Bodytype: Ectomorph, Endomorph, or Mesomorph?
After last week’s discussion on basal metabolic rate and Jeff’s nice recap and clarification this week, it got me thinking. If I’m going to try to transform my body, I should find out what will work best with my body type. What type of diet and exercise is going to maximize my weight loss? I found there are three basic body types, and these are the same for men and women.
- Ectomorph - thin, linear appearance
- Endomorph - big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs
- Mesomorph - broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles and fast metabolism
I definitely fall into the endomorph category, in fact large thighs might be my defining characteristic. Depending on where you fall in these three body types you may want to adjust the type of exercise and food choices you make. Most articles I read on the subject had similar recommendations.
The endomorph must increase his metabolism through weightlifting and must eat lots of fruit and vegetables in order to lose weight. This I would consider bad news for me, being an endomorph. I mean who doesn’t like fruits and vegetables, but weight lifting? If you are an ectomorph, the naturally slim, do nothing or if you would like to gain muscle eat more calories and focus on weightlifting. There’s that dirty word again. Lastly the mesomorphs, the naturally muscular jock types, should train strongly with weights, and not worry so much about what they eat. Again with weight lifting (I’m sensing a trend here.)
These are very broad generalizations about how work with your body type instead of against it. Do more research at the links below and post your body type in the comments as well as how you’re going to lose weight and transform your body.
Bodytype: Ectomorph, Endomorph, or Mesomorph?
Pictures of body types
Body type test
Dr. William H. Sheldon
Fat 2 Fit Radio #1 - Introductions
The introductory show of Fat 2 Fit Radio spills all the beans on its two hosts as introductions are made from Jeff Ainslie and Russ Turley. Find out why these two guys are perfect for giving you inspiration and advice for all of your weight loss and fitness goals. The main topic of the day was BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which basically tells you how many calories you will burn in a day without any physical activity.
The discussion then covers how to find out what you really burn in a day at rest, and when you add in activity. A few strategies to managing your BMR effectively are also brought up. The higher your BMR, the more you can eat in a day and still lose or maintain your weight.
It’s really a no brainer.
Links mentioned in the show:
Listen here, or subscribe to automatically receive future shows.
Burning Fat and Your Metabolism
I came across a CBC article called “Your Metabolism, Burn Calories Burn“. It talked about how to calculate how many calories that you naturally burn in a day, but what I found to be the most important part was how to keep your metabolism revving so that you can burn more fat.
Here are some main points:
- You can’t change your basal metabolic rate (what you burn just to stay alive), but you can drastically change how many calories in a day you burn through increasing your activity.
- Muscle naturally burns calories and the more muscle you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate.
- The reason that your metabolism slows down as you age, is that you naturally lose muscle mass. You lose 2-3% of your entire muscle mass every decade after 30. (Each pound of muscle can add up to 50 cals/day to your basal metabolic rate)
Here are some tips:
- Eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day.
- Eat a balanced diet of all the food groups.
- Strength train to maintain your natural muscle mass.
- 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 5 times per week.
Welcome to Fat 2 Fit Radio
Welcome to the future site of the Fat 2 Fit Radio show with Russ Turley and Jeff Ainslie. The first show will be recorded on 10/11/07, so stay tuned for more information and more importantly, the first show.
Russ
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