Fitness by body type: how to train an endomorph

We have already talked about how to train mesomorphs and ectomorphs correctly. And if the first of them are simply born athletes, and the second, although not particularly physically strong, are graceful and, as a rule, thin, then endomorphs seem to be doubly unlucky. They easily gain excess weight and do not “grow” with muscles.

General rules

The hereditary (genetic) predisposition of people to one or another body type (somatotype) largely determines the specifics of their nutrition and training for weight gain or weight loss. We have already looked at the “ Diet for an ectomorph while gaining muscle mass .” Let's consider the following body type - endomorph and its features. Endomorph (hypersthenic) is the most common body type among the nations of the European continent, the main characteristics of which are:

• Musculoskeletal system: body with wide bones, wide chest and torso, large/medium joints, short limbs, broad shoulders/hips, short neck.
• Soft Tissue: Soft, loose body shape with rounded contours, high levels of fat that accumulate primarily in the lower body (thighs, buttocks, lower abdomen), high fat to muscle tissue ratio.
• Metabolism: slow, which contributes to the rapid accumulation of fat, tendency to retain fluid in the body. The degree of endurance is low. Endomorph men, as a rule, easily gain muscle mass, but experience significant difficulties in getting rid of excess fat deposits.

Nutrition is the most important factor for weight loss and proper body shaping for an endomorph. Nutrition for weight loss for an endomorph includes:

• Reducing the caloric content of the diet mainly by limiting the intake of simple carbohydrates and animal fats. The content of simple carbohydrates and animal fats should be kept to a minimum.
• The ratio of BJU in the diet should be at the level of 55 (50): 15 (20): 30 (35).
• Fractional diet (6-8 times/day).
• Adequate water consumption (at least 2.5–3 l/day).

The diet for an endomorph should include high-quality animal protein, meat (chicken, beef, veal, rabbit meat), low-fat cottage cheese, fish, chicken eggs, low-fat fermented milk products, and seafood. Approximately, when calculating protein requirements, one should proceed from the ratio of 2-2.5 g of protein/per 1 kg of body weight.

Carbohydrate component, in addition to a general reduction in carbohydrate consumption, sugar and products containing sugar, honey, ice cream, confectionery, sweet drinks are excluded from the endomorph’s diet, pasta and bakery products made from premium flour, white rice, potatoes, semolina are limited, and in In cases where it is necessary to significantly reduce the energy value of the diet, dried fruits and some fruits/berries (grapes, bananas) are excluded.

The basis of the carbohydrate component is made up of products containing vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber - whole grains/partially preserved cereals (barley/oatmeal porridge, buckwheat, brown rice), vegetables, bread with the addition of crushed grains/bran, legumes, non-sweetened fruits and berries . It is recommended to take carbohydrate foods in the first half of the day, at least no later than 6 hours before bedtime.

Reducing fat in the diet is achieved mainly through saturated fats of animal origin. At the same time, it is important to include in the diet high-quality fats containing mono/polyunsaturated fatty acids (sesame, rapeseed, olive, corn, sunflower nuts, oil, cashew nuts, almonds, avocado, red fish, walnuts, sesame seeds).

It is extremely important to limit the so-called “hidden fats” in the diet, which are found in large quantities in smoked meats, cheeses, sausages, ice cream, confectionery, offal, egg yolks, fast food products, canned fish/meat. Fatty meat/fish, sweet cheeses, fatty cottage cheese, animal/cooking fat, cheeses, whole milk, mayonnaise, and cream are excluded from the endomorph’s diet.

The basis of the diet should be white poultry meat (chicken, turkey), lean red meat (beef, veal), seafood, vegetables and garden herbs, fish, low-fat cottage cheese, egg whites, whole grain bread, low-fat dairy products, cold-pressed vegetable oils, fish oil, nuts/seeds.

Nutrition for weight loss of an endomorph should be based on strict consideration of the calorie content of the daily diet and energy expenditure per day. For effective weight loss, the energy component of the diet should be deficient in relation to energy expenditure by an average of 400-600 kcal/day, which allows for a guaranteed reduction in body weight within 0.5-1.0 kg/month. It is necessary to understand that this type of nutrition for an endomorph must be constant or, at least, practiced over a long period of time, especially if it is necessary not only to reduce weight, but also to maintain it constantly. It should be remembered that with frequent errors in nutrition, the endomorph gains weight again very quickly, and often to an even greater extent. To speed up your metabolism, don't forget to eat smaller meals.

amino acids , whey protein , casein omega-3 preparations , glutamine can also be used against the background of a special training process . To speed up fat burning, it is recommended to include foods that enhance metabolism in your diet: apples, red peppers, grapefruit, caffeine, spinach, green tea.

Who are endomorphs

Endomorph is a body type characterized by a massive bone structure, voluminous hips and a wide waist compared to the chest. They gain muscle mass quite well and, unfortunately, fat mass too. Most often, fat is deposited on the stomach and thighs, and getting rid of it is so hard.

Losing weight turns out to be a very difficult stage, since endomorphs have a slow metabolism and are not at all adapted to physical activity. They get tired quickly and can easily fall asleep in the middle of the day, and increased activity only increases fatigue. But a slow metabolism and the predominance of anabolic processes in the body allows you to effectively gain muscle mass with a fairly low caloric intake.

Authorized Products

The endomorph diet for weight loss includes:

• Yeast-free bread (grain, with bran), whole grain bread.
• Dietary chicken, turkey, meat, lean red meat (veal, beef).
• Boiled chicken eggs.
• Seafood (mussels, squid, crabs, shrimp), sea/river fish (tuna, perch, hake, salmon, trout, cod, herring, sardines, pike).
• Soups with vegetable, low-fat meat or mushroom broth, borscht.
• Cereals (oatmeal, wheat, buckwheat), brown rice, wholemeal pasta.
• Legumes, soy and soy-based products (milk, tofu).
• Bran (rye, wheat), seaweed, nuts, seeds.
• Vegetables in raw and cooked form (carrots, sweet peppers, cabbage, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes), garden herbs.
• Low-fat dairy/fermented milk products (cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yoghurt, kefir, milk), hard low-fat and unsalted cheeses.
• Unrefined vegetable oils (flaxseed, soybean, corn, olive, sesame), fish oil, butter.
• Sour fruits/berries (apples, red/black currants, citrus fruits).
• Herbal tea, rosehip infusion, freshly prepared juices from apples, oranges, pomegranates, plums, still water, green tea.

Table of permitted products

Sample menu for 7 days for the endomorph body type

Day 1

Breakfast : 2 omelettes plus 1 egg white and spinach

Snack : Sunflower seeds and a piece of fruit

Lunch : olive oil cabbage salad with cucumbers, bell peppers and salmon

Snack : Deli meat

Dinner : Grilled chicken breast with zucchini noodles and tomato sauce

Day 2

Breakfast : Cottage cheese with crushed almonds and cinnamon.

Snack : Chopped vegetables and hummus.

Lunch : Chicken pepper soup with brown rice.

Snack : Sliced ​​apple with peanut butter.

Dinner : Turkey tacos wrapped in lettuce and garnished with a slice of avocado.

Day 3

Breakfast : Egg frittata with tomatoes, onions and spinach.

Snack : Protein shake.

Lunch : Grilled chicken salad with garbanzo beans, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce.

Snack : Hummus and chopped vegetables (bell peppers, celery).

Dinner : White fish in olive oil, roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Day 4

Breakfast : Smoothie made with Greek yogurt, berries and almond milk.

Snack : Chopped vegetables and hummus.

Lunch : Turkey, vegetables and avocado sandwich on whole grain toast.

Snack : Pistachios and diced cantaloupe.

Dinner : Sliced ​​steak, grilled with cauliflower rice.

Day 5

Breakfast : Omelet with peppers and spinach, garnished with avocado slices.

Snack : Protein bar.

Lunch : Quinoa mixed with chopped vegetables and chicken breast cubes, dressed with vinaigrette.

Snack : Carrots dipped in peanut butter.

Dinner : Salmon, steamed broccoli, mushroom sauté.

Day 6

Breakfast : 2 hard-boiled eggs with blueberries.

Snack : Greek yogurt with sliced ​​almonds.

Lunch : Mediterranean lentil salad with sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and chopped raw vegetables.

Snack : Protein shake.

Dinner : Vegetable and bean soup with grilled chicken breast.

Day 7

Breakfast : Greek yogurt with apples, cinnamon and walnuts.

Snack : Boiled egg and sliced ​​avocado.

Lunch : Sweet potatoes stuffed with shredded chicken and topped with low-sugar BBQ sauce.

Snack : Hummus with vegetables.

Dinner : Shrimp and vegetable skewers with cauliflower rice.

Fully or partially limited products

The endomorph diet for weight loss excludes:

• Fast food products, strong fatty broths on meat and fish, fatty red meats, sausages, goose meat, duck meat, fatty cheeses, animal fats, canned food, smoked meats, semi-finished products containing food additives, mayonnaise, spicy/fatty snacks, scrambled eggs , fatty cottage cheese, fatty hot sauces, cream, fried and salty foods.
• Puff pastry products, fresh wheat bread, pastries, semolina, cookies, dumplings, dumplings, pancakes.
• Sugar, sweet desserts, honey, condensed milk, chocolate, waffles, pastries, ice cream, cakes, jam, dried fruits (raisins, figs, prunes, dried apricots, dates), jams, candies.
• Fruits include bananas, grapes, dates, figs.
• Alcohol, carbonated drinks, cocoa, milk tea, sweet fruit juices.

Table of prohibited products

Weight loss and mass gain

The weight loss training program for endomorphs includes cardio exercises. This will speed up fat burning, increase endurance and ensure normal functioning of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Effective cardio exercises for endomorphs: running, swimming, cycling, exercise equipment, etc. At the same time, they are indispensable during the drying period and during mass gain. Increase the load regularly without allowing your body to adapt, otherwise it will slow down your progress.

Experts recommend including CrossFit. This is a great combination of high-intensity cardio and strength training that will burn fat and build muscle at the same time. The basis of the complex consists of pull-ups, jumping on a stand, burpees, jumping rope and much more. CrossFit involves working the entire body, which allows you to burn more calories.

To form muscles, strength loads are required, which involve all muscle fibers, create uniform training of the body, and activate anabolism. Perform the following tasks: weighted squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, barbell press (bench and standing), pumping the abs.

Advantages and disadvantages

Endomorph nutrition[edit | edit code]

As mentioned above, endomorph nutrition plays an important, if not the main role in achieving their bodybuilding goals. The nutrition of an endomorph has the following features:

• In your diet you need to reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates or eliminate them altogether.
• Consume more protein.
• Take fewer calories compared to a mesomorph.
• Use sports nutrition to gain high-quality muscle mass.
• Eat at least 6 times a day.

Otherwise, an endomorph is well suited for a diet for gaining muscle mass or a diet for cutting and working on relief, depending on the current condition.

Reviews and results

A diet for an endomorph for weight loss allows you to achieve adequate correction of body weight against the backdrop of intense training. The disadvantages, according to many reviews, include the need to constantly monitor the caloric content of the diet and the content of dietary fat.

• “... For as long as I can remember, I have always struggled with excess weight. By nature, I am a heavy-set man, and as soon as I eat heavily for a few days, I immediately feel that the weight has gone up. This trend began to be seen especially clearly after the age of 35. When I realized that I couldn’t cope with this problem on my own, I decided to turn to my old friend – a bodybuilding coach. He asked me to tell me how I struggled with excess weight and said that my training and nutrition methods were fundamentally wrong, since I was an endomorph. To be honest, I had not heard such a term before, so I looked for a description on the Internet. Indeed, I am an endomorph and already when describing the nutrition for it and training, I realized my mistakes. But I decided to work out under the guidance of a coach, who described everything to me in detail. And indeed, after 3 months I no longer recognized myself - I lost 6 kg, my body became slender. But the coach immediately warned me that if I want to be constantly in shape, then my lifestyle must be appropriate.”

Workouts for the endomorph

Even a perfectly balanced diet will not work 100%, because endomorphs have a slow metabolism. It is very difficult for an endomorph woman to lose weight and completely get rid of body fat through nutrition alone. Their excess weight is deposited exactly where it is not needed - in the lower abdomen, sides and hips. Alpha receptors predominate in these places. These areas are less well supplied with blood, metabolism occurs there more slowly and fat is the last to be lost here.

Cardio exercises for fat burning

A lot of cardio is a prerequisite for a pronounced endomorph. It is advisable to perform it as often as possible (at least 3 times a week for 1 hour). An endomorph will never achieve the desired “ dryness ” if he does not perform aerobic training and monitor his diet.

These people should always be active. Every day they should have some kind of aerobic activity - jogging, cycling or just walking a lot a day, at least 10,000 steps.

There is a theory about 10,000 steps that all fitness instructors, nutritionists and bloggers talk about. It lies in the fact that to maintain muscle tone and normal functioning of the cardiovascular system, you need to walk from 10 to 12 thousand steps per day - 6-8 km.

Endomorphs must understand that increased physical activity for them is a lifelong necessity, and not a short-term measure. Every time you stop training, you will notice how the fat slowly comes back.

To improve blood circulation in problem areas and enhance the breakdown of fats, before training it would be good to apply any anti-cellulite cream with a warming effect.

The main advantage of endomorphs is that they have a predominance of fat burning over glycogen burning. They easily lose excess fat during cardio training, preserving muscle mass.

Strength training for weight loss

Exercises that work large muscle groups are effective in revving up a sluggish metabolism. Strength training should include high-intensity exercises with light weights. The goal is to speed up your metabolism as much as possible.

The best training for endomorphs for weight loss is circuit training, crossfit, HIIT training.

On the day of strength training, you need to increase the amount of carbohydrates in your diet to provide the body with additional energy.

Despite the external characteristics, you need to understand that in nature there are no pure endomorphs, mesomorphs, or ectomorphs. Most often, excess weight is a consequence of poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle. But even if you are a pronounced endomorph, this is not a death sentence at all. Although a slow metabolism prevents you from losing weight, it later helps you control your weight. Of course, if you eat right and are constantly active.

Training program for fat burning and relief (cutting)

The goal of training for relief is to maximize the preservation of muscle mass while reducing fat mass, that is, to “delineate” the muscles. Most often this is required before competitions, but a similar approach is also used for the athlete’s everyday life. It makes sense to work on relief only when a certain muscle mass is already available, otherwise you only need to train to lose weight.

In this case, the endomorph needs to increase cardio loads, but the training does not end there. This is where it will differ from simple weight loss, since cardio alone will not work, you will need to load the muscles as much as possible and ensure blood flow to them.

A program similar to circuit training is perfect for this. The so-called “one approach method” is used. Its essence is as follows:

• the athlete combines cardio exercises with strength exercises;
• each exercise is performed once, then the athlete immediately moves on to the next one;
• There is practically no rest between exercises.

Before starting such a workout, a warm-up is required. The athlete selects a weight of equipment that can be lifted at least 20 times and performs 15–20. Next, he performs about 10 exercises for the muscle group being trained, then does a little cardio and performs about the same number of exercises for the other group. Split division by day is also used.

In addition to the “golden three” described above, in this case it is recommended to include other basic movements, such as:

• Pull-ups. The athlete stands under the horizontal bar and grasps it with his hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Next, mainly due to the back muscles, the body is lifted upward, approximately to the level of the chin touching the bar. After this, the body returns to its original position. When going up, exhale, and when going down, you need to inhale.
• Standing barbell press. Feet shoulder-width apart, the barbell is taken from the racks slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. The projectile rises above the head as you exhale, then, as you inhale, lowers to its original position.
• Biceps curl. You need to hold the barbell at shoulder level with your back straight. feet shoulder width apart. As you inhale, bend your elbows, and as you exhale, return to the original position.
• French press. The athlete lies on the bench with his back, arms extended upward. The server places the barbell in his hands, the grip is slightly narrower than his shoulders. Hands bend at the elbows, then return to the starting point.

This is not all of the exercises. It all depends on the chosen training approach, the athlete’s level of training and other factors. Also, isolating movements will be of great importance, which will allow you to load specific muscles individually, rather than using several at once.

Video: Terrain training

For example, on the first training day, an athlete loads his legs and shoulders, therefore, he needs to do classic squats, then leg presses, plie squats, leg extensions in the machine, pelvic lifts, step-ups, lunges with a barbell, lunges with a dumbbell, abs and etc. After this, several shoulder exercises are also performed in a row. This approach allows you to spend a large number of calories and at the same time load your muscles well.

This training method is not suitable for everyone. Many people prefer more classic workouts, such as doing a regular training program but increasing the number of sets and reps using lighter weights. This allows you to qualitatively work out each muscle group, ensure blood supply and, accordingly, muscle definition.