A lot of girl swimmers that I see are either endo or meso. I have seen some pictures of mesomorph girl swimmers and I don't know how they manage it.
I am an ectomorph and I try to make the best of it. Apparently ectomorph have the best strength to weight ratio (correct me if I am wrong) which means I can keep benching and lifting heavy to get stronger without gaining too much mass like the other somatypes.
What do you guys think?
"Ectomorph" is not a real scientific thing. It was part of some pseudoscience about predicting personality based on body shape.
Yep-en.wikipedia.org/.../Ectomorph Basically your muscle/fat ratio is dependent on many things and alterable by diet and exercise.
I would tend to agree that many elite swimmers are ectomorphs. But swimmers do come in all sizes and shapes. Why do you not understand how mesomorphs "manage it"? I am a short mesomorph and have managed to overcome this apparent quasi disability.
As a complete non-expert with an accidental minor in psychology (because his girlfriend in college was a psychology major) I'd say it's probably not a great idea to put a lot of stock in pseudoscience from seventy years ago.
I suppose I can't speak for women, but I'm pretty sure that if your lifting is a complement to your swimming, you won't have to worry about "gaining too much mass". The improved strength and fitness will make up for any hydrodynamic loss from your bulging triceps and rippling quads. Personally, I can put on muscle really well, especially when I'm not burning all my calories in the pool, but if I wanted to get so big, or lose that much mobility, I'd have to actually make that a goal. It would probably take a good forty or fifty pounds of muscle for that to happen, and then I'd be like Schwarzenegger in the 60s. It's certainly not going to happen accidentally. Bernard is a beast with shoulders bigger than his head and it doesn't seem to be slowing him down any.
"Ectomorph" is not a real scientific thing. It was part of some pseudoscience about predicting personality based on body shape.
Only a mesomorph, especially an Aquarius, would say such a thing.
Former Member
pretty sure in terms of body type, height is by far the most important trait.
Former Member
"Ectomorph" is not a real scientific thing. It was part of some pseudoscience about predicting personality based on body shape.
Any sport person will do better if they are stronger, so do not worry about body type, you can't change what you are anyhow!!!!!
Certainly you can change body type.If you hit the weight room and put on 20 lb of muscle that changes body type.If you lose 30 lb by diet and exercise that changes your body type.Sure it is easier for some people to put on muscle or to remain skinny,but that doesn't mean that one is locked in to a particular body type.I read an interesting blurb on putting on muscle mass posted at my gym.It said if you want to bulk up you have to concentrate on bulking up,meaning eating a lot,meaning losing the 6 pk ,at least until you put on the muscle you want.