Are you an endomorph or an ectomorph?

SARAH FISCHER
Special to Jewish News

The mesomorph tends to be naturally lean, with a body that looks fit even without exercise. When weight is gained, it is usually in the abdomen. This body type has a moderate metabolism.

The endomorph has a rounder body. The muscles are not well-defined. Weight is gained in the hips and thighs. The metabolism is slower.

The ectomorph has a long, slender shape, not very muscular, with a higher metabolism.

These three descriptions are very general, and most people will be combinations of the first two or the last two.

Knowing what body type an individual is helps determine what type of workout routine would be most beneficial. Likewise, daily schedules, age and fitness/sports goals all affect the planning of a fitness regimen.

For those working at sedentary jobs, for example, the likelihood of gaining a few extra pounds and developing a slouched posture is somewhat high. This can result from spending hours every day focused on the screen of a computer with shoulders slumped forward.

Such sedentary people require plenty of aerobic training, due to the fact that they spend the major part of every day sitting down, riding elevators and driving cars - and therefore burning very few calories, probably fewer than are consumed daily.

Aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, cycling, and attending aerobics classes on land or in a pool, will take care of excess body-fat problems by burning fat deposits that lie under the skin. As an added benefit, aerobic training will also strengthen the heart and lungs, keeping them healthy and reducing the risk of developing heart diseases.

To correct slouched posture, hit the weights floor in the gym and focus attention on exercises for the back and abdominals. Strengthening the trapezius and rhomboid muscles (that are located in the upper back between the shoulder blades) helps in holding shoulders back. Strengthening the erector spinae muscles (that run down the length of our spine) and abdominals also improves posture, as well as preventing lower back pain.

Women who are prone to the age-old tummy-bulge problem or extra-wide thigh syndrome often need to engage in aerobic activity mainly to control excess body fat. Aerobic activities burn off fat deposits all over the body, thus reducing the fat stores in the abdominal and thigh areas.

It is also a good idea to do some weight training in the gym, focusing especially on the large muscles of the legs and buttocks - namely the quadriceps group, located in the front of the thigh; the hamstrings, located in the back of the thigh; and the gluteus muscles, located in the buttocks. Never forget to work the abdominal muscles - the rectus abdominus and the obliques.

Weight training is not only important to shape and define these problem areas, but it has the added benefit of increasing metabolic rate. Metabolic rates are dependent on muscle mass, since it is muscles that require the energy that comes from food. And if the metabolic rate is higher, more calories are burned, making it possible to lose extra body fat faster.

As human beings get older, their metabolisms slow and they are more prone to health problems. To maintain strength in the muscles, weight-train in a gym a couple of times a week, focusing on all the major muscle groups.

Weight training also has another benefit for older people - it increases bone density. Women who have reached menopause and beyond need to increase their bone density to ward off osteoporosis, a disease marked by loss of calcium that causes bones to weaken.

To help prevent heart diseases, walk, swim, cycle or hike at least every other day. The best aerobic activities for people who have joint problems, such as arthritis, are water aerobics or swimming. Since water is a weightless environment, there is no stress placed on the joints (hip, knee, back, etc.).

Meanwhile, on the other end of the life-cycle scale, more than half of our nation's children are considered overweight. Children are not as active as they were a few decades ago. Motivating children to participate more in sports activities will force them to be active and burn off calories. Education is essential, from an early age, about the importance of staying fit.

Fitness for kids differs from the regular type of fitness adults are used to. For kids, the theme is to have fun, to enjoy every moment and play games. Their aerobic activities are game-oriented, mostly outdoor activities, as well as kids' aerobics classes. Running, cycling and roller-blading in the park are great activities in which even parents can participate.

On the other hand, fitness training for adults should be goal-oriented. It is specific to the sport the individual enjoys. For example, if someone wanted to run a marathon, the training would be largely aerobic, whereas if someone was planning to win a body-building competition, a typical workout would consist largely of weight training.

There is a great deal to consider when it comes to what an individual requires to be healthy. There is no magic formula that works on everyone alike.

Although many exercise guidelines apply to virtually everyone, each person has individual needs, and so requires an individual exercise prescription. As with filling a prescription for eyeglasses, the specifics of the prescription depend on the amount and type of correction needed for the fault to be corrected. Sarah Fischer is a certified personal trainer in Phoenix.