What is My Body Type?

[peep]

One of the profile fields on the fitness profiles is "Body type"

I'm not sure what my body type is or how to figure it out, can someone help me?

On MySpace there are bodytypes like "athletic" "heavy" and such, but I think that is too myspacey for the fitness forums

[timeister747]

The three basic types are ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph.

They are described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype

[gymBum]

They are called Somatotypes - here's a short description of each. Will try to put a pic of each up too

• Ectomorphic body type is characterized by long arms and legs and a short upper body, and supposedly have a higher level of nervous tissue. They also have long and thin muscles. Ectomorphs usually have a very low fat storage; therefore they are usually referred to as skinny. An example would be an élite marathon runner.

• Mesomorphic body type is characterized by a good rate of muscle growth and a higher level of muscular tissue while maintaining a lower level of higher cognitive functions. They have large bones, solid torso combined with low fat levels. It is also noted that they have wide shoulders with a narrow waist. An example is an Olympic gymnast.

• Endomorphic body type is characterized by an increased amount of fat storage, due to having a larger amount of fat cells than the average person, as well as higher levels of digestive tissue. They have a wide waist and a large bone structure. An example is a power weight lifter.