THE THREE BODY TYPES AND BODYBUILDING

[Geardepot]

OK...so I'm sure you are all familiar with the (3) body types: Ectomorph, Mesomorph, and Endomorph. Despite what it might feel like at times, you're not completely bound to one category or the other. Your lifestyle, genetics, history, and training style all play a part in how you look, and you can definitely change it over time. I found this to be an interesting read on body types: The 3 Body Types Explained. But I'm interested on hearing the members take on it. First of all....what body type do you feel you fall in to? Do you follow specific training methods and diet regime based on your "body type"? By definition, it would appear that the MESOMORPH is the more adaptable body type for bodybuilding. Personally...I fall in to the ENDOMORPH. I've always found it easy to gain mass training with medium weights in the 8-12 rep range. But getting lean is an entirely different matter! Strict, low carb dieting is the only way I have found (for me), to get ripped! I'm also a firm believer that no matter what "body type" you fall in to, you can still maximize your gains by following proper nutrition and training. So give me some feedback men.
Thanks,
GD

 

[Beti ona]

I would say that I have the worst possible body type, difficult to pack mass and difficult to remove fat.

 

[HONGOGRIMES]

I would say that I have the worst possible body type, difficult to pack mass and difficult to remove fat.

me too.
fat in my teens, I could never see my six pack without a small retention of liquid and fat, when I almost did it was a damn skinny, I also find fat on the sides, the worst!

 

[bad rad]

Pure Mesomorph. I have a 20" drop between my shoulders and waist, lose fat without a ton of effort, and explode when I train with enough intensity and feed the gains. I have stretch marks from my first year of powerlifting because I gained 60lbs in one year after I quit competitive swimming. I've considered pursuing BBing but my arms are way undersized since I've always trained like an athlete and for performance.

 

[Beti ona]

me too.
fat in my teens, I could never see my six pack without a small retention of liquid and fat, when I almost did it was a damn skinny, I also find fat on the sides, the worst!

I never wasted too much time on this, I mean, I can't do anything but work hard and progress through the available tools, like everyone else.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I have the worst genetics for bodybuilding.
I’m a skinny, fat person naturally.
To get lean I have to eat frequent small meals 50/50 protein/carbs.
No fat in diet gets me the best look.
Cardio isn’t necessary for me to get ripped but it speeds up the process.
If I eat big I get fat.
Right now I’m eating semi big and I’m cool with the extra body fat because I need to heal and put back lost muscle from a spine injury.
Once I have my size again I’ll consider leaning out.
I’m enjoying the strength right now though.

 

[Fit2Serve]

ecto/meso body here. perfect hybrid of those two types imo.
if i dont lift and focus on getting my calories in i gain muscle pretty quick and kinda easy. if i dont eat and miss a few workouts i shrink FAST. so maybe more ecto than meso if i had to pick one type.
i respond good to gear tho, so when on a blast i DEF look and grow like a meso. take away the juice tho and i start to revert back to lookin ecto
did that make sense? lil blazed
-F

 

[method2madness]

Pure Mesomorph here. I build quickly when eating enough clean calories and stay lean with minimal to no cardio as long as diet is under control. AAS magnifies these effects for me, lucky in this respect I guess

 

[Tomgrass]

Ecto endo - skinny with abs when teen later much easier to gain fat as metabolism slowed down. Sine I started lifting I added 70 pound of lean tissue on my frame. Last 30 required gear only no gh and slin

 

[mytreefiddy]

Ecto.. have always been a rail... 85 lbs at 13 years old.. skinny and lanky but have always been athletic......putting on muscle has always been a chore....getting peeled is much easier for me.... fact is, i dont eat alot of food... i just dont feel good in high calorie environments so putting on lean muscle isn't the easist... i think i respond OK to AAS... nothing freaky to say the least...my body screams Mens Physique and honestly. that look appeals to me the most.... so i aint mad... LOL

 

[aphextwin]

Ecto here. If I didn't eat and eat and lift, would be skin and bones.

 

[mpjuice]

When I started lifting weights I was 135 lb 16years old. Between 16 to 19 got caught up in this "different body type stuff". So I thought dirty bulking was the solution. Which made me think force-feeding was the answer. I did make allot of progress. But put on unnecessary fat. Good thing I loss fat really easily.

Just like we have muscle memory we also have "fat memory" fat cells can multiply in adult life and then you're stuck with a greater number of fat cells.

If you haven't I would get blood work done. Maybe your thyroid isn't functioning correctly and/or a little insulin resistant.

 

[USMuscle9403]

I got the 'Fat boy who gains muscle easily, white and square, probably most useful as a beast of burden, needs to feel like he's starving to death to lose body fat because God has a sense of humor and gave him an asinine appetite, too' bodytype.

 

[maldorf]

When I started lifting weights I was 135 lb 16years old. Between 16 to 19 got caught up in this "different body type stuff". So I thought dirty bulking was the solution. Which made me think force-feeding was the answer. I did make allot of progress. But put on unnecessary fat. Good thing I loss fat really easily.

Just like we have muscle memory we also have "fat memory" fat cells can multiply in adult life and then you're stuck with a greater number of fat cells.

If you haven't I would get blood work done. Maybe your thyroid isn't functioning correctly and/or a little insulin resistant.

I was a similar size as you when I started at 16 years old. I too was 135 lbs and 6 foot tall. A bean pole. By my senior year I got up to 185 lbs mostly natural. I stopped cycling so much, used to do about 100 to 150 miles a week or more. I did maybe a total of about 16 weeks of dbol and 8 weeks of winstrol during those 2 years. Didn't do any pct or injectables, just took some pills. Id say im an ecto-meso. Getting older my metabolism has slowed down a lot, especially now that Im taking a large dose of beta blocker. Sucks being older and having heart failure.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Welcome to the club sir haha

Because of this, i have to keep insulin use minimal and really watch my diet.
I DO THINK you can change your "body type" though. Not too sure if i really believe in 3 types, but i know guys tend to carry/distribute/hold bf very differently. I really think it has to do with everyone's set point.

If you naturally want to sit at 12%, you're going to continue to do that unless you make some changes. I've seen guys who were huskier endo type just get lean and then HOLD leanness for a longer period. Get accustomed to a new weight and let your body refigure out its maintenance. We see this all the time during BULKS, but we don't talk about it when guys are lean. I'm not saying we have to sit at 6%. But i think big dudes (who naturally want to sit at a higher bf%) can help themselves by just staying at around 10% longer. I spent too many years BLOWING UP right after a cut and not trying to hold it. I'm actually going to do that in the next 10 weeks.

I got the 'Fat boy who gains muscle easily, white and square, probably most useful as a beast of burden, needs to feel like he's starving to death to lose body fat because God has a sense of humor and gave him an asinine appetite, too' bodytype.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Welcome to the club sir haha

Because of this, i have to keep insulin use minimal and really watch my diet.
I DO THINK you can change your "body type" though. Not too sure if i really believe in 3 types, but i know guys tend to carry/distribute/hold bf very differently. I really think it has to do with everyone's set point.

If you naturally want to sit at 12%, you're going to continue to do that unless you make some changes. I've seen guys who were huskier endo type just get lean and then HOLD leanness for a longer period. Get accustomed to a new weight and let your body refigure out its maintenance. We see this all the time during BULKS, but we don't talk about it when guys are lean. I'm not saying we have to sit at 6%. But i think big dudes (who naturally want to sit at a higher bf%) can help themselves by just staying at around 10% longer. I spent too many years BLOWING UP right after a cut and not trying to hold it. I'm actually going to do that in the next 10 weeks.

I actually hold leanness much, much easier now. I'm assuming my body is just better at partitioning nutrients. I used to have to be meticulous. Now if I overeat (just not every day) it's really no big deal as my body seems to make better use of it.

 

[aphextwin]

Pure ecto from the start but from heavy training, diet, and gear I’ve been able to cross over some, but if I don’t keep my caloric intake up and continue training, I will lose size and weight fast. I do not add fat on easily. When I was younger I used to eat everything in site while taking a lot of gear....well, nothing like what mostwould consider a lot. I never went over a gram.

 

[Diesel618]

Im as ectomorphic as they come. Grew up playing basketball and running middle distance. I don't put a whole lot of thought into it. I just know I have to eat more than the average lifter to gain muscle. My joints don't hold up very well to low rep or rest pause type stuff so I err on the higher rep side and do mostly straight sets.

Like anything else in life I just learned what works best through trial and error.

 

[juggy38]

Pure endo here. College...hey bud your too slow to play linebacker in a 3-3-5. Move to fullback. Added 25lbs in 6 months.

Endos (former fat boys)
Need to gain slow, keep bf below 15%, as naturally our insulin sensitivity is not great.

Carb cycle, low aromatizing+ Higher anabolic cycles, keep estro in check. Higher frequency training. Tren morphs us.

Meso/ecto, lower frequency, push calories harder, higher testosterone cycles, dbol...all the fun stuff. Can push BF higher as it’s easier to rip off. (You know the guys...oh I cut out five guys post workout meal and lost 2% body fat last month)

 

[Joshua82]

Ecto here, biggest thing for me being able to put on my size besides obviously pushing good high was adapting a low volume approach, doing tons of sets I theorize just burns up too much calories and the body burns up food to fast to recover.