COURSE CODE: PE 2

COURSE TITLE: MOVEMENT ENHANCEMENT

TOPIC: SOMATOTYPE REGIMENS

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 Know the characteristics of each somatotype
 Know what are the regimens for each somatotype
 Identify the pros and cons of each somatotype

INTRODUCTION:

William H. Sheldon, PhD, MD, introduced the concept of body types, or somatotypes, in the 1940s.
Since then, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and even doctors have used it to help design
effective, individualized fitness plans. The gist is that everyone falls, though not altogether neatly,
into the three categories below. Keep in mind that these are generalizations, and that most of us
have characteristics of two or even all three somatotypes. People are born with an inherited body
type based on skeletal frame and body composition. Most people are unique combinations of the
three body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph.

3 Types of Body

Ectomorphs, people with this body type are slim, usually tall with longer limbs. Usain Bolt is
a good example who has a ectomorph body type. They are those lucky types who can eat whatever
they want and never get love handles or too much of a bottom. On the flip side, ectomorphs also
have difficulty in gaining muscle mass, so however hard they work out, they stay lean and cannot
ever bulk up even if they want to. Fashion models and runners fit this category. While most of us
love to hate these genetically-blessed individuals, some male ectomorphs may not be thrilled with
their narrow-chested frames, and some female ectomorphs long for more womanly curves

Endomorphs, these body type is the exact opposite if the previous type: shorty, stocky, and
with a tendency to gain weight. Both Oprah Winfrey and Marilyn Monroe are classic examples of
endomorphs. These body type struggle to slim down, and their prominent gut and wide hips will give
them a hard time if they walk the athletic path. The bright side of being an endomorph is naturally
more powerful than ectomorph. They make excellent body builders or weightlifters.

Lastly the fortunate Mesomorphs, why fortunate? Because they have this perfect balance of
muscle and fat, along with a natural ability to their liking, and fast. Christian Bale is a perfect
example of a mesomorph: just look at his roles in The Machinist and American Hustle is enough to
see why. Mesomorphs can rather easily gain muscle mass and become fit in no time. On the other
hand, they lose their bulk as easily too. It is not like they walk in the park and come home with
shredded legs.

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CONTENTS

Of course, these three body types are not categorical, and you can find yourself somewhere
in between. Here are some exercises to perform according to your body type. They will make you
help the most out of your constitution and achieve the best results as possible.

1. Ectomorph Regimen – With this body type, you have no trouble losing weight, but when you try
to gain muscle mass, you only end up with lean muscle, becoming tin and wiry. If you want to bulk,
here is what you should do.

 Eat a lot – First and foremost, start packing on proteins. Proteins are basically the building
blocks of muscles. It is the main key for muscle repair, growth, maintenance, and can be a
source of energy as well. Combined it with carbs and it will help to gain mass in the end. The
trouble here is that you should be prepared to eat a lot more than you have probably eaten
before, because your metabolism is generally faster than other people and you need more
nutrients to feed your sinews. Therefore help yourself and start munching on protein and
carbohydrate-rich foods. However, be careful, not to eat fatty foods because, despite fat
being good for you too, having too much of it might slow down the muscle-building process.
 Focus on strength training – Secondly, concentrate on strength training and heavy lifting.
Compound moves are your best friends as well: basic exercise like deadlift, squats, crunches,
and push-ups engage large muscle groups; helping you building your physique faster and
easier. Isolation exercise, on the other hand, will only slow down your progress as they only
see one or two muscles working.
 Don’t overdo the cardio – And thirdly, don’t overdo the cardio. Running, swimming, cycling,
is nice and all but cardio makes you lose weight, not gain it. Ectomorphs should not lose any
more weight because they are already slim. Still, ‘’don’t overdo it’’ does not mean you do
not have to do it at all. Low-intensity cardio training helps you to get your blood pumping,
delivering nutrients to your muscle tissues. That it, even if you’re packing it with proteins
and carbohydrates, they will have better effect on your body if it is warmed up. Correctly.

All in all, if you are an ectomorph, you need to concentrate on eating a lot, doing a lot of
strength exercises, and go easy on cardio training. With those ways you will see good and better
results very soon.

2. Endomorph Regimen – For this body type, it is typical to be heavy around the waist with smaller
shoulders. They have genetic factors to blame for that, in fact: there are fat-storing mechanisms at
work inside the stomach that prepare for hungry times.

 Focus on interval training – Interval training is much more effective and takes much less
time than simple running or cycling. For example, sprinting is a great burst technique that
you can adopt to lose weight faster. Forget about crunches, they work for other body types
but not for the endomorphs. Crunches are good for shaping the muscles but they do not
burn fat at all. In order to bulk up your upper body and make your looks less pear-like, you
should concentrate on getting rid of the core first then do some intense weight-lifting.

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 Heavy weights and cardio training will work wonders for you in the long run, just be
prepared for this training journey long.
 Bulk-up the shoulders – It is better to focus on how to shift your weight from the waist to
the upper body and make your overall body shaped balanced.
 No long running – Endomorphs have the hardest time on losing weight. On the bright side,
though, you don’t have to run for hours on end, drowning the treadmill in your sweat. Long
and steady cardio workout does not really help.
 Cut down the calorie intake – Endomorph’s training routine is not exactly as easy as other
people think. If you want to lose fat and become fit you should cut down your calorie
intake, in fact, the lower your calorie intake, the faster you should be shedding pounds of
weight but overdoing it is not a good thing. Having very low calorie intake in a day might
end up not giving the sufficient amount of energy for the body in order to perform at its
optimum performance. Do not forget to keep your energy levels high enough.

Summarizing all the things that should be done, go for intense interval training, no long running
sessions, bulk up the shoulders with weights and cut the calorie intake to less than you use every
day. There should be very few carbohydrates in the diet and more proteins.

3. Mesomorph Regimen – Mesomorphs are the easiest to train by far. If you belong to this type, you
probably already have a balanced looks, you might have noticed how simple it is for you to grow
muscle mass or lose fat.

 Set some goals – Even though the mesomorphs have the genetic jackpot, you can still better
yourself. In terms of training, you should first of all stop procrastinating and start actually
working out. what with your inborn stamina and strength. Intense workouts with clearly set
goals will bring about the best you can get from your body type.
 Everything in moderation – Your body type allows you to cut yourself a lot of slack without
much harm, and most mesomorphs abuse this otherwise cool feature of their body. In order
to make the most of your awesome build, train to achieve. That means you should
concentrate everything in moderation with setting goals for yourself. Moderately intense
cardio workouts are good for you, you can easily maintain long running sessions if you want
to. Strength training is also all about moderate heavy weights with number of reps from low
to relatively high. That is, if you take heavy weights, 4-6 repetitions should suffice. If you
choose to lift lighter ones, feel free to go up to 15-18 reps. You should be able to do that
quite easily.
 Eat anything – As for the diet, it can be rather relaxed since you do not tend to gain weight
as fast as endomorphs and do not need much on carbohydrates and proteins like
ectomorphs do. Be generally happy if you belong to mesomorphs, because, otherwise, you
can eat whatever you want.

REFERENCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW6QeqA_iD4