Training for your body type is essential for physical fitness, especially if you’re an endomorph male.
Male endomorphs have bodies that are naturally predisposed to storing extra fat around the belly. They also tend to gain weight rather easily, which makes staying in shape extra challenging.
But just because you’re an endomorph doesn’t mean you can’t be in tip-top shape.
Think of Gerard Butler in “300” or Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” – both are famous endomorphs who have managed to transform their stocky bodies through a combination of body type-specific diet, exercise – and, of course, hard work.
To start moving toward your fitness goal, you need to understand your body type.
Read on to learn more about the endomorph body type and the best ways to get in shape.
What Is the Endomorph Body Type?
In the 1940s, American psychologist William Sheldon devised a classification system that divided humans according to their body types – or somatotypes.
Based on the shared physical traits of thousands of people whose photographs he studied, he identified three main body types.
Ectomorphs are fine-boned, long, and lean with very little body fat.
Mesomorphs are natural-born athletes who shed fat and gain muscle with ease.
Finally, there are endomorphs, who are often short, stocky, and are prone to weight and muscle gain.
Endomorphs are characterized by bigger frames with larger mid-lines and narrow shoulders.
Typically shorter than other somatotypes, endomorphs have short legs and arms with wide hips, thighs, and upper arms, as well as slender ankles and wrists.
Endomorphs also carry more body fat than other body types due to their slower metabolisms.
Before their body has a chance to convert calories into energy, most calories are converted into fat and visibly stored in the lower portion of the torso.
What is an endomorph male body type?
While all endomorphs store the majority of their body fat in the lower section, female and male endomorphs store fat in different places. The reasons for this are evolutionary.
You see, men tend to pack on more muscle mass than women, they have larger frames. On the other hand, women have wider hips because their pelvis needs enough room to expand during pregnancy and childbirth.
For these reasons, men store most of their body fat in the belly and women around the hips and thighs. While endomorph women are typically pear-shaped, male endomorphs are most often apple-shaped.
Do Endomorphs Gain Muscle Easily?
With a good diet and regular exercise, endomorphs should have no problem gaining muscle.
And while their bodies are prone to also carrying excess fat, this can be avoided by tweaking macronutrient intake.
If you’re an endomorph looking to lose weight or gain muscle, you need to reduce your intake of carbohydrates.
Ideally, you should be getting no more than 30% of your energy from carbs. The rest should come from high-quality protein and healthy fats (35% each).
If you want to accelerate the process, you can bring your carbohydrate intake down to 25% and increase your protein intake to 40%.
When it comes to exercise, a combination of strength training and cardio should do the trick. The former will help burn calories, while the latter will protect your cardiovascular health and prevent your body from converting calories into body fat.
Can an endomorph get abs?
Six-packs aren’t reserved solely for mesomorphs – endomorphs can have them too!
Of course, as with all other muscles in your body, you will need to find the best exercise for your body type and tweak your diet accordingly while keeping your macronutrient intake under control.
You will likely need to begin with cardio to boost your metabolic rate and reduce body fat. In many cases, that should be enough for your abs to start showing.
After that, you can strengthen your core with a combination of knee crunches, toe touches, leg raises, scissor kicks, planks, and other ab exercises recommended by your fitness instructor.
The Final Word
The key to your health and fitness is your purpose.
For endomorph men, diet and exercise aren’t just a means to an end. If you want to stay fit and be happy in your own skin, working out and healthy eating should become your way of life.
Of course, this will require a lot of effort and dedication.
But as long as you can find purpose in everything that you do, staying in shape and meeting your lifestyle goals shouldn’t be a problem.