Today we will talk about creating training programs — a fascinating and responsible process, especially if you decide to take into account the characteristics of different body types.
Our methodologist, dietitian, and nutritionist Ekaterina Ivanova spoke about the most popular classification of body types and their key characteristics.
Over the years, various methods of describing and classifying human body types and their inherent character traits or the most common health problems have emerged and continue to exist to this day.
To date, the most applicable classification was developed by Harvard professor Sheldon, who studied several thousand photographs of students, identifying three distinctly different externally similar body types, naming them ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs.
He gave the names based on embryology, which tells us that the human embryo develops from three main embryonic layers: the ectoderm (integumentary tissues and nervous system), mesoderm (skeletal and muscular systems), and endoderm (internal organs and adipose tissue).
According to Sheldon, in the development of a fetus of a certain somatotype, one of the three embryonic layers had a dominant advantage. At the same time, the already formed type was supposed to have certain behavioral characteristics as well as weak spots in maintaining health.
The somatotype is formed by approximately 20–25 years of age, when linear growth processes come to a complete stop and hormonal balance stabilizes. However, true isolated somatotypes are rare in the population; the vast majority are mixed variants. This occurs due to the characteristics of a person’s lifestyle, professional activities, dietary habits, stress levels, and physical activity. Only individual traits of a particular type may remain noticeable, along with their response to external influences (such as physical training or changes in dietary strategy).
It is known that body type is genetically predetermined, with the subsequent involvement of, among others, the endocrine system, which determines the rate of metabolic processes, energy expenditure, and energy storage. These processes are controlled by a control locus in the hypothalamus (one of the central endocrine glands, the conductor of all other glands) that is programmed into our genes, which conventionally contains a muscle control point and a fat control point. If a person intentionally or due to circumstances moves significantly away from these points in terms of body composition, the body strives to return to its constant state through a series of functional changes in the hormonal system.
This is why people close to the ectomorph type have a hard time gaining muscle mass and lose it easily; they are also not prone to accumulating excess fat. They eat a lot and often without a systematic approach, their metabolism is fast, energy turnover is quite powerful, and they rarely face excess weight. To aesthetically reshape an ectomorph toward increasing muscle mass requires significantly more effort, employing a combination of various training principles. In terms of nutrition, they often require a caloric surplus and a significant proportion of slow-digesting carbohydrates.
Conversely, the endomorph typology implies slower metabolic reactions, a greater tendency toward obesity and sluggishness in losing excess fat, but at the same time they easily increase muscle strength and muscle mass. In maintaining optimal body composition, low-intensity aerobic exercise and short-duration maximum power output exercises come first for them. These people have to monitor their plate for life, reducing their intake of digestible carbohydrates and their exercise regimen, in order to maintain optimal health indicators.
Mesomorphs, as naturally more effective middle ground in terms of the main energy consumers (skeletal muscles), are more physically enduring and more successful in certain sports such as track and field, endurance sports, and bodybuilding. Their nutrition can be built on the classic principles of macronutrient balance without significant shifts to achieve physical results.