One principle that I hammer home as often as I can on both this website, and in my real-life conversations with friends, family, and gym strangers that I talk to is that genetics plays a massive role in a person’s fitness journey. I have friends, and I am sure that you do too, who are just naturally muscular and lean. They have naturally strong metabolisms and their muscular proportions are very balanced.
I am not one of those people. I seem to naturally hold onto fat in my midsection, and that has become increasingly true as I have aged. It has its benefits and drawbacks, in that it is not hard for me to gain weight, which is a valid issue for many people, and increasing my muscle mass is not as difficult as it is for some of my friends. Conversely, I don’t know that there has ever been a time in my life when I didn’t have love handles to some degree, and while I am actively trying harder than ever to finally rid myself of this gawd-forsaken muffin top, I also recognize that it may never happen.
It wasn’t until my dad gifted me Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acclaimed Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding that I became aware of the different body-type categories ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. I am a total endomorph. I am as endomorph-y as any endomorph that has ever endomorph’d. Being an endomorph is not the end of the world, it just means that I need to work harder in certain areas of my fitness pursuits. Below are things for endomorphs that Arnold recommends in his book (page 170):
- High lifting repetitions (10-12 reps per set), short rest periods in between sets
- Aim for 45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 4 to 5 days a week to get lean
- Be leery of ‘bulking’ since it is harder to lose fat
- Stick to a high protein calorie-deficit diet as often as possible to stay lean
The opposite body type of an endomorph is an ectomorph. Ectomorphs are naturally very lean and struggle to bulk up. I have several friends who are ectomorph body types, and no matter how much they eat they never seem to gain weight, which is great from a keeping-fat-off standpoint but is not good from a building muscle standpoint. Frank Zane is arguably the greatest ectomorph bodybuilder of all time, and I urge people to copy his lifting strategies if they are an ectomorph. Below are things that Arnold recommends for ectomorph body types (page 169):
- Focus on lifting heavy at low reps (6-8 reps after warming up)
- Do 14 to 16 sets per body part to ensure that you are not overtraining, and get enough rest between sets
- Take in more calories than you are accustomed to as often as possible (‘bulking’) and eat lots of protein
- Do not do excessive cardio
Then, of course, there is the mesomorph body type, which is the type of people who I referred to above as being naturally muscular, lean, and proportionate. Arnold is a great example of someone who is mesomorph. Arnold recommends the tips below for you lucky winners of the genetics lottery (page 170):
- Focus on quality, detail, and isolation weight training
- Doing a standard workout of 16 to 20 sets per body part is fine, as overtraining is less of an issue with mesomorph body types
- Maintain a balanced diet with plenty of protein
- Aim for 30-45 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week
Of course, not everyone falls perfectly and completely into these three body type categories. Some people are a combo of two different body types to some degree. It is up to each individual to objectively assess the criteria of each body type, to be honest with themselves about it, and to develop an exercise and nutrition strategy based on their true body type. Knowing which body type you are, and adjusting your strategy accordingly, will really help you get to where you want to be in your fitness journey.
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