as wide (or wider)
  than clavicles
• Shorter limbs

THE ECTOMORPH:

This is a common body type which is characterized by a thin build with relatively little muscle and fat as well. Persons with this body type have a tough time gaining any kind of weight, muscle or fat. Also, for most cases this body type is not able to take a high amount of athletic/training stress (i.e. Heavy amounts of weight training, cardio etc.).

The only real advantage to this body type is the minimal fat gain that one will experience while trying to put on muscle because for most cases this body type has a high metabolism.

2THE ENDOMORPH:

This is the opposite of the Ectomorph, that is a body type which is more large and rounded body. Usually the fat levels are high but these people do carry a bit more muscle than the Ectomorphs.

The Endomorph usually has trouble losing weight, particularly fat. However they have an easier time gaining muscle as well as fat, which is a downside. Most people in this type have a slow metabolism, hence their high body fat percentage.

3THE MESOMORPH:

This is the best of both worlds. These people are athletic and are characterized by a muscular frame with relatively low amounts of body fat. They don’t have much trouble losing fat and at the same time they can gain muscle easily. They too like the Ectomorph have a higher metabolism that keeps their fat levels in check.

Before I get into the workouts let me say this – It is possible to change your body type. However here’s the catch: It takes tremendous amounts of work. For example an Ectomorph with consistent training and good meal planning can become a Mesomorph.

I’m sure you’ve seen it, the skinny freshman who leaves grade 12 as a muscle beast. Or more commonly the overweight and obese people who have achieved a fat loss resolution. So keep in mind, you’re not “stuck” in your body type forever.

WORKOUT DESIGN

HOW CAN YOU DESIGN A WORKOUT ACCORDING TO YOUR BODY TYPE? BE SPECIFIC.

When designing a workout for your body type, there are a few main points that you have to consider, which I will list in each category. If you don’t keep these things in mind, your workout regimen may be counterproductive.

TRAINING FOR THE ECTOMORPH:

This is probably the hardest training program to design. I don’t want to discourage these people but there aren’t a whole lot of things going your way if this is your body type, so yes you will have to be patient and train hard. So let’s look at what we have to consider for the Ectomorph:

Looking at those points, it paints an ugly picture. To gain muscle, it’s obvious that you must workout with intensity and frequency. But this body type is not good at handling any of those! Therefore these are a few key points you have to keep in mind when designing a workout:

1THE KEY IS STARTING OFF SLOWLY:

The key to training an Ectomorph is starting off slowly as much of a pain as this seems. Trying to increase intensity and frequency faster won’t work, you’ll end up either being overtrained, burned out mentally or frustrated.

As a matter of fact overtraining might even result in reduced muscle mass and strength. Plus each time you do not succeed it lowers your confidence about being able to gain some decent muscle. Also do not add more sets than necessary for your workout. Doing so will not increase gains. Each progressive set decreases in intensity since you get more fatigued, therefore

2WHEN STARTING OFF, KEEP IT SIMPLE:

If you’re starting off, then keep it simple. I can remember how many times I’ve said this but complicated programs don’t mean they are “good.” If you over complicate things then you’re more likely to make mistakes and try the wrong training methods.

3KEEP WORKOUTS UNDER ONE HOUR:

This helps an Ectomorph in two ways. First of all it prevents overtraining which is a very important factor. Training over one hour increases the chances of overtraining since it taxes the recovery systems so much and adds unnecessary stress to the body.

Secondly, 30-45 minute workouts are more intensive since more is being done in less time. For example if I had 20 sets to do, and I did them in 30 minutes as opposed to one hour, that 30-minute training session will be more intensive. This will in turn help better promote muscular hypertrophy.

4CHANGING THE EXERCISES:

Changing the exercises is another key point to increase hypertrophy. If you keep the same workout for over 2 months, it is likely your body will adapt to those exercises. In this case you will hit a plateau and all your hard work will be in vain because you won’t be making nearly as much progress as when you initially started.

5CONSISTENCY:

Keep a consistent schedule. This is probably one of the best things you can do to increase your likelihood of gaining more muscle. If you keep missing workouts, then you will never train your body to handle the stress of weights.

In essence, you won’t ever be able to handle the higher intensities of more advanced and better programs. As well, if you keep missing workouts, you won’t be training your recovery systems. This is important if you’re trying to increase your workout frequency without overtraining.

6FORM, FORM, FORM:

OK, this requires that you let ego go. Even if it means your curling eight points to keep good form and technique. The thing is Ectomorphs are generally weak and have little muscle mass. Therefore, if you load up the weight and start curling and arching your back like a bridge, you’re WAY more likely to get injuries and muscular problems down the road. Weaker muscles have a greater chance of getting injured, you should already know that.

SAMPLE PROGRAM:

Here’s a sample program to get you all started:

So here is what the program will help you do:

The program will consist of:

WEEKS 1-4:

TRAINING SPLIT:

* Quick Note: You might be saying, where is the workout for the arms? I recently learned less than 5 percent of your muscle is in your arms. For the Ectomorph were trying to gain as much muscle as possible without increasing workout frequency too much.

Does it really make sense to add in another workout just for your arms, which has less than 5 percent of your total muscle? If you’re an Ectomorph trying to gain muscle, I’m assuming you’re not a professional bodybuilder, therefore workouts for the arms aren’t terribly important. Beside, your arms will be worked when you do chest, back and shoulders. I’ve seen people with fantastic results who don’t have a separate workout for their arms.

MONDAY – LEGS, LOWER BACK

 

THURSDAY – SHOULDERS, ABDOMINALS

 

SATURDAY – CHEST, UPPER BACK

WEEKS 5-6

TRAINING SPLIT:

MONDAY – LEGS, LOWER BACK

WEDNESDAY – SHOULDERS, TRAPS

FRIDAY – LOWER BACK, ABDOMINALS

SATURDAY – CHEST, UPPER BACK

WEEKS 9-12:

TRAINING SPLIT:

MONDAY – LEGS, LOWER BACK:

WEDNESDAY – CHEST, TRICEPS

THURSDAY – BACK, BICEPS, TRAPS

SATURDAY – SHOULDERS, ABS, WRISTS

Triset for all heads of shoulder

Superset For Wrists

TRAINING FOR THE ENDOMORPH:

Let me just say, if you’re an Endomorph, weight training will be a lot easier. That is, if your main goal is weight training. First of all, Endomorphs have the ability to put on muscle fast, but this also comes at the expense of fat gain.

Secondly, they are also generally more suited to the stresses of weight lifting since it is anaerobic in nature. Endomorph’s are not as well suited to aerobic activity since it requires more endurance.

Since many Endomorph’s are carrying around extra weight in the form of fat, they have low endurance. Therefore they don’t really have too many disadvantages going for them when talking about weight training. Even so there are a few things to keep in mind:

1ENDOMORPHS CAN START OFF WEIGHT LIFTING AT HIGHER INTENSITIES

That’s right, Endomorph’s usually have decent muscle mass covered by fat, and their bodies are more suited for the strenuous weight training. Because of this, these types can usually start off at higher intensities without risking overtraining.

Just keep in mind that just because you have this advantage doesn’t mean you can attempt the most grueling and advanced bodybuilding workout there is. Like everyone, you have to train your recovery systems and muscles to BETTER handle the stress weight lifting. But if your just beginning, you should start off slow. Just to get your muscles used to the weight lifting.

Once you notice your not as sore after your workouts, then increase the intensity and experiment a LITTLE bit with some techniques such as going to failure, drop sets, supersets, trisets, rest pause training etc. Just don’t go overboard.

2THE KEY TO ACHIEVING A GOOD PHYSIQUE IS DROPPING FAT AND PRESERVING MUSCLE

Because this is a bodybuilding site, I will talk about training in terms of that. I’m assuming most people in this body type are wanting to lose fat and achieve a good physique. Well then the key is losing that fat while preserving as much muscle as possible. There are a few ways to do this

HIIT or high intensity interval training is the best way to preserve as much muscle as possible. As you might know, cardiovascular activity is catabolic, meaning it burns muscle.

The thing with HIIT is that it is relatively short and high intensity, about 15 -20 minutes max. Therefore, little muscle is burned. Also because it is high intensity, its burns more net calories than long 30-60 minute runs which a lot of people do when trying to lose fat.

HIIT Articles:

To do HIIT you pick an exercise such as sprints. After you warm up you start off with doing 1 sprint for 20-30 seconds. This is followed by 1 minute of medium paced running. You repeat this until you have done 12-15 intervals or about 15-20 minutes worth of cardio.

Lifting weights while doing muscle is actually a great way to burn more calories to hasten the time you are spending in weight loss. This helps in two ways. First off all it actually burns more calories than cardio, over a longer period of time (a couple days). This will help you get through your fat loss stage quicker.

The less time you are in the fat loss stage, the less muscle you will lose. Also it keeps your muscles working, so right when you’re finished you weight loss program, you can immediately begin a higher intensity weightlifting program without having to start off slowly.

Here is a way to fit in your HIIT cardio with your weight program:

The goal here is HIIT at least 3-4 times per week as well as weight sessions. However there are a few main things you should consider:

Never do cardio before weights. This is a bad combo. The thing is cardio will use up your glycogen stores. Therefore when it comes time to workout, you will have limited energy resulting in a compromised workout. You might lose fat but your workouts will suffer a great deal.

Rather, if you have to do cardio and weights on the same day try spacing them out as far as possible. So, doing weights in the morning and cardio in the late afternoon or vice versa. Just allow for enough time to recover.

Another option is doing cardio right after weights. This has an advantage of burning more fat. The reason is because your glycogen stores are all used up, so therefore your body looks to your fat to burn as energy. Keep in mind though weights take a lot out of the body. So your cardio might suffer just a little bit.

The last thing you should never do is cardio and leg workouts on the same day. I’ve tried this and it does not work. You feel terribly wobbly, unbalanced, and your legs tire extremely fast. Try spacing cardio as far away from leg workouts as possible, because doing cardio on super sore legs sucks.

TRAINING FOR THE MESOMORPH:

This is the best body type to be in. Most people in this category have been weight lifting for some time or are either involved in sports that require great physical exertion, not including the pure endurance sports such as marathon running.

Lets look at the advantages the Mesomorph’s have:

From here the only place to go is up, and to be honest, it would be pointless to have a sample workout schedule. First of all, there are millions of options and I don’t want to limit your possibilities. The thing is you have to decide what kind of workout is best suited to you.

For example there are thousands of different kinds of workout programs you can attempt:

These are just a few of the THOUSANDS of programs that exist out there. There are probably a few that you will just love and some that you will just hate. It’s just a matter of finding the correct programs for YOU and tweaking them to suit your own needs.

Given all these kinds of workouts. There are still just a few things to keep in mind when choosing your workout program:

1HIGH INTENSITY IS A MUST:

One article by Lee Labrada said if your not going to failure on every set, your not training hard enough. While I don’t agree with this, it does have a point. The main thing you should get from this is, your muscles should be very tired after each set.

If you can do 2 more reps, then you’re not pushing yourself. Unless otherwise specified by the training program, you should be going close, or at failure on nearly every set.

2WEIGHT LIFTING TECHNIQUES WILL BOOST YOUR PROGRESS:

Techniques such as drop sets, rest pause training, eccentrics, forced reps, burns, negatives, supersets, etc are important. Most advanced trainees will use at least one or a couple of these techniques. They are great to boost intensity and overload your muscles to a greater extent. The more stress your muscles are under, the more they will become stronger and grow to respond to that extra stress.

3CHANGING WORKOUT STYLES, REPS, EXERCISES, AND SPEED OF REPS IS ESSENTIAL:

Firstly changing your exercises is probably the most important of all. This ensures your body doesn’t adapt to the exercises. If your body does adapt, it won’t get as good of a workout from that exercise, and your progress plummets.

Changing the reps is second most important in two ways. First of all it prevents your body from adapting to a certain rep range and more importantly it works different muscle fibers. If all the different muscle fibers are worked, it provides greater muscular growth, rather than if you just worked one muscle fiber.

The speed of reps isn’t really essential to change, but it will help you change your workout so your body is always being challenged and making progress. For example, some repetitions you can perform fast and others you can go fast up and slow down, or just the whole rep slow.

Experiment with different speeds to see which gives you good progress.

Last, changing the workout style is an important point you should consider. For example if you just did hypertrophy specific training, you will get bored of that kind of training. Also your body can get used to it easy if that’s all you’ve been doing for a year. Different workout programs challenge and exert the body in different ways that will increase your progress and make your body more physically able.

WIDEST RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS

WHICH BODY TYPES HAVE THE WIDEST RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS?

This is obviously the Mesomorph. As I already said their body types are designed and conditioned for intensive weight training. Therefore they can attempt a wide variety of workouts. For example, someone in this body type can switch from high frequency training, to HST training, and then to Max-OT training without much trouble at all.

The Ectomorph also fares well when talking about the range of workouts they can attempt. They too have bodies more suited to intensive weight training since it is anaerobic, requiring limited endurance. However they could run into potential problems if attempting a workout that emphasizes endurance such as circuit training.

Therefore it narrows the types of workouts they can do just by a bit. Also, most Endomorphs are inactive, which is why they have such high fat levels. Because of this, these Endomorphs cannot attempt the most advanced training programs since they have not trained their bodies to handle that kind of exertion.

LIMITED RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS

WHICH BODY TYPES HAVE THE MOST LIMITED RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS?

In dead last comes the Ectomorph which is the most painful of all the body types when talking about bodybuilding. They cannot handle the effects of intense weight lifting nearly as well as the Mesomorphs or Endomorphs. In this case they have to stick to the basic training programs.

Variation among these programs is slim since many of the programs out there are designed to be extremely intense to promote maximum muscle hypertrophy. Even some Mesomorphs have trouble handling these programs and even overtrain doing them.

If an Ectomorph even attempted some of the most advanced programs they would be murdered within a week or two. It’s almost like telling an Ectomorph or in other words an over weight person to attempt a professional marathon runners program and see how they fare.

BONUS QUESTION

WHICH BODY TYPE ARE YOU? DO YOU DESIGN A WORKOUT ACCORDINGLY TO YOUR BODY TYPE?

I’m a cross between an Ectomorph and a Mesomorph, and yes I do design a workout specifically for my body type, although it’s NOT the ONLY thing I take into consideration. Because of my body type I know I can attempt some advanced programs, but I have to be careful as well not to go over the limit. I stay away from the extremely hardcore programs because I know I will overtrain on those programs.

For the most part I keep a high frequency 3-5 times a week and I also use a variety of techniques such as drop sets, supersets, burns, eccentrics etc. As well I like to go to failure since it gives my muscles a better workout, but I never do it on ever set.

Lastly I like incorporating cardio into my programs. One thing I did not mention is how Ectomorphs are geared more toward endurance sports, hence the reason why many long distance runners and cyclers are skinny. The cardio helps develop a more efficient respiratory system and heart. This helps me pump blood to my muscles faster, and make better use of oxygen to further assist in my workouts.

2ND PLACE – BURNINGHEART

INTRODUCTION

It’s heard throughout the weightlifting community. “My bench is low, how do I increase it?” “I can leg press a lot but can’t squat much.” “I can’t do pull-ups, how do I work my back?”

Sure the answer may lie with improper form or weak muscles, however more often than not the problem is simply having the wrong bodytype for the exercise.

Our bodies are magnificent specimens. We have the ability to transform our body from fat to lean, skinny to muscular, and anywhere in between. However there are genetic characteristics that make us better and worse at certain exercises than others. We must identify these characteristics and design a workout plan to utilize our strengths and suppress our weaknesses.

You may be thinking, why suppress your weakness? Why not train it to become stronger? The answer is because we aren’t talking about training muscles here. Your body is designed to function a certain way, and there’s little getting around it.

So if you produce little progress with one exercise, substitute it with another. With enough experience you’ll know which exercises produce the best results for you. And eventually you’ll have a routine catered specifically for you, one that maximizes your gains with every exercise.

How do you design a routine that is specifically for your body type? That answer will be discussed in this article along with which body type has the widest and most limited range of workouts.

PART 1

HOW CAN YOU DESIGN A WORKOUT ACCORDING TO YOUR BODY TYPE? BE SPECIFIC.

To begin, identify what somatotype (bodytype) you are, untrained. This means what your body would look like without any training.

Are you naturally thin? Do you have a small bone structure, meaning small wrists, narrow shoulder width and thin muscles? Is it hard to put on weight, both fat and muscle? If so then you are an ectomorph.

Are you naturally hefty? Do you have more of a round shape with thick joints? Is it easy to put on weight, both fat and muscle? If so then you are an endomorph.

Do you have a naturally athletic physique with an upright posture? Are you more of a rectangular shape with thick skin? Do you have moderate muscle definition even if you don’t workout? If so then you are a mesomorph.

It’s possible to be a combination of the above somatotypes. It is rare to find a person who is at a total extremity. To classify these body types, a scale of numbers are used that range from 1-7.

This scale uses three digits, each of which describes how prominent a certain body type is. For instance, a pure endomorph (hefty build) would be a 7-1-1. A pure mesomorph (athletic build) would be a 1-7-1. A pure ectomorph (thin build) would be a 1-1-7. A totally average person would be a 4-4-4.

Once you find out your bodytype, keep it in mind as we’ll get back to it soon.

The next thing to do when designing a workout is to identify which body parts will be worked. Since you want to keep your muscles in proportion, you must include all fundamental muscles in your routine.

These are: biceps, calves, chest (major and minor), hamstrings, lats, middle back, quadriceps, shoulders (all three heads), traps, and triceps.

Now take each bodypart and consider which exercises are best done for your somatotype. Note these are listed as the most extreme body types under a general weightlifting principal. Chances are you are not a pure body type, in which case you want to stick toward the body type you fit most.

BICEPS:

CALVES:

CHEST:

 

• Endomorph – As an endomorph you’ll have a relatively weak chest compared to mesomorphs and even some ectomorphs. Having a high bodyfat means push-ups and dips won’t be efficient, so you’ll want to stick toward chest pressing exercises, along with chest flyes.
• Mesomorph – As a mesomorph you have the ideal chest. Your chest is muscular, and your bodyweight is low enough to allow you to incorporate dips and push-ups, and later with added weight, into your routine. Still you should not neglect pressing movements, as they also have a positive impact on your chest.
• Ectomorph – As an ectomorph your chest won’t be strong, however your bodyweight is also low, allowing you to do push-ups and dips. Ectomorphs naturally have long arms, making bench press a hard and inefficient exercise to do. You want to stay more towards dips and inclined push-ups; however dumbbell flyes are also good to have in your routine. As you get stronger add weight to your dips and push-ups.

 

HAMSTRINGS:

LATS:

MIDDLE BACK:

QUADRICEPS:

SHOULDERS:

TRAPEZIUS:

TRICEPS:

Now that you know which exercises need to be done to fit your body type, it’s time to put them in a routine.

EXERCISES FOR YOUR BODYTYPE:

ENDOMORPH

MESOMORPH

ECTOMORPH

We divide the above workout into a 3-day split, meaning each bodypart will be directly worked once a week. Note most bodyparts will be indirectly worked as you do other exercises, for example when training chest, your triceps will be indirectly worked.

3 Day Split — Routine for your Body Type

MONDAY

 

• Chest
• Lats
• Middle Back

 

WEDNESDAY

 

• Calves
• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps

 

FRIDAY

 

• Biceps
• Shoulders
• Traps

The days in the above routine are split to provide adequate rest for each bodypart before it is worked again.

For example chest, lats and middle back are directly worked Monday. Besides these muscles being worked, your biceps, triceps and shoulders are also being used. Therefore it wouldn’t be optimal to train those bodyparts Wednesday, as your body can still be recovering from your Monday workout.

Instead, biceps, triceps and shoulders are placed on Friday, where they get three days of rest. Since smaller muscles recover faster, they are placed on Friday, where they get two days of rest before Monday’s workout comes around. It’s always important to strategically place your workouts in a routine in order to maximize efficiency.

As for your diet, it will vary depending on your body type and goals. If you are an ectomorph or looking to gain size, visit this link.

If you are an endomorph or looking to lose bodyfat, visit this link.

If you are a mesomorph or just want to maintain your current weight while gaining strength, visit this link.

PART 2

WHICH BODY TYPES HAVE THE WIDEST RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS?

Now that you’re familiar with each bodytype and their most efficient exercises, the question arises as to which bodytype has the widest range of effective workouts?

This is asking which bodytype has the most flexibility when working out while staying efficient. This bodytype would be ectomorphs.

ECTOMORPH:

Benefits

Disadvantages

REVIEW:

Ectomorphs may have a disadvantage in gaining muscle mass, yet with the right diet they can fairly overcome that obstacle. Ectomorphs’ biggest advantage lies with the fact they are able to perform any exercise that an endomorph or even mesomorph couldn’t do. This is because of their light frame, and strong pound-for-pound ratio.

Even though they may not be able to lift as much as an endomorph or mesomorph, they are still receiving the benefit of working out, which is isolated apart from other bodytypes.

For example they may only be able to curl 65 pounds as opposed to a mesomorph who curls 85, but the benefit of curling those 65 pounds is the same benefit as a mesomorph curling 85, all else equal.

Because of their versatility in workouts, ectomorphs have the widest range of effective workouts.

PART 3

WHICH BODY TYPES HAVE THE MOST LIMITED RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, endomorphs have the most limited range of effective workouts.

ENDOMORPH:

Benefits

Disadvantages

REVIEW:

Endomorphs are able to achieve muscular size and strength gains in a short period of time, yet are unable to do some important bodyweight exercises, at least in the beginning of the routine.

Since endomorphs are limited in such exercises they can do, they have the most limited range of effective workouts.

CONCLUSION

The most important thing to remember is regardless of what your body type is, do not lose hope. Just accept what you are and work with it. Nothing is impossible. Yes, it is a proven fact that some body types are at a disadvantage compared to others but dedication, commitment and proper training and well as nutrition can make up for those disadvantage.

The last thing you should be telling yourself would be “There’s no point of working out, I have tried before and cannot gain any muscle mass.” You need to think positive. So you are not born with a gift; that should by no means prevent you from achieving any goals you have.

Remember, gains don’t just appear overnight, it takes time and commitment whether you have good genes or not, but by no means should you start off unmotivating yourself by constantly telling yourself that you are not meant for bodybuilding.

Source: Workout of the Week

Bodybuilding.com