BODY ARCHETYPES. WHY THEY MATTER AND HOW TO GET TO KNOW YOURS

Do you know your body archetype?

If not then hopefully this post will give you an insight into which one you are and if yes, then great! Keep reading as we hope to give you insight on how to use this to your advantage.

Knowing your archetype is one thing but knowing how this might affect your fitness journey and overall health is another! Your structural body type accounts for a combination of your metabolic ability, your appetite, and your natural ability to retain weight. It therefore dictates how you store fat, how you build muscle, your most optimal form of recovery and the best forms of exercises you naturally excel at. This means that depending on which archetype you are,  there are certain ways of moving, eating and living that you respond to better and overall work better for you.

In the sports science world, there are three main structural body types: endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. The reason for our bodies differing is due to how our fundamental tissues were developed in the womb. The three main tissues our bodies comprise of are ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. The development and composition of these tissues, indicates and represents the three different body types as we all have these layers, but in different amounts. Depending on how much of each layer you have and which one is dominant determines which body type you are.

Becoming aware of your body type can help you make informed decisions on how to most effectively improve your health and well-being. Working with your natural bodily structure therefore has the potential to help you with achieving any physical goals faster and overall feeling like your best, most thriving self. Here at BOXX we’re all about creating a lifestyle to work with your body, rather than against it. Hopefully with these insights, you can get a better understanding of how you can achieve this.

THE ECTOMORPH BODY TYPE

The ectomorph body type physically tend to have narrow shoulders and hips, and carry little body fat. They also tend to be tall (but not always), long-limbed and find it harder to gain weight or muscle mass due to them generally having a fast metabolism and their body’s natural resistance to retaining body fat.

Thanks to their lean muscle mass and slender physique, the ectomorph generally excels in endurance based, long distance events but if they want to add muscle mass and emphasise curves, resistance and HIIT workouts tend to be a better option for them. Weight training including heavier loads, lower reps and a longer recovery period between sets to allow their muscles to recover is also a preferred workout option for them to prioritise if their focus is on gaining muscle mass. For ectomorphs, recuperation is really important to build muscle mass so if you fall in this category, make sure to not skip your rest days or push yourself too much when you are feeling really tired or not recovered from previous workouts.

THE MESOMORPH BODY TYPE

For a mesomorph, their structure tends to be a medium sized body type with a symmetrical build. They generally have a lower body fat mass, a smaller waist and can loose weight fairly easily due to their smaller appetites. They can also put on muscle without as much struggle as the other two categories and their ability to easily both lose and gain weight separates from these others even though they can sometimes pass as both.

The mesomorph physique is considered to be the leanest and most athletic one of the three with their ability to gain muscle mass making them naturally excel in high-intensity sports. This body type have an efficient metabolism, meaning that losing weight is never a particular area of struggle for them. For the mesomorph, the most effective form of exercise to maintain their muscle tone is to focus on HIIT style workouts. They should be aware on not overdoing this though to avoid burning muscle instead of fat and should look at incorporating a slight resistance, not too heavy, style of training into their training routine, with a higher number of sets and reps. It is recommended that they also look to vary their workout styles and alternate the intensities, incorporating at a mixture of slower and faster paced movements.

THE ENDOMORPH BODY TYPE

This body type is detectable by a soft, curvy physique. They are also naturally large boned with a larger body structure, meaning that they generally tend to have a higher total body mass. They typically have higher levels of body fat and a slower metabolism meaning that this body type have particular difficulty when it comes to loosing weight and keeping it off. They also tend to have larger appetites and struggle to control their food intake which adds to them being more prone to storing body fat and naturally heavier than others.

In order for someone with an endomorph physique to achieve their optimum body weight and maintain it, emphasising cardio during workouts is a great way for exercise them to do so. Focusing on cardio and getting their heart rate up several times a week will help them speed up their metabolism and increase muscle whilst also helping them to lower their percentage of body fat. When it comes to strength training, higher reps and shorter recovery periods are generally recommended as their best option. For the endomorph, keeping intensity high and mixing up their training by participating in a variation of aerobic activities as often as possible will help them achieve their best results.

We hope this post has helped you get to know your body better and how you can start to working with it most effectively. Remember to consider the best workout forms for your body but not to sacrifice working out in a way that you enjoy and that makes you feel GOOD. If you’re looking to mix things up and try something new, be sure to check out our wide variety of classes that suit all body types and will help keep your workout routine exciting and fresh!