According to Sheldon's theory, all people can be divided into three types according to morphological characteristics: mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph. This is one of the most simple and detailed classifications of body types that currently exist. Sheldon makes an attempt not only to find criteria for describing the physical parameters of the body, but also to determine what temperament is behind this or that appearance. At first, this system of constitutional typology applied only to men, but then it began to be applied to women. Do you want to know who you are - mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph? Then take a look at yourself and compare with the descriptions below.
Endomorphs
They have the slowest metabolism, well-developed internal organs, especially the digestive system. They quickly accumulate fat and hardly part with it. People of this type have a round and soft body, a short neck and a wide waist.
Endomorphs are friendly and good-natured, slow and cautious, moderately emotional and tolerant. They love physical comfort, good food and relaxation. These people have a good sense of humorsociable and not prone to irritability.
Mesomorphs
This type is also called athletic. He is characterized by a proportional physique, medium height, broad shoulders, muscularity. The owners of such a figure tend to gain excess weight, but they can quickly lose it. Mesomorphs easily build muscle and accumulate physical strength.
As for the temperament, they are energetic, courageous, persevering, risk-averse, and love competition and physical activity.
Ectomorphs
They are lean, wiry and angular. They are characterized by long and thin limbs, often tall, short torso, flat chest, narrow shoulders, minimal fat reserves and poorly developed muscles that are difficult to build.
Ectomorphs love loneliness and solitude, are internally clamped, shy, artistic, prone to mental activity. It is believed that they have the largest brain and well-developed nervous system.
Ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph - how to determine?
In fact, most people have traits of all three types to varying degrees. In its pure form, mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph are not so common, and this division is very arbitrary. To more accurately find out your somatotype, you need to use the method developed by Sheldon, where each individual is described by three numbers from 1 to 7. In this case, 1 corresponds to the minimum manifestation of signs of a particular type, and 7 to the maximum. That is, a pure endomorph is 711, a mesomorph is 171, an ectomorph is 117. A person with a harmonious physique has a description of 444. It is clear that combinations of 111 and 777 are impossible.
Mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph and bodybuilding
Determining belonging to a particular type is especially important in bodybuilding for choosing a training methodology. After all, training for an endomorph is absolutely not suitable for representatives of the other two types.
Mesomorphs are especially lucky: athletes with such a physique are most likely to achieve outstanding results in bodybuilding. Endomorphs can quickly build muscle mass, but it is difficult for them to get rid of excess fat and achieve a good definition. The most difficult thing will be ectomorphs, who do not differ in either good strength indicators or muscles that are responsive to loads. They will not be able to build large volumes, however, thanks to the minimum amount of fat, their muscles will always be in relief.
