Depending on the type of temperament, the following types are distinguished: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic. This classification of temperament was proposed by Hippocrates. Personality types can also be divided by body type. Psychologist Ernst Kretschmer identified three main psychotypes of personality, which are based on differences in body structure and explained what relationship is observed between the figure and the psychological state. Consider the psychotypes of personality according to E. Kretschmer: what is the relationship between character and physique?
What it is
Body type or somatic constitution is a definition of the physical characteristics of a person's body. This is not only the physique itself, but also a program for its development in the future.
The body can change several times throughout life, but the somatotype is determined genetically, it goes hand in hand with a person from birth to death. Any influence on the figure, be it sports, age-related changes or the consequences of diseases, only changes the outline of the body, but does not have any effect on the somatotype.
Main types
It is customary to roughly divide people into different body types, where three key categories can be distinguished:
- An ectomorph is a person who tends to be thin.
- A mesomorph is a person with an athletic build who has muscles gifted by nature.
- An endomorph is a person who is prone to gaining excess weight.
His future athletic success will depend on what type of figure a person has.
Ectomorph
This category of people describes guys with a thin build. Typically, ectomorphs have narrow wrists and ankles, as do their hips and waist. They cannot boast of muscle mass, and they have virtually no fat accumulation. This figure is often called skinny.
Ectomorph people have a fairly fast metabolism. The main problem is that it is quite difficult for a thin person to gain muscle mass. Due to a fast metabolism, all calories eaten are quickly burned, and therefore people with this type need to consume as many calories as possible. It is recommended to include vitamins, protein shakes, mass gainers and omega-3 fats.
The main advantage is the absence of any problems with excess weight. Drying muscles is easier compared to mesomorphs and endomorphs.
You can take a closer look at this type of figure and give it an assessment in the photo.
Mesomorph
People with this figure have a massive skeleton and an athletic or average build. It is easier for them to build muscle, unlike ectomorphs.
Peculiarities:
- good metabolism;
- If you have fat deposits, you can easily get rid of them by following proper nutrition.
- good muscle growth during training.
The muscles of this type of people respond well to power loads and their rapid growth is felt, especially among beginner athletes. But if you don't pay enough attention to nutrition, you can gain excess weight. In this case, you will need to add cardio training to get rid of accumulated fat so that the man has an athletic appearance.
Endomorph
People with this figure have a round, wide and soft, dense physique. As a rule, they are short in stature. The length of their arms and legs is short. These people naturally have strong legs, due to which they can show good results when training the lower body.
Peculiarities:
- slow metabolism;
- wide hips, similar waist and shoulders;
- short legs;
- If you eat incorrectly, you will quickly gain excess weight.
Endomorphs can easily gain the required muscle mass through training. But along with muscles comes an increase in body fat, and because of this, they appear obese in appearance. In order to gain as little fat as possible, you should pay due attention to cardio training, and also do not forget about proper nutrition, monitoring the total calorie content of your food.
Thick people are sincere and charming individuals
As mentioned above, hypersthenics tend to be overweight, their figure is round and loose, their neck and fingers are short, their torso and limbs are disproportionate.
It would seem that the hypersthenic body type is not the most attractive, but psychologically such people are the luckiest. Often such individuals are successful and happy, they are lucky in life. Therefore, this body type in women does not cause them any special problems. Why is that? The thing is that they are endowed with natural charm, openness to the world and people, and sincerity. Thanks to this, it is easy for such people to get along with others, they get sincere pleasure from communication and from life in general.
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Such people rarely need money. Their broad soul attracts not only people, but also finances. And the ability to maintain composure even in extremely stressful situations allows them to live to an old age.
Despite their absolute lack of temperament, they often become very attached to people. This means that it is quite easy to upset them with a lack of attention on your part. This attitude is caused by their increased vulnerability and sincerity.
Hypersthenics are patient and friendly. They are attentive to others and often help in solving their problems. These sympathetic and kind people are often vulnerable, but because of their fortitude, they rarely show it.
Their distinctive feature is the ability to quickly forgive any offense and a complete lack of desire to take revenge. Perhaps it is this quality of character that often contributes to the perception of overweight people as kind and benevolent individuals.
This type of people loves comfort in everything and everywhere. A woman creates a cozy haven in her home in which her family feels very comfortable. The man leads an active business life, in which success never leaves him.
The hospitality of such individuals, their sociability and caring nature attract people, which makes hypersthenics the soul of any company. These are socially active people who constantly strive forward and charge everyone around with their bright, sunny energy.
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To make it more clear, let's highlight the main characteristic features of dense people:
- Relaxation in communication, movements, behavior (the main reason is weak muscle tone).
- Slow reactions.
- Dependence on external and internal comfort.
- Love for food.
- Addiction to social life, spending time in the company of people.
- Friendliness and sociability.
- Friendliness and equal treatment of different categories of people.
- Focus on the opinions of others.
- Ease of expressing feelings.
- Thirst for approval and love from friends.
- Tolerance for the opinions of others.
- Patience.
- Good dream. There is no need for long sleep.
- Focus on family and children.
- In difficult times, there is a need for communication and reassurance.
- A healthy sense of humor.
- Commitment to tradition.
- Hospitality, caring.
How to determine
As it became known, in real life, each person includes a combination of 3 types of body structure, but in certain proportions. Some people have one type of upper body and another type of lower body. For this reason, it is quite difficult to classify each person as a specific type.
General tips for identifying
You can correlate and determine a person’s body type based on the characteristic features of each of them:
- Endomorph: round head, massive belly, underdeveloped muscles of the legs and arms, excess weight distributed throughout the body.
- Mesomorph: wide chest, muscular legs and arms, broad shoulders, subcutaneous fat in small quantities.
- Ectomorph: thin build, elongated face shape, narrow shoulders, long limbs, lack of fat deposits, underdeveloped muscles.
By the wrist
By the thickness of the hand you can also find out which somatotype a particular person belongs to. Ectomorphs tend to have thin bones, while endomorphs tend to have wide bones. Wrist circumference remains unchanged and does not depend on the amount of fat or muscle mass.
Wrist circumference for different body types:
- Ectomorphs (asthenic) - less than 17 centimeters;
- mesomorphs (normosthenic physique in men) - can vary from 17 to 20 centimeters;
- Endomorphs (hypersthenic) - more than 20 centimeters.
What is the body type of Mr. Olympia?
Bodybuilders who were able to win the most important prize in the world of bodybuilding are always inspirations and role models. Let's see what kind of physique they have:
- Ectomorphs – Frank Zane, Dexter Jackson
- Mesomorphs - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dorian Yates, Chris Dickerson, Franco Colombo, Ronnie Coleman, Phil Heath, Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva.
- Endomorphs - Jay Cutler.
It should be taken into account that the list is somewhat arbitrary, since there is no absolute ectomorph or mesomorph. Each of us has both traits, it’s just that some are more dominant than others.
Main types of male figure
It is believed that the division into body types is a convention, because most often the proportions of the body can be corrected by performing various physical exercises. Using a simplified classification, it is possible to determine what needs to be emphasized in oneself and what needs to be hidden as a flaw.
There are 4 types of male figure:
- triangle;
- trapezoid;
- rectangle;
- oval.
Triangle
This type includes men with broad shoulders and a narrow pelvis. The waist is placed in line with the hip or slightly wider. Men have developed latissimus and teres dorsi muscles. Most often, people belonging to this type engage in athletics and swimming. The same form can be achieved through training in the gym.
Trapezoid
An analogy can be drawn with a triangle for this type of figure in men. Characteristic differences are: powerful arms, large muscles and a wide body, stocky build. These people are often overweight.
Rectangle
The characteristic features of this type of figure in men are that the shoulders, hips and waist are located at the same level. In this case, the shoulders may be slightly wider than the hips, but they do not look massive. Typically, men look thin and have trouble gaining weight.
Oval
This type of figure includes all men who are overweight. It is worth noting that the type of fullness can be different: “hourglass” with a pronounced waist; weighted bottom; the figure is rectangular or triangular; men have a protruding belly.
The influence of body type on nutrition and training
Ectomorph
Men belonging to this type cannot gain the required muscle mass on parts of the body in a short period of time due to the fact that the body increases the breakdown of carbohydrates entering it. They also have a slower protein metabolism. When setting a muscle building goal, success largely depends on proper nutrition.
Nutritionists and experts advise adhering to the following recommendations:
- You need to eat 5 to 6 times during the day, but do not eat 3 hours before bed. Eat a large portion of food each time, and focus on foods rich in carbohydrates and protein.
- The diet must include dairy products with a fat content of 1%.
- Half of your diet should consist of complex carbohydrates.
- The protein norm is 2.5 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight.
- Eliminate foods rich in fast carbohydrates from your diet.
- The daily fat intake should not exceed 20%.
An objective indicator of body type is a maximum, but not exhausting training load. The duration of classes should not exceed 45 minutes, their number should be limited to 3 times a week.
Mesomorph
Owners of this somatotype can boast of ideality in terms of body structure. All advice on nutrition and exercise boils down to the fact that an athlete should not train to exhaustion, and all that is needed is to adhere to a healthy diet.
The daily diet should be built according to the following principle:
- carbohydrates - from 40 to 50%;
- proteins - from 30 to 40%;
- fats - from 10 to 20%.
For this athletic physique in men, there is no need to adhere to strict dietary guidelines and you can periodically eat sweets and starchy foods in limited quantities. In order for muscle growth training to be more effective, basic programs lasting up to an hour should be used 3 to 4 times every 7 days. You should not ignore training, since the lack of physical activity will lead to excess body weight gain, and the loss of physical data given by nature will occur.
Endomorph
In order for a person who has an endomorph body build to achieve his bodybuilding goals, he should first adhere to the following nutritional recommendations:
- Reduce purely simple carbohydrates in your diet or eliminate them altogether.
- Enrich your diet with protein foods.
- Reduce daily caloric intake compared to what is required for mesomorphs.
- Eat at least 6 times a day.
- Use sports supplements for good muscle growth.
In training, endomorphs should work with moderate weights, minimal breaks between sets and high intensity. It is recommended to train often and for a long time, about 2 hours per training day. This will speed up your metabolism and bring your body into sculpted shape by burning fat and getting rid of excess weight. In addition to strength training, you should add aerobics, which you should do for an hour 5 times every 7 days. Then the weight will be normal, and the man will look slim and athletic.
Normostenic – Leadership qualities predominate
The average figure of a normosthenic can sometimes even be athletic. A normal metabolism can be an advantage, but an unbalanced diet and excessive consumption of junk food can result in a curvy body shape. This type of personality strives to take a leading position in everything, so not all people manage to find a common language with them. Male normosthenics usually devote a lot of time to their figure, so they look athletic and fit. The female figure of normosthenics is an ideal for many: on average, thin, slightly curvy, but has graceful forms, without unnecessary flaws.
This type of personality spends a lot of effort and energy on subjugating other people, so in order to restore their resources they need to eat well. Normosthenics have an excellent appetite. Excessive enthusiasm for eating food for this psychotype results in obesity.
The normosthenic personality type is ready to take risks without any extra thought, to make every effort to achieve success. He will never be in the shadows, always strives to be on top and wants recognition and standing out among the masses. Uses any means to attract attention and control other people, even to bend them to his will. Normostenic has excellent oratory skills, is overly ambitious, and has a good sense of humor. He is an emotional person, but when it comes to other people, he is rather cold-blooded and dismissive.
