Body Types

If you're a hard gainer, you're most likely an ectomorph body type. Many of you probably already know this, but just in case let's go over what an ectomorph really is.

In the topic of body types, there are 3 basic types: ectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph. A mesomorph is the body type that is more naturally athletic. In high school, the pure mesomorphs were the ones that looked quite a bit older and more mature than everyone else, and they also don't seem to have to work as hard to have a great physique. This is a bit of a misconception, but they do tend to gain muscle a bit easier than most. The endomorph tends to be a bit on the rounder, heavier side. And the ectomorph are your skinny guys. Granted, these are very broad generalizations, but hopefully you get the point.

Most people are not 100% one body type, but rather a mix of different body types. There are some little questionaires you can take online that will help you decide what type you are, but if you're a hard gainer you most likely have quite a bit of ectomorph in you. Here's the good news: just because you might be mostly ectomorphic doesn't mean that you can't gain muscle and build a great body, you'll just have to work at it differently than some of the other body types! And here's the good news: there have been several pro body builders that have also been rather ectomorphic. These include (but are not limited to) Frank Zane, Flex Wheeler, Larry Scott (who considered himself a 98 lb weakling growing up) and Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. So take heart and motivation from guys like this that even ectomorphs can build good muscle!