Understanding Your Body
How do you measure your current physique? Height and weight are the two prominent factors. While height is generally out of our control, weight is determined by our diet, routine, and overall health. Even a minor difference in weight can have a huge impact on your physical appearance.
Putting on five pounds of muscle will make you seem bigger and more fit. However, putting on five pounds of fat (which generally go to the thighs and belly) will make you seem softer and out of shape. Losing five pounds, whether it’s fat or muscle, will also go a long way for most people, as you’ll be smaller and appear smaller.
Speaking broadly, there are three classes when it comes to body-types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. Below is a picture of each of the types, although these examples are exaggerated to show clear distinctions. Real life isn’t as clear cut.
These designations are not sealed in stone. A common misconception is believing you are born into a certain body type and that it is set for life. That is simply not true. Genetics do play a factor in determining your physique, metabolism, and how your body reacts to activity and foods. But genetics is not the only factor, and that is important to remember. You can change it through hard work and discipline.
Keeping that in mind, here is how each body type is defined:
Ectomorphs are generally skinny. Sometimes they’ll have abs, maybe even a six-pack, but that’s only because their body-fat percentage is so low. Their arms and legs might look like sticks. Some ectomorphs actually do have body fat (usually around their abdomen or thighs). This is known as skinny-fat. They still appear thin and feeble, but that bit of fat can be troublesome to shred. An ectomorph’s goal is to increase (both in quality and quantity) the foods they are eating while working out to gain muscle mass and strength and keeping fat at a minimum.
Endomorphs are overweight, tending to be above 20% body fat. The taller the person, the less apparent it is, but regardless of height, endomorphs have a solid amount of muscle beneath the flab. Typically, they are the strongest of the three body-types. An endomorph’s goal is to maintain muscle mass while losing fat. A change in diet and an increase in exercise is the prescription.
Mesomorphs are muscular, v-tapered, and have an overall decent frame. This body type is the ideal, but that doesn’t mean all mesomorphs are perfect. If they lean towards endomorphs, then they still have some fat that needs to be taken care of. If they’re a bit on the smaller side, then there’s still muscle mass to be gained.
*** For women, these body type percentage classifications are different. Women tend to have more fat than men due to estrogen, so it is dangerously unhealthy to drop below 15% body fat. The ideal for women is 20%.
Although you probably know your body type by comparing yourself to the definitions, you should still have an estimation of your current body fat percentage (especially if you are trying to cut weight).
One method is to eyeball it using images depicting male and female bodies at different body fat levels. Builtlean.com has charts for both men and women with more information on what different percentages of body-fat entails.
If you want something with greater precision, look into using a fat caliper to measure your body fat.
The reason it’s important to determine your body type and your body fat percentage is so you can begin your program with set goals in mind. Otherwise, you might fall into the trap of bulking and cutting the same ten pounds, without ever achieving your desired look.