There is a lot of truth to this ad. You can’t do much about certain aspects of your body – most are set in stone by your genes. Others, however, can be changed to a certain degree. Regardless of whether you are a female or male, there are three main categories of body types – somatotypes: Endomorph, Mesomorph and Ectomorph. Of course, few people fall exactly in one of the categories. Most find themselves somewhere in between – a combination of two of the body types. However, the categories give a good indication of which diet and which workout is more appropriate for each type. Every part of the human body is defined by its genetics.The shape and size of bones are to a great degree fixed after adolescence. Bones like those in the pelvis, the shoulders or the length of your extremities determine the basic shape of the body and its size. While resistance training can make your bones denser and more rigid (to be prepared for higher strain when put under pressure the next time), these slight changes in density do not contribute much to the overall appearance. What can be changed – within the limits of genetics, without using drugs – is the amount of fat and the size and shape of muscles that are attached to your body. The skeleton can be seen as the chassis and frame of a car which gives its general structure and rigidity. The exterior – muscles and fat – are put on top for looks and functionality. Depending on the body type, different diets and workouts will be more appropriate to achieve your goals. The following tips are based on the assumption that the mesomorph athletic body type is the “most desired” of the three – so that the Ectomorph wants to gain mass and the Endomorph lose it in order to be more like the mesomorph. Depending on your goals, these tips should be a good guide, especially if workouts or diets haven’t produced the desired outcome. If someone is lean and wants to stay slim, they probably won’t be wanting to put on a lot of muscle. Similarly, for somebody with a larger body who just wants to be fit but doesn’t want to change much about their body shape, a radical diet change is not the right way to go.“Tired of being fat and ugly? Just be ugly!” – gym billboard.

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