Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph? If you don’t know, this could be the answer to your gym problems.
Have you ever thought “I’m eating so much protein and working out but I’m not gaining muscle”? or “I train legs more than my arms but I still look like Johnny Bravo”? Well we have the answers you’re looking for.
The way you develop muscle, lose or gain weight is dependent on whether you’re an ectomorph, mesomorph or an endomorph. Keep in mind that most people are a blend of two types.
Not to be confused with the Xenomorphs from the Alien movies. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
Let’s start with ectomorphs. Dubbed the ‘hardgainer’, this is the typical tall skinny guy with long arms and legs. They have thin wrists and ankles, are flat chested with narrow shoulders. Their high metabolism helps them burn calories easily, making it very hard to gain weight. However, it allows them to cut back to lean muscle easier than everyone else.
In order to build muscle, ectomorphs need to eat a huge amount of calories and their workouts should be short and focused on big muscle groups. Another tip is to eat before bed in order to prevent muscle catabolism aka losing muscle and fat mass during the night.
Next up is the mesomorphs. This is the ‘natural athlete’ with large muscles and bone structure and a naturally strong rectangular shape. Perfect for bodybuilding as it’s easy to gain or lose weight but unlike Ectomorphs, they must watch their calorie intake to make sure they’re gaining more muscle than fat. Adding cardio to their weight training regime to combat fat gain works best for their body type.
Last but not least, there’s the endomorph. With a soft yet solid ‘short and stocky’ body, endomorphs gain weight the easiest of the three due to their slow metabolism but it is mostly fat. It’s recommended that endo’s always combine intense cardio with their weight training in order to minimise fat gain.
So which are you? Hopefully this answers those “What should I be doing?” questions in your head.
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