Ectomorph? Maybe? Help please!! :)

[Jaimeemaree]

Hey everyone, new to the forum and new to spending a majority of time in the weights section of the gym!

Someone told me today that my body type is ectomorph.. and I’ve been doing some research on how this might affect the cardio/weights that I do at the gym! Said person mentioned when they do a lot of cardio they lose muscle mass as they’re an ectomorph so recommended I do incline walk on the treadmill instead of HIIT!

During research, I can’t quite work out whether this is accurate for me.

I have very long and skinny limbs but I carry all of my excess weight around my mid section and my butt!! (I have a big butt and smaller chest 😂) A dexa scan shows a much higher % of body fat in that area. During research it seems to indicate that an ectomorph struggles to put on weight and has a fast metabolism! I would NOT say this is me! I look at food and I put weight on, but I’ve still always had a really small frame arms/legs... I just carry that weight around the midsection!

Anyway.. is there any validity in following a training plan for an “ectomorph”, I’m used to doing a lot of cardio (with little results) and I’m switching to a more weight based program training minimum 4 times per week and focusing on different muscle groups each session...

Any friendly advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Jaimee

[ironwill2008]

****totyping has long-since been debunked; it was a theory proposed by a Psycologist back in the '30s who's generally regarded today to have been a quack; how any of his nonsense came to be associated with bodybuilding is a mystery. In fact, if he or someone else were to conduct his "research" methods today, he'd likely be put behind bars as a p e d o phile.


What you are is a human, and as such, you will build muscle and/or lose body fat the same way that all other humans do so. If you struggle to gain weight, it's only because you aren't eating enough, and nothing else.

[sy2502]

Anyway.. is there any validity in following a training plan for an “ectomorph”, I’m used to doing a lot of cardio (with little results) and I’m switching to a more weight based program training minimum 4 times per week and focusing on different muscle groups each session...

Any friendly advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Jaimee

No, not really. There are individual genetic differences like metabolism, fat distribution, proportion of fast vs slow twitching muscle fibers, etc. Where your body prefers to store fat you can't really change much. Metabolism you can change to a point or, even better, you can work with it to your advantage. Muscle fiber proportion can change with type of exercise.
I'd say first make sure you have the basics covered, starting with your diet, and make sure your exercise program maximizes your goals (to make a silly example, if your goal is to get as muscular as possible and you spend your time running marathons, you are doing it wrong). Then you can take it from there based on what works FOR YOU, not for some imaginary body type scheme.

[BrotherWolf]

Anyway.. is there any validity in following a training plan for an “ectomorph”, I’m used to doing a lot of cardio (with little results) and I’m switching to a more weight based program training minimum 4 times per week and focusing on different muscle groups each session...

Any friendly advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Jaimee

Not at all but people have various genetic differences plus other factors such as lifestyle, social etc.. but the most important factor is hormones
here's something for you to read

https://www.popsci.com/why-fat-goes-...hatever#page-2