Founder
December 2nd, 2004, 10:26 PM
The jury is still out. The verdict on how much genetics contribute to the amount of skeletal muscle you can build naturally is still under deliberation, and rightly so. The new guy in the gym seems to have grown like a weed this year while you, the most committed lifter on the planet, haven't gained a pound in months. Your body just isn't responding to the weight cycling, exercise variety and active rest you've implemented in your program. You're doing everything right, so what's the deal? Before you place all the blame on your parents, concentrate on two things: your mirror and your table.
Sure, people come in all shapes and sizes, but those shapes and sizes all had definite beginnings -- a genetically predetermined body type of ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph or, more likely, some combination thereof. You can find out which one you are by taking a good, hard look in the mirror. Are you slender and small-boned, with long arms and a thin neck? You're probably an ectomorph. If you're pear-shaped with shorter arms and legs and big bones, you might be an endomorph. And if you're thick-chested, broad-shouldered and naturally muscular (not to mention shunned by the other two body types!), you're probably a mesomorph.
Once you figure out your genetically determined body type, you must examine your kitchen table -- or, more specifically, what you eat off it. Research shows that you can increase muscle mass only through overloading your muscles and supporting the subsequent growth with a sufficient increase in food intake. That one dictum can work for everyone as long as you know that each body type will respond differently to what that food intake includes. In a nutshell, however, a good meal is a terrible thing to waste. Whether you're an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph, you have a serious responsibility to take care of business at mealtime.
That being said, you still need to know several things: What types of food and how often should you eat? Should you take any supplements? Would any type of food, supplement or situation hinder you from maximizing the growth potential of your particular body type? To help you answer these important questions, digest the information on the following pages that's appropriate to the body type you most closely resemble. It could help you transform your body into the physique you've always wanted!
ECTOMORPH
Just Eat!
Dietary needs: Consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight; protein intake can be as high as 30% of your total daily calories. Your carbohydrate intake should be around 50%, and fat intake 20% of your total daily calories. To add muscle, the number of calories you eat daily must exceed the number of calories you burn.
Frequency of meals: Eat five medium-sized meals a day. Eating too many small meals could fuel your already high metabolism.
Supplements: Have one weight-gain or protein shake each day with a meal and another one right before bedtime. Take creatine to help your energy levels during training and aid muscular adaptation.
Things to avoid: Fat-burners, ma huang, stress.
Things to remember: Don't skip meals, and make sure you drink at least 80 ounces of water a day.
A constant flow of high-quality protein, clean carbohydrate and fat is critical. In fact, you'd need 2,000-2,500 extra calories from a good diet to add just 1-2 pounds of lean tissue from resistance training! This illustrates the unfortunate truth that the ectomorph begins at a deficit and must counter the effects of that blazing metabolism with a rush of quality nutrients.
"Don't worry about getting fat, just eat!" says three-time Ms. International and IFBB pro Laura Creavalle. "You need to increase your calories to grow, so boost your intake of starchy carbohydrates, protein and fat."
Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, explains: "With this body type, the No. 1 thing is calories. The ectomorph has trouble getting enough, so he or she needs to eat every 2-3 hours. Use supplements to add calories on busy days; choose meal-replacement beverages, sports bars and sports drinks. Carry food and fluids with you so you don't get caught hungry or thirsty."
The ectomorph must also be aware of the need to eat properly before and after training. Evidence shows that eating a meal containing carbohydrate and protein before lifting weights may reduce catabolism during exercise; eating a similar meal afterward may promote a more anabolic profile. IFBB pro Milos Sarcev suggests eating 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily and increasing your intake of starchy carbohydrates like rice, potatoes and pasta. "It's even okay to add some saturated fat," he says. "Eating steak and eggs wouldn't hurt." Don't get too much saturated fat, however.
The ectomorph lives in the land of catabolism and it's an uphill battle to leave town. To make it to the freeway, you must fuel your body with something other than its own muscle protein throughout the day. Stay full with a few medium-sized meals. Basically, your motto could be, "Eat big to get big."
Exercises
*Do basic compound movements like the bench press, squat and row for deep fiber stimulation.
*Avoid isolation exercises (cable crossover, leg extension) that work smaller amounts of muscle mass.
Sets & Reps
*Do up to about 10 sets for larger body parts; 6-8 for smaller. More sets burn more calories; go intense for just a few.
*Don't take your warm-up sets to failure.
*Do a wide range of reps but focus on the 6-10 range, which is optimum for putting on size.
Intensity
*Fewer reps means going heavy. That's a high-intensity workout.
*Rest a little longer so you're thoroughly recuperated between sets for heavier lifting. Take up to a minute and a half between sets for smaller muscle groups to as much as 4-5 for something like heavy squats.
*With a training partner, try forced reps to shock your body into growth, but only on your heavy sets, and don't overdo them.
Frequency
*With high-intensity training, you'll get sore. Train that body part again only after muscle soreness has disappeared.
*Train each body part once per week. Again, burning too many calories by adding more workouts is counterproductive.
*Get lots of rest between workout sessions.
*Try to maintain some variety in your workouts by doing something slightly different each day (go a little heavier, add reps, try an advanced training technique, etc.).
Cardio
*Too much aerobic activity will hinder your muscle gains. That includes your activities both in and out of the gym.
*Use light walking or biking for your aerobic needs just a couple of days per week. Keep those sessions within reason.
MESOMORPH
Get With the Program
Dietary needs: Eat 1 gram of lean protein (scrambled egg whites, lean turkey, skinless chicken breasts and fish) per pound of bodyweight daily. Your carbohydrate intake should remain high: 60%-65% of your daily calories. Limit fat to 15% of your daily caloric intake.
Frequency of meals: 5-7 meals per day.
Supplements: Protein shakes and meal replacements.
Things to remember: Don't eat the same things in the same amounts each week -- variety is the spice of life! Rather than trying to stay too lean all year, increase your calories now and then to pack on the muscle. You can gain muscle and lose fat easily, so make the most of that gift of balance.
Mesomorphs are blessed, to say the least. Not only do they look sensational, but their bodies have an innate ability to keep them that way. Research shows that muscular bodybuilders have a higher 24-hour energy expenditure, meaning they burn more calories both during activity and at rest than their non-bodybuilding counterparts of the same age, height and percent fat. Who could ask for more?
Even though you're able to gain muscle and get rid of unwanted fat easily, don't rest on your laurels! You still need to strive to make a good thing great. As Kleiner says, "The mesomorph has the tendency to be lazy, and to eat and train without a system or a strategy." Get with the program by eating the proper amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate and supplements -- all the right building blocks, if you will -- to make serious gains and reach your potential. After all, "You can't build a mansion with five bricks, even if the bricks are the best bricks you can buy," Milos explains.
Exercises
*Do traditional bodybuilding workouts, consisting of basic, compound movements followed by single-joint exercises.
Sets & Reps
*Utilize a wide range of repetitions, focusing on the 10-rep range.
*Cycle periods of heavy lifting with those using lighter weights for higher reps.
*Do 3-4 sets per exercise, 2-4 exercises per body part (more for larger muscle groups).
Intensity
*Hit the gym with a vengeance. You have a head start, so make the most of your genetic advantage.
*Stick with a routine that works for a short time, then change. By constantly stimulating your muscles in new ways, you'll keep your body guessing.
*Incorporate both light and heavy days into your training.
*Manipulate contraction speed for fiber stimulation and recruitment.
*Train to failure with advanced techniques, but don't always push to the limit.
Frequency
*Experiment with a three-, four- or five-day training split that includes multiple- and single-joint movements.
*Still, be careful not to over train. Give yourself good rest periods between training days as well as voluntary periods of time off every couple of months or so.
Cardio
*Do cardio to stay lean, but no more than four sessions of about 30 minutes per week.
*Avoid prolonged activity, which drains both physical and mental energy.
ENDOMORPH
The Heat Is On
Dietary needs: Above all else, limit your fat intake. All your protein should come from lean sources such as low-fat fish, skinless chicken breasts, egg whites and lean turkey. Consume a variety of vegetables, but never use plant sources for protein. Limit fruit to the early part of the day. Eat only quality complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, long-grain rice and lentils.
Frequency of meals: To get the calorie-burning benefits of constant digestion and absorption, eat 5-7 small meals every day. The thermogenic nature of food is critical.
Supplements: Thermogenic products and protein shakes (unless inadvisable for health reasons).
Things to avoid: Dairy products, deli sliced luncheon meats, incomplete protein sources, alcohol and soft drinks, second helpings.
Things to remember: Don't eat too late or too quickly, and make sure you leave the table before you're stuffed.
"The endomorph has less room for error," Kleiner begins. "Just as with the ectomorph, calories are the controlling factor. Yet if your goal is to taper, calories need to be restricted and each macronutrient amount (protein, carb or fat) has to be more exact." Also realize that while some foods will boost your metabolism, some will slow it down. This thermogenic effect is a process the endomorph needs to take control of now!
Here's the skinny on what this means for you: For roughly every 100 calories of protein you ingest, your body will use 20% of its own calories just to digest, absorb and distribute the protein. And for every 100 calories of carbohydrate you eat, your body will burn roughly 10%-12% of its own calories to do the same. As for fat, well, your body will burn just 5% of its own calories to digest and absorb 100 calories.
As you can see, even though fat is essential, it won't "stir the pot" like protein and carbohydrate. To get the most out of your protein, Creavalle, also an accomplished bodybuilding chef, suggests making skinless chicken breasts, fish and scrambled egg whites your mainstays. "This way you can eat more and have a full feeling without eating too much carbohydrate and fat," she notes. Milos agrees, but adds a twist: "If you want to lose fat, eat more fibrous carbs than starchy carbs. Eating frequent meals that are high in both protein and fibrous carbohydrates will help."
All in all, be careful what kinds of carbs you eat, watch your fat intake and utilize the thermogenic nature of protein.
Exercises
*Include both compound and isolation movements in your bodypart training.
*Mix up your exercises frequently, and the order in which you do them, to keep your body from plateauing.
Sets & Reps
*You can afford to do a few more sets than the ectomorph; do about 12 for larger muscle groups and 8-10 for smaller ones. This will also burn more calories.
*You still want to work in some heavy days for muscle hypertrophy (to rev metabolism), but staying on the higher end, with reps as high as 12-25, will also help burn additional calories.
*Avoid training too heavy too often.
Intensity
*After warming up, take your heavy sets to muscle failure.
*Train hard and without long rest periods. This will keep your heart rate up and metabolism high.
*Keep your body on the move during each bout of training as well as between training sessions.
*Try adding intensity to your sets: forced reps, descending (or drop) sets, partial reps and supersets are great techniques.
*Do whole-body circuit training every 5-6 workouts for a fast, conditioning workout.
Frequency
*Exercise burns calories, which is what we're after, so go ahead and train each body part more than once a week, depending on muscle soreness.
*Change your routine often.
Cardio
*Probably one of the most important aspects of your training.
*Do some form of cardio daily for at least 30 minutes. Fun and low-impact types will keep you motivated and injury-free. Try walking on a treadmill with a 10% incline at 3.5-4 mph.
*Get your heart rate into the fat-burning zone; work up to about 75% of your max.
*Interval training is also a good way to burn calories.
Is there hope for your body type? Absolutely. No matter what Mother Nature has given you, knowing how to make the most of your own personal combination of muscle and metabolism will help you turn some heads!
Sure, people come in all shapes and sizes, but those shapes and sizes all had definite beginnings -- a genetically predetermined body type of ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph or, more likely, some combination thereof. You can find out which one you are by taking a good, hard look in the mirror. Are you slender and small-boned, with long arms and a thin neck? You're probably an ectomorph. If you're pear-shaped with shorter arms and legs and big bones, you might be an endomorph. And if you're thick-chested, broad-shouldered and naturally muscular (not to mention shunned by the other two body types!), you're probably a mesomorph.
Once you figure out your genetically determined body type, you must examine your kitchen table -- or, more specifically, what you eat off it. Research shows that you can increase muscle mass only through overloading your muscles and supporting the subsequent growth with a sufficient increase in food intake. That one dictum can work for everyone as long as you know that each body type will respond differently to what that food intake includes. In a nutshell, however, a good meal is a terrible thing to waste. Whether you're an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph, you have a serious responsibility to take care of business at mealtime.
That being said, you still need to know several things: What types of food and how often should you eat? Should you take any supplements? Would any type of food, supplement or situation hinder you from maximizing the growth potential of your particular body type? To help you answer these important questions, digest the information on the following pages that's appropriate to the body type you most closely resemble. It could help you transform your body into the physique you've always wanted!
ECTOMORPH
Just Eat!
Dietary needs: Consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight; protein intake can be as high as 30% of your total daily calories. Your carbohydrate intake should be around 50%, and fat intake 20% of your total daily calories. To add muscle, the number of calories you eat daily must exceed the number of calories you burn.
Frequency of meals: Eat five medium-sized meals a day. Eating too many small meals could fuel your already high metabolism.
Supplements: Have one weight-gain or protein shake each day with a meal and another one right before bedtime. Take creatine to help your energy levels during training and aid muscular adaptation.
Things to avoid: Fat-burners, ma huang, stress.
Things to remember: Don't skip meals, and make sure you drink at least 80 ounces of water a day.
A constant flow of high-quality protein, clean carbohydrate and fat is critical. In fact, you'd need 2,000-2,500 extra calories from a good diet to add just 1-2 pounds of lean tissue from resistance training! This illustrates the unfortunate truth that the ectomorph begins at a deficit and must counter the effects of that blazing metabolism with a rush of quality nutrients.
"Don't worry about getting fat, just eat!" says three-time Ms. International and IFBB pro Laura Creavalle. "You need to increase your calories to grow, so boost your intake of starchy carbohydrates, protein and fat."
Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, explains: "With this body type, the No. 1 thing is calories. The ectomorph has trouble getting enough, so he or she needs to eat every 2-3 hours. Use supplements to add calories on busy days; choose meal-replacement beverages, sports bars and sports drinks. Carry food and fluids with you so you don't get caught hungry or thirsty."
The ectomorph must also be aware of the need to eat properly before and after training. Evidence shows that eating a meal containing carbohydrate and protein before lifting weights may reduce catabolism during exercise; eating a similar meal afterward may promote a more anabolic profile. IFBB pro Milos Sarcev suggests eating 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily and increasing your intake of starchy carbohydrates like rice, potatoes and pasta. "It's even okay to add some saturated fat," he says. "Eating steak and eggs wouldn't hurt." Don't get too much saturated fat, however.
The ectomorph lives in the land of catabolism and it's an uphill battle to leave town. To make it to the freeway, you must fuel your body with something other than its own muscle protein throughout the day. Stay full with a few medium-sized meals. Basically, your motto could be, "Eat big to get big."
Exercises
*Do basic compound movements like the bench press, squat and row for deep fiber stimulation.
*Avoid isolation exercises (cable crossover, leg extension) that work smaller amounts of muscle mass.
Sets & Reps
*Do up to about 10 sets for larger body parts; 6-8 for smaller. More sets burn more calories; go intense for just a few.
*Don't take your warm-up sets to failure.
*Do a wide range of reps but focus on the 6-10 range, which is optimum for putting on size.
Intensity
*Fewer reps means going heavy. That's a high-intensity workout.
*Rest a little longer so you're thoroughly recuperated between sets for heavier lifting. Take up to a minute and a half between sets for smaller muscle groups to as much as 4-5 for something like heavy squats.
*With a training partner, try forced reps to shock your body into growth, but only on your heavy sets, and don't overdo them.
Frequency
*With high-intensity training, you'll get sore. Train that body part again only after muscle soreness has disappeared.
*Train each body part once per week. Again, burning too many calories by adding more workouts is counterproductive.
*Get lots of rest between workout sessions.
*Try to maintain some variety in your workouts by doing something slightly different each day (go a little heavier, add reps, try an advanced training technique, etc.).
Cardio
*Too much aerobic activity will hinder your muscle gains. That includes your activities both in and out of the gym.
*Use light walking or biking for your aerobic needs just a couple of days per week. Keep those sessions within reason.
MESOMORPH
Get With the Program
Dietary needs: Eat 1 gram of lean protein (scrambled egg whites, lean turkey, skinless chicken breasts and fish) per pound of bodyweight daily. Your carbohydrate intake should remain high: 60%-65% of your daily calories. Limit fat to 15% of your daily caloric intake.
Frequency of meals: 5-7 meals per day.
Supplements: Protein shakes and meal replacements.
Things to remember: Don't eat the same things in the same amounts each week -- variety is the spice of life! Rather than trying to stay too lean all year, increase your calories now and then to pack on the muscle. You can gain muscle and lose fat easily, so make the most of that gift of balance.
Mesomorphs are blessed, to say the least. Not only do they look sensational, but their bodies have an innate ability to keep them that way. Research shows that muscular bodybuilders have a higher 24-hour energy expenditure, meaning they burn more calories both during activity and at rest than their non-bodybuilding counterparts of the same age, height and percent fat. Who could ask for more?
Even though you're able to gain muscle and get rid of unwanted fat easily, don't rest on your laurels! You still need to strive to make a good thing great. As Kleiner says, "The mesomorph has the tendency to be lazy, and to eat and train without a system or a strategy." Get with the program by eating the proper amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate and supplements -- all the right building blocks, if you will -- to make serious gains and reach your potential. After all, "You can't build a mansion with five bricks, even if the bricks are the best bricks you can buy," Milos explains.
Exercises
*Do traditional bodybuilding workouts, consisting of basic, compound movements followed by single-joint exercises.
Sets & Reps
*Utilize a wide range of repetitions, focusing on the 10-rep range.
*Cycle periods of heavy lifting with those using lighter weights for higher reps.
*Do 3-4 sets per exercise, 2-4 exercises per body part (more for larger muscle groups).
Intensity
*Hit the gym with a vengeance. You have a head start, so make the most of your genetic advantage.
*Stick with a routine that works for a short time, then change. By constantly stimulating your muscles in new ways, you'll keep your body guessing.
*Incorporate both light and heavy days into your training.
*Manipulate contraction speed for fiber stimulation and recruitment.
*Train to failure with advanced techniques, but don't always push to the limit.
Frequency
*Experiment with a three-, four- or five-day training split that includes multiple- and single-joint movements.
*Still, be careful not to over train. Give yourself good rest periods between training days as well as voluntary periods of time off every couple of months or so.
Cardio
*Do cardio to stay lean, but no more than four sessions of about 30 minutes per week.
*Avoid prolonged activity, which drains both physical and mental energy.
ENDOMORPH
The Heat Is On
Dietary needs: Above all else, limit your fat intake. All your protein should come from lean sources such as low-fat fish, skinless chicken breasts, egg whites and lean turkey. Consume a variety of vegetables, but never use plant sources for protein. Limit fruit to the early part of the day. Eat only quality complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, long-grain rice and lentils.
Frequency of meals: To get the calorie-burning benefits of constant digestion and absorption, eat 5-7 small meals every day. The thermogenic nature of food is critical.
Supplements: Thermogenic products and protein shakes (unless inadvisable for health reasons).
Things to avoid: Dairy products, deli sliced luncheon meats, incomplete protein sources, alcohol and soft drinks, second helpings.
Things to remember: Don't eat too late or too quickly, and make sure you leave the table before you're stuffed.
"The endomorph has less room for error," Kleiner begins. "Just as with the ectomorph, calories are the controlling factor. Yet if your goal is to taper, calories need to be restricted and each macronutrient amount (protein, carb or fat) has to be more exact." Also realize that while some foods will boost your metabolism, some will slow it down. This thermogenic effect is a process the endomorph needs to take control of now!
Here's the skinny on what this means for you: For roughly every 100 calories of protein you ingest, your body will use 20% of its own calories just to digest, absorb and distribute the protein. And for every 100 calories of carbohydrate you eat, your body will burn roughly 10%-12% of its own calories to do the same. As for fat, well, your body will burn just 5% of its own calories to digest and absorb 100 calories.
As you can see, even though fat is essential, it won't "stir the pot" like protein and carbohydrate. To get the most out of your protein, Creavalle, also an accomplished bodybuilding chef, suggests making skinless chicken breasts, fish and scrambled egg whites your mainstays. "This way you can eat more and have a full feeling without eating too much carbohydrate and fat," she notes. Milos agrees, but adds a twist: "If you want to lose fat, eat more fibrous carbs than starchy carbs. Eating frequent meals that are high in both protein and fibrous carbohydrates will help."
All in all, be careful what kinds of carbs you eat, watch your fat intake and utilize the thermogenic nature of protein.
Exercises
*Include both compound and isolation movements in your bodypart training.
*Mix up your exercises frequently, and the order in which you do them, to keep your body from plateauing.
Sets & Reps
*You can afford to do a few more sets than the ectomorph; do about 12 for larger muscle groups and 8-10 for smaller ones. This will also burn more calories.
*You still want to work in some heavy days for muscle hypertrophy (to rev metabolism), but staying on the higher end, with reps as high as 12-25, will also help burn additional calories.
*Avoid training too heavy too often.
Intensity
*After warming up, take your heavy sets to muscle failure.
*Train hard and without long rest periods. This will keep your heart rate up and metabolism high.
*Keep your body on the move during each bout of training as well as between training sessions.
*Try adding intensity to your sets: forced reps, descending (or drop) sets, partial reps and supersets are great techniques.
*Do whole-body circuit training every 5-6 workouts for a fast, conditioning workout.
Frequency
*Exercise burns calories, which is what we're after, so go ahead and train each body part more than once a week, depending on muscle soreness.
*Change your routine often.
Cardio
*Probably one of the most important aspects of your training.
*Do some form of cardio daily for at least 30 minutes. Fun and low-impact types will keep you motivated and injury-free. Try walking on a treadmill with a 10% incline at 3.5-4 mph.
*Get your heart rate into the fat-burning zone; work up to about 75% of your max.
*Interval training is also a good way to burn calories.
Is there hope for your body type? Absolutely. No matter what Mother Nature has given you, knowing how to make the most of your own personal combination of muscle and metabolism will help you turn some heads!