Ectomorph, Endomorph, Mesomorph: The Inaccurate (and Racist) Myth of Somatypes
You’ve probably come across a picture like this:
If you happen to be lanky, someone might have even told you, right to your face, that you’re an ectomorph.
Congratulations! You are the victim of a 50 year old exercise in pseudoscience and Eugenics nonsense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype_and_constitutional_psychology
This idea of a somatype, at least the way it is commonly used, is not only grossly inaccurate, it’s also a bit racist! Somatypes share an uncomfortable overlap with phrenology, the discredited skull-bump hobby made popular again by actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Thankfully, much of the assumptions of personality and moral character associated with somatyping has fallen by the wayside, but putting aside what a horrible person you are for propagating this myth to others, let’s focus on why using somatypes is still bad FOR YOU.
There are two main problems with the idea of soma types.
1. Somatypes are fixed
Let me show you possibly the world’s most famous “ectomorph”.
That’s right. Once upon a time, people called Arnold skinny. Arnold called himself skinny. Did Arnold send away for a secret method from the back of a comic book? Maybe, but we’ll let you in on the secret recipe for changing from an ectomorph to a mesomorph.
The glibbest answer is actually the solution: eat more, lift heavy.
By the way, if you think that Arnold is forever cursed to be skinny as soon as he lays off the heavy cocktail of bone-crunching workouts and steroids, let’s just say that simply growing old is yet another method to change your supposedly unchangeable somatype:
Of more interest to most people, how do you change from an “endomorph” to a “mesomorph”.
The simple truth of it is, if you’re fat, and have been fat for a long time, it is going to be easy to stay fat. But there’s another simple truth: if you’re fat, then lose that fat in a sustainable way (preferably by replacing it with muscle), it will be easier to keep that fat off. Voila, if you do that, you’ve turned from an “endomorph” to a “mesomorph”.
Why then, do people have such a hard time losing weight and keeping it off? That’s also simple: they’re not doing it in a sustainable way. Going on a crash diet then blaming your genetics when you yo-yo back is folly.
But wait, isn’t it true that some people really do have faster or slower metabolisms? There is no doubt that genetics plays a role in how easily you can gain or lose weight (whether it be fat or muscle), but this brings us to our second major problem with somatypes.
2. Somatypes are too broad
Dumping yourself into one of three categories really tells you nothing about yourself. You can convey more useful information by comparing yourself to a literal caricature.
People do not usually have a uniform distribution of fat or muscle gain. If you have crazy forearm development, high strength, poor posture, and a propensity to say, “ack-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca”, telling people you have a Popeye body is far more accurate than telling people you’re a bizarre mixture of an ecto and mesomorph.
If we’re going to use made-up body types, let’s make them useful. Here are some suggestions:
Lurch-omorph
Actor Ted Cassidy suffered from acromegaly, which tends to result in a tall, rather caveman-like physique (not to mention a severe facial structure). It served him well in roles like Lurch from the Addams Family. As you can guess, people who tend to look like they have excess growth hormone will also do well in bodybuilding.
The question is whether Dorian Yates or Hwang Chul Soon have the look of having excess growth hormone naturally or from a bottle…
But, being tall and ogrelike isn’t the only way to gain an advantage in bodybuilding. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the…
Manlet-omorph
When short statured dudes get beefy, they look even beefier; 10 negligible pounds of muscle on a lanky beanpole will look like a massive steroid cycle on a George Costanza. Being short doesn’t have many advantages in life but looking jacked with less muscle is one of them. When a lil’ feller gets to 200+ pounds and shredded, then, brother, forget about it!
Shaniqueomorph
When beginners tell you you have good genetics for bodybuilding, they’re talking about the ability to put on sheer muscle mass.
When true bodybuilding fans tell you you have great genetics, they’re talking more about bone structure and insertions.
Wide lats, capped shoulders, tiny waist, sweeping quads. This is the classical aesthetic X-shape. It is no longer seen at the upper levels of male bodybuilding. Instead we have…
Michaelangelorph
The mass monster trend gave way to the era of Ninja Turtle bodies.
Cartoon-like proportions and thick, thick, bubble-gut shells win the contests. Never say you can’t change your body type. With extreme bodybuilding, you can even change your species. Turtle power!
