Endomorph is a person genetically prone to overweight accumulation. His subcutaneous fat layer is much thicker than that of people with other body types, due to a slow metabolism. Also, the endomorph is characterized by a wide skeleton, making it look even more massive.
The muscles of people with this type of physique respond well to anaerobic exercise, so muscle gain passes without any problems. But what if fat mass grows along with muscle mass? To avoid this, engage in a special training program for the endomorph. Together with proper nutrition, it will provide excellent results in the fight for a muscular body.
Who is an endomorph?
Endomorphs are characterized by the following features:
- Short stature.
- Tendency towards female obesity.
- Large amount of fatty deposits on the hips and waist.
- Sloping shoulders.
© Sebastian Kaulitzki - stock.adobe.com
All these signs are inherent only in one hundred percent endomorphs. But these are rare in nature. In practice, something in between a mesomorph and an endomorph is much more common. With the right approach to training and nutrition, such a person can look great and have outstanding athletic performance. There are a lot of such examples, including in the practice of CrossFit.
If a person stubbornly ignores sports and proper nutrition at the same time, over time he will turn into an obese endomorph with weak muscles and a lot of fat, and it will be much more difficult to correct the situation.
Features of endomorph training
There are two stages in building your body: gaining muscle mass and drying. Both phases are nutritional and exercise dependent. How to train an endomorph to gain muscle mass, but at the same time not become thicker, but, on the contrary, get rid of excess fat?
The right accents
In theory, everything is simple. Train hard, give your body a cardio load, and watch your diet. Do cardio at a low intensity setting (heart rate 60-70% of maximum) to maintain cardiovascular health, increase aerobic endurance, and mild fat burning effects. However, you can increase the volume of this type of exercise if you gain excess fat during the period of mass gain or the weight stands still during drying.
If the endomorph first went to the gym and is overweight, it is recommended to dry out first, and only then gain weight. Otherwise, he will gain much more fat, which is much more willing to "stick" to the existing one. Also, after drying, it will become clear which muscle groups should be emphasized.
In the endomorph training program, the emphasis is on basic exercises:
- squats;
- bench press and dumbbells lying and standing;
- deadlift classic and on straight legs;
- pull-ups;
- tilt thrust;
- push-ups on the uneven bars, etc.
They provide the maximum load on all large and small muscle groups. The base must be done both on mass and on drying. When losing weight, you do not need to focus only on isolation and increase the number of repetitions - in this mode, you will lose a lot of muscle mass, and the whole set will be in vain. The main challenge in drying is to try to keep your strengths in the basic movements and add a little more isolation.
Basic exercises should make up about 70-80% of your endomorph training program.
Cardio workout
Cardio is a must if you are trying to gain as dry weight as possible or planning to dry... This can be either a light 20-30 minute session after the main load, or a separate full workout on a rest day. Running in the park, walking on a treadmill, cycling, walking on a stepper, and more. There are a lot of options, choose the one that you like best. The main thing is the pulse zone.
If you don't really care that you gain a little extra fat along with your muscles, you can skip cardio and focus on strength training. The surplus can then be burned in the dryer. And although this is extremely difficult for endomorphs, many athletes prefer to suffer for 2-3 months on drying with a strict diet and a lot of cardio, than walking along the path all year round and limiting themselves in nutrition.
While drying, you can gradually increase the duration and intensity of your cardio workouts. You can start with 30 minutes after your strength training and work your way up to a daily hour of cardio session. It is advisable to use a heart rate monitor. To prevent seizures, be sure to take supplements fortified with potassium and magnesium.
Remember the main thing: the process of building an athletic body from scratch for an endomorph can take more than three months or even six months. Expect to train hard for years. Over time, this will become a habit and become an integral part of your life, and the results achieved will motivate you for further sports achievements.
© motortion - stock.adobe.com
Nuances of nutrition
Without proper nutrition, the endomorph cannot achieve success in strength sports. Everything should be taken into account: calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, micronutrients, water, etc. The diet should consist entirely of natural and fresh foods, no fast food and trans fats, nothing flour and fatty.
Calculate your daily calorie intake using the formula:
- Men: (10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (g) + 5) x K
- For women: (10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (g) - 161) x K
Where K is the coefficient of the level of human activity. He has five degrees:
- 1.2 - sedentary work and lack of training;
- 1,375 - rare workouts no more than 2 times a week or little activity in everyday life;
- 1.55 - training 3-4 times a week or average activity;
- 1,725 - training up to 5 times a week plus activity during the day;
- 1.9 - hard physical work or hard daily training.
This will give you your approximate daily calorie intake to maintain your current weight. To gain muscle mass, you need to add another 10% (and add another 5% every 2 weeks if there is no progress). For weight loss, on the contrary, we subtract 15-20% from this amount, but not more, then drying will take place without prejudice to muscle mass.
Endomorph needs to consume per day approximately 2.5 g protein, 3-4 g carbohydrates and 1 g fat per kg of body weight... This ratio will allow you to gradually gain high-quality muscle mass without accumulating excess fat. If you feel that progress has stopped and there is not enough energy, add a little carbohydrates. For weight loss, reduce the calorie intake by reducing the amount of carbohydrates. We consume the same amount of protein as during weight gain, otherwise a full recovery will not work. You can even increase the amount to 3 grams per kg of body weight.
Choose exclusively natural products. We are mainly interested in complex carbohydrates - cereals, durum wheat pasta, vegetables. From sweets, we consume only fruits in moderation. As for protein, we give preference to meat, chicken, eggs, dairy products, fish and whey protein. Be sure to consume unsaturated fatty acids. Foods such as flaxseed oil, fish oil, and nuts should be included in the diet regularly.
For endomorphs who do not monitor the calorie intake and the quality of the food they eat, there is a direct road to the heavy weight category in strength sports. But if your goal is a beautiful athletic body and functional development in all respects, follow the advice above.
Workout in the gym
The optimal number of workouts for straight endomorphs is 3-4 per week.
The approximate split for 3 days is as follows:
| Monday (chest + triceps + front and middle deltas) | ||
| Bench press | 4x12,10,8,6 |  |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dips on the uneven bars | 3x10-15 |  |
| Army press | 4x10-12 |  |
| Wide grip barbell pull | 4x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells to the sides while standing | 3x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| French bench press | 4x12 |  |
| Wednesday (back + biceps + back delta) | ||
| Deadlift | 4x12,10,8,6 |  |
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-15 |  |
| T-bar deadlift | 4x10 |  |
| Wide grip row of the upper block to the chest | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Horizontal pull on the block | 3x10 |  © tankist276 - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing barbell curls | 4x12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Scott's Bench Dumbbell Curls | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells in an incline | 4x15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Friday (legs + abs) | ||
| Seated Leg Extension | 3x15-20 (warm-up) |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Barbell Shoulder Squats | 4x12,10,8,6 |  © Vitaly Sova - stock.adobe.com |
| Leg press in the simulator | 3x12 |  |
| Dumbbell lunges | 4x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3x15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing Calf Raises | 4x15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Twisting in the simulator | 3x12-15 |  |
| Reverse crunches on the bench | 3x10-15 |  |
Four days program:
| Monday (hands) | ||
| Bench press with a narrow grip | 4x10 |  |
| Standing barbell curls | 4x10-12 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| French bench press | 3x12 | |
| Dumbbell curls on an incline bench | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dumbbell kickback | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing hammers | 4x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Block Row with Triceps Rope | 3x15 |  © _italo_ - stock.adobe.com |
| Tuesday (legs) | ||
| Seated Leg Extension | 3x15-20 (warm-up) | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Barbell Shoulder Squats | 4x12,10,8,6 | © Vitaly Sova - stock.adobe.com |
| Hack machine squats | 3x12 |  © mountaira - stock.adobe.com |
| Deadlift on straight legs with a barbell | 4x10-12 |  |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Weighted Calf Raises | 4x15 |  |
| Thursday (chest + front and middle deltas) | ||
| Bench press | 4x12,10,8,6 | |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3x10 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Press in the simulator on the chest | 3x12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 4x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Wide grip barbell pull | 4x12-15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells to the sides while standing | 3x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Twisting on the bench | 3x12-15 |  |
| Friday (back + back delta) | ||
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-15 | |
| Row of one dumbbell to the belt | 4x10 |  |
| Narrow Reverse Grip Row | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| T-bar deadlift | 3x10 | |
| Hyperextension | 4x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing to the side | 4x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Hanging leg raises on the horizontal bar | 3x10-15 |  |
In this variant of the split, hands are withdrawn on a separate day. Similarly, you can focus on the deltas - do them on Monday, and the triceps with the chest and the biceps with the back. Choose for yourself which part of the body needs more precise pumping.
Increase / decrease the amount of cardio performed depending on your shape and well-being. It all depends on your goals - as you gain muscle, cardio helps you burn excess calories and keep your cardiovascular system healthy. But over-activity can stop muscle recruitment if you don't cover the cost with food. You need to find the right balance.
During the drying period, cardio is the main weapon in the fight against excess fat, and it needs to be done more, for example, do individual hour walking or jogging workouts on days off from strength training.
Workout at home
Home training is great, especially if you have something to diversify the load. Having in your arsenal at least a horizontal bar and collapsible dumbbells with the weight you need, you can already carry out a full workout. The very principles of training are no different from those in a fitness club.
Below is a training program for an endomorph for 3 days using these shells:
| Monday (chest + triceps + front and middle delts) | ||
| Dumbbell press lying on a bench or on the floor | 4x10-12 |  |
| Wide-arm push-ups with daisy legs | 4x10-15 |  |
| Arnold press | 4x10-12 |  |
| Dumbbell Rows to the Chin | 4x12-15 |  © ruigsantos - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells to the sides | 3x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| French bench press with dumbbells | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Push-ups with narrow arms | 3x10-15 |  |
| Wednesday (back + biceps + back delta) | ||
| Dumbbell Deadlift | 4x10-12 |  |
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-15 | |
| One-handed dumbbell row | 3x10 | |
| Narrow Reverse Grip Pull-ups | 3x10-15 |  |
| Standing dumbbell curls | 4x10-12 |  |
| Concentrated dumbbell curls | 3x10-12 |  © Maksim Toome - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells in an incline | 4x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Friday (legs + abs) | ||
| Dumbbell Squats | 4x12 |  |
| Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift | 4x10-12 |  |
| Dumbbell lunges | 4x10 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Weighted Calf Raises | 4x15 | |
| Elbow plank with extra weight | 3x60-90 sec |  |
| Hanging corner on horizontal bar | 3x40-60 sec |  © Vasyl - stock.adobe.com |
This program is perfect for both the bulk phase and the drying phase. The difference between these modes will be in nutrition and the amount of cardio load.
