Written by Kirsten Yovino | CPT Brookbush Institute
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
Struggling with weight issues is frustrating. You may feel that despite watching what you eat and exercising semi-regularly, you can’t seem to get back into your old jeans. And let’s not even talk about the rapid weight gain that occurs when you indulge in a few extra desserts or fruity drinks during a weekend away. If any of this sounds familiar, you may most closely identify with the endomorph body type.
Otherwise known as a somatotype, there are three categories total: endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph, and each one include specific qualities that may shed some light on why your body reacts to food and exercise in a certain way and looks the way it does.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- Explanations for the 3 different somatotypes
- Whether there's truth to body types
- Endomorph body type traits
- Endomorph body type weight loss tips
- Best diet and workout plan for endomorph body types
What are the different body types?
Your somatotype, defined by body composition characteristics set by your genetics, was created by Dr. W. H. Sheldon in the 1940s.
The theory explains that genes are pre-determined, unchangeable, and unavoidable, labeling the three body types as endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph.
According to the theory, each person's body type displays the following characteristics:
ENDOMORPH:
- Large bone structure, including wider hips
- Stocky
- Round midsection with excess body fat storage
- Has a higher percentage of body fat
- Gains fat quickly and struggles to lose it
- Difficulty with weight loss
- Slow metabolism
ECTOMORPH:
- Slender
- Tall and lanky with long limbs
- Highly active metabolisms
- Skinny with low muscle mass and body fat
- Difficulties with gaining weight
MESOMORPH:
- Athletic build
- Medium frame, including wide shoulders and narrower hips
- Muscular
- Well-regulated metabolism, making it easy to build muscle and lose weight
You may have read this list and instantly felt like one described you to a tee. Or, you may have read these characteristics and identified with qualities from two, or even all three, body types.
Everyone is unique, and while you may more closely identify with one somatotype, it’s not unusual to find you have genetic traits from more than one group.
Even more importantly, while your genes may cause you to lose weight, gain weight, have less visible muscle definition, or respond to exercise in a certain way, healthy habits and a well-planned diet and workout plan can help you achieve a body recomposition you’re happy and comfortable with.
Are these body types real?
There are truths to each somatotype’s unique characteristics, but as we mentioned above, it's not your destiny to look a certain way forever. Lifestyle factors, like exercise, diet, and mastering your metabolism, can go a long way in helping you achieve the body of your dreams, regardless of your body type.
Some endomorph body types may gain weight due to a slow metabolism that leads to excess body fat, while others may be chronic overeaters that don't incorporate physical activity.
A few mesomorphs may have an athlete's body yet never go to the gym, but more commonly, a Greek God body is obtained following a proper diet and dedicated workout routine.
So, to recap, genetics play a role in your overall appearance and the weight your body gravitates toward. But this shouldn't cause you to feel defeated.
Instead, use your genetics and the qualities that define you to your advantage when creating an endomorph diet and workout plan to help you meet your goals.
Healthy eating habits and a fitness routine you look forward to will make you healthier and happier. And isn’t that the best goal to have anyway?
WHAT IS AN ENDOMORPH BODY TYPE?
Endomorph body types struggle with their weight more than mesomorphs, who find it easier to achieve muscle hypertrophy, maintain muscle, and shed fat. Ectomorphs have different problems, finding it hard to put muscle on their tall, slim frames.
Additional endomorph body type features include:
- Less muscle definition
- Larger skeletal frame
- Shorter limbs
- Short stature
- Bigger appetite and slower metabolism
- May be more susceptible to insulin sensitivity and hormonal imbalances, often related to a higher percentage of body fat.
If you most closely relate to the endomorph body type, you may constantly struggle to lose or maintain your weight, consistently cycling between dieting and overeating.
That can end now. There are plenty of strategies to help you reach a goal weight to look and feel your best. A proper endomorph diet paired with a fitness program of circuit training and high-intensity training (we've got everything from beginner HIIT workouts to HIIT assault bike routines to Tabata recumbent bike exercises if you're looking for inspiration) will burn excess fat and improve your body composition.
DO YOU HAVE AN ENDOMORPH BODY TYPE?
The endomorphic features remain largely the same for both men and women with one of the most prevalent traits being more body fat and less muscle mass. But similar to differences between somatotypes, there are distinctions between endomorphic men and women.
More frequently, women store fat in their lower stomach, hips, thighs, and butt, while men store more fat throughout their abdomen1.
So, what does this mean for endomorphic body types for each gender? Here’s a look.
Women:
- You are curvy or full-figured with a larger bone structure.
- You have a pear-shaped body.
- Your shoulders are more narrow compared to your hips.
- You gain weight easily, often with excess weight in the hips, thighs, butt, and abdomen.
- It's hard to notice muscle definition as your body fat percentage is higher.
Men:
- Your body shape is apple-like, with most of your weight in your stomach.
- You are stocky.
- Your hips are wider than your shoulders.
- Weight gain occurs quickly and often.
- Muscle definition is not noticeable, even though you may be strong.
You may identify with one or all of these qualities as our genetics impact how we respond to exercise and metabolize food. For example, suppose an endomorph has started concentrating on following metabolism-boosting rules. In that case, you may be able to eat more than others with this body type since you’ve found a way to rev your energy-burning system.
Now imagine the results once you speed up your metabolism, eat the best foods for your genetics, and follow a workout plan designed specifically for your somatotype.
Feeling inspired? Let’s get into it!
ENDOMORPH DIET AND EXERCISE TIPS
An endomorph body type may have issues with overeating, a slow metabolism, excess body fat distribution, and years of frustration dealing with an ever-growing waistline.
We can end the frustration here by discussing how you can use your body type to craft the perfect health and fitness plan for losing weight and increasing muscle growth. An endomorph body type whose goal is losing weight should focus on these three factors.
1. Pick the right exercise routines:
If body fat is your number one struggle, an exercise regimen containing low-intensity exercises or mass-building strength moves won't chisel your waistline.
Cardio training, circuits, high-intensity interval training, AMRAP workouts, interval training, and faster-paced resistance training fitness programs filled with compound moves and higher reps will get you to your goal of losing weight and gaining muscle.
2. Count calories:
Weight gain is one of the biggest complaints about the endomorph body type. If you gain weight easier than you'd like, coming up with a calorie goal and macronutrient breakdown is a must. The goal is to eliminate excess calories, track your calorie consumption, and adopt a healthy diet to promote fat loss.
If the monotony of following the same calorie goal every day has you cringing, consider the metabolic confusion diet plan instead for more eating flexibility.
3. Master your metabolism:
Slow metabolism is a common complaint of endomorph body types. The first thing to determine is whether your metabolism is truly the issue. The problem could simply be eating more than you think, which makes counting calories a top priority. Eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, drinking plenty of ice water, and getting at least 7 hours of sleep are relatively easy ways to rev your metabolism.
How Do Endomorph Body Types Lose Weight?
Endomorph body types will have the best luck shedding unwanted pounds by following diet and exercise tips that align with their weight-loss goals. All body types have different caloric needs based on metabolism, daily activity level, exercise plan, nutritional choices, and muscle mass.
First, determine how much you’re eating now by tracking your calories for a few days using an app like MyFitnessPal. Once you have your current amount, step two is reducing your intake.
Depending on what it is, decrease by 5 to 10 percent. If eating over 3,000 calories, you can reduce it by 10%. If you’re currently eating more in the 2,400 - 2,500 range, start closer to a 5% reduction.
Step three for endomorph body types: Weigh yourself weekly, and if you hit a plateau and your calories aren’t too low, you can reduce by another 5% to keep the weight loss momentum going. You should never go below 1,200 calories. If you’re also exercising, we highly advise not falling below 1,400 or 1,500 calories.
And now for two equally important elements: what you eat and how you workout.
BEST ENDOMORPH DIET AND WORKOUT PLAN
For an endomorph body type, diet plans emphasizing portion control, low carbs, and high protein will help your metabolic rate while improving your overall health. In addition, regular physical activity as part of your daily routine will make it easier to lose unwanted weight, build muscle mass, and stay lean.
BEST ENDOMORPHIC BODY TYPE DIET PLAN:
When dealing with a higher body fat percentage, like average endomorph body types may struggle with, comes a higher risk of being sensitive to insulin, affecting how many and the types of carbohydrates you consume.
An ideal endomorph diet plan sticks with healthy foods, including high-fiber complex carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index. Foods part of this balanced diet include fruits, non starchy vegetables, beans, and unprocessed and minimally processed grains. Sweet potatoes, whole grains, and fiber-packed cereals have a slightly higher glycemic index but can still be enjoyed in moderation.
An endomorph diet should avoid refined carbohydrate dense foods with a high glycemic index instead opting for complex carbohydrates. In general, it is more of a low carb diet, targeting 30% of your daily calories to come from complex carbs, 35% lean protein, and 35% fat.
Daily protein is extra high for endomorph body types because it increases your metabolism and makes you feel full for longer, an ideal scenario when trying to lose weight, promote muscle growth, and manage your daily food intake2. If you have a hard time hitting your protein goals, we suggest choosing one of these delicious protein powders to help boost your daily intake. For more variety, consider combining it with your morning java to turn the duo into protein coffee.
Healthy fats for an endomorph diet should be monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, including pastured animal fats, fatty fish like salmon, eggs, avocado oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil, coconut, nuts, and seeds.
BEST ENDOMORPH WORKOUT ROUTINE:
Blasting fat is the name of the endomorph workout game, which means you’ll benefit most from exercise that keeps your heart rate nice and high while building lean muscle mass for an extra calorie burn.
CARDIO:
HIIT should be a staple in endomorphic bodies cardio workouts. Target two 30-minute sessions weekly to begin, bumping it up to three times. HIIT is versatile, and you can do it on any equipment, including a bike, treadmill, elliptical, assault bike, and rowing machine.
You can do it in your living room using a few select moves, with your bodyweight, dumbbells, or kettlebells, or you can do it outside, by running or biking. We love a 1:1 work-rest ratio for HIIT, so create your routine around a 30-second work, 30-second rest format.
Plyometric exercises like frog jumps, aerobic circuit training, AMRAP, and Tabata workouts are great cardio options for endomorphs as they share HIIT’s same metabolism-boosting benefits. Steady state cardio two to three times a week will ensure you stay in a weekly calorie deficit. The ultimate goal of an endomorph's fitness goals is to eliminate excess fat, burn calories, and reduce body weight.
WEIGHT LIFTING:
Endomorph body types can gain muscle easier than ectomorphs, but it can sometimes cause them to look stockier. As you start to lose weight, more muscle definition will be visible, and you can further increase this by strength training with your body type in mind.
We suggest avoiding lifting for bulk, instead sticking to large compound exercises that will build lean muscle, torch calories, and increase your metabolism. The result is training for muscle endurance, as opposed to strength and hypertrophy, so your rep range for compound movements should be between 15 and 20 and can be more than 20 if you're strictly using bodyweight.
In addition, a weight training circuit-style with minimal rest will work both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, boost metabolism, and burn more calories than traditional weight lifting. This weight training style is great for weight loss, and you will still have muscle gain and build strong muscles.
PROGRESSIONS:
As HIIT plays an integral role in your weekly workout schedule, continue playing around with the moves you use and the amount of work time you put in.
If 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off stops challenging you, bump it up to 40 seconds on, 40 seconds off; you can work up to 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off, so you’ve got plenty of room for growth.
For variety, try a weighted jump rope instead of a traditional rope, or purchase a weighted vest to wear as you perform a HIIT circuit to help you gain muscle mass. An assault bike is always an excellent option, as the calorie burn is limitless, making your goal to lose weight more obtainable.
For weight training, when you can do over 20 reps without feeling overly fatigued, increase your weights, but just enough where you can still hit the 15-20 range.
BEST ENDOMORPH WORKOUT PLAN
We’ve put together a weekly workout schedule for you, which includes three HIIT sessions, twice weekly muscle building full-body resistance training circuits, and three steady-state cardio sessions.
In addition, to incorporate more physical activity throughout the day, which will help you hit your weight loss goals and support an efficient metabolism, you have a step goal on your HIIT days. You don’t need to get your steps in all at once, but the goal is for it to encourage you to increase your daily physical activity.
For your full-body weight training exercises, it’s circuit-style, meaning you’ll perform one set of each move, and then go back to the beginning. Aim for 3 to 5 rounds per circuit based on your fitness level with short rest periods in between. You can also make your workout more challenging and longer by adding on any (or all!) of the bonus moves.
WEEKLY WORKOUT SCHEDULE:
|
Day |
Exercise |
Workout Guidelines |
Reps |
|
Monday |
HIIT Step Goal: 10,000 steps |
1:1 work rest ratio; 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest |
30 minutes |
|
Tuesday |
Full-body resistance training Steady-state cardio |
Circuit style resistance training
Steady-state cardio: Running, walking, biking, elliptical, rowing machine |
15-20 reps per set
Steady state cardio: Target 30-40 minutes |
|
Wednesday |
HIIT Step Goal: 10,000 steps |
1:1 work rest ratio; 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest |
30 minutes |
|
Thursday |
REST |
|
|
|
Friday |
Full-body resistance training Steady-state cardio |
Circuit-style resistance training
Steady-state cardio options: Running, walking, biking, elliptical, rowing machine |
15-20 reps per set
Steady-state cardio: Target 30-40 minutes |
|
Saturday |
HIIT Step Goal: 12,000 |
1:1 work rest ratio; 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest |
30 minutes |
|
Sunday |
Steady-state Cardio Step Goal: 10-12,000 |
Steady-state cardio options: Running, walking, biking, elliptical, rowing machine |
60 minutes |
FULL BODY CIRCUIT:
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
Rest |
|
Deadlift |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
Squat to overhead press |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
Mountain climbers |
1 |
30 seconds |
10-20 seconds |
|
Plyo push-up |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
Side lunge and lateral raise |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
Dumbbell Clean and Press |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
Forward lunge to back row |
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
|
BONUS MOVES:
|
1 |
15-20 |
10-20 seconds |
Use your genetics
Endomorphs: We hope you’re ending this post feeling motivated and inspired. Focus on tracking your calories, adopt Paleo-style eating, get your workouts in, and move around more.
The more you know about your body, the more you can use all of your unique traits to craft the perfect diet and workout routine for you. Somatotypes aside, the human body needs healthy food, more movement, and plenty of sleep to look and feel its best.
Related: Mesomorph Body Type: The Best Diet & Workout Routine
- Blaak, E. “Gender Differences in Fat Metabolism.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, vol. 4, no. 6, 2001, pp. 499–502, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11706283, 10.1097/00075197-200111000-00006.
- Pesta, Dominik H, and Varman T Samuel. “A High-Protein Diet for Reducing Body Fat: Mechanisms and Possible Caveats.” Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 11, no. 1, 2014, p. 53, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4258944/, 10.1186/1743-7075-11-53
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Kirsten Yovino
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