If I asked you what you hate about your body, you’d probably be able to give me a whole list of body parts – your butt, your thighs, your tummy, your double-chin? If I asked you what you like about your body you would probably find it more difficult to come up with an answer, never mind a list. While you are in control of how your body looks to a certain extent, it is important to remember that your actual body shape is genetically determined. You are responsible for achieving or maintaining a normal body weight and you decide whether you exercise to tone your body.
However, you can’t change the width of your hip bones. You can’t change whether you tend to lay down fat in the hip or abdominal region. You can’t change your height or the basic shape of your legs. What you can do is make the most of what you’ve got.
There are 3 basic body types and generally people will fall into one of them. Try to figure out which one you are.
ENDOMORPHS will gain weight easily. They tend to be pear-shaped, meaning their hips tend to be broader than their shoulders. Endomorphs are often curvier than the other body types. People of this body shape lean towards low impact cardio-vascular activities like walking, swimming and cycling.
MESOMORPHS tend to be of normal weight, neither fat nor skinny. They tend to gain muscle fairly easily but can lose weight easily up to a certain point. They rarely become "skinny" however. Generally, their shoulders are wider than their hips. Mesomorphs should do longer duration, higher-intensity aerobic work if the goal is to lose weight.
Building muscle is not a problem for individuals with this body type. However, if the goal is not to gain size then moderately heavy weights and higher repetitions are recommended during weight-training sessions. Mesomorphs often seem to like weight training, martial arts and racquet sports.
ECTOMORPHS are generally small-framed and thin. Their shoulders and hips are generally narrow. They tend to have little excess body fat. Ectomorphs should do enough cardiovasular exercise to work their heart and lungs but not so much if they are concerned about building muscle and maintaining weight.
Weight workouts should be on the heavier side if the goal is to build muscle. Weight training the upper body is helpful to keep proportions more even. Generally, lighter weights and more reps do the trick. Ectomorphs lean towards aerobic exercise, dance, ballet, cycling, running and weight training.
Most of us aren't purely one body type or another but a combination of at least two. So, for example, you could be tall and thin like an ectomorph, but tend to lay down fat in the hips making you pear-shaped like and an endomorph. That means you're going to have to adjust your exercise routine to try to find what best suits your shape, and how to make the most of it.
BY THE WAY, DID YOU KNOW THAT BEING PEAR-SHAPED IS A GOOD THING?
While you may not think so when you’re in the changing rooms trying on a new outfit where the top bit fits but the bottoms are too tight, or the bottom bit fits and the top is falling off you, it’s absolutely true. This is the one time when having an apple will not keep the doctor away.
Both men and women who are apple-shaped, ie who tend to lay down fat in the abdominal region (think Homer Simpson), have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. The fat the lies right under the skin is called subcutaneous fat. The fat that surrounds the body organs, liver, kidneys heart etc, is called intra-abdominal or visceral fat. This is the type of fat that is considered an added risk to your health.
Research has also shown that the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar levels, has a much greater influence on fat cells in the abdominal area. For this reason people who develop insulin resistance are more likely to store abdominal fat and take on the shape of an apple. Since excess insulin results in accumulation of fat in the abdominal region, anyone with an apple-shaped may be experiencing insulin related metabolic problems like diabetes, which is in turn associated with a greater risk of heart disease.
If you are worried about your shape, the best place to start is to figure out whether you are indeed an apple or a pear. Here is how it’s done…
If your waist is bigger around than your hips then you have an apple shape, if your hips are bigger around than your waist, then you have a pear shape. If it is not instantly obvious by looking in the mirror, here is how to find out for sure.
1. Using a tape measure, measure your waist at the level of your navel and your hips at their widest point. Make sure you place the tape measure directly on your skin, do not measure over your clothes. Make the tape snug on your skin, but don't pull it tight.
2. To insure accuracy, measure your waist and your hips 3 times each and get the average of the 3 measurements for both your waist and your hips.
3. To determine your waist-to-hip ratio, divide the average waist measurement by the average hip measurement. (average waist measurement ÷ average hip measurement = (?)
FOR MEN: If the ratio is 0.95 or greater, an abdominal storage pattern (apple shape) is indicated.
FOR WOMEN: If the ratio is greater than 0.8, an abdominal storage pattern (apple shape) is indicated.
If you are apple-shaped it’s important to make an extra effort to lose excess body fat. Unfortunately, you can’t ‘spot reduce’ i.e. you can’t decide from what area on your body you want to lose fat. You can however ‘spot tone’ by exercising specific parts of your body. If you are concerned about your shape, the best thing you can do is to make doubly sure that you are following your healthy-eating, weight-loss plan and getting plenty of exercise. Just this once, it’s OK if things go a little pear-shaped…