Body Types

There are a lot of different theories on what impacts your workout/your ability to gain or lose weight. There are some key terms that get thrown around like BMI (Body Mass Index), or Metabolism (the chemical transformations within your body that turn the food you eat into energy that can be burned), or Body Type (the natural shape of your body that dictates how your body handles weight).
My Yoga instructor was talking about Body Type at one of the sessions and discussing how he was a certain body type which meant he had a hard time putting on weight - and it made me think of my brother who is a six-foot-seven-inch string bean, except that he had his thyroid removed which accounts for his tiny size, despite the fact that he's in construction and is very clearly very muscular.
Body Type is usually divided into three distinct categories, but no one is entirely one category or the other, we are typically a blend of the three. I realized I wasn't sure what my Body Type was, so I decided to take this convenient online quiz to find out:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm
It seems I am 38% endomorph, 38% ectomorph, and 25% mesomorph. Almost an even mix of all. Joy. The second time I took the quiz the numbers had flipped so endomorph was 25%, but it was still 38, 38, and 25. My math isn't fantastic, but I don't think those numbers add up to 100%...

This article goes into a little more depth on what the different types mean, how we are all really a combination of the three - there is no "set in stone" definition, and what are some strategies you can use to eat and workout according to your body type.
http://www.coachmag.co.uk/lifestyle/4511/ectomorph-endomorph-or-mesomorph-what-is-your-body-type

I'm going to go with the basis that I am primarily an ectomorph, because for the majority of my life, that has been my body type: tall, lean, doesn't really put on muscle. (It's also the category that stayed in the top both times I did the test). I have started becoming a little pear-shaped in my later life, but I wouldn't say I have a high body fat percentage. 39% is only slightly above the desired 15-25% range.

So, as an Ectomorph I should be doing lots of compound movements in sets of repetitions, rather than focusing on isolation movements. I should avoid high-cardio workouts as that tends to speed up my metabolism too much (perfect! bring it on!). I need a diet that is high in calories, carbs, protein, and fat (i.e. eat whatever you like, as long as it's healthy?). The dead-lift and the leg press are my best friend. When I was younger, this might have described me perfectly. Now, not so much. If doing too much cardio is going to speed up my metabolism too much, then I should have been shedding pounds like crazy this past month with the classes I was going to.

Well... maybe not. Now that I think about it, I only did cardio workouts once or twice a week, and none of them were super high-cardio. I did lots of bouncing around and got a good sweat going, but my fitness tracker (with a heart rate monitor) showed that I never hit the higher ranges of the cardio workouts. Maybe I could increase my cardio workouts to try and boost my metabolism...

As an endomorph I am good at storing fat and muscle in my lower body (i.e. hard to lose weight). I need a low-calorie diet and cardio workouts are good for me. The site recommends doing 4 to 5 days of heavy weightlifting as well as cardio. I should focus on my shoulders, watch what I eat, and do intensity training. I guess those interval training classes should be ideal for me in this body-type.

I could maybe see that working for me. Both endomorph and ectomorph seem to emphasize the weightlifting and complex movements rather than isolation. Although one promotes cardio workouts while the other says to stay away...

As a mesomorph I look well built without setting foot in a gym. I pack on muscle easily but tend to scatter my approach to training which makes it hard to get solid results. I respond well to power moves, and things like sprints are well-suited to what I need.

This one probably sounds the least like me. I've never really been muscular, although my legs have always been pretty built. So I think I'm looking at a combination of the first two. I won't fully discount the advice for this one, but I'm also not thrilled at the idea of doing sprints and training like an athlete, so I'll stick with the weightlifting and cardio. I guess that means I should strike up some nerve and get going on the more advanced classes that focus on strength and cardio instead of my beginner classes I've been enjoying.

This sounds way too complicated for me, but we can give it a shot. If this thing suggests weight lifting and more intense workouts as an option to lose weight and build muscle, I can give it a try. Who knows, it might work. Worst case, I try some classes I was interested in anyway and I don't get a lot of results.