Tuning your training: should you factor in body type?

It’s a fact of life that we all have unique genetics, and that those genetics profoundly affect our body’s shape, metabolism and responses to training. Indeed, you probably know of people who naturally stay lean and slender no matter what they eat, or those who can seemingly gain copious amounts of strength and muscle by merely looking at a barbell! But given we all tend towards a certain type of metabolism and certain type of body shape, can this impact and influence the way that you train?

Unraveling body types

Nearly 70 years ago, a physiologist by the name of Sheldon was trying to classify different body types by examining characteristics such as body proportion, bone structure and body fat levels⁽¹⁾. He came up with three essential body types, known as ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs (see figure 1). In brief, ectomorphic body types were characterized as slim, tall, with less muscle mass and less tendency to gain body mass. Endomorphic body types were characterized as shorter in height with higher levels of muscle and body fat and with a tendency to gain weight easily. Mesomorphic body types meanwhile were characterized as naturally muscular and athletic, not especially tall or short, slim waisted, and with no particular tendency to gain or lose weight.

Figure 1: Sheldon’s body type classification