ATTENTION- Working out is NOT
one-size-fits-all. If you take nothing else from this post, I want you to
remember that, and also that the easiest way to start an active lifestyle is to
find a workout regimen that you enjoy.
Do you feel like you work out like
crazy and eat pretty good but still aren't seeing results? You might not be
working out in the correct way for your body type!
What workout will benefit my body type?
The are three types of body types.
1.Ectomorph: Tall and skinny, has
trouble building muscle and typically does not gain weight easily but can
struggle to get good muscle tone. Examples: Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman,
Justin Timberlake
2.Endomorph: Holds on to body fat more
than other body types. Often stocky, and naturally higher in body fat
percentage even with a decent diet and exercise. Examples: Ashley Graham,
Khloe Kardashian, Jonah Hill, Blake Shelton
3.Mesomorph: Gains fat easily but
gains muscle the easiest. Naturally has great muscle tone, and athletic build. Examples:
Pink, Ronda Rousey, Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe
Most people aren't 100% in one
category. I am mostly mesomorph but also a little bit of an endomorph because I
gain muscle like it's nothing, but if I slack for even a few days on diet and
exercise I can gain a quick 5 pounds.
Here is how you should be working
out and eating according to the makeup of each body type!
Ectomorph:
You are the person that all other body types hate :) You can probably eat trash
all day and still have a flat stomach. However, a common ectomorph complaint is
that they are skinny, but soft and don't know how to get muscle tone.
Workouts: Limit cardio. You only need to do it maybe 2 times a week
because cardio just burns your muscle away. Ectomorphs benefit most from strength
training at least 3 times a week and doing HIIT 2 times a week as their cardio
exercise. Consistency is key for this group. Maintaining muscle mass for an
ectomorph is as hard has losing fat to an endomorph.
Food: Eat a lot more than you do right now, focus on eating
protein all through-out the day, and buy some BCAAs so that your body won't
burn your muscle during your workouts. No need to watch carbs, your goal is to
gain muscle so you need to be giving your muscles extra calories to fuel them
and recover after workouts.
Endomorph:
Do you know someone that is overweight, but in great shape? That is the common
struggle with this body type and it could be because they are doing to wrong
types of workouts.
Workouts: Active Cardio. This does NOT mean spending hours on a
treadmill. We all know someone that has tiny legs and a round waist, that is
often because they are an endomorph working out like an ectomorph and their
genetics are fighting against them. You need to be doing interval training and
LISS. LISS is cardio that you don't have to kill yourself doing, you take it
slow and stick to options like walking at a steady pace with a big incline on a
treadmill or doing the stair-climber at resistance 6 for 40 minutes. Doing LISS
at least 4 times a week combined with HIIT weight training (weight training
with short bursts of activity to get your heart rate up: box jumps, jump-rope,
jumping lunges) will give you the results you have been looking for. Once
you burn off that layer of fat, you don't need to continue doing LISS or Active
Cardio 4 times a week. Try cutting it down a day at a time and seeing how your
body reacts to find that sweet spot that helps you simply maintain your goal
weight.
Food: You should see results from changing up your workout alone,
but to see better ones or expedite the process, you should try to eat a
low-carb diet. Nothing too insane! If you limit carbs too much you can get
light headed in the gym, or even pass out. I would recommend starting by trying
to stay under 100g of carbs a day and if you can get less than that, great! But
listen to your body, if you feel lethargic and light headed when you cut carbs,
just add another 20g of them the next day and see how you feel. I would
definitely keep adding at 20g increments though to maximize your weight loss.
For macros, you have two choices, eat the same(ish) amount of carbs as you do
protein, or eat more protein than you do carbs. With both options I would try
your very best to keep fat grams under 40 a day.
Mesomorph:
You can look at a dumbbell and grow muscle, but you also can also lick a donut
and gain 5 pounds of fat. You don't have it quite as hard as the endomorphs,
but you have to train harder than any other group as far as intensity goes.
Workouts: Train like an athlete. HIIT combined with weight training
will give you the best results. Train heavy 2 times a week, and train with HIIT
at about 60% of your max weights 3-4 times a week. Sprints, box jumps, sled
pushes, and battle ropes are your best friends when it comes to cardio bursts.
Think about the Nike commercials. That is how you should picture your workouts.
Long steady cardio will not make much of a difference on a mesomorph, you need
weight to challenge you. If you are naturally stockier and love your muscle but
want to look a little leaner, do yoga on top of the workouts I just explained.
It will stretch and lengthen your muscles so they don't appear as stocky.
Food: Protein, protein, and more protein. You can afford to eat a
normal amount of carbs, but if you typically hold on to fat easily, you should
consider cutting them to under 100 a day. Women, under no circumstances should
you be eating less than 1,600 calories a day if you are this body type. 1,800
is optimal for women on training days. For men, you can afford to eat as much
as 3,000 depending on how hard you train. If you don't eat enough calories,
your body will burn the muscle instead of the fat. That is just how the genetic
makeup of a mesomorph works!
INJURIES OR LONG TERM PAIN ISSUES:
For those people of any body type
that have an injury or long term weakness that keeps you from doing certain
types of workouts regularly, do not stress. There are plenty of ways to stay
active and get the body you want, you might just have to expand your workout
routine. For example, in high school I ran long distance all the time. Right
before my senior year, I tore my ACL and had most of my meniscus removed from
the same knee. I don't have much pain now, but I have noticed that now as I am
getting older, I cannot run like I used to. I had to find new ways to do my
cardio to keep from excessive knee pain or further injuring the small meniscus
I have left. So today, I personally do very little cardio due to my
fitness goals being to have more of a muscular build, but when I do cardio I
usually won't run two days in a row or I will stick to a stair-climber because
those cause me zero pain at all. You can tell when your body needs a
break. Don't get cocky or upset, just let yourself rest and get back into it
when you can.
