The 3 body types - which one are you?

The term somatotype, in German Body typemay not sound particularly exciting and is more reminiscent of the darkest lessons from biology class than something practically relevant from the field of fitness sports, but this is exactly where the devil is in the details, because the body type is a decisive factor that has a great influence on our physical development. So in order to be able to train as effectively as possible, for example, it can be quite helpful to know which of the three basic body types your own organism corresponds to.

The misunderstanding with the body types

You've probably already noticed that not everyone seems to enter the race for the most athletic body with the same physical prerequisites. This is also obvious when we look in detail at the great variance that evolution attributes to us humans in terms of our appearance. While some are equipped with broad massive bones and thus already appear strong by nature, there are others who are slim but tend to remain lean throughout their lives. Especially the latter aspect leads to the conclusion that the classification does not seem to refer exclusively to the basic anatomical structure, but also to the metabolic component, since there seem to be people with a striking physique who either tend to gain weight very quickly or, on the contrary, find it extremely difficult to do so. And indeed, a person's physique allows conclusions to be drawn about his or her metabolic type, i.e., to put it bluntly, whether someone is a good or a poor food utilizer. Particularly when it comes to achieving athletic success, many female athletes justify their failures with their body type, i.e. basically with their genetic makeup. While such reasoning is obvious, in practice it is no more than a lazy excuse that science has already debunked in recent years. The body type, or much more the metabolic type of a person, is in truth an evolutionary tendency but in no way set in stone, which means the bottom line is that regardless of your body type, you can achieve all your goals as long as you just take the right actions and don't resign yourself to your apparent fate. Identifying your body type is therefore a basic requirement for your training and nutrition planning.

Ectomorph - The slim body type

This body type is admittedly envied by us women, since the ladies in question can seemingly eat whatever they want without gaining a single gram. Yet it is precisely this constellation that offers the most difficult starting conditions for fitness sports. Although the ectomorph body type is characterized by a fast and wasteful metabolism and a correspondingly low body fat percentage, on the contrary it is also very difficult to gain muscle, which becomes a problem especially when we want to give our body an athletic silhouette with the help of strength training. Other characteristics of the ectomorph body type can be found in the following list, which will help you to determine whether you also fall into this category and whether you should adapt both your training and your diet to it.

Characteristics of ectomorph body types
- tall height
- small chest
- long and thin extremities
- narrow shoulder
- a flat chest
- short torso
- filigree hands and feet
- thin hair
- Low body fat percentage
- little muscle mass

What can I do as an ectomorph body type?
Lean body types are usually born endurance athletes due to their muscle fiber composition, but have a hard time gaining muscle volume due to their fast metabolism. So if this is your goal, the key to success lies first and foremost in your diet. Gradually increase your calorie intake with the help of foods that have a high energy density, and then watch how your body composition changes. Also, as part of your training, avoid burning too much energy through a high volume of training. Instead, focus on short but intense workouts.

Mesomorph - The athletic body type

The mesomorphic body type is something like the wet dream of every athlete, as it provides the best basic conditions for both men and women to get a body that is trained down to the last fiber without encountering too many obstacles. This ideal type is characterized by a comparatively large amount of naturally existing muscle and at the same time hardly any body fat, which is also reflected on the metabolic level. The bottom line is that the athletic type has it the easiest, both in terms of fat loss and muscle building, so that basically no special measures are needed for training and nutritional adaptation that go beyond general recommendations. Whether you have also been endowed by evolution with this invaluable advantage, you can see from the following list:

Features of mesomorphic body types
- X shape respectively hourglass shape
- wide shoulders
- wide hips
- Long torso
- large chest
- Strong by nature
- low body fat, which is usually concentrated at the hips
- thick hair
- big hands and feet

Endomorph - The stocky body type

We women admittedly suffer the most from the stocky body type, which is also often referred to as a softgainer, because every calorie seems to land immediately on our ribs despite exercise. And in fact, this is not just a subjective assumption, but reality, because the endomorphic body type is an extremely efficient food utilizer. What was an advantage, especially in times when we still roamed the steppes of Africa as hunter-gatherers, today drives us to despair, because the stocky type not only tends to put on body fat easily, but also has great difficulty getting rid of it. Therefore, in order to counteract the naturally rather strong and round body image, some adjustments in terms of training and diet are necessary. These characteristics will help you determine if you are an endomorph:

Common characteristics of the endomorphic body type
- roundish appearance
- short limbs
- Comparatively high body fat percentage
- tends to be smaller body size
- has problems with weight loss
- Round face
- increases quickly
- wide shoulders
- wide hips

What can I do as an endomorphic body type?
As a classic endomorphic body type, you at least have the advantage that you can do conventional strength training. But that's it with the advantages, because you have to keep an eye on your energy balance in order to lose weight sustainably and not gain too much body fat in the context of muscle building. The focus should therefore be on keeping a consistent food diary in order to analyze any influences on your body weight and to be able to take countermeasures if necessary. You should also avoid sweets and other foods that are particularly high in fat and sugar. Additional endurance sports are also a good way to keep your metabolism on its toes.

What body type are you?

Of course, the three body types are the Extreme examples, which are not necessarily present in their pure form in nature. So if you want to judge which body type you have, it is very likely that you belong to the numerous mixed types that have different characteristics. In this regard, you should judge by the fact which characteristics are particularly dominant and tend most toward one of the three body types. On this basis, you will be able to adjust your training and diet according to your personal goals. Nevertheless, even after the basic classification, it is still necessary to check at regular intervals to be on the safe side. Remember, you can achieve anything if you want to!