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Body Types & Build

Body Type
Body of a Female
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Success as an athlete comes from a combination of athletic ability and our

body build. The three components of body build are type, size and
[2]
composition. A system, developed by W.H. Sheldon (c.1940) , uses the
terms ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph to describe the body build of an
individual.

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BodyType

Track & Field

[4]

Beashel and Taylor (1997)

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identify three extremes of body types.

Endomorph

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Endomorph (711)
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A pear shaped body

A rounded head
Wide hips and shoulders
Wider front to back rather than side to side.
A lot of fat on the body, upper arms and thighs

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An endomorphic individual typically has short arms and legs and a large
amount of mass on their frame. Their mass hampers their ability to compete
in sports requiring high levels of agility or speed and perform sustained weight
bearing aerobic activities such as running. Sports of pure strength, like power
lifting, are perfect for an endomorph. They can gain weight easily and lose
condition quickly if training stops.

SportsBenefits
Size benefits sports such as rugby where bulk is useful, provided it can
be moved powerfully
Tend to have large lung capacity which can make them suited to sports
such as rowing
They can increase muscle mass much more easily than ectomorphs

Mesomorph

Mesomorph (171)
A wedge shaped body
A cubical head

Wide broad shoulders

Muscled arms and legs
Narrow hips
Narrow from front to back rather than side to side.
A minimum amount of fat

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A mesomorphic individual excels in strength, agility, and speed. Their medium

structure and height, along with their tendency to gain muscle and strength
easily makes them a strong candidate for a top athlete in any sport. They can
sustain low body fat levels and find it easy to lose and gain weight.

SportsBenefits

Respond well to cardiovascular and resistance training

Can sustain low body fat levels
All muscle groups can be used to derive positive training adoption
Dependent on the sports' needs they can easily gain or lose weight

Ectomorph

Ectomorph (117)

A high forehead
Receding chin
Narrow shoulders and hips
A narrow chest and abdomen
Thin arms and legs
Little muscle and fat

A predominantly ectomorphic individual is long, slender and thin, and

therefore power and strength sports are perhaps not suitable as their slight
build leaves them susceptible to injuries. While they can easily get lean and
hard, their lack of musculature severely limits their chances in sports requiring
mass. Ectomorphs dominate endurance sports and gymnastics. They can
archive low levels of body fat which can be detrimental to health and for
females in endurance sports it can result in a cessation of periods and iron
deficiency.

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SportsBenefits
Light frame makes them suited for aerobic activity like gymnastics
Smaller body surface area also enhances their suitability for endurance
activity
Their body is better at thermo regulation, important in endurance based
sports

Somatotype
[2]

Sheldon
evaluated the degree a body type was present on a 1 to 7 scale
where 1 is the minimum and 7 is the maximum.
All athletes are made up of the three extreme body types so we are all part
endomorph, part mesomorph and part ectomorph. Using a score of one to
seven, we can grade our bodies on each of the extreme body types. e.g. two,
six, three means: two (low endomorphy); six (high mesomorphy); three (low
ectomorphy). In this way, we can compare our body type with that of other
athletes. This method of body typing is known as somatotyping - height is not
taken into consideration.

The "perfect" bodybuilder would perhaps be a 173, while 475 might be better
suited for football, and 147 a basketball player. Having scores in multiple body
types, for instance the football player's 475, does not mean he has all of the
traits of each body type mixed together. It may mean he has the heavy thick
build of the Endomorph combined with superior musculature and strength of
the Mesomorph, with the above average height of the Ectomorph.
[1]

Greek researchers Bayios et al. (2006)

evaluated 518 elite Greek
basketball, volleyball and handball players. Their results indicated the
following somatotypes (endomorph, mesomorph & ectomorph) for each sport:
Sport

Endomorph Mesomorph Ectomorph

Volleyball players

3.4

2.7

2.9

Basketball players

3.7

2.7

2.9

Handball players

4.2

4.7

1.8

BodySize
Body size refers to the athlete's height and weight. The ideal size for an
athlete depends on the sport or event and sometimes the position they play in
their sport (consider the various body sizes in a Rugby team). There are
standard ideal weight charts based on an individual's height.

BodyComposition
Body composition refers to the athlete's body fat. In most sports, the athlete
will try to keep his/her levels of body fat to a minimum. In general the higher
the percentage of body fat the poorer the performance.

Alternativemethodofsomatotyping
[3]

Research by Barbara Heath et al. (1967)

somatotype method for both sexes and all ages.

identifies

an

alternative

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References
1. BAYIOS, I. A. et al. (2006) Anthropometric, body composition and
somatotype differences of Greek elite female basketball, volleyball and
handball players. MD.J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 46 (2), p. 271-80
2. SHELDON, W. H. et al. (c.1940) The varieties of human physique.
Oxford, England: Harper
3. HEATH, B. H. J. E. and CARTER, J. E. L. (1967) A modified somatotype
method. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 27 (1), p. 5774
4. BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1997) Fitness for Health and performance.
In: BEASHEL, P and TAYLOR, J, The World of Sport Examined. Croatia:
Thomas Nelson and Sons, p. 59

RelatedReferences
The following references provide additional information on this topic:
COOPER, P. J. et al. (1987) The development and validation of the Body
Shape Questionnaire. International Journal of eating disorders, 6 (4), p.
485-494.
GREENBURGH, D. R. and LAPORTE, D. J. (1996) Racial differences in
body type preferences of men for women. International Journal of
Eating Disorders, 19 (3), p. 275-278.

PageReference
If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for
this page is:
MACKENZIE, B. (2001) Body Types and Build [WWW] Available from:
https://www.brianmac.co.uk/bodytype.htm [Accessed 24/10/2016]

RelatedPages
The following Sports Coach pages provide additional information on this topic:
Articles on Physiology
Books on Physiology
Ideal Weight

AdditionalSourcesofInformation
For further information on this topic see the following:
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1996) Advanced Studies in Physical
Education and Sport. UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1997) The World of Sport Examined. UK:
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BIZLEY, K. (1994) Examining Physical Education. Oxford; Heinemann
Educational Publishers
DAVIS, B. et al. (2000) Physical Education and the Study of Sport. UK:
Harcourt Publishers Ltd.
GALLIGAN, F. et al. (2000) Advanced PE for Edexcel. Oxford;
Heinemann Educational Publishers
McARDLE, W. et al. (2000) Essentials of Exercise Physiology. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
TORTORA, G and ANAGNOSTAKOS, N. (1990) Principles of Anatomy and
Physiology. 6th ed. USA; Harper Collins Publishers

 STONE, R. and STONE, J. (1997) Atlas of Skeletal Muscles. 2nd Ed.

USA; The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
BLAKEY, P. (1992) The Muscle Book. UK; Bibiotek Books Ltd.

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