Eating for your body type

By Nelly Obadha

Whenever body types and the relevant exercises are discussed, it is often in reference to women. Rarely are men’s body types and the specific fitness regime suitable for each type discussed.

Just like women, men have specific body types or a combination of two or more types.

Body types in men are usually determined by how easy it is to gain or lose weight and build muscles. Men fall in three categories of body types, which determine the kind of fitness regime to adopt.

Ectomorphs

This body type is described as skinny, light build with lean muscles and small joints. Gaining weight for most ectomorphs is usually an uphill task and many give up trying and resign to their fate.

Ectomorphs have a high metabolic rate.  The food and energy in their bodies get used up faster that it can be stored. Such people need a lot of calories to gain weight.

To ensure they are fit, ectomorphs need to eat more and engage in exercises that build the muscles.

Mesomorphs

Mesomorphs are known for their large bone structure and are naturally athletic. They find it easy to gain and lose weight. They have a hard body and well-defined muscle structures that are easy to build.

Because they gain weight easily, mesomorphs face the danger of gaining unhealthy weight. Anyone with this type of body must watch what they eat; otherwise, they may gain too much weight.

The best exercises for mesomorphs should be a combination of aerobics and moderate weight lifting. Due to the fact that this body type gains muscles faster, you must be careful how much you train.

Endomorphs

Endomorphs usually have a short build with thick arms and legs. It is much easy to describe them as soft and round. They easily gain muscle and fats. The downside of being an endomorph is that you many find it hard to lose fat because of a slow metabolic rate.

To be fit, people with this body type should do cardio exercises and weight training. Cardio exercises burn excess calories while weight lifting builds muscles. Endomorphs should also watch what they eat to ensure they don’t gain excess weight.