What is Somatotyping? Somatotyping is the classification of the three extreme body compositions; endomorphs, ectomorphs and mesomorphs. Body composition.

What is Somatotyping?

• Somatotyping is the classification of the three extreme body compositions; endomorphs, ectomorphs and mesomorphs.

• Body composition is the percentage of fat, muscle and bone.

Endomorphs

• Endomorphs are round with little muscle definition. They store fat easily, with narrow shoulders and wide hips. The sports they specialise in include shot putt and props in rugby, where having extra body weight is an advantage (to gain momentum, and overpower opponents).

Mesomorphs

• Mesomorphs can lose or gain weight easily, with little fat to muscle ratio. They have wide shoulders (because they are muscular) with narrow hips. They excel in activities where power is needed, such as sprinting, boxing and swimming.

Ectomorphs

• Ectomorphs are typically tall and lean, with narrow shoulders and narrow hips. They do not build fat or muscle easily, making them suited to sports where being light is an advantage, eg. Long distance running, and high jump.

• Endomorph- End of the scale.

• Mesomorph- M for Muscle.

• Ectomorph- T for Thin.

Endomorph- Shot Putt

Endomorphs, such as Carl Myerscough, are suited to sports such as shot putt. He has more fat than muscle, which means he can get a lot of power and momentum behind his throws- and this is an advantage, because his shotputt will travel further/ get more distance.

Mesomorphs

Usain Bolt is a mesomorph. This means he has little body fat and a lot of muscle, providing plenty of power. Power is essential to a sprinter because they need to use the strength from the muscles in their legs in order to move faster. The more muscle they have, the faster they can go over shorter distances such as 100m and 200m.

Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs, such as Mo Farah, are suited to activities such as long distance running. Their body type makes them long and lean. Long limbs means that their stride length is increased, and therefore enables them to run faster. They also do not store body fat easily, so this makes it easier for them to run continuously, because there is little excess weight to carry.