Why Whether You’re An Ectomorph, Endomorph, Or Mesomorph Doesn’t Mean A Thing

“We’re mesomorphs, man. That’s why we can eat pizza all day long and still have abs.”

A friend of mine actually said this to me while we were in college. We were talking about the fact that him and I managed to eat like complete shit and still look like we actually knew what we were doing in the gym. He credited it to the mystical idea of being a mesomorph instead of an endomorph or ectomorph. I figured it was just because we were both 19 years old.

Somatotypes and a psychologist looking at naked boys.

Somatotypes are popular way for people to characterize their body types. The somatotypes are so popular that there are entire fitness and nutrition programs sold based on what type you are, with the idea being that more personalization to your type means better results.

There are 3 main types:

Endomorph: Round, usually short and softer in appearance with underdeveloped muscles.

Ectomorph: Tall and thin, with light muscles and a fragile look overall.

Mesomorph: Lean and athletic, rugged look. Muscular with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

The idea is that depending on what you are, there are more specific exercise and nutrition recommendations that you should be following in order to get the best results.

Here’s the truth about these three classifications: They’re all completely wrong, and hardly anybody knows it.

A brief history on somatotype shit.

The somatotypes were first introduced by a psychologist named William Sheldon during the 1940’s. Sheldon used thousands of naked pictures of Harvard students, without their consent, and developed his somatotype theory.

To answer the question you should be asking yourself right now, no Harvard doesn’t just have pictures of naked students lying around. The young men had all taken part in a study on posture, therefore had naked pictures of themselves taken. Sheldon just went and stole them.

Which not only makes him creepy, but also would get him absolutely destroyed by the media in today’s world.

Sheldon didn’t even mean for somatotypes to say anything about your physical condition. Sheldon’s whole purpose for developing the somatotype thing was to have a framework about someone’s mental makeup, attitude, and capabilities based on their body type. It was known as conditional psychology, and has been widely called complete shit by the psychology profession.

Why they mean absolutely nothing for you.

There are programs all over the Internet that claim to be more effective for someone with a particular somatotype. These aren’t just found on lowbrow websites, either. A quick search on the Google machine turns up plans from some very big name sites in the fitness industry.

With a little digging into the actual plans though, they all appear to be, well, decent workout plans. Plans that look rooted in solid fundamentals like compound movements such as the bench, squat, and deadlift.

They also come with some basic recommendations that are guaranteed to be right. Like if you’re a skinny ectomorph then eat a lot, and if you’re a pudgy endomorph then cut down on the calories and try to eat more protein.

It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out that’s the basic nutritional science. To get big and gain muscle, eat more. To drop weight, eat less.

One big thing somatotypes don’t take into account.

Somatotypes change with age. Think about what you looked like at 15. Do you look the exact same with the same body type today? Likely not.

In fact, most bros out there start off as what they would consider a pure mesomorph. We’re blessed with being lean, athletic, and muscular. We can eat damn near anything in sight and note gain a single pound.

Fast forward a few years, especially in the post college years when there are more meals out, lots of alcohol, and not near as much activity, that classic mesomorph body doesn’t really look like a mesomorph anymore. Now you’re an endomorph.

So what should you do?

Don’t pay a damn bit of attention to somatotypes at all. They weren’t developed to tell you what sort of fitness or nutrition plan you should be doing, anyways.

  • If you’re trying to get big, then do the compound lifts like presses, rows, squats, and deadlifts. Then eat a shit ton.
  • If you’re trying to get fat, make sure your workouts make you sweat. Use supersets and circuits, HIIT, and eat less shit. Put a premium on vegetables and lean proteins.

And next time someone mentions that they’re a mesomorph, drop a little historical knowledge bomb on their ass and ask them if that’s been confirmed with naked pictures.

Tanner is a fitness professional and writer based in the metro Atlanta area. His training focus is helping normal people drop absurd amounts of fat, become strong like bull, and get in the best shape of their life.