You can’t run from it nor hide from it. There’s just no way you can possibly avoid it. Everywhere you go, you are bombarded by images of perfectly-chiseled bodies as if the gods of Olympus came down to Earth to spite us mere mortals about our physiques.
You see them on TV, print ads, billboards, buses, and social media newsfeeds. We have grown fixated on people with washboard stomachs and toned arms that we do anything in our power to look like a Victoria’s Secret model.
What most of us fail to recognize—or acknowledge—is that each person is built differently from each other. This brings truth to the statement that not all men (or women) are equal. We’re all unique, just like everyone else. It might sound funny, but it’s true. If we learn to look at our physical appearance from this lens and understand that our frames are not the same, we’ll have a better understanding of how to go about our time in the gym, plan our diets, and engage in physiotherapy sessions.
The Importance of Understanding Your Body Type
There are three basic body types. These are the ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph.
Ectomorph
Ectomorphs are characterized by their slender built. They have lighter builds with narrower hips, smaller joints, and leaner muscles. They have a harder time gaining weight because of their higher metabolism rate, which results in their long and lean frames.
Endomorph
Endomorphs, on the other hand, gain weight faster and have a harder time losing it. They are typically solid and stocky and have thicker arms and legs compared to the other body types. While they are known to be quite strong, they have softer muscles.
Mesomorph
Mesomorphs are somewhere in between ectomorphs and endomorphs. They’re in the sweet spot when it comes to the metabolic scale and have more athletic and muscular frames. Weight gain and loss are fairly easy for these types of people.
Of course, there are a few other body types that are results of the different combinations of the three, but generally, these are the main body types.
Understanding which body type you have will help you focus more on the right type of diet, supplementation, and exercise. A lot of people think that doing some warm-ups and stretches, half-an-hour of cardio, an hour of lifting weights, and cooldowns are enough to get them their ideal physique.
While that may work for some body types, that doesn’t work for all. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to health and fitness. You need to be familiar with your body and listen to it. It’ll help you understand the type of physical routines you should engage in and the nutritional needs that are fit for your fitness goals.
For example, an ectomorph looking to gain muscle needs to train differently from an endomorph wanting to lose weight and build muscle. Instead of doing cardio 3 to 4 times a week, you should be focusing on lifting heavier in lower reps. This also means that instead of cutting down on your carbs, you need to have a much higher carb ratio compared to endomorphs.
You need to understand that for each action, there is an equal reaction. If you do the wrong thing, then the result you will get will also be far from your ideal outcome.
Take one of those body type quizzes you can find online and talk to a coach and nutritionist about your desired fitness goals so they can help you plan accordingly.
Knowing your body type will help you and your trainer narrow down a list of the right approaches for you to hit your health and fitness goals. This way, you avoid the frustration that the wrong methods bring. It guarantees you faster and better results. Just take note that you need to be patient and be consistent to get the results that you want.
