People come in all shapes and sizes – from tall and slender to short and stocky. You can’t select at birth the shape you’re genetically programmed to develop or parameters like your height, but you can reshape your body through resistance training and dietary changes. Plus, you can enjoy the health benefits having a stronger, leaner body offers.
No doubt resistance training is important. Having more muscle improves your metabolic health by increasing your body’s response to insulin. In fact, resistance training is one of the more effective ways to lower your risk for type 2 diabetes. Research shows that every 10% increase in lean body mass is correlated with a 12% reduction in pre-diabetes. With type 2 diabetes being so common, it’s another good reason to pick up a pair of weights.
When you consider differences in body type and genetics, it’s not surprising that individual response to resistance training is so variable. Just as some gifted people excel at certain sports or have greater endurance, some people have more natural strength and body mechanics to excel at weight lifting.
In addition, people with certain strengths or body types often gravitate towards certain sports. For example, long-distance runners are naturally lean with little muscle definition, ectomorphic in body composition, while guys and gals who excel at strength sports often have a mesomorphic body composition, a body type that builds muscle easily.
Long Legs, Short Legs
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Did you know factors like your height, the length of your legs and the length of your arms can affect your resistance training performance? At some point in your life, you may have dreamed of having long, lean legs and arms that turn heads when you walk into a room, but there are some disadvantages to being long and lanky. When you have long arms and legs, you work harder and expend more energy when you do weight-training exercises relative to a person with short limbs.
How could this be? It’s actually fairly simple. If you look at the definition of “work” from a physics standpoint, work equals force times distance. When you’re executing a squat, your body and the weight you’re holding (the force) moves over a longer distance, when you have long legs as opposed to short ones.
The same is true for upper body exercises. If you have long arms, you have to move the barbell or dumbbells a greater distance against gravity when you do overhead presses. You’re at a disadvantage compared to a person with short arms who has less distance to cover to complete a rep. As a result, you may find it difficult to use heavy weights when you do exercises that involve pressing. That’s why you don’t see a lot of tall men and women with long limbs in the upper echelons of bodybuilding and powerlifting. In contrast to squats, bench presses and overhead presses, movements that involve, pressing, you’re at an advantage with arms when you do deadlifts. Your long limbs give you more leverage when doing pulling exercises.
Yes, shorter arms and legs are an advantage from a weight training and powerlifting perspective. That’s why a number of powerlifters at the elite level have short legs. On the other hand, long legs and high calves are an advantage in sports that involve running or jumping. When you have a long Achilles tendon, the tendon that connects your calf to your heel, it can store more elastic energy, giving you the ability to generate more force when you jump.
Body Type: Ectomorphic, Mesomorph, and Endomorph
One way to classify body types are by “somatotypes” – whether an individual is an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph. In reality, most people are a combination of different types rather than a single somatotype.
In the purest sense, ectomorphs are lean, lanky somatotypes who have trouble gaining weight no matter what they eat. They’re the ones people envy because they can scarf down an order of French fries every day and never gain a pound. Other physical characteristics of ectomorphs include narrow shoulders, small frame, low body fat, and greater height. Another example of how body type affects weight training, ectomorphs usually have a hard time gaining lean body mass, partially because their faster metabolism makes it difficult for them to put on muscle or fat.
Another way ectomorphs are at a disadvantage from a weight training standpoint – they typically have long arms and legs. Long limbs make it harder to lift heavy weights using good form. What’s the best way to train? To gain lean body mass as an ectomorph, keep the cardio workouts short and focus on heavy resistance training. Make sure your diet contains adequate calories and protein. Without a calorie excess, you won’t gain muscle. Just make sure the calories you’re consuming are healthy ones. In general, it takes longer for ectomorphs to see changes in their body as a result of weight training, so be patient!
Endomorphs are at the other body composition extreme – they have rounded bodies, a higher body fat percentage, and limbs that are thicker and wider. Endomorphs often have problems losing weight and the muscle they have is usually covered by a layer of body fat. Of the three somatotypes, endomorphs should devote the most time to burning body fat through various forms of cardio, including high-intensity interval training.
Endomorphs are usually the most sensitive to carbohydrates and often have some degree of insulin resistance. If you fall into this category, reduce your carb intake and choose more high-fiber, low-glycemic carbohydrate sources like vegetables and non-starchy fruits. Endomorphs can usually build lean body mass relatively easily, but the muscles won’t show unless they can reduce their body fat.
Of the three somatotypes, mesomorphs respond the fastest to weight training. If you have this body type, you’re blessed with a naturally muscular body and inherent strength that helps you excel at athletics. The downside is mesomorphs are more prone to gaining body fat than ectomorphs. That’s why it’s important to eat a balanced diet of whole foods and do 3 to 5 sessions of cardio weekly, especially if you’re trying to limit muscle gain because you already have muscle definition.
According to ACE Fitness, the best ratio of macronutrients for a mesomorph is one-third unprocessed carbohydrates, a third protein and one-third healthy fats. Periodize your weight training so you’re using heavy resistance some sessions and lighter weights and more reps during others.
The Bottom Line?
We’re all a little different in terms of body type and limb length. These factors that we have no control over can make it harder or easier to build lean body mass – but don’t let them limit you. If you’re a hard-gainer, you’ll just need to work a little harder and be more patient.
References:
Higher-Faster-Sports.com. “How Body Structure Influences Expressions of Strength”
Medical News Today. “Stave Off Diabetes Insulin Resistance With Muscle Mass Training”
ACE Fitness. “How to Eat and Train for a Mesomorph Body Type”
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