William Sheldon, American psychologist, based on older empirical data, listed three different morphotypes. A morphotype is the set of physical characteristics that define an individual through genetics.
Science has challenged this classification by demonstrating that a human's genes could evolve over the course of their existence. Furthermore, each physical and physiological factor is independent; it is not really possible to classify or categorize individuals.
However, your body type can help you to know your body better and adapt your diet and sports activity according to it.
What is the physique of an ectomorph like?
Definition of an ectomorph:
Ectomorphs are tall, thin people with poorly developed muscles. Their arms and legs are long, their torsos are rather short. They have little muscle mass and have difficulty gaining weight. They have low body fat levels, even without dieting. They have thin bones, thin ankles and wrists, and narrow pelvises and shoulders.
If you are an ectomorph type and want to gain weight and muscle mass, this article will explain everything you need to know.
What are the other morphotypes?
Definition of a mesomorph:
A mesomorph person has a naturally athletic body shape with already existing muscle mass. He gains muscle mass relatively easily. The mesomorph has a longer and wider upper body than an ectomorph, but its waist remains slim.
Definition of an endomorph:
An endomorph person has tight shoulders and fairly short limbs. The endomorph gains weight easily and must watch their diet to avoid gaining too much weight, even when they eat sensibly. Their body quickly assimilates all meals. Their body struggles to eliminate excess fat. This promotes rapid build-up of adipose tissue.
What are the advantages of being an ectomorph?
Ectomorphs have a fast metabolism, so they don't store fat and can easily lose weight without much effort. Their muscle fibers are slow, so the ectomorph is suitable for long-term physical training.
What are the disadvantages of the ectomorph type?
Their muscle recovery is slower, which can easily cause muscle fatigue. They also have more fragile bones and joints, which can cause injuries. The ectomorph must be careful about overtraining.
What physical training is suitable for the ectomorph?
Since the ectomorph has a metabolism that naturally burns a lot of calories per day, they will have difficulty gaining weight. Mass gain is generally sought.
For this, strength training with heavy loads shocks the body, stimulates the muscles and promotes muscle mass gain.
Ectomorph people must therefore perform strength training exercises targeting each muscle group, with between 6 to 10 repetitions per series of exercises and heavy loads which must be increased over the sessions. For example, bench press, row, squat, deadlift…etc. If you want to have a suitable bodybuilding program, ask a sports coach for advice in the weight room.
However, the ectomorph has joints and a bone system that are more fragile than other morphotypes, so the number of strength training sessions per week will be less but very intense. Too much training load will not allow the body to fully recover.
The ectomorph has a slower muscle recovery, it is necessary that the recovery time between each series of strength training exercises be quite long (from 2 minutes) depending on the number of repetitions performed. Likewise for the time between two sessions, it must be long enough because it allows the muscle to repair itself.
Having a fast metabolism and losing weight quickly, endurance training is not recommended for the ectomorph unless he wants to cut down and result in weight and fat loss. Bodybuilding is the most suitable sporting activity for gaining mass.
What diet is suitable for the ectomorph?
Increase your calorie intake
The ectomorph must increase his daily intake and the quantity of calories ingested (to be spread over 4 to 6 meals) in order to satisfy the nutritional needs of his muscles and promote mass gain. He can eat what he wants without gaining fat, but he needs a healthy diet and a balanced diet with proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Even if the ectomorph does not see the results of his diet visually, his body will make him feel fatigue, pain, loss of strength, a slowdown in mass gain... Thus, diet plays a key role for ectomorphs, it must be of good quality. In addition, a sedentary ectomorph can gain weight and gain fat in the belly area only.
Also, it is important for the ectomorph to consume enough protein per day.
The importance of protein
For a sedentary ectomorph, you need around 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight/day, or around 20% of daily calories.
If you do bodybuilding and want to gain muscle, increase your intake without exceeding 3 grams of protein per kg of body weight/day, or approximately 25% of calories/day.
Proteins are essential for building muscle. In fact, proteins nourish the muscle and repair it after a weight training session. Proteins and amino acids are what make your muscles bulk up. There are many foods rich in good quality proteins , ask a nutritionist for more information.
Protein intake must be distributed throughout the day. If the proteins ingested through food are not enough to meet your protein intake then you can take protein supplements.
Our Protein shot snacks. healthy and rich in proteins are ideal to supplement your protein intake and accompany your sports sessions to help you gain muscle.
PROTEIN SNACKSChoosing the right fats and carbohydrates
Good fats (fish, olive oil) help the body produce testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone that facilitates muscle production. The human body secretes testosterone during physical exercise, which is why a sufficient intake of lipids will allow you to make the most of the testosterone peaks produced during your weight training sessions.
The diet of a person with an ectomorphic body shape must be rich in carbohydrates . His meals should be composed of 50 to 60% carbohydrates, 25% lipids and 25% proteins. So choose foods rich in carbohydrates such as whole grain cereals: rice, pasta, potatoes, legumes, etc.
Take food supplements
If you have an ectomorphic body type and are looking to gain weight, but you don't have the time to eat properly, food supplements will be your allies.
Food supplements alone do not allow you to gain muscle. You must therefore follow bodybuilding sessions adapted to your ectomorph or other type of body type.
Protein food supplements for ectomorphs are specially designed to be easily absorbed and assimilated by the body.
Food supplements are an easy way to increase your calorie intake and therefore promote weight gain.
Our protein meal bars contain 23g of Protein for 400 kcal per bar.
With good lipids and carbohydrates to provide you with the nutrients necessary for your weight gain.
If you want to have a nutrition program adapted to your ectomorph body type, seek advice from a health and nutrition professional.
In summary
Morphotypes and their characteristics must be taken with caution because each individual is different and cannot be categorized. However, if you are thin, fine-boned, with little fat and low muscle mass, then you are probably an ectomorph. If your goals are to gain mass and develop muscles, you will need to increase your caloric intake through nutrition rich in proteins and favor short but intense physical training, based on strength. Bodybuilding is suitable for gaining mass and gaining volume.
We recommend that you seek advice from a health and sports professional to help you achieve your goals according to your body type.
