Three Body Types, & the Misconception that Women Can’t Get Big

Jun 14, 2019

Hello Dear One!

If you’ve ever been told this fallacy, and then wrestled with it in your experience of your own body – here’s why.

Not all bodies are the SAME.

They are certainly equal, but each of the main body types have different attributes.

Ectomorph: traits that make it hard to gain fat or muscle

Mesomorph: traits that make it easy to lose fat and build muscle

Endomorph: traits that make it easy to gain fat and build muscle

When I hear the cry that women aren’t able to get bigger or bulkier from lifting weights or how they’re working out, I get irritated, because it’s simply not true.

As a Mesomorph gaining muscle is EASY.

Losing fat is not too challenging either (ahem, ESPECIALLY when the body is in a fat burning mode).

But LOSING mass/muscle isn’t so easy.

Not the most terrible thing in the world (at ALL), but when one woman’s body’s tendencies are lumped in with the others, especially when she has specific desires, it can feel frustrating and often defeating.

There are ABSOLUTELY certain workouts that will do specific things based on body type and goals.

But all workouts don’t have the same result ESPECIALLY when different body types are doing them.

If you’re an Ectomorph that wants to build more curves and mass:

– lift heavier, lower reps, less rest. Don’t do much cardio, and eat at a caloric surplus.

If you’re a Mesomorph that wants to lose fat and NOT gain more mass:

– lift moderately (weights that aren’t super challenging), 12-15 reps, 1 min rest. DON’T stress the areas you don’t wish to build (often that’s the thighs). DO stress the areas you’d like to build (often that’s the butt, shoulders and back). Enjoy the CRAP out of your cardio. Eat at a caloric deficit (which fat burning makes EASY to do).

If you’re an Endomorph that wants to lose fat and NOT gain more mass:

– think of weight work as a form of cardio (super sets, little rest, keep your heart rate up). Lift moderately while keeping reps high and rest brief. Lift for major muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, big push and big pull exercises for the upper body) as that will expend more calories. Cardio it up the wazoo. And eat below the caloric requirements of your current weight (again with the ease of fat burning please!) Woo!

And lastly HIIT (high intensity intervals) can be GREAT for expending more calories, as it will also get you fit fast. HOWEVER with the power it generates, often (for a Mesomorph or an Endomorph) comes mass.

How to tweak that?

Make your work periods less intense and longer and have brief periods of rest between.

I personally have started to incorporate running (2-3 mins on and 1 min off) into my walking for this precise purpose.

Hope that’s useful!

AND if you’d like more out of the box thinking on fat loss, fitness and freedom, please check out my new Unbound podcast here.

To getting you clearer on how the body works, and how to make it work for you.

xox, M

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