A lot of the results you see in the gym will boil down to a few determining factors.  One of those factors is your body type, of which there are three general categories:  ectomorphic, endomorphic and mesomorphic.  A large part of the way you go about your diet and exercise plan should be carried out with knowledge of your specific body type in mind.

The ectomorph is characterized by a smaller slender build with a propensity toward staying lean. (S)he has a difficult time holding onto muscle mass due to an accelerated metabolism, which differs from her counterpart, the endomorph.

People with endomorphic body types generally have larger, softer builds, but have a difficult time keeping off fat and water weight.  They have to pay great attention to their diets because poor food choices (especially poor “carbohydrate” choices) may cause them to blow up to the size of a Goodyear Blimp, if they aren’t careful!

Then we come to the most enviable of all body types, the mesomorph. The mesomorph has well-defined muscles, large bones and prominent facial features such as cheek bones and a heavy, square jaw.  He has a very strong appearance with a broad muscular upper-body with a narrow v-tapered waist line.

Most of the time, people cannot be distinctively classified as one of the three main body types.  While there are some who are purely ectomorphs, endomorphs or mesomorphs, most people fall into mixed categories such as ecto-mesomorphs or endo-mesomorphs which would mean they are mostly like the mesomorph but with traits of the ectomorph (small joints or a trim waist) or the endomorph (a tendency to put on bodyfat).

The next issue lies in how to properly exercise and eat for your specific body type.  People with ectomorphic body types won’t need to do as much cardiovascular exercise, but will have to focus more on heavy weight training to maintain lean body mass.  They will also want to take in higher calories to sustain their size, as their high metabolisms may surely lead to catabolism (muscle wasting) if they aren’t careful.  On the other hand, endomorphs will have to up that cardio and really pay attention to their diets in order to keep off unwanted bodyfat.  Endomorphs are also particularly susceptible to gaining fat and water from eating excessive amounts of carbohydrates, which will give them a smooth and puffy look.  Mesomorphs are pretty lucky, in that they will keep their great shape unless they really go overboard and eat excessive amounts of calories everyday without exercising.  So to get the best results in the gym, eat and train for your specific body type, and minimize the wasted time spent training or eating incorrectly.

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