|
Anyone who has spent time at a beach, swimming
pool, or gym locker room can attest to the fact that human beings are born with
a variety of different body type and characteristics. Some are taller or
shorter, lighter or darker, wider or narrower in the shoulders, longer and
shorter in the leg; they have higher or lower natural levels of endurance,
differing types of muscle cells, more or fewer muscle and fat cells.
One popular method of categorizing all
these various body types recognizes three fundamentally different
physical types, called somatotypes:
- The Ectomorph Body Type:
characterized by a short upper body, long arms and legs, long and narrow
feet and hands, and very little fat storage; narrowness in the chest and
shoulders, with generally long, thin muscles
- The Mesomorph Body Type: large
chest, long torso, solid muscle structure and great strength
- The Endomorph Body Type: soft
musculature, round face, short neck, wide hips, and heavy fat storage.
Of course, no one is entirely one type
but rather a combination of all three types. This system of
classification recognizes a total of eighty-eight subcategories, which
are arrived at by examining the level of dominance of each basic
category on a scale of 1 to 7. For example, someone whose body type
characteristics were scored as ectomorphic (2), mesomorphic (6), and
endomorphic (5) would be an endo-mesomorph, basically a well-muscled
jock type but inclined to carry a lot of fat.
Although the fundamentals of
bodybuilding training apply to all the somatotypes (body types),
individuals with different body types often respond very differently to
training, and what works for one body type may not necessarily work for
another. Any body type can be developed by proper training and
nutrition, but individuals with different body types will find it
necessary to initially approach their training with different
objectives, even though they may share the same long-term goals.
Get your Bodybuilding Supplements at discounted price
|