Choosing the Right Exercise for Your Body Type

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Did you know that your body type can have an influence on how successful and effective different types of exercise are? Before we go any further we need to go over the different body types. If you weren’t sleeping in health class in high school some of this might seem a little familiar, and don’t worry this won’t be on the test.

William Sheldon was a physiologist who worked developed a body type classification system. While it wasn’t perfect, it works well enough that it is still widely used. He came up with three different body types endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. Occasionally there are people that fall into one body type most people sit somewhere between two body types. Knowing which type you are can help you choose the type of exercise that will give you the best results.

Endomorphs have many of the following characteristics, stocky, rounded and big bones. They usually poses good natural strength and don’t have difficulty building muscle. They also usually have a slower metabolism, and have a difficult time losing weight and body fat. A good example of a healthy endomorph is a defensive linebacker or a bodybuilder. Exercises that work well for endomorphs are weight and strength training, swimming, rowing and cross country skiing. Endomorphs will have a hard time with high energy fast pasted sports or exercises like aerobics, tennis, sprinting or any other type of speed running.

Mesomorphs have a naturally muscular or athletic build. People who are lucky enough to be born with this body type generally don’t have a problem building muscle mass or losing weight. While they won’t be able to put on as much bulk and lift as much weight as an endomorph they will be able to do it faster. Because they have a good metabolism they also respond well to aerobic workouts. Professional athletes such as baseball or soccer players are good examples of mesomorphs. If you are a mesomorph try to find exercises that combine your gifts of strength, speed and agility like tennis, racquetball and basketball.

Ectomorphs are defined by a classically slight build, they are typical tall and thin without too much body and muscle mass. While they do have a high metabolism and can lose weight quickly and easily they have a hard time building muscle mass. A good example of a healthy ectomorph would be a marathon runner or swimmer. Some good types of exercises for ectomorphs include any type of running or jogging, or cycling. Ectomorphs will get the least amount of benefit from fast paced aerobic type exercises.

Now that you know the different body types try to figure out which ones you share the most traits with. Choose exercises that play to your strengths not your weaknesses. When you choose an exercise that gives you the most benefit chances are greater that you’ll stick with it.

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