So you’ve decided to get fit, good for you! You start slow (smart) with a bit of walking, then you ramp things up with some running, heck, maybe you’ve joined a gym (wow!). You’re making the necessary steps to improve the quality of your life, and while half of your fitness journey should be focused on getting the proper nutrition, you have to know the right moves to keep yourself safe and get yourself fit. So we wondered, what’s the best way to work your body, and it turns out, every body has different fitness needs, not everyone will benefit from a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session.
There are three body types: endomorphs, mesomorphs, and ectomorphs, and those body types have different fitness needs. We headed to Spartan Health Club to speak with certified fitness trainer Mark ‘Tha Monk’ Miller, founder of Monk Fitness, to get an expert’s take on how to get fit the right way. “Regardless of what body type somebody may be, at the time, the major focus is having cardio, strength training, and bodybuilding in your training regimen, and eating quality nutrients in an amount that suits your goals of weight gain or weight loss.”
Endomorph
The Endomorph is the rounder, more pear-shaped type of body, ‘fluffier’ if you will. If you’re an endomorph, you know even breathing means a chance to gain weight and once that weight is on, it’s near impossible to get it off. Sure it’s harder for you to gain muscle, but it’s not far-fetched! Here’s what Mark recommends you do:
“For your workout, I would recommend doing the same style of workout as the ectomorph and the mesomorph the only difference would be their nutrition where they would eat less starchy foods and focus on getting in lean protein with lots of roughage and fibre.
Mesomorph
The mesomorph is that in-betweener. She’s not too thick and not very thin, she’s that girl who’s got the thighs to save lives, hips that don’t lie, and error404 waist not found! Your workout depends on what you want to do, but to keep fit and healthy, here’s what Mark says, “Mesomorphs tend to put on muscle easily and also tend to be fairly lean because their body type doesn’t allow them to retain fat tissue that easily, this body type will respond well to anaerobic cardio doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT is your friend!) and aerobic cardio like walking long distances.”
For mesomorphs to stay in shape, Mark recommends that you do a combination of body-building movements and strength training, targeting the upper body no more than two times per week. “Their diet should be similar to the ectomorph but they should consume a little bit more protein since they have more muscle tissue to repair.”
Ectomorph
You’re an Ectomorph and you’re tired of people telling you to eat something! Yes, you eat and maybe you’re actually trying to gain some weight, but nothing’s sticking. You’re just naturally thin and narrower than the other body types. Don’t worry, we understand your plight, so we asked Mark for the best way for you to stay healthy and get ‘thick’.
“It’s best for ectomorphs to do strength-training type movements around three to four times a week with compound lifts especially, and do cardio workouts that involve resistance like kettlebell swings, sprinting and plyometrics to retain muscle mass,” he advises. To fuel your gains, “I would recommend that people with this body type eat plenty of meals throughout the day to stimulate appetite, eat about two times their body weight in grams of carbohydrates that are filled with complex sugars or starches, eat healthy fats and a healthy serving of lean protein from fish, eggs, beans, etc…”.
Take it from the master
Flair asked, What about the fitness slump? And Mark delivered some rather heartfelt advice that we suggest you take. “The fitness slump tends to happen when the workout becomes monotonous and you’re no longer seeing the results you saw when you first started out.” He suggests that you go ahead and switch it up with some challenges, something to change up the routine of your journey. Maybe you can even do a group sport, something that can get you pumped to get back into the fitness game.
Be careful and always get advice from qualified trainers, ladies!
