Metabolism and Body Type

I've seen a lot of places where they use the phrases: endomorph, exomorph, omnimorph. What do they mean? and how does that change your work out. How do you even tell if you have a fast metabolism or a slow one? can anyone tell me.

ok, well thats close... the three body types are endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph

endomorphs are usually the stout massive people with low definition... powerlifters/linemen

mesomorphs slimmer but still have bodyfat... bodybuilders/running backs

ectomorphs are tall skinny and weak... receivers/fishermen/me

metabolism is a functino of yourself really... but you would need to ask someone who knows a little more about that

So can anyone else answer the second part of the question?

You're asking how you can tell if you have a fast or slow metabolism? Well, if you can't seem to gain any weight no matter what you eat, you have a fast metabolism. If you gain weight very easily, it's slow.
You also asked if it changes the way you work out- Well, if you have a very fast metabolism you might want to stay away from a lot of cardio if you're trying to build muscle, but other than that- No. The major thing that should change is your nutrition- Obviously someone with a fast metabolism is going to need to throw more calories at their systems to gain than someone with a slow metabolism would.
BTW, looking at your signature- You're going to need more weights.

How do you even tell if you have a fast metabolism or a slow one? can anyone tell me.

I think Jeff Anderson puts it pretty well in his Optimum Anabolics program. Page 90 says:

Slow Metabolism:

You tend to gain weight very easily no matter WHAT you eat
You just LOOK at a Big Mac and your pants get tighter
Your "6-pack" looks more like a KEG

Moderate Metabolism:

You generally find it EASY to maintain your weight as long as you don't overdo the junk food and beer
Your body look generally FORMLESS from any angle
You're DESPISED by the people in the other two categories

Fast Metabolism:

You can eat all the pizza you want and NEVER seem to gain a pound
You get DEATH THREATS from Overeaters Anonymous dropouts on a binge
French SUPER-MODELS tell you that you look think

So far, this eBook has been a great read!

My thing is that I'll eat alot gain nothing. but if I eat alot for 5 days I gain five pounds then the next day I'll have lost five pounds. This said my weight hasn't changed since i was 11 and 5' 1". So I gain and lose weight fast. The things is they say people with slow metabolisms have cold hands and mine are always. But when I had a glucose tolerance test they thought I was hypoglycimic because I metabolised the whole like 500 g of sugar in 45 minutes. So I guess I must be fast right.

That's funny. I'm a lineman, and I'm like the farthest thing from an endomorph.

Have these "body types" been backed up by some kind of credible study? Their names and descriptions sound kind of dumb to me.

Solidglobe,

Dude the guy wasn't trying to scientifically describe bodytypes. He was using humour to show what the different kind of body types were, this humour lightens the tone and makes it more simplier to read and understand.

The use of metaphor - "Your "6-pack" looks more like a KEG" from everyday life reflects the target audience of an average american and again serves to make the passage much easier to read and understand.

That is all.

PS. Yes there is a great deal of real world proof for the body types. It's not really even proof, it's more like a fact - so you honestly think that all body types are the same?

Pps. I have an english exam in a week, so i figured id combine study and bodybuilding in one post! - now theres a clash of sterotypes....

yeah im not just making this up =/

Everything the second post says is absolutely true.

Aside from that, it seems you have a fast Metabolism. Don't eat as much as you can, just as much as you please. Muscle weighs 3 times more than fat so if you want more weight then start buildin' bub. Just get a normal amount of calories and hit the Gym.

Your in High School if I'm not mistaken. Join a sport and work out with them if they have a weight room. Its free and it teaches you a lot about yourself.

That's what I'm doing now. There is a whole school club just for weightlifting!

I was talking about the scientific names and how they are actually classified. My question was actually referring to how the names endo, ecto, meso, etc came to be used to describe bodytypes and who came up with them. I don't deny the existence of different body types, I was just wondering if there was some credible study done on it.

Also, I know that the descriptions above were to help explain, in a non scientific manner, what the different body types usually look like. You didn't need to explain the whole metaphor thing to me because my question was regarding the explainations in the first post.

In the end, I just like to make sure I question and research lots of the things I hear about bodybuilding. There's a lot of false information out there. I don't mind going the extra while to discovering something true or false. :D

Good point Solidglobe. But studies or not, it's just a method to figure out where a person is so they can adjust the diet and training appropriately.

Names mean nothing really.
Explanations can be whatever.

But if you take a person and they can eat whatever, and stay skinny, well they need to figure things out differently then a person who looks at a pizza and gains 5 lbs.

I see your point. And I honestly don't know. I could guess *BUT* I'm just going to stick with I don't know if there have been studies or not. Regardless, unlike NO2 supplements, it's pretty easy to look at yourself, your eating habits, and determine where you fit in. Everybody is different.

If you ever read Burn the Fat, Tom Venuto makes a great case that each of us have various pieces of each in us. That rarely is somebody a true ecto or a true endo. You are more of a percentage.

mda,

do you know if there is an age when these body types are valid? Cause I would think that a 14 year old still has a bit of growing to do, and it might change his body shape (height, weight, metabolism).