Ectomorph, Endomorph, Mesomorph..

[Fairtrade]

About 8 years ago i got into computing, spent basically all of that time on computers. I always made excuses to get out of gym class and started smoking 4 years ago. I was never a big eater, a sandwich or small meal would all i have to eat for a day and that was fine for me.

Now by looking at my body, i'm an Ectomorph but then it got me thinking.. If i was physically active throughout these years and ate the correct amount then my body would look like a Mesomorph, and if i ate a lot but stayed on my computer i would look like an Endomorph. By my lifestyle i'd think no matter what body type you would have naturally grown into, i think it's inevitable to stay skinny and weak when i never exercised or ate?

So does your physical appearance decide body type, or does your matabolism?

I just ask this because i quit smoking 1 month ago, started working out 2 weeks ago and completely changed my diet this week. Even though i'm 5'8 147lb i've got quite a clean diet made for cutting, i'd like to see what muscle i do have and how easy it is to lose weight before bulking. That being said almost everyone recommends bulking first for Ectomorph...

Hope you can help me understand, thanks.

[Aminian]

It is all based on genetics when it comes Down too body type brah. So you being an ectomorph have no need for cutting, you can basically super bulk and gain lean mass , it won't be easy, but you'll stay lean because your metabolism will nake sure of it. I'm a meso, so I have too watch my calories so I don't gain excess fat, you being an ecto can eat tons and work out and you may still have some trouble gaining weight and muscle.

[Energized]

I honestly do not believe your activity levels and eating decide your body type to that extent, it's genetics. Think Ectomorph vs Mesomorph, at school growing up there will always be some people naturally bigger and stronger than you, always better than you at sports. Able to push you around more easily etc. These are Mesomorphs, they are likely to have more muscle mass, broader shoulders, thicker joints/bones etc than you as an ectomorph.

[MadArabianBro]

It is all based on genetics when it comes Down too body type brah. So you being an ectomorph have no need for cutting, you can basically super bulk and gain lean mass , it won't be easy, but you'll stay lean because your metabolism will nake sure of it. I'm a meso, so I have too watch my calories so I don't gain excess fat, you being an ecto can eat tons and work out and you may still have some trouble gaining weight and muscle.

sorry to break it to you but you are most likely an ectomorph too

[Kilenz]

sorry to break it to you but you are most likely an ectomorph too

Agree'd... Aminian from your avi you look like an ecto as well.

[JHarden]

While genetics will to some extent decide body type, I really think that they're not as far apart as we are led to believe. Don't get me wrong; there will always be those that naturally have really fast metabolisms and stay skinny or those that naturally carry more muscle. But for the most part I think that ectomorphs tend to be undereaters and endomorphs tend to be overeaters. We all want to be mesomorphs but I think we use our "body type" as an excuse as to why we haven't reached our goals.

[Hnnnngh]

Lolwot. Your 'body type' is determined by your upbringing more than anything else. If your parents didn't teach you to eat a lot, you likely aren't used to eating a lot and will struggle to gain weight, making you an 'ectomorph'. If your folks took you to McDonald's three times a day and let you pig out, you will probably struggle to NOT gain weight, making you and 'endomorph'. There are a few other factors at play, like insulin sensitivity or resistance, but even those are determined more by habits than genetics. Stop making excuses.

[Christaras9]

I'm about 1.9.2 in terms of ****totype
And I was really fat for a year
I feel envy for ectomorphs

[MagnusEro]

It's genetics man. I ate more than most people my age when I was young and did more sports too, mostly GAA Football and Swimming 2-3 times a week each. I was still always a skinny as fúck ectomorph. IMO an ectomorph will ways be an ectomorph until they hit the weights and eat a fúck load of food to compensate.

Don't even consider cutting, if you're an Ectomorph you'll have so little fat to lose you'll be wasting your time, not to mention as an Ectomorph when the time comes to lose fat you'll find it's a lot easier as an Ecto as it is say for a Meso or Endo. Bulk now and put on 30 Ibs minimum before you consider a cut.

[Kingmarchil]

genetics decide your muscle bellies, body frame and the ability to gain muscle/carry fat
..but the rest depends on your physical activity and diet.


u can be a genetic freak but let go of yourself and become a fatass (fast food anyone??) // weak **** (poor nutrition)

for example there is my friend who is a genetic freak..he have broad as fuk shoulders,
strong and havent lost an armwrestling match yet..
but his poor nutrition lead him to high bf % and is now obese..

conclusion.. everyone can become a "Genetic freak" with the right nutrition and physical exercise.

[FallenEngel]

****totypes are nonsense. I use myself as an example - for most of my life I was fairly overweight, and almost clinically obese by the age of 14. I sat on my ass playing video games and browsing 4chan, which, in conjunction with a diet largely comprised of cake batter Carvelanches, deluxe calzones, and ramen noodles, led to my "endomorphic" frame.

When I decided to change my lifestyle drastically by cutting calories and exercising, I shed the weight with ease. Now I'm getting flak from medical professionals and my parents for being borderline underweight - even emaciated, according to my dad. If you plucked me off the street you'd probably conclude that I'm an ectomorph.

While I won't say that genetics are irrelevant, our appearances are almost always primarily determined by our typical lifestyle choices. Consistency is key.

[Hnnnnnnngh]

It's genetics man. I ate more than most people my age when I was young and did more sports too, mostly GAA Football and Swimming 2-3 times a week each. I was still always a skinny as fúck ectomorph. IMO an ectomorph will ways be an ectomorph until they hit the weights and eat a fúck load of food to compensate.

A lot of food to you would probably be a light snack to me. See what I'm getting at? It's determined by habits, activity level and eating patterns, not genetics unless you want to blame those things on genetics.

[Crazybil]

theres alot of factors involved, and despite what alot of people say, genetics is one of the main ones.
all the males in my family are small "ectomorphs". I've always been tiny despite eating a genuinely large amount of food.
I've been training hard for about 6 months now and ive only put on about 6lbs, despite gaining a considerable amount of muscle mass and strength gains in my lifts.

[Icepray]

I don't really know what body type I am, always thought I was an endomorph but my waist is thin when I cut down and I get a nice "V" form in my upper body...


All I know and care is that I have a ****ty ass metabolism that has a fat fetish, so I work with that, I bulk and gain muscle at a good rate but with that I gain fat real fast. But I have a good activity level and I count my calories pretty accurately now, but hey everybody is different =)

[Aminian]

Agree'd... Aminian from your avi you look like an ecto as well.

Yeah I was looking like one at one point, because I had lost 70 lbs and I was turning anorexic because I just want to get skinnier and skinnier, but Im a meso, I know because I can gain weight super easy and like I had lost 70 lbs pretty easily, so my metabolism isn't too fast or too slow. Also, my frame has grown a bit since then, and my avi is like 6 months old haha

[st3v3]

Even ectos can gain weight pretty easily. I guarantee if you're not gaining weight you're not eating as much as you think. I thought I was eating a lot until I actually started eating a lot. I went from 141-165 in like 8 months, 155-178 in 5, and 163-185 in 4 this most recent time I came back lifting.

[MadDogMalesh]

I think when we over analyze genetics and all this stuff we end up putting ourselves down and doing worse at times. Yes some of the stereotypes do have some truth but everyone is different and maybe sure you might have LEGIT endo, meso or ecto traits but some things are preventable and other things are not. For example I was raised pretty damn healthy when I was younger and would only have any junk food or fast food maybe 1 time a week. My mom wouldn't allow us to have any sort of chips, soda and snacks in the house. We would also have healthier lunches such as a chicken sandwich and would have fruit or veggies instead of chips. YET till this day I bulk like hell on 3k calories and I weigh 200lbs+ and I need like 1.8k to cut any weight. Yes those things I listed(diet, activity vs intake) are things you control YET there are things you have NO control over which at times bothered me....

I train primarily for strength and looks second so when I started it drove me NUTS knowing I wouldn't be good at a single one of the big 3(like being an amazing puller or anything like that) due to the fact I got the middle of everything of my parents. My dad has a really long torso and shorter legs while my mom has really long legs and a short torso... I got the middle of that. Im nearly EXACTLY even between my torso and my leg ratio along with my arms. I have pretty big joints(nearly 9in wrists) yet I don't think I have even close to wide shoulders(you can see my collar bones, VERY WELL). Yet with my height and everything I still have short fingers(if I was to do a hook grip with just my hand I can only get my fingers to barely cover half of my thumb)... yet my dad has super long fingers along with my mom. To sum it up I got the middle of anything my mom had and anything of my dad. My brother gains weight very easy like my mom and so do I but not as much so I partially have my dads genes there. To explain why this sucks is that even with hard work Ill never be an amazing puller or squatter or anything as I don't have any sort of thing to one extreme I am even everywhere. Now Im not saying I can't be strong it just won't be to one extreme with a certain thing.

As for weight & aesthetics I dunno as Ive never been cut even though I watch how I eat I come from one of those bigger families yet I don't see how genes play any role whatsoever when Ive eaten pretty good my entire life yet I gain weight like I do etc. Only makes me want to work harder knowing I have the heritage and such of the strongest people in the world(Lithuanian, Russian, Croatian). Just pretend someone told YOU that YOU have the best body or genetics for what you do and don't over think this stuff trust me! It will drive you nuts just work hard!

[Aminian]

Even ectos can gain weight pretty easily. I guarantee if you're not gaining weight you're not eating as much as you think. I thought I was eating a lot until I actually started eating a lot. I went from 141-165 in like 8 months, 155-178 in 5, and 163-185 in 4 this most recent time I came back lifting.

Haha no brah, I gain weight way quicker on 2700 cals, I went from 143-160 in a month, on 2700 cals, now if I wanted too lose it, id hit 1800 cals and start dropping weight, that's how easy it is. But as one of the above posters said I thought I was endo because I was obese before, then at one point I was underweight and I thought I was ecto, but I took the test and it revealed my metabolism is not too fast, or too slow, I gain gain Fat easily, and lose easily, I tend too gain fat in my boobies and arms and legs, not around the waist or ass like an endo, BUT my frame is rather on the small-medium size, so idk, but I most resemble the mesomorph body type.