In our society, it is difficult to find a person who would be 100% satisfied with his own figure. Most people are constantly trying to improve their body, to bring it closer to personal perceptions of the ideal. It is much easier to do this if you know well the peculiarities of your own constitution. There are several classifications of body types, but the most popular is the division of people into mesomorphs, endomorphs and ectomorphs. Let’s consider their distinctive features, as well as the principles of building nutrition and training for each of these types.
Mesomorphs – normostenic body type
Mesomorphs are athletes from nature. This type of people is able to maintain athletic physique without much effort.
Usually we talk about such people as strong, sporty and fit . Their distinctive features are:
- harmoniously developed, proportional body;
- a clear relief of the musculature and a fairly large volume of muscle mass, which is gained quickly and with minimal effort;
- narrow, but voluminous, developed shoulders;
- low percentage of subcutaneous fat, lack of inclination to its gaining;
- wide waist, despite the presence of a traced press;
- large joints and thick bones.
The daily diet of the mesomorph should be built on the basis of such proportions:
- 30-40% of protein;
- 40-50% of carbohydrates;
- about 10% of fats.
For a mesomorph, who is striving for a gain of muscle mass, the optimal intake of protein is in the amount of 2.5 g per 1 kg of body weight. Also, do not forget about carbohydrates, because you need them as a source of energy for training. Almost half of the diet of the mesomorph should consist of carbohydrates, but they must be predominantly complex. Complex carbohydrates include cereals, hardened spaghetti, and vegetables.
To calculate the daily caloric intake for muscle mass, you should multiply the current weight by 30, and then add 500 kcal to the received amount. For example, an actively training man weighing 70 kg should consume (70 * 30) + 500 = 2600 kcal per day.
Mesomorphs are not prone to gaining fat mass, but if there is still a goal to lose weight, then the amount of carbohydrates should be reduced, and the protein should be increased. At the same time, carbohydrate-rich foods are best consumed only in the first half of the day.
Do not forget about fats. They are necessary for maintaining the hormonal background, as well as the health of joints, skin and hair. It is better to give preference to more useful unsaturated fats from seeds, nuts and vegetable oils.
Mesomorphs inherently easily build muscle mass, therefore they can receive positive effect practically from any training scheme.
To maintain a relatively athletic build, 1 training per week will be enough for them. Therefore, this type of people should pay more attention to nutrition, aimed at the growth of “dry” muscle mass with pronounced relief. A similar effect is achieved with high protein concentration and moderate consumption of carbohydrates.
Endomorphs – hypersthenic body type
Endomorphs are large people, without problems in gaining both muscle and fat mass.
Representatives of this type of physique usually complain that they only need to look at high-calorie food to gain a few extra pounds. Their distinctive features are:
- rounded, stocky physique;
- a wide waist, against which the shoulders appear narrow;
- a sufficiently large volume of muscle mass, combined with an equally fatty layer, which excludes the manifestation of the relief of the musculature;
- wide bones.
Nutrition of endomorphs should be organized as follows:
- 50% of protein;
- 40% of carbohydrates;
- 10% of fats.
Such a diet is aimed at solving the main problem of endomorphs – getting rid of excess weight. In grams, this is about 2 g of protein, 2.5 g of carbohydrates and 0.5 g of fat per 1 kg of body weight. And the calculation should be carried out not on the basis of the current weight, but of the one to which you aspire. Based on the desired weight, the daily calorie is also calculated, for which the treasured figure is multiplied by 30. The diet turns out to be quite strict, therefore deviations are almost inevitable. If you ate excess food, do not blame yourself, it is better to arrange an additional expenditure of calories, for example, go for a walk before going to bed.
A strict diet will inevitably affect metabolism, causing it to slow down. As a result, after about 1.5 months weight loss will stop. During this period, it is necessary to increase the amount of carbohydrates to 3-3.5 g per 1 kg of body weight with simultaneous increase in physical activity, and when the weight moves from the dead point, return to the usual regime. Effect on the rate of metabolic processes can also be achieved with the help of frequent, but small in volume meals. The entire daily diet should be divided into 5-6 portions; you should eat them with a break of 2 hours.
It is especially important for endomorph to pay attention to the quality of the products used. You should exclude or at least minimize caloric foods that do not carry any nutritional value. We are talking about refined sweets, bakery products, carbonated drinks, industrial sauces, etc. The basis of the diet should contain protein products with low fat content and complex carbohydrates.
To maintain the athletic figure of the endomorph, you need up to 5 intensive workouts per week. If this is a strength training, then you need to make a large number of approaches (8-10) for each muscle group, performing 15-20 repetitions in each of them. Cardio trainings are equally important. They should be frequent, but moderate in pace and time (30-40 minutes).
Ectomorphs – asthenic body type
Ectomorphs are inherently lean people. They are the lucky ones who can afford to eat anything, without gaining extra pounds.
However, the muscle tissue of ectomorphs is formed as hard as fat, so it is very difficult for them to pump up muscles. You can find out the ectomorph by the following features:
- broad shoulders;
- slim waist;
- thin bones and small joints;
- minimum percentage of adipose tissue;
- mild musculature, which is difficult to increase.
Generally, this type of people tends to weight gain. Men want to build muscle mass, women – to obtain more rounded shapes. Based on these goals, the diet of ectomorphs should be organized in this way:
- 50-60% of carbohydrates;
- 20-30% of protein;
- 20% of fats.
In the diet of ectomorphs, the emphasis is on carbohydrates. When gaining weight, their amount can be 6-9 g per 1 kg of body weight. However, it is not worth scouring buns and cakes. If you want not just to increase in size, but to obtain a beautiful sports body, the sources of carbohydrates and fats should be as useful as possible – cereals, vegetables, fruits, whole grains and pasta, nuts.
Calculation of the daily calorie rate is carried out by multiplying the desired weight by 40. On the days of training, add 500 kcal to the resulting number.
In ectomorphs, nutrition is simple enough: it should be abundant and saturated with the maximum amount of nutrients, but more attention should be given to training. When drawing up a training program, it is necessary to take into account the features of the ectomorph muscle tissue. His muscles do not have great endurance, so during excessive loads they quickly begin to break down and stop growing. For this reason, the duration of the training should not exceed 60 minutes, and exercises should be performed with a low number of approaches and repetitions.
The recovery of muscles also requires a large amount of time, so do not train more than 3 times per week. But ectomorphs, who want to gain weight, should not get involved in cardio-training.
When building an individual diet, you must consider that pure body types are quite rare. Often a person can combine the characteristics of two body constitutions. In this case, the diet is built according to prevailing signs, or something in between is compiled. In addition, with age, our body can change the constitution under the influence of the hormonal background. For example, an adolescent-endomorph can grow and become a mesomorph in the process of growing up. In this case, both diet and training should be adjusted.