Right, before we go any further, let me ask you one question: What’s your body shape, and do you know how to dress it? Why should I bother, you ask? And what’s the big deal about body shapes? Besides, that’s for women. Well, the answer to these questions could explain why so many guys simply have no clue what’s going on in their wardrobes. Many just can’t seem to fathom why no matter how hard they try, just never seem to be able to make an impact when they dress.
Knowing your body shape is very important because when you know your body shape, that’s when you’re able to properly and accurately choose what clothes look good on you, while avoiding those which either don’t flatter your looks or worse still, make you look either too fat, skinny or too big on top (or bottom). When you begin to dress according to your body shape, the result is that not only will your MQ (macho quotient ) increase (every guy’s dream), but your self-confidence will also receive a boost because you feel GOOD about yourself. This means you look good, and you know it!
Ok. In a nutshell, here are the main reasons why you should know your true body shape:
- Help draw attention to your best features: remember the goal here is to maximise your MQ.
- Play down your less positive features or areas of your body that you may want to hide e.g. a big tummy, popularly known as a beer belly.
- Save time when shopping. Most guys hate shopping for clothes anyway, so knowing your body shape is actually good news, because it cuts down the torture time shopping in half, and helps you eliminate 75% of the clothing you see in the store because you don’t want to waste your time on clothes you already know won’t look good on you.
Body Types
Ok. I grudgingly admit this makes sense. So what are the body types of model and how do I know which one is mine? Well, for women, there are six body shapes but since for once we’re not talking about women, what you guys want to know is that for men, your body shapes are basically divided into three broad categories – endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph.
Take a look at the images below. Which body shape do you think is yours?
Once you’ve identified your true body shape, the next step is to correctly determine what clothes you should be wearing to enhance it. If you’d like to know what types of clothing best suit your body shape, come back next week when we will be looking at the different types of clothing to dress the male body shapes.
Typical traits of an Ectomorph: Mr Skinny
- Small “delicate” frame and bone structure
- Classic “hard gainer”
- Flat chest
- Small shoulders
- Thin
- Lean muscle mass
- Finds it hard to gain weight
- Fast metabolism
Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain weight and have a fast metabolism which burns up calories very quickly. Ecto’s need a huge amount of calories in order to gain weight. Your workouts need to be short and intense focusing on big muscle groups.
Supplements are highly recommended. Eat before bed to prevent muscle catabolism during the night. Ectomorphs can lose fat very easily which makes cutting back to lean muscle easier for them.
Typical traits on a Mesomorph: Mr Muscle
- Athletic
- Generally hard body
- Well defined muscles
- Rectangular shaped body
- Strong
- Gains muscle easily
- Gains fat more easily than ectomorphs
The mesomorph body type responds the best to weight training and results are usually seen very quickly, especially for beginners. They gain fat more easily than ectomorphs. So watch your calorie intake. A combination of weight training and cardio works best for mesomorphs.
Mesomorph – Daniel Craig
Typical traits of an Endomorph: Mr Soft
- Soft and round body
- Gains muscle and fat very easily
- Is generally short
- “Stocky” build
- Round physique
- Finds it hard to lose fat
- Slow metabolism
- Muscles not so well defined
Endomorphs find it very easy to gain weight. A large portion of their weight is fat, not muscle. To keep fat gain to a minimum, always train cardio as well as weights.
