Should You Train & Diet For Your Body Type?
Lot of people around the world are desperately trying to lose weight, get rid of excess fat, and sculpt their muscles — yet the others grapple with a completely opposite problem — they fail to put on pounds or for that matter turn them into muscle mass no matter how much food they stuff themselves with.
Given the laborious struggles of people with this issue for a long time, various remedial ideologies came into existence and one that stayed the most was based on the idea that “you should design your diet and training program based on the body type- often referred to as your Somatotype.” and now being in the fitness industry for a decade now, this has become one of my favorite topics to talk about, and accordingly, I am sharing my insights about it.
Background
But, before we dig into all that, Let’s first have a quick look at where all of this came from?
So in 1940 an American psychologist William Sheldon published a book called the “varieties of the human physique” outlining his idea that individuals could be categorized according to three main somatic types.
1. the ectomorph implying thinness
2. endomorph implying fatness and
3. mesomorph implying muscularity.
Sheldon examined 4,000 photographs of students from the University of Chicago and classified them on a scale of 1 to 7 for each of the body types.
Now at that time, these measurements had nothing to do with diet or training. Instead, Sheldon wanted to find an association between each body type, personality, intelligence, and even so-called moral worth and future achievement. His work has since been discredited by the scientific community at large and I think it’s worth mentioning that his ideas were influenced by the growing pseudoscience of eugenics at the time.
Present belief
Somehow classifying body types, according to Sheldon’s somatic types remains popular even today, and it’s very common in fitness circles to see people refer to themselves as, an ectomorph if they struggle to gain weight or build muscle and as an endomorph if they struggle losing fat or have more of a heavier set built.
Now some data out of Russia has shown that Somatic type can be useful for predicting athletic success in a specific sport. For example, they note that since basketball relies on jumping abilities, mesomorphic individuals might be better suited for basketball.
Still, I can’t help but question the practical application of this knowledge for us — interested in building muscle or losing Fat. That seems pretty obvious to me that, athletes with different limb lengths and body measurements will be better suited for different sports, but that just doesn’t seem relevant, to how somatic types are commonly used in fitness Circles.
Another issue I have with somatic types is that it tends to put people in a box implying that they can’t change their body type over time which simply isn’t true.
Besides this, since the last decade, I have seen numerous transformations that defeated the idea of osmosis and got into shape and I was what would be called an ectomorph myself, and later transitioned into a mesomorph :)
Tying all this together I would say that — I haven’t found any convincing evidence that your classification into one of these three somatic types should dictate the way you train or diet.
What does science have to say about it?
For building muscle
The best way to build muscle is through progressive overload. Just adding more mechanical tension to the muscle over time and make changes as you keep progressing and this is true whether you’re a pure endomorph or a pure ectomorph.
For losing fat
The best way would be to put yourself in a caloric deficit and eat sufficient protein and this is also true regardless of your body type.
Genetics
Based on some other research less to do with somatic types and more to do with genetics,
some people can build muscles easily
some people can lose fat easily
and, some people get lean and staying lean
This most likely has to do with how hunger and Insulin sensitivity is being regulated in the brain. Also, it is worth mentioning that factors like resting metabolic rate or non-exercise activity thermogenesis or in general unconscious activity level during the day are other factors that have to be considered before making a decision.
I think that these differences in combination with genetic differences in bone structure, can in large part explain why some people look like endomorphs and some people look more like mezzo or ectomorphs.
Because of these largely genetically determined factors, some people may do better on higher volume training routines and some people may do better with higher reps or lower reps. Similarly, some folks will just have to diet on lower calories than others and some people may do better on high-calorie diets.
Conclusion
Still, I think classifying people into one of three somatic types generally isn’t useful.
Firstly it implies that body types can’t change over time, which is false.
And secondly, these classifications don’t tell us how we should train or how we should eat, and as of now while high-quality genetic testing is still in its infancy.
I think the best way to design your training program is by borrowing from exercise science and doing your self-experimentation and the same thing goes for diet.
Just how many calories you need to eat and what macronutrient ratio will be best for your body is something that you have to figure out over time.
How can I help you
That is where GFWA comes into the picture and we understand your body dynamics, your schedule, and all other factors and help you come out of this loop.
And accordingly, curate a new Diet and Workout Plan only for you and keep updating it as you keep progressing.
Along with this we also share with you what steps have been taken to get you closer to your fitness goals and help you understand them as well.
So that once the program is over, you are independent of a trainer for the entire lifetime.
Aadil Qayoom is a Health Coach, Fitness Model, and founder at the Valley Harvest Pvt. Ltd. Know more on Instagram or Website