The Bodybuilder’s Definitive Guide to Eating for Your Body Type

I strongly stand behind the statement that everybody is different. Training and eating for your body type is no exception.

There is no magic rule, diet plan, or workout program that will work for everyone. Science backs me up on this. Fortunately you can use said science to learn how to eat and train for your body type.

Way back in 1940, a guy named William Herbert Sheldon figured out that people can be classified into one of three body types. The important thing to remember here is that almost nobody fits 100% into just one of the three types. Instead, we are a combination of the three with one of the types being more predominant than the other two. As I said, we are all different…..but we have something in common. There is some a bit of bro science behind this. If you don’t believe me just jump on Wikipedia and check it out for yourself. Anyways, let’s look at each category, what it means, impact on training and how to eat for your body type.

According to William’s research there are three body types: endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph. I first heard about them in school but never cared about it until after I started lifting. Based on your body type, training and dieting can be optimized for better results whatever your goal may be – losing weight or getting muscular. The body type classification is made based on several criteria- including muscle mass, fat mass, height, and bone size. Your body type is genetic. You can’t do too much about it, it’s just the way you were programmed to function. If your predominant type is endomorph, you will be an endomorph for all your life. It is not something you can change. However, you can change your body into looking like a mesomorph by strict dieting and heavy training. Let’s dive into the details of each body type, and figure out how you should approach your training and diet plan to best benefit you.

Ectomorph

These are guys and gals that are freaking skinny regardless of what they eat.

They are usually tall, and can eat fries, donuts, and chocolate cakes on a daily basis without putting on any weight. In fitness or bodybuilding slang they are also called “hard gainers.” You can see them complaining on the forums that they can’t put on any size.

Training

Ectomorphs should be careful about what they spend their energy on in the gym.

They need to be an energy efficient machine. Training should be quick and to the point.

Workouts should be kept short and focus on a few compound movements such as squats, bench press, and deadlifts. They should use heavy weights and do 6 to 10 reps per workout. This will stimulate muscle growth while keeping the energy expenditure at a minimum. Cardiovascular training should be avoided or kept at a minimum. Isolation exercises should not be the main focus either. Stick with the compound movements and have big rest periods between the sets. If you are an ectomorph you don’t want to do high volume, intense workouts.

Ectomorphs need longer recovery periods, so hitting each muscle group just once a week is not uncommon. Overtraining is a big concern for them.

Diet

The metabolism on this body type is on steroids (sort of speaking).

Calories get burned off at a fast rate which hinders muscle growth without a proper diet plan. An ectomorph needs to up the caloric intake during training. It’s also a good idea to get up to 50% of the calories from carbs which are a great source of energy.

The good part is that ectomorphs are unlikely to put on fat, and they can walk around with a six pack year round effortlessly. Getting shredded once the muscle mass is there will not be a problem.

Endomorph

These are the fatties.

As opposed to ectomorphs, they start putting on fat just by breathing. The metabolism is on the slow side, and going just a little overboard with the food will result in fat gains in no time.

Endomorphs have big waists, big hips, round forms, thick bones, big joints, and short arms and legs. They are usually shorter than average. If you ask me, endomorph is the most unfortunate body type nature could’ve given you. Apart from the aesthetic factor, excessive fat can lead to medical issues. Luckily for us, with dedication, effort, and time an endomorph can drastically transform his or her body.

Training

Workouts should be intense all the time, consisting of both cardio and weight lifting.

A good workout routine would be a 2 days split or a full body workout done 4 to 5 days a week.

Weight lifting should include compound and isolation exercises, supersets or triple sets, high reps, and high volume. This will tap into the fat storage and slightly increase the metabolic rate.

Rest periods between sets should be short. Training frequency can be as high as hitting each body part 2-3 times per week. Cardiovascular training must be included on each training day. It should be done at a moderate to high pace for 30-40 minutes.

Diet

Nutrition is very, very important for endomorphs.

Even in a caloric deficit, because of their slow metabolism, endomorphs will struggle to lose fat. Dieting and exercising must become a lifestyle for these persons.

Even if endomorphs get down to a healthy weight, once they stop dieting or exercising they may start getting fat again. For this reason, staying on top of nutrition and getting active is a must. From a macronutrients point of view the diet should be low in fats, moderate in carbs, and high in protein. Going off track will quickly result in weight gain.

Mesomorph

Everybody’s favourite.

Having an athletic build, mesomorphs are the most genetically gifted from all three. They are slim and muscular (even without working out).

They have wide shoulders, small waists, and low fat mass. Most of the great bodybuilders are mesomorphs.

Training

The metabolism on this body type is well-balanced.

People in this category can put on muscle mass and lose fat easily. They respond well to any type of training.

Mesomorphs don’t have an issue with gaining muscle mass by doing a handful of compound movements. Their focus should be on the details such as symmetry, muscle definition, and perfect proportions. These can be tweaked by doing isolation exercises or different variations of the compound exercises. Cardio can be done only when cutting. The workout routine should be a split training that would allow you to hit every muscle two times a week. Rep ranges can be anywhere from 6 to 15 depending on preference, and training intensity should be moderate most of the time.

Diet

By getting into a deficit or surplus caloric intake, mesomorphs can lose fat or build muscle quite easily. Other than that people in this category can maintain a healthy body weight without dieting at all.

Take Away

The important thing to remember is that none of us fit 100% into any of the three body types presented above.

We are a combination of all three body types. But through hard work, dedication, time, effort, and consistency we can model our body the way we want it to be.

Here are a few action points that you can implement right away to adjust your training and diet to your body type.

1. Figure out your body type

Obviously, the first step is to find out which is your predominant body type.

Do this by using an online calculator such as the one on Bodybuilding.com. It is quite accurate and will provide you with an overview of what your body type is.

Another method is to just evaluate yourself by taking measurements of your waist, shoulders, and wrists. If you are using the self-evaluating method I highly recommend getting a second opinion. This should preferably be from someone more experienced than you. People tend to be subjective when evaluating themselves.

2.  Figure out your caloric maintenance level

Believe it or not, there are many people that are into fitness that do not know for sure what their caloric maintenance level is.

They are not tracking calories at all or are not tracking them correctly. You can’t make smart adjustments to your nutrition if you don’t know your caloric needs.

Count calories (and macros if you can) on everything you eat for a couple of weeks. Watch your weight and determine your maintenance level as accurately as possible. I’ve seen ectomorphs eating as much as 3,500 – 4,000 kcal each day in order to gain 2-4 pounds in a month. Don’t be afraid to up your calories a lot if you want to get bigger. On the other hand, endomorphs may take in as low as 1,600 kcal a day and still struggle to lose a couple of pounds a month.

Bottom line here is that you need to know your maintenance level and stay on top of your nutrition by tracking things religiously.

3. Implement, implement, implement

Provided that you got the other two points above right, you should now start implementing the changes in your training and your nutrition.

Key things to keep in mind about training and eating for your body type:

• Ectomorphs:
  • Focus on compound exercises and use heavy weights
  • Focus on intensity rather than frequency
  • Do zero or very little cardio

• Endomorphs:
  • Use high volume workout plans
  • Alternate low reps sets with hi reps sets
  • Include cardio in each workout

• Mesomorphs:
  • Alternate compound and isolation movements
  • Use moderate volume (number of reps per muscle group per week)
  • Do cardio whenever necessary

Key things to keep in mind about nutrition:

• This one is very important for endomorphs and mesomorphs: when trying to lose fat, start cutting back on calories slowly until you are losing 1-2 pounds each week. Don’t get too aggressive, otherwise you will start losing a significant amount of muscle mass. Once you are happy with your body fat level you can go back to maintenance level or slightly above.

• If your goal is to gain muscle, you should up your calories to 200 – 500 kcal a day above maintenance (maybe a little bit more if you are predominantly an ectomorph). Watch your weight and aim at gaining about 2-3 pounds each month. It is a good idea to keep an eye on your waist size when bulking, because generally speaking there is a direct connection between your waist size and body fat percentage. If your waist size goes up too much compared with the amount of weight you are gaining, it means that you are putting on more fat than muscle. For most people, an increase in waist size by 1 inch means 1% more body fat.

Before we wrap this up, I just want to say that regardless of your body type, your only focus should be on becoming the best version of yourself. The question is not if you are ever going to achieve your goals, but when you are going to achieve them.

Eat right, lift heavy, and enjoy the ride.

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