On the cardio endurance side, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that, among active men, those who had mesomorph and blended mesomorph-ectomorph builds showed the greatest improvements in aerobic capacity (measured by VO2max) after performing 12 weeks of twice-weekly track interval training sessions compared with other somatotypes. Off Season Strength Training to Come Back Stronger Overall, the researchers found that about one-third of strength performance could be predicted by the exerciser’s somatotype. Mesomorphs performed better in upper body strength tests like the bench press. On the power and strength end of the spectrum, a 2018 study published in the journal PLoS One found that, among active men, those with mesomorph and ectomorph builds performed better in lower body strength exercises like the back squat and a 30-second max sprint test on a stationary bike. Those ideas have largely been debunked, but the fundamental physical characteristics have endured with research finding relationships between somatotypes and specific types of sports performance. In the 1940s, William Sheldon, M.D., Ph.D., came up with the three somatotypes that we know today.Īt the time, Sheldon, who was a psychologist as well as a physician, assigned specific personality and psychological characteristics to them as well, positing that mesomorphs were assertive endomorphs were easy-going, and ectomorphs were introverted, for instance.
The concept of somatotypes dates back thousands of years to Ancient Greece and Hippocrates.