Training For Your Body Type

Now that you know what your body type is, it’s time to look over how to exercise your body. We’re not going to look into what exercises to do just yet because every body type has different exercise needs. You see, as a Mesomorph body type, I always thought that the best way to lose weight was to be a cardio bunny… until I researched a little bit more and saw that being a cardio bunny didn’t do my body good.

1.  Ectomorph: This is probably the hardest training program to design! I don’t want to discourage anybody, but with a body longer than the Canyon River and a metabolism faster than a jaguar, it’s a safe assumption. The key when training your body, as an Ectomorph type, is to be patient and train hard, without over-training. You body has difficulty gaining weight (both muscle and fat) and is not tailored for high frequency or intensity workouts, which limits your training a little bit more. If you’re still with me, it means you’re very motivated so let’s keep going. Try to keep your workouts under one hour to prevent overtraining and make you move faster between sets; this will in turn help better promote muscular hypertrophy. Also, keep your body on the fence at all times by changing the exercises every 10 days to avoid a plateau. On the other hand though, keep a consistent workout schedule to make sure you maximize your muscle gaining.

2.     Mesomorph: This is where I stand, and although it’s possibly the best body type to be in, I am always frustrated! Of course, I wasn’t doing the right thing since I loved distance running too much for my own good. Yes, you read right. As a Mesomorph body type, you must included high frequency and intensity training to see changes in your body. If you like to run, sprint and jog; if you like the stairs, you’re brave, run and walk up and down; if you like the elliptical, make sure you climb mountains while on your ride. You need to keep your heart rate up and moving; you can’t have it at a constant pace since it will plateau your progress. Our bodies are also designed for the stress of weightlifting and HIIT, which makes us less prone to injuries, which is great! Also, if you hate weightlifting you better toughen up because it is a must with our body type. Weightlifting will burn more calories in the long run, will in turn will boost your progress.

 3.     Endomorph: This is a great body type for weightlifting. Since you have decent muscle mass covered by fat, you can start off at higher weight lifting intensities without risking overtraining. Just keep in mind though that just because you’re at an advantage doesn’t mean you can attempt the most advanced bodybuilding workout without training at a lower level first. Just like everyone, you have to train you recovery systems and muscles to better handle the stress of weightlifting. Most of the time, the Endomorph body types will be the grunters in the gym; the ones who grunt a lot and do one set of 5 with 140 lbs dumbbells. Do not do that though. It’s better to do 4 sets of 15 with 70 lbs of weight, at the beginning, than grunt for five minutes with a 140 lbs dumbbell. The key to keeping a good physique for your body type is to drop the fat and preserve the muscle mass underneath. So make sure you also eat healthy while you train, as this is very important!