The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Saturday
MOST PEOPLE BELONG TO ONE OF THESE THREE ‘SOMATOTYPES’…
ENDOMORPH What to eat and how to train
Vital Statistics A pear-shaped body A rounded head Wide hips and shoulders Wider front to back rather than side to side A lot of fat on the body, upper arms and thighs
If an endomorph is focused on weight loss, “it can be really difficult and disheartening,” admits Annabelle Smith, wellness coach and founder of the Mindful Diet Coach. “However, as endomorphs like Adele and Oprah Winfrey prove, it’s far from impossible.”
Endomorphs looking to lose weight should consider calorie-controlled dieting, advises Smith, who suggests a 500-700 kcal daily deficit. “Traditional diets tend to work best for endomorphs, because they tend to be insulin dominant and store fat most easily,” she says.
“Think of your plate as follows: a palm sized bit of protein, a big handful with outstretched fingers of a good carbohydrate – vegetables and some wholesome grain like quinoa, bulgur wheat, or sweet potato – and then some healthy fats: avocado, olives, olive oil, nuts,” advises Scott Harrison, celebrity personal trainer and creator of The Six Pack Revolution fitness programme. “So you want 30 per cent protein, 60 per cent carbs, and maybe 10 per cent fats.”
On the plus side, endomorphs tend to be able to build muscle broadly across their body quite quickly. “An endomorph should definitely do some weight training, I’d suggest 8-12 reps, three-four sets, four-five different exercises, but I’d recommend that for all body types,” says Smith. “However, endomorphs have a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibres which tire quickly, but are great at bursts of power which high-intensity interval training prioritises. I’d definitely recommend endomorphs add a 10-15 minute [high-intensity interval training] session to the end of their weight training. That will help minimise fat gain too.”
Harrison says the ultimate exercise for an endomorph is the battle rope. “It’s technically a cardio exercise, but because you’re whipping a heavy rope, you get some good resistance training which will help endomorphs build muscle and get aerobic exercise at the same time,” he explains.
Endomorphs looking to gain muscle mass need a calorie surplus. “I’d suggest an endomorph won’t need a huge calorie surplus, maybe as little as 300kcal per day,” says Smith. “But be careful. It needs to be a ‘lean bulk’ – focus on high protein, high carbohydrate, and low fat foods, lots of fresh vegetables and meat.”
ECTOMORPH What to eat and how to train
Vital Statistics A high forehead Receding chin Narrow shoulders and hips A narrow chest and abdomen Thin arms and legs Little muscle and fat
Tending to be naturally slimmer, the challenge for ectomorphs is gaining rather than losing weight. To other body types, that might seem a nice problem to have, but it can be frustrating for ectomorphs looking for sculpted beach bodies.
Nutrition is just as important to an ectomorph looking to build muscle, as it is to an endomorph hoping to lose weight. “They want to eat all the calories and then some,” says Smith, who suggests an ectomorph needs a calorie surplus of around 700kcal per day to see significant muscle growth. “I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but ectomorphs can get away with ‘dirty bulking’ which is where you just eat a lot of anything to gain – it could be quinoa and chicken or it could be burgers.”
In the gym, an ectomorph needs to focus on weights – deadlifts, squats, bench presses and other compound movements. “I’d tell them to focus purely on weight training, not cardio,” says Harrison. “I’d focus on low reps – maybe eight-10 reps per set, with heavier weights, and try to do them fast and clean.”
“They may naturally find it easier to do endurance exercise, which is fine if that’s what they are training for but if they are trying to gain muscle or get stronger, then they may need to go against some of their natural urges,” advises James Hutchison, founder of holistic wellness programme and personal training studio, pH7. “This could mean reducing rep ranges, increasing rest time, dropping down the duration and intensity of cardio exercise. It may mean giving them some shorter high intensity bursts of exercise to train a different energy system (using anaerobic exercise). A big focus on compound exercises to make sure they are training large muscle groups.”
Of course, with too much “dirty bulking” an ectomorph certainly can put on fat too, particularly around the stomach. However, because they tend to have faster metabolisms, ectomorphs don’t have to diet quite as intensely to lose weight. Smith suggests a daily calorie deficit of 300kcal tends to be enough for ectomorphic bodies to see results.
“If you’re not careful though, an ectomorph trying to lose fat can also drop muscle quite quickly as well,” Smith explains. “I’d recommend they keep up the weight training while trying to slim down, but adding in some low-intensity, steady-state aerobic exercise: longdistance running, cycling, swimming. They have slow-twitch muscle fibres which are slow to tire, so they’re built for that sort of exercise.”