originally posted by DnvrFox
I and m,any others really don't buy into the "morph" thing. No one is one type. We are all mixtures.
while not always correct, i believe the basic idea is quite useful - especially for people starting out.
i am a hard-gainer (ectomorph) and i worked out hard with weights on and off from about 19 to 22 while never gaining any muscle mass or weight (i got stronger of course). i was 145lbs at 6'1" when i was 22. between 27 and 29 i gained 15lbs from lifting 6 days a week and concentrating on my diet, and got to a max of 170lbs. since then i have lost 5-10 lbs (last summer during heavy cycling i was under 160) since i only lift 1-2 days a week the last year or so. anyway, someone like me has very different weight lifting goals than an 18 year old who can go to the gym and lift for 2 months and gain 5 pounds of muscle mass (like many of my friends back then) who then also tend to be the people who when they stop lifting turn to fat (i just loose weight and get scrawny).
there are many factors, but as a starting point i think the categorization can be valuable --- endomorph (fast gainer- build muscle easy, difficult to loose fat), ectomorph (hard-gainer, hard to build muscle mass, excessive body fat control less of a problem) and i forgot the last term (isn't it "normal" or middle?)