What are the three Somato body types?

The three somato body types are used to classify people to determine which exercise and diet program is right for them.

One of the greatest tragedies in the fitness industry happens when someone with a particular body type takes advice from a fitness professional not intended for them. They implement the strategies and watch as their body composition goes in the opposite direction they were aiming for.

I know how this feels because I have done it repeatedly myself, which is hugely frustrating. What works for one type doesn’t work for another, and it is crucial to your success that you identify your somato body type before you embark down the road to your fitness goals.

What is Somatotype theory?

Somatotype theory was created by Dr.William H. Sheldon, Ph.D., MD, in 1940 in an attempt to classify the human body into three basic types, based on height, build, body fat and muscle mass differences.

Everyone falls into a somatotype, although many people are a combination or sit somewhere between two types. The three somato body times are ectomorphs, characterized by their slim build and low levels of body fat and muscle; endomorphs, characterized by their stockier build and higher amounts of body fat and muscle mass; and finally, mesomorphs, who reside somewhere between ectomorphs and endomorphs and are typically described as having an athletic build.

Can you change your Somatotype?

When people first learn about the somatotypes and identify which type they are, they often start dreaming of switching their body type to another. Most of us aren’t exactly thrilled with our bodies and want to improve them in some way continually; skinny people want to build muscle and accentuate curves, while overweight people dream of being thin and sleek.

The misunderstanding here begins by assuming that ectomorphs are always skinny, while endomorphs are always fat, and this isn’t the case.

Somatotypes are more about one’s skeletal shape and body composition. This means that although ectomorphs are generally tall and lean, they can become thicker with consistent effort. The story is the same with endomorphs; they tend to be shorter, stockier and fatter naturally, but with consistent diet and exercise efforts, they can become very lean and athletic.

What is Ectomorph body type?

Ectomorphs are the lean type, often with little body fat or muscle mass. If they’re taller than average, their leanness is even more pronounced. Ectomorph men usually dream of being bigger, with more muscle and even fat.

Ectomorph women typically want to be curvier, especially in the hips, chest and butt area. Ectomorphs are characterized by narrow hips, small wrists and ankles with a thin build and long limbs.

How should Ectomorphs train?

Ectomorphs who want to put on more muscle need to understand the simple reality that muscle mass and volume follow strength gains.

There is no way to put on muscle unless you progressively load your muscles and demand more and more from them in the strength department. 

For example, if you begin bench pressing and start benching 135lb and after four months can bench 220 lb, your chest, arms and shoulder muscles are going to reflect your increased strength gains.

Having said that, ectomorphs tend to have the most negligible correlation between strength gains and increased muscle volume, from my observations. Some ectomorphs train for years and get exceptionally strong and do look strong; however, a mesomorph or endomorph who puts in the same amount of effort will generally put on more weight and muscle mass.

How should Ectomorphs eat?

The ectomorph body tends to be the least efficient at utilizing calories and nutrients than the other somatotypes. This means that to gain muscle or fat, the ectomorph needs to eat more food, more often.

The foods they eat need to be higher in calories and contain more protein, fats and carbohydrates. It can be truly remarkable how much food a very skinny ectomorph needs to eat to make strength gains and put on weight continually.

What is Mesomorph body type?

Mesomorphs are classified as the middle point between the slim ectomorphs and the thick endomorphs. We tend to call them lean because their natural tendency to develop muscle like an endomorph and keep a limited amount of fat like an ectomorph generally makes them look pretty good, right off the bat. If anyone could pick their somatotype, it would probably be a mesomorph for this very reason. Mesomorphs are characterized by broader collar bones, narrower waists and thinner joints.

How should Mesomorphs train?

If we break down weight training into two categories, higher rep training (10-16 reps) and lower rep training (1-8 reps), then the mesomorph would want to engage in a training program somewhere in the middle, depending on their fitness goals, of course.

Working in the lower rep/heavier weight range for strength training and engaging in some type of cardio would be ideal for mesomorphs. Because mesomorphs generally have a well-balanced physique, they can excel in a wide range of sports ranging from team sports like soccer and basketball to martial arts and even weight lifting.

How should a Mesomorph eat?

Mesomorphs have been blessed with a metabolism that allows them to get away with eating higher calorie foods with minimal fat gain and skip meals and not quickly become emaciated like ectomorphs.

For this reason, if a mesomorph wants to alter their body composition, they can do so by moderately raising or lowering their caloric intake. For instance, if an ectomorph seeks to gain weight, they have to eat a substantially large amount of food, while the mesomorph only has to increase their consumption by a little.

Similarly, if an endomorph wants to cut weight, their calorie restriction will seem extreme compared to the caloric restriction a mesomorph will have to implement.

What is an Endomorph body type?

The endomorph somatotype is characterized by broader shoulders, thicker chests, wider hips and shorter limbs. They often find it easy to gain fat and muscle but also quite challenging to lose weight.

Endomorphs often dream about revealing the six-pack abs they’ve always wanted and work tirelessly to try and achieve them.

While ectomorphs and mesomorphs tend to excel at activities involving agility and endurance, endomorphs struggle. However, the area in which endomorphs shine is strength training. Having a stockier frame allows weight lifting movements to be carried out with more control and stabilization than the other somatotypes. And not to mention the general ease with which endomorphs can put on muscle, should they choose to start a weight lifting program.

How should Endomorphs train?

As stated above, endomorphs’ thicker joints and chest allow them to have more structure to distribute the load of heavier weights, which means they can often increase quickly through a strength training program.

We know that more strength equals more muscle mass, and this is where endomorphs excel. Endomorphs should focus there, similar to the other somatotypes, and strive to lift more weight and get stronger.

However, when it comes to cardio, my advice is to keep it limited. Most endomorphs hate cardio simply because they are not good at it, and because of that, they shouldn’t frustrate themselves spending hours a day on a treadmill.

The vast majority of fat loss for endomorphs will happen in the kitchen.

How should Endomorphs eat?

For endomorphs, diet is the single most crucial part of reaching their fitness goals.

Endomorphs can spend 8 hours a day in the gym, lifting weights and doing cardio, but if their diet is not in check, they will not lose fat.

This can be extremely frustrating to endomorphs, especially when they follow mainstream fitness advice, usually given my ecto or mesomorphs and wonder why they can’t make any progress.

Put simply, ectomorphs need to implement more significant caloric deficits than ecto and mesomorphs if they want to see results.

Do Somato body types matter?

When comparing the different somatotypes, we can see that the ease or difficulty of one type can gain or lose muscle mass or fat compared to another type. I would go so far as to say that this difference accounts for much of the frustration people experience when embarking down the path to change their body composition.

If an ectomorph listens to the advice from an endomorph, who is preaching the realities of the endomorph body type, they’re going to make zero progress and might actually make their appearance and fitness worse. Likewise, if an endomorph listens to the standard advice given to ectomorphs or “hard gainers” to eat 12 meals a day and stuff their face with whatever they can find, they will quickly become obese and move much further away from their desired physique.

To summarize, somatotypes matter greatly when seeking fitness and diet advice.

What works for one type will not work for the others and could end up greatly hindering your efforts. Likewise, if you receive advice explicitly designed for your body type, with consistent effort, you will see progress and most importantly, you won’t waste your time or become discouraged!

The correct diet and exercise advice exists for every person on the planet, regardless of their somatotype, and their first step should be locating a fitness professional who knows how to manipulate their somatotype to achieve their desired results.

Endoshredz Cutting Program

The Endoshredz cutting program walks through the entire fat loss process designed specifically for endomorphs, laying out a succinct and straightforward path to make real progress.

I walk you through how to calculate your calories and include many endomorph-specific tips and tricks to make things easier on yourself.

Then, we walk through the core compound lifts which allow you to pack on muscle and strength all while continually cutting fat.

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