Our unique metabolism, body composition, and energy levels are largely determined by our genetic makeup. The most popular body type categorization that dates back to the 1940s defines 3 main metabolic body types (or, somatotypes): endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph. Each type has its own physique, metabolic diet, common problems, and workout routine to prevent them. If you’ve been struggling to achieve your health and fitness goals, the problem might be that your workout routine and diet don’t fit your body type.
Read this article to learn more about metabolic types and their preferred workout routines.
How your metabolism works
Your metabolism determines how quickly and effectively your body converts fuel to energy. While lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and sleep time impact your metabolic rate, the basic metabolic processes are determined by your genetics.
Metabolic types describe your body’s natural inclination to either energy-consuming or energy-saving strategies. They are determined by a combination of your metabolism and the dominant part of your nervous system.
Our nervous system has two opposing balancing parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is activated in stressful situations—it increases your heart rate and blood pressure and pumps blood to your muscles. During this state, metabolism is increased. When stress is over, the parasympathetic nervous system comes into play relaxing your muscles and lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. This slows metabolism down. A more dominant part of the nervous system influences overall metabolic rate.
Endomorph body type
Endomorph has the slowest metabolism of the 3 metabolic types. They have a larger bone structure, a round body, medium-to-short height, and more overall body fat. Evolutionary, their body has become more efficient at storing nutrients than at using them. This means that it is easier for them to build muscle and gain weight. They may also feel bouts of fatigue when they run out of available energy. Endomorphs usually have strong leg muscles and weaker upper body muscles.
Pros: Easy to build muscle mass, strong legs
Cons: Hard to lose weight, quickly fatigued
Endomorph's workout routine
Due to a slow metabolism, endomorphs’ workout strategies should focus on maximizing fat loss, improving cardiovascular fitness, and maintaining existing lean muscle mass.
At least 1 strength training per week
Strength training can bring endomorphs the most satisfaction because muscle gain happens effortlessly. If your body inclines towards this metabolic type, you can opt for moderate-to-heavy lifting and all sorts of functional training that include compound exercises and engage multiple muscle groups at once. Building more active muscle tissue helps increase your basal metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.
2-3 REHIT sessions per week
The tricky part about being an endomorph is that weight loss doesn’t come easy. You need several intense cardio sessions per week to maintain a healthy weight. Reduced Exertion HIIT (REHIT) on CAROL Bike is the best choice for the endomorph body type. This 5-minute maximum-intensity workout accelerates metabolism and induces a massive calorie burn. Thanks to the afterburn effect lasting for hours after training, you’ll burn more calories on a 15-minute CAROL ride than a 30-minute run. This is the shortest, most effective workout for the body type with a higher body fat percentage.
Increase your physical activity outside of the gym
Although this recommendation goes for all metabolic body types, endomorphs will benefit from it the most. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—the energy expended in daily living tasks—contributes to a large share of overall calorie expenditure. Moving more in your daily life is the easiest way to boost your metabolism and prevent weight gain.
Nutrition tips for endomorphs
A steady, long-lasting source of energy is crucial for endomorphs’ well-being. Of all metabolic types, endomorphs are the least tolerant to carbs. They should avoid spikes in blood sugar spikes caused by simple carbs and sweets. Such spikes induce bouts of fatigue when the fast energy is over and increase insulin production which promotes further fat storage.
Endomorphs’ diet should be high in protein- and fat-containing products such as meat, fish, healthy oils, avocado, vegetables, and grains. Keto and paleo diets perfectly suit this body type.
CAROL burns over twice as many calories, minute-per-minute vs. traditional exercise, largely thanks to afterburn.
Ectomorph body type
Ectomorph is the opposite of endomorph. They have the highest metabolic rate, small bones, low body fat percentage, and little muscle mass. Ectomorph’s body is easily recognizable by its slim and lean physique and narrow shoulders.
Pros: Don’t have extra body fat, good stamina for steady-state activities
Cons: Hard to grow muscle tissue, inclined towards skinny fat
Ectomorph's workout routine
Ectomorph’s workout plan focuses on maximizing muscle growth using lower-intensity hypertrophy and maximal strength resistance training with longer rest periods. Some steady-state cardio is important to balance the schedule.
1-hour Zone 2 cycling
Marathon runners are a typical example of an ectomorph body type. This body type is the most inclined to long-distance steady-state cardio training. Try 60-90-minute Zone-Based Free Ride on CAROL Bike to strengthen your cardiovascular system and increase longevity.
At least 2 strength training sessions per week
Building muscle requires more effort for ectomorphs, but it’s crucial not to neglect strength training. This body type is the most susceptible to sarcopenia—the decline in muscle mass that starts after the age of 35. Ectomorphs need to focus on compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups and on targeting weaker upper body muscles. Opt for slow, heavy sets with longer rest periods for optimal progress. You will need higher volume workouts to build muscle mass—at least 3-4 sets of 6-12 repetitions for each exercise.
Nutrition tips for ectomorphs
Ectomorphs need to consume a sufficient amount of calories per day and do it regularly to avoid energy depletion. Various fasting plans are poorly suited for this metabolic type unless they have a long eating window. Weight loss is usually not a problem for this body type. Ectomorphs can afford a larger share of carbs in their menu, even including some simple carbs. At the same time, it’s important not to overindulge. Without regular strength training, this may result in skinny fat body composition—extra body fat and a low amount of muscle.
The rest of your meals can be divided equally between protein and healthy fats, or with a slightly larger share of protein if your main goal is to grow muscle mass. Some experts suggest that ectomorph body type may also benefit from greater eating frequency.
Mesomorph body type
Mesomorphs fall somewhere between the 2 first metabolic types. They have a naturally athletic body equally prone to quick muscle and fat gain. This is the most flexible type in terms of workout and nutrition—they respond well to almost any kind of exercise routine and thrive on a well-balanced diet.
Pros: Gain muscle easily, look athletic, respond well to exercise
Cons: Gain fat easily, fat is stored in the lower body
Mesomorph's workout routine
A mix of high-intensity interval training, steady-state cardio, and strength training is key to a healthy body composition for mesomorphs. A well-balanced routine will help you avoid excess fat and maintain your muscle mass.
- 2 REHIT sessions per week
- 1 Zone 2 cardio session
- 1 strength training
Mesomorphs’ flexibility allows you to experiment with varying intervals and rest periods to diversify your workouts and find the workout structure that suits you the best. Try 4 variations of classic CAROL Bike’s REHIT with different numbers of sprints and interval durations to determine which variation is best for you.
Nutrition tips for mesomorphs
Any general advice on healthy nutrition will work for mesomorphs. A good balance of carbs, protein, and healthy fats (40%/40%/20%) will keep their energy levels stable throughout the day. If you are trying to lose weight, increasing protein share and cutting down on carbs will provide you with fast results. However, if you have an active lifestyle, make sure that you get enough carbs to maintain physical activity.
Intermittent fasting is another excellent weight management strategy for mesomorphs.
Mixed metabolic types
If you don’t fit into any of the 3 categories, you may have one of the mixed metabolic types. In this case, you can use some strategies from both pure types depending on your current challenges and fitness goals.
Ecto-mesomorph
This metabolic type has a lean, narrow body, broad shoulders, and muscular limbs. Ecto-mesomorphs take the best qualities of both types: they have more muscle mass than pure ectomorphs and easily burn extra fat compared to mesomorphs. As a result, this type of physique is very common in the athletic world.
Meso-endomorphs
Meso-endomorphs have a large frame and thick arms and legs. They lack well-defined muscles because of their predisposition to retain water and a layer of fat on top of their muscles. Their genetic makeup helps to build muscle but also gain weight easily.
This is a common body type for women, bodybuilders, and contact sports athletes.
Ecto-endomorphs
Usually, these are natural ectomorphs who gained extra body fat due to an unhealthy lifestyle. They have long limbs, a smaller bone structure, and excess fat around the waistline. Acquired insulin resistance makes their bodies less effective at burning carbs. To get back in shape, this body type needs to follow an endomorph dietary plan and combine resistance training with high-intensity cardio.
Conclusion
Understanding your metabolic body type is important to select optimal nutrition and workout strategies, make the most out of your strong sides, and prevent the health issues that are most typical for your type. CAROL Bike provides the shortest, most effective workouts suitable for any metabolic type and fitness level – while offering greater versatility and choice than most other smart bikes.
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