Building Muscle!

By: Bob Howard
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:18:39
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Even without any formal education in anatomy and physiology, most people recognize that people have different body types. Bodybuilders have discovered over the years that these different body types respond differently to both training and nutrition. As a result, it’s vital that you become aware of what your body type is so that you can design an effective workout program to maximize building muscle.

Body type origins

Most of what we know about body types comes from the works of William Sheldon (1898-1977). Sheldon was an American psychologist who devoted most of his life observing and classifying the wide spectrum of human bodies. While teaching at several universities and doing valuable research he came up with a system for classifying people into three basic body types. The following descriptions are based on pure versions of each type. As we’ll see later most people have characteristics from all three types.

Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs are the “skinny” ones among us. They tend to have light joints and bones and their muscles are small. Their limbs are relatively long in proportion to the torso and the shoulders often exhibit a “drooping” appearance. Ectomorphs tend to appear longer than they really are due to the length of their limbs combined with a lack of muscle mass. The ectomorph is not naturally strong and will have to work hard for every ounce of muscle they gain. Ectomorphs make their best gains by following short, but intense, training programs. Ectomorphs tend to be nervous and shy types in social situations.

Mesomorphs

When it comes to bodybuilding mesomorphs are the lucky bastards. They have well-defined muscles even before they start working out and possess large bones. Their torsos have that nice v-taper and they are the owners of relatively narrow and low waists. Facially mesomorphs have clearly defined cheekbones and a square, heavy jaw. The face tends to be long and broad, and is square in shape. Because of their naturally high testosterone levels, mesomorphs have high sex drives and are usually fearless in situations. Mesomorphs have the best body types for building muscle.

Endomorphs

Also known as “fat” the bodies of extreme endomorphs are round and soft. Unfortunately for endomorphs, much of their excess weight is concentrated in the waist region. This combined with the fact that most endomorphs have short limbs gives the appearance of stockiness and dumpiness. The hands and feet of endomorphs are comparatively small, and the upper arms and thighs are often much larger than the lower parts of the arms or legs. Although often a stereotype, endomorphs are usually jolly in nature. Endomorphs build muscle fairly easily but they’ll always be fighting the weight issue.

Body Type Combinations

As we alluded to earlier, people usually don’t fall neatly into one of the three main body types. Although there are some people who are purely ectomorphs, endomorphs, or mesomorphs with little or no characteristics of the other body types, very frequently, people fall into mixed categories, such as ecto mesomorphs, or endo mesomorphs. One of your first steps in building muscle is to determine what characteristics you possess. Not only will this help your training but it also determines which muscle building supplements and fat loss supplements to use.

The previous information has been created by experts to help you increase your knowledge base about training and bodybuilding supplements. Be knowledgeable. Be informed. Make the right choice!

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his building muscle articles? http://www.bodybuilding-news.net ©Article Bob Howard 04/07/2006

Article source: Expert Articles