Whenever you hit the gym or look
around yourself you might be wondering why the other fellow gets good results
even though they workout less or some may not gain a single inch even working
out hard. Yeah, mostly diet, sleep,
workout, proper nutrition and so many parameters come into play while we
talk about bodybuilding but the one most important factor is your genetics or
body type too that has been passed on to you from your ancestors. It is not
like that the inferior body types or hard gainers won’t make it up to the top
or won’t get the desired results but they will have to follow a special routine
for their body type to get them closer to their desired goal.
We will discuss on that lately in
this post, but the important thing to first discover that in which category does
your body belong to and then we can move forward to sculpt it in a desired
fashion. Generally speaking there are three known body types – ectomorphs (long,
lean, building muscle hard), endomorphs (high body fat, big, store body fat
easily) and the mesomorphs (muscular, well-built, high metabolism, easy muscle
gainers).
Ectomorphs
Due to fast metabolism they can burn
off fat easily and are good at converting carbohydrates into energy. But they struggle
to pack on muscle so to become bulk up they need to restrict cardio sessions to
minimum and emphasize on compound exercises – squats, bench-press, deadlifts,
etc. with intense sessions (8-12 rep) and keep it at most 3 days a week workout
plan as working out more will again hamper recovery and turn down muscle gain. A
diet packed with high calories, carbs, protein and fat can be a good choice and
keep it mind it is healthy, also adding some unsaturated fat and complex carbs
like - sweet potatoes and brown rice will be great plus incorporating pre and
post workout protein shake can be included.
Endomorphs
These body types have high tendency
to store fuel and hence fat is concentrated mostly in the lower body. They find
it hard when it comes to manage body weight and overall fitness; there main
focus must be getting body fat shredded and getting a bigger upper structure by
working out the shoulders. They must not go for cardio all day long rather they
can go for lifting heavy as doing more cardio can cause weakness. For them 4
days a week of heavy weight split training with low reps combined with cardio
sessions is a good pick and focusing on bodyweight exercise can be good. A diet
high in protein and fibre with low carb content (oats, brown rice) plus green
tea (fat burner, increases metabolism and aids detox) can be taken. As stress
can also add to weight gain so keep it at bay and try to eat complex carbs and
keep in mind the source is healthy.
Mesomorphs
These body types are easy gainers
and pack on muscle without much effort and also least tendency to store body
fat. For them incorporating a progressive workout plan is a good pick and can
be done by merely increasing weights with every session as they get more
powerful and muscular, adding up some sprints, jumps or plyometrics is good as
their body responds well to power moves with low reps. Treadmills or sprinting
can boost their metabolism and keep them shredded. Their intake should consist
of complex carbs, lean protein and healthy (unsaturated/plant based) fats also
they can add creatine for recovery and growth as such body types respond well
to it.
Now as we know our body types we
can work in the correct path and based on the goal we can set a workout and
diet plan so as to make maximum gains and get the desired results in no time.
