Train For Your Somatotype- Reece Mander

Getting huge and ripped is easy! I just follow exactly what the biggest guy in my gym is doing right? Wrong.

If it was really this simple then we'd all be 19 stone lean freaks. Unfortunately life is never that easy. Training specifically for your body type will allow you to make gains faster and stop you falling down the “1 size fits all” hole.

American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon grouped people’s body types into three areas. These areas were called Somatotypes. In his book, 'Atlas of Men' published in 1954, Sheldon stated body types can be categorised as the following.




Ectomorph:
Characterised by long and thin muscles/limbs and low fat storage; usually referred to as slim. They struggle to store muscle OR fat.

Mesomorph:
Characterised by medium bones, solid torso, wide shoulders with a narrow waist; usually referred to as muscular. Mesomorphs are predisposed to build muscle but not store fat. They can also drop fat relatively easy.

Endomorph
Characterised by increased fat storage, a wide waist and a large bone structure, usually referred to as fat. Endomorphs are predisposed to storing fat.

Most people however, fall under a mix of the various categories.
For example, the big guy in your gym who still carries a large amount of fat is likely to be an Endo-Mesomorph. Clearly well build but carries a decent amount of fat.

On the other hand, the skinny guy who's suddenly bulked up 30lbs will be an Ecto-Mesomorph. They struggle to gain muscle but still find it hard to store fat. Some people however sit firmly on one side of the scale. Most likely these are the ectomorphs who eat the world 3 times over and can’t gain any weight.

Why the science lesson? Well, knowing your body type can allow you to train and eat specifically to gain as much muscle as possible and burn as much fat in the shortest amount of time. From the list you should pick which body type is closest to you. Don’t worry if you fit in between the two I will cover all bases. I'm going to break down the main areas you need to concentrate on, once you have your specific body type.

As always, the goal is lean mass gain while simultaneously burning fat or at least, keeping it low.


Ectomorph

Your focus should be purely on exercises with the most 'bang for your buck'. I’m talking exercises where you move your body and not the weight. Isolation exercises are rarely needed if you're an ectomorph, unless you have a specific area of weakness. I believe that training the full body 3 times a week for skinny guys will give the most benefits. Rarely is any extra work needed. Make sure you incorporate these exercises into your week.

Squats
Deadlifts
Chin ups/Pull ups
Dips
Handstand press ups/Military press

For an ectomorph, the challenge will be consuming enough food. Usually blessed (or cursed) with high metabolisms it can be a struggle to chow down all the daily calories. Stick to nutrient dense foods with high protein. High carbohydrates are usually tolerated well by ectomorphs so stop worrying about losing your 6 pack. As the saying goes, a 6 pack on a skinny guy is like great boobs on a fat chick. Nobody wants to see ‘em.

TOP TIP.
Make sure your digestion is up to par. Work with a functional nutritionist to determine any food intolerances or any leaky gut syndrome. You would also most likely do well to invest in enzymes and digestive aids (HCL) to make sure you're digesting everything you're eating. Assimilation is key not quantity of food.


Mesomorph

Your recovery times will be quicker than those who are purely ectomorphs which means you could quite happily train 4 or 5 days a week although full body splits wouldn’t be the best way to do it. Personally I’d go for a 4 day split, with something like this.

Upper Body Strength
Lower Body Strength
Upper Body Hypertrophy
Lower Body Hypertrophy

For strength days, stick to the bang for your buck exercises and hit between 3 and 6 reps. You want to be getting stronger each week, or adding more reps so start with a weight slightly below your max. On hypertrophy days you will focus more on isolation exercises. Here is a quick example of what I used on an isolated day:

Decline dumbbell flies 10 reps, with a tempo of 4010*
45 seconds rest
Bench facing rows. 10 reps, with a tempo of 4010*
1 minute rest and repeat 6 times

For food, I would cycle carbohydrates and keep protein high. Cycling carbohydrates involves ingesting different amounts of carbohydrates (low-med-high) during the week. Example I use often is:

Monday - 50g (low)
Tuesday -100g (med)
Wednesday - 50g (low)
Thursday - 50g (low)
Friday - 300g (high)
Sat + Sun off (as in eat what you like within reason)

This should allow you to gain a decent amount of muscle while keeping fat stores low.

TOP TIP
The leaner you are the better you will respond to carbohydrates. Trying to simultaneously build muscle and keep fat low you'll need more low carb days than high ones. For more tips on carbohydrate ingestion for lean muscle growth read THIS article.


Endomorph

Although your focus will be on primarily training to lose fat, it’s important to keep your muscle. Muscle burns calories at rest meaning you need to eat more in order to keep your body fuelled. However, this isn’t a free pass to McDonalds. As ever, diet plays a huge part.

Normally for Endomorphs, I like to provide them with the bang for buck exercises to keep strength and muscle high, followed by lots and lots of mean circuits with heavy weights. Here is an example you can follow assuming you train 3 times a week.

Monday - Lower Body
Deadlift variations
Squat variations
Lunge variations

Wednesday - Upper body
Push variation
Pull variation
Overhead Pressing
Rowing

Friday - Torture (one or many of the below)
Complexes
Strongman training
Heavy weighted Circuits
Kettlebell conditioning
Sprints and HITT

For nutrition I like to follow a method popular with legendary strength coach Charles Poliquin, where I ask an endomorphic client to go for two weeks cold turkey when it comes to carbs. They use the HEALTHY PHILISOPHY. Eat as many carbohydrates as you like...as long as they come from non-starchy fibrous vegetables. It enables people to drop a decent amount of excess water as well as enabling quick body composition changes. I then re-focus their nutrition based on how they feel and how well they are doing in their workouts after that initial two week period.

TOP TIP
If you can't stick to the full two weeks straight away, make sure you don’t consume any of the following foods for at least two weeks. They are the most common allergen foods. After two weeks add these back in one at a time and see if you can notice any ill feeling. Hidden food intolerances are stressful to the body and these alone can increase fat around the waist.

Wheat
Gluten
Soy
Unpasteurised dairy
Peanuts
Oatmeal


Ecto-Mesomorph

Skinny guys who’ve attained a fair bit of muscle or guys who find it relatively easy to build muscle while staying lean tend to fall into this category. I would shift their dietary focus towards the ectomorph profile and maybe move to a 4 day split. Make sure the big exercises are your focus and the meal frequency and quantity, is high.


Endo-Mesomorph

Endo-mesomorphs will do well to keep to 4 days of training but may well need a few days of HIIT training or circuits/strongman training to make sure they keep the fat off. While the extreme two week plan may not be necessary, it would bode well to include the “cardio” days in the plan. Cycling carbohydrates would still be a good plan.

So there you have it! Working out harder is not always the best way. You need to understand how your body works in order for it to run efficiently. Now go perform with your new found knowledge and remember, train smart.



*Tempo explained
4010 =
4 second eccentric (negative phase of lift. Ie, Downward motion of a chin up)
0 seconds rest at the bottom position
1 second concentric phase (the pulling up part of a chin up)
0 second pause at the top position.



Reece Mander BSc DPS, is owner of Reece Mander Fitness www.reecemanderfitness.co.uk based in South London. With the motto of “Train Smart” he is constantly on the look out to get the best possible results in the shortest amount of time. His website has range of different articles from fat loss to general health and can be contacted at reecemander@gmail.com



References

Schwarzenegger A,Dobbins B, (1998) The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

Wikipedia contributors. "Somatotype and constitutional psychology." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Dec. 2011. Web. 27 Dec. 2011.

[Figure1: Sheldon’s 3 main somatotypes] [image online] Available at: < http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/body-type-training-are-we-slaves-to-our-body-type-genes-39798> [Accessed 24 December 2011].

Castore A, Stop Wasting Your Time <http://www.elitefts.com/documents/wasting_time.htm>[Accessed 24 December 2011].

Poliquin C, 2011, <http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/600/Poliquins-Top-10-Carb-Intake-Rules-for-Optimal-Body-Composition.aspx>[Accessed 24 December 2011].

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