Physical Education · Ch 6 — Test, Measurement & Evaluation
Ectomorphy
Ectomorphy
Ectomorphy is the linearity or leanness component of the somatotype. A person in whom it dominates is an ectomorph - thin, tall-looking and lightly built, with little fat and little muscle.
Meaning
Ectomorphy describes how lean and linear a physique is - the higher the rating, the thinner, more "stretched out" and lightly built the frame.
Physical characteristics of an ectomorph
- Thin, lean, linear body - a delicate, slight frame that often looks tall.
- Narrow shoulders and narrow hips, with little trunk breadth.
- Long, slender limbs relative to the trunk.
- Little body fat and little muscle, with fine bones.
- Difficulty gaining weight (both fat and muscle) and a fast metabolism.
Suitability for sport
The ectomorphic build is typically suited to endurance events and activities that favour a light frame and a high strength-to-weight ratio, because there is little excess mass to carry:
- Endurance sports - long-distance running and marathon, where a light, lean body is moved economically over long distances.
- Light- or tall-frame events - such as high jump and long jump, where low body mass or long limbs help.
A light body is cheaper to move and easier to keep going; the ectomorph's low mass, a disadvantage in strength and power, becomes an asset in endurance and body-against-gravity events. Conversely the ectomorph is poorly suited to power, strength and heavy-contact sports, having little muscle to produce force and little mass to resist being pushed.
As with all somatotypes, this is a natural tendency, not a fixed limit - an ectomorph can build strength through training, but their natural advantage lies in endurance and light-frame events.
How ectomorphy is rated
Ectomorphy, like the other two components, is rated on the standard 1-7 somatotype scale: a low score means little linearity, a stockier and less stretched-out frame, and a high score means a markedly thin, long-limbed, lightly built frame. A dominant ectomorph's somatotype is typically written with the last number highest, for example 2-3-6, showing a lean, linear build with comparatively little fat or muscle mass.
Training implications
Because ectomorphs have a fast metabolism and find it hard to add either fat or muscle, strength training for this build usually needs a higher food and energy intake alongside resistance work simply to make any muscle-mass gain visible; by contrast, their natural lightness is already an asset for aerobic and endurance conditioning, which needs comparatively little extra adaptation to exploit. …