One of the biggest mistakes people make when concerning their exercise routine is that they copy some well known trainer or bodybuilder’s program, yet end up with poor results. They follow the routine to the tee; the same frequency, the same days with consistency but just aren’t getting anywhere.
A major reason why this can happen is because of differences in body type between the two individuals, and how your training should be tailored to your body type. Someone who is naturally heavy, having a bigger frame should be training in a different manner than someone who is skinny.
Your diet is another huge factor too that is going to greatly impact your results as well, so make sure you are eating properly again based on your body type. Your diet is going to be a major determining factor in your success even more so than your training, so make sure you are eating properly based on your body type.
Here is what you need to know about body types and how to modify your training program around them:
Endomorphs:
Endomorphs are the people who are naturally heavy, with a bigger frame and more dense bone structure. These are also the same type of people that have a slower metabolism, which is something else you need to know to better your training through diet.
Slower metabolism means that endomorphs really need to keep an eye on their diet, and can’t get away with eating as much junk food as the other body types. Endomorphs want to make sure that their diet consists of healthy, nutritious whole foods in order to maintain a healthy weight.
Putting on more muscle while not gaining additional fat can be extremely difficult for endomorphs, so making sure that they eat lean proteins is essential. If you fall in to this category you should be getting your protein from sources like chicken, turkey, and low fat dairy products. Stay away from fattier sources like beef, pork deli meats and other high protein foods loaded with fat.
Again since endomorphs metabolism is slow they should include plenty of cardiovascular exercise in to their workout routine to keep the pounds off. They shouldn’t stop lifting altogether however, as the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn.
Ectomorphs:
This is the group of people who have the highest metabolism out of the three, and really have a difficult time putting on weight. If you were the kid who couldn’t gain weight no matter how much you ate, you fall in to this category.
Ectomorphs are lucky as far as their diets are concerned as that they can pretty much eat anything they want. To put on as much mass as possible if this is you, you should eat as much protein and caloric dense food as you possibly can.
Conversely when exercising, ectomorphs don’t want to do a lot of cardio, which is going to burn up additional calories, and break down more muscle tissue in the process.
The best exercise program for ectomorphs looking to gain mass would be heavy weight training, focusing on combination exercises, heavy weights and low repetitions. They want to be conserving as many calories as possible.
Mesomorphs:
This is the naturally athletic body type, or those people who are lean with a decent amount of muscle as well. Mesomorphs have it the easiest as they are naturally have a great jumping off point for building strength and mass, while remaining lean at the same time.
The best training program to build on that frame would be a combination of strength training programs, for the obvious job of putting on more muscle; and a form of cardio to keep the body fat low while improving endurance.
The only problem mesomorphs have to worry about in regards to their training is that they maintain a good balance between strength and cardio training. Many men tend to lean more towards the strength training, and thus gain more fat in the process.
As far as the meso’s diet is concerned, they also want to maintain a balance here as well. A diet high in lean proteins, fiber, good fats, and foods rich in antioxidants are they best option. Basically you want nutrient dense foods like berries, nuts, seeds, and other whole foods for the best results.
