Feel like you are working your ass off in the gym, eating right, drinking all the water, and just not seeing results? There are so many reasons as to why this might be happening, but one in particular that a lot of folks don’t consider is that you might not be doing the right workouts for your specific body type. 

I recently touched on this subject in an Instagram post and received an influx of body type related questions, as a lot of personal trainers and health/fitness coaches apparently don’t really discuss this with their clients.

Getting to know my body type and learning how to train for my genetic makeup helped me to really see the physical changes I desired within my body. In a weird way, it also helped me to become more accepting of my body–probably because for the first time I started working with my body type, instead of against it. 

Before we dive in, I want to preface that there is no such thing as a good or bad body type. Every human body is beautiful and this is just a simple way of getting to know your physical makeup a little better. A little self exploration if you will. 

The three basic human body types are known as endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph. Some of us might even fall into a mix of two categories depending on our lifestyles, genetics, and athletic history. 

Ectomorph

An ectomorph tends to have the long and lean body type. Their physical makeup can usually be described as narrow hips, small joints, thin build, and long legs. These folks usually have trouble putting on weight and/or muscle mass, even when in a caloric surplus. 

Depending on your goals, if an ectomorph wants to put on muscle it’s advised they consume a lot of protein and carbohydrates, lift heavy, and take it easy on the cardio.

I remember when I first started out in my fitness journey, everyone told me to lift heavy and that I didn’t need the cardio. That might work for an ectomorph, but it certainly didn’t give me the body I wanted–this is because I’m a mesomorph.

Mesomorph

This body tends to gain muscle easily and is usually built with a medium frame. They tend to gain weight and lose weight fairly easily, as well as “bounce back” pretty quickly when getting back in shape compared to the other two body types. Mesomorphs tend to have a narrow waist, muscular arms and legs, thinner joints, and wide clavicles.

Depending on your personal goals, this body type tends to thrive by engaging in a healthy mixture of both moderate weight lifting and aerobic activity on a weekly basis, such as HIIT bootcamp classes or HIIT pilates classes.

Endomorph

A person that’s an endomorph tends to gain weight easily and has trouble losing it. This doesn’t mean that this body is less healthy than the other two body types, endomorphs sometimes have strength advantages due to having additional muscle mass. Physical traits can include a thick rib cage, wider hips, and shorter limbs. 

This body type benefits from lifting moderate weights, but also including cardio such as HIIT (high intensity interval training) and/or steady-state training (walking or biking at a steady pace for 30-60 minutes–my favorite lately).

Not everyone fits into just one category. I would consider myself in between endomorph and mesomorph, which means I gain weight easily, lose weight easily, and put on muscle easily. I hold most of my fat in my lower body and am naturally curvy. I have found that the best workouts for my body type and personal goals include a mixture of low impact workouts (such as Pilates), HIIT training, and moderate to light weight lifting such as sculpt. Read more about my personal method that combines a mixture of my favorite ways to train for endomorphs/mesomorphs. 

BodyBuilding.com has a quick quiz to find out which body you resonate with, but I highly suggest doing a little more research on your body type once you find out. Learning more about my body type has made creating my own personal fitness goals much more attainable and realistic.

Get tips, recipes, discount codes, podcasts, playlists, and more sent to your inbox every other week by signing up for my newsletter.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions about body types! I would love to hear from you; DM me on Instagram.