“Moderate cardio, moderate weight training – either would work for a mesomorph,” says Smith.
“They probably need to have the clearest idea of what they’re looking for from their training.
If they want to build muscle then they need to focus on weights like an ectomorph.
If they want to lose fat they need to focus on cardio like an endomorph.”To gain muscle, a 500kcal daily surplus of good quality proteins and fats are recommended, whereas to lose weight a 500kcal daily deficit is about right.
The vast majority of people sit around the centre of the triangle, usually leaning slightly closer to ectomorphic or endomorphic.
“Moderate cardio, moderate weight training – either would work for a mesomorph,” says Smith. “They probably need to have the clearest idea of what they’re looking for from their training. If they want to build muscle then they need to focus on weights like an ectomorph. If they want to lose fat they need to focus on cardio like an endomorph.”
To gain muscle, a 500kcal daily surplus of good quality proteins and fats are recommended, whereas to lose weight a 500kcal daily deficit is about right. “I’d recommend a fairly balanced diet of 40 percent carbohydrate, 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat,” advises Hutchison.
“A mesomorph is often seen as someone who is naturally very athletic and hold muscle and lean mass very easily – so results for fat loss and muscle gain may come a bit easier but if a mesomorph wants to do something outside of their comfort zone, such as train for an endurance event, then it’s just about making sure they give themselves enough time to train the correct energy system (so lots of aerobic work),” Hutchison continues. “It’s also making sure they slow themselves down (naturally they may prefer more intensity in their training), give themselves enough recovery time, and continue a level of strength training to help maintain their muscle mass when doing more endurance exercise.”
“I’d train a mesomorph very similar to an ectomorph if they wanted to build muscle,” says Harrison. “Biomechanically, they might be able to increase their reps to the 12-15 reps per set mark.
“You’d also get them to do it more slowly than an ectomorph, because they’ve got a bit more fast-twitch muscle fibre, so they’d benefit from going a bit more slowly and keeping their muscle under tension a bit longer.”
As such, a mesomorph would be better off following an endomorph’s training plan when they want to lose fat, and an ectomorph’s when they want to gain muscle.
Questions for the experts
Can you have multiple body types?
“The most important thing to note is that everyone is a bit of all of them,” explains Prof Gavin Sandercock from the school of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences at Essex University. “There are extremes, but broadly, most people will fit somewhere between each of the somatotypes, with elements of all three of them.”
A sumo wrestler for example, might be described as meso-endomorphic in that they tend to be squatter and fatter than the average person, but also need to be muscular. In contrast, the purest example of ectomorphy might be a female catwalk model who is very tall and thin, but even she will tend to have some muscle, putting her slightly towards the meso-ectomorphic range.
Somatotypes are usually plotted on a triangle with endomorphic, mesomorphic, and ectomorphic at each corner. The vast majority of people sit around the centre of the triangle, usually leaning slightly closer to ectomorphic or endomorphic. However, those with a lot of fitness and sports training lean towards the mesomorphic end.
