Do you know your somatotype?
3 min
Table of contents
Share
Knowing this classification may be unnecessary, but it can also be a great help in understanding physiological dynamics that would otherwise be hard to interpret with a standard analysis of the individual; it can certainly be influential for someone who plays sport with very precise performance and body recomposition goals but who comes up against physiological/metabolic difficulties and obstacles along the way.
These SOMATOTYPES, so called precisely because they identify the distinctive characteristics of the "soma" - body – are three: the MESOMORPH, ECTOMORPH and ENDOMORPH somatotypes.
Do you have a well-built physique, well proportioned in shape, inclined towards muscle mass with little tendency to store fat? Then your somatotype is that of a MESOMORPH physique. Without a doubt you do not find it very hard to increase your mass, especially muscle mass, through targeted nutrition and training programmes. Your strength is certainly the harmony of your shape as well as the regularity and balance of your hormone secretion, which allows you to keep increases in fat mass fairly well under control. Meeting pure MESOMORPHS is actually not that easy, and usually you come across people who show small differences in muscle growth or maintenance in certain muscle groups. Any eating plan can work for you, as can your choice of protein supplements to use for your goals.
An ECTOMORPH physique? You can be spotted a mile off! You are slightly built, with a slender, long-limbed physique; you are the classic type who drives dieters crazy: you eat and eat and never put on weight! Your physique, perhaps driven by a genetic predisposition and/or by certain specific hormone levels, such as thyroid hormones, is very well disposed to avoid excesses of both lean muscle mass and fat mass. These factors give you a clear predisposition for certain types of physical activity in which elasticity, mobility and low body weight can work in your favour. On the other hand, problems could arise if you wanted to achieve visible results in muscle growth: by definition you are a HARD – GAINER in the true sense. The calorie increase through your eating plan, for mass gain, should be well balanced in terms of macronutrients, above all maintaining a good ratio between Carbohydrates and Proteins: while on the one hand increasing carbohydrates could be positive for exploiting the anabolic boost of insulin, on the other an excess would risk enhancing thyroid activity with an increase in catabolic capacity. So-called "gainer" products may be right for you, skilfully blending the amounts of these two fundamental macronutrients. "Plateaus" in muscle growth are the order of the day, and cycling your nutrition plan over three weeks could be a winning choice. Gym sessions that also include a cardio phase are extremely counterproductive in your case. Should you want to try to increase your muscle mass, you should choose exercises performed quickly, to failure, preferably multi-joint ones.
ENDOMORPH physiques, the last somatotype in the classification, are also easy to distinguish in the general population, although with a little more difficulty than the ectomorph. Your distinctive characteristic is how easily you gain weight, particularly in the form of fat mass. The build is the classic "roundish" shape of someone who has no trouble at all putting on weight exactly where you would usually want to lose it. Behind an initially difficult approach to targeted diet, nutrition and training plans, this build can hide some significant advantages. Mass gain, in fact, can easily be managed by shifting the balance of the eating plan towards higher-than-average protein intake, thereby influencing the amount of adipose tissue stored. Likewise, it is much easier for an ENDOMORPH to achieve a positive effect through exercise aimed at reducing fat mass than it is for an ECTOMORPH in the opposite situation, that of muscle growth: the ENDOMORPH will need to focus on protecting muscle and on strength work, balanced with a good aerobic base, and so achieve noticeable results in body recomposition. Your go-to supplements? Choose pure protein.
This type of classification, which now dates back seventy years, finds solid support in other classifications that are historically and culturally distant from it but easy to overlay, and useful if you want to investigate in depth aspects linked to the anthropometric and physiological characteristics of the individual. The references are to the somatotypes of Hippocrates' "humoral" classification or to the distinctive characteristics of the three DOSHAS of Indian Ayurvedic culture, both dating back many hundreds of years.
Without a doubt these body types should not be considered fixed, standard categories, but rather general indications that can be found in the population in varying percentages, even within a single individual.
These SOMATOTYPES, so called precisely because they identify the distinctive characteristics of the "soma" - body – are three: the MESOMORPH, ECTOMORPH and ENDOMORPH somatotypes.
Do you have a well-built physique, well proportioned in shape, inclined towards muscle mass with little tendency to store fat? Then your somatotype is that of a MESOMORPH physique. Without a doubt you do not find it very hard to increase your mass, especially muscle mass, through targeted nutrition and training programmes. Your strength is certainly the harmony of your shape as well as the regularity and balance of your hormone secretion, which allows you to keep increases in fat mass fairly well under control. Meeting pure MESOMORPHS is actually not that easy, and usually you come across people who show small differences in muscle growth or maintenance in certain muscle groups. Any eating plan can work for you, as can your choice of protein supplements to use for your goals.
An ECTOMORPH physique? You can be spotted a mile off! You are slightly built, with a slender, long-limbed physique; you are the classic type who drives dieters crazy: you eat and eat and never put on weight! Your physique, perhaps driven by a genetic predisposition and/or by certain specific hormone levels, such as thyroid hormones, is very well disposed to avoid excesses of both lean muscle mass and fat mass. These factors give you a clear predisposition for certain types of physical activity in which elasticity, mobility and low body weight can work in your favour. On the other hand, problems could arise if you wanted to achieve visible results in muscle growth: by definition you are a HARD – GAINER in the true sense. The calorie increase through your eating plan, for mass gain, should be well balanced in terms of macronutrients, above all maintaining a good ratio between Carbohydrates and Proteins: while on the one hand increasing carbohydrates could be positive for exploiting the anabolic boost of insulin, on the other an excess would risk enhancing thyroid activity with an increase in catabolic capacity. So-called "gainer" products may be right for you, skilfully blending the amounts of these two fundamental macronutrients. "Plateaus" in muscle growth are the order of the day, and cycling your nutrition plan over three weeks could be a winning choice. Gym sessions that also include a cardio phase are extremely counterproductive in your case. Should you want to try to increase your muscle mass, you should choose exercises performed quickly, to failure, preferably multi-joint ones.
ENDOMORPH physiques, the last somatotype in the classification, are also easy to distinguish in the general population, although with a little more difficulty than the ectomorph. Your distinctive characteristic is how easily you gain weight, particularly in the form of fat mass. The build is the classic "roundish" shape of someone who has no trouble at all putting on weight exactly where you would usually want to lose it. Behind an initially difficult approach to targeted diet, nutrition and training plans, this build can hide some significant advantages. Mass gain, in fact, can easily be managed by shifting the balance of the eating plan towards higher-than-average protein intake, thereby influencing the amount of adipose tissue stored. Likewise, it is much easier for an ENDOMORPH to achieve a positive effect through exercise aimed at reducing fat mass than it is for an ECTOMORPH in the opposite situation, that of muscle growth: the ENDOMORPH will need to focus on protecting muscle and on strength work, balanced with a good aerobic base, and so achieve noticeable results in body recomposition. Your go-to supplements? Choose pure protein.
This type of classification, which now dates back seventy years, finds solid support in other classifications that are historically and culturally distant from it but easy to overlay, and useful if you want to investigate in depth aspects linked to the anthropometric and physiological characteristics of the individual. The references are to the somatotypes of Hippocrates' "humoral" classification or to the distinctive characteristics of the three DOSHAS of Indian Ayurvedic culture, both dating back many hundreds of years.
Without a doubt these body types should not be considered fixed, standard categories, but rather general indications that can be found in the population in varying percentages, even within a single individual.
Tags: