Lesson video

Hi there, welcome to your lesson today.

Today's lesson is on somatotypes.

My name's Ms. Hackey and I'm really looking forward to being your teacher today.

So by the end of today's lesson, I'm hoping that we can identify and describe the characteristics of an ectomorph, a mesomorph, and an endomorph body type.

Our keywords today include somatotype, which is a method of classifying body type.

An endomorph, which is a somatotype characterised by a pear-shaped body, fatness, and wide hips and narrow shoulders.

A mesomorph is a somatotype characterised by muscle, a muscular appearance with wide shoulders and narrow hips.

And an ectomorph is a somatotype characterised by being tall and thin with narrow shoulders and narrow hips.

Body composition is a percentage of body weight, which is fat and nonfat, muscle and bone.

Today's lesson is split into three parts.

In the first part, we're going to describe characteristics of an ectomorph.

In the second part, we're going to describe characteristics of a mesomorph.

And in the third part, we're going to describe characteristics of an endomorph.

Let's get started.

So somatotypes is a way of grouping people into different body types.

There are three main categories based on similar physical traits.

They are ectomorph.

Say it with me, ectomorph.

Mesomorph and endomorph.

An ectomorph is often characterised by someone with lean, thin body, narrow shoulders and hips, and little amounts of fat or muscle.

So we notice that they're ectomorphs because they're so thin and usually quite tall.

They often have long legs and long arms. The way to remember ectomorph, I find, and I think Alex is helping us here too, is that it has a T in it, ectomorph.

And the T in ectomorph reminds me of the T for thin body shape.

So the T in ectomorph is reminding us that there it is T for thin.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which is not a typical ectomorph characteristic? Is it A, narrow hips; B, large muscle mass; C, long arms; or D, a lean body? That's right, it's a large muscle mass.

Ectomorphs have very little muscle on their body, they're very thin and lean.

Well done if you got that correct.

So often certain activities are suited to certain body types, and activities suited to an ectomorph body shape include long distance running or a triathlon.

Now Alex has asked, "What do these activities have in common?" So ectomorphs are usually more suited to endurance events because having longer limbs means a greater stride or arm length, meaning less effort to cover more ground quickly, e.

g.

with rowing, for example, with rowing or with running.

So running, there's a bigger stride length because they have long limbs, long legs, and again with rowing they have a bigger arm length in order to move the boat quicker with less effort.

Also being lean means that they have less weight to carry so they can run faster in endurance events.

If you think someone with a really large body mass or a lot of body fat in their body composition, it's gonna be harder for them to keep going at a constant pace round say a marathon because it's very heavy, they've got their whole body to carry and that can be very heavy and it could cause problems with their joints.

So actually endurance runners or endurance event athletes tend to be ectomorphs where they're thinner and leaner because they're not carrying as much body weight.

Also be more streamlined by having a narrow waist and shoulders can develop speed for endurance events too.

So not being sort of too wide and being really narrow means that they can keep up that speed when going over endurance events.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which activity would be most suited to an ectomorphic body shape? A, B, or C? Yeah, that's right, C.

The marathon runners would be more suited for the ectomorph body shape because A and B would probably need more muscle, more muscle mass to be a hurdler and a boxer, you would need more muscle in order to be successful in that sport.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay, now it's your term for a practise.

List two traits of an ectomorphic body shape and discuss how suitable different types of running events may be suited to an ectomorph.

You may wish to pause the video now in order to give yourself time to do the task.

Okay, so you were asked to list two traits of an ectomorphic body shape.

You might have said a lean, thin body, little amounts of fat or muscle, narrow shoulders and narrow hips, and long legs and arms. Well done if you put two of those traits down.

For the second part of the task, you were asked to discuss how suitable different types of running events may be suited to an ectomorph.

Now I'm hoping the first thing you did with that question is highlight types of running events because it hasn't been specific, the question hasn't been specific in asking you which type of event.

So by highlighting the types of running events, you are able to acknowledge that there are different versions of running events, and therefore the ectomorph might be suited to one type of running event but not the other, and that's probably what you're going to discuss.

So by identifying different types of runners, different types of running events, that might help structure your answer a little bit.

So here I've identified an endurance runner, for example, a marathon runner, and also a sprinter, a 100-meter sprinter.

And Alex has mentioned that we need to think about why these runners commonly have the body shapes they have.

Why do they not have the same body shape? Have a little think about that and maybe add to your answer.

So you might have said something along these lines.

A marathon runner would benefit from an ectomorph body shape.

By having a lean, lightweight build with little body fat enables the marathon runner to move more efficiently over a long distance.

However, an ectomorph body shape would not be as suitable for a 100-meter sprinter as they have a lack of muscle, meaning a lack of speed and power to gain a fast time over a short distance.

So this answer has really discussed the different types of running, marathon runner, sprinter, and the different types of body shape and which body shape is more suited for an ectomorph.

So well done if you discussed those points.

Okay, we're now moving on to the second part of today's lesson.

We're going to describe characteristics of a mesomorph.

A mesomorph is often characterised as someone with high amounts of muscle, a thin waist and broad shoulders.

And Izzy's reminded us that we can remember the m for mesomorphs that have big m for muscles.

So I always remember that mesomorphs have muscles because the m and m link together.

Okay, true or false? A mesomorph is often thin and lean.

Yeah, that's false, can you tell me why? Yeah, mesomorphic body shapes have a high amount of muscle rather than being really thin, so well done if you put something along those lines.

Activities suited to a mesomorphic body shape include boxing, swimming, but we need to make sure we're being specific with our swimming event.

A sprint swimmer would definitely have a mesomorphic body shape, whereas maybe a long distance swimmer might have more of an ectomorphic body shape.

Someone that does a lot of weightlifting would have a mesomorph body shape.

A gymnast would have a mesomorph body shape.

And obviously a sprinter, like we discussed in task A, they would need strong muscles in order to push off and get a faster time over a shorter distance.

Some activities will have traits of different body shapes.

So for example, a long jump athlete benefits from a lean ectomorph body to glide through the air, but combined with the mesomorph traits like powerful muscular legs for an explosive takeoff.

So having the mesomorph legs were able to make her jump higher, but because she's an ectomorph and she's lighter, she might fly further through the air.

So there are combinations of different types of bodies.

Can you think of any other examples where it might be useful to have two different body types? Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which activity is most suited to a mesomorph, A, B, or C? Yeah, that's right, A.

Obviously a weightlifter lifting that amount of weights will need a lot of muscles and we know that a mesomorph has a big muscular body, so it would definitely be A as opposed to the cyclist, the long distance cyclist and the long distance runner as well, 'cause they would be ectomorph body shapes.

Okay, now it's your turn for a task.

For the first part of the task, I'd like you to draw a labelled picture of an ectomorph and a mesomorph.

So make sure that picture is labelled with the traits of each type of body shape.

For the second part of the task, I'd like you to explain why a mesomorph body shape would be suitable to a 100-meter printer.

You may wish to pause the video now to give yourself time to answer the question.

Okay, so you were asked to draw a labelled picture of an ectomorph and a mesomorph.

So for an ectomorph, you would've hopefully drawn a lean, thin body with narrow shoulders and hips, little amounts of fat or muscle, and long legs and arms. Whereas for a mesomorph, I hope you've drawn a diagram that has a higher amount of muscle, that has broad shoulders, big shoulders, and a thin waist.

So well done if you got that correct.

So for the second part of the task, you were asked to explain why a mesomorphic body shape would be suited to a 100-meter sprinter.

You may have said something along these lines.

A mesomorphic body shape is suited to a 100-meter sprinter because it is categorised by having a high amount of muscle.

Sprinters need strong, powerful muscles to enable a explosive start and maintain rapid acceleration to win the race.

The more muscles they have, the more power they can generate, therefore the faster they're going to run.

So well done if you thought about those things.

Okay, we're now moving on to the final part of today's lesson.

We're going to describe characteristics of an endomorph.

So an endomorph is often characterised as someone with a high amount of body fat, can have a pear-shaped body, which means if you look at them from the head down to the waist, they normally have a larger tummy, so it looks like a pear-shaped.

And they often have more fat around their stomach, their thighs, and their arms as well.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which image represents an endomorph? Is it A, B, or C? Yep, that's right, it's B.

Obviously, B has large amounts of body fat, particularly around the stomach, compared to C, which is very lean and thin, so that must be an ectomorph, and A where there's lots of muscles, so that must be a mesomorph.

Well done if you've got that correct.

Can you think of any practical examples of where an endomorph body shape would be useful? Can you think of any sports perhaps? So a sumo wrestler has an endomorph body shape and this is useful for the sumo wrestler so that they can stay in the ring and their opposition aren't able to push them out of the ring, which means they would lose the match.

Again, if they have a lot of body fat, they might be stronger and able to push their opponent out of the ring, especially if they weigh less.

Again, a rugby union player, particularly a prop, would benefit from having an endomorph body shape.

Again, if the prop has the ball, they are less likely to be tackled if they are heavier because someone trying to tackle them would struggle to get them down.

But equally, they're able to get the opposition tackled to the floor easier because they're heavier so they're able to get the other person tackled.

But this is a good question.

Would all positions in rugby benefit from an endomorph body shape? Perhaps not, people like the wingers who are out on the wing at the sides, they need to be fast 'cause they often score lots of tries, and if they had a large amount of body fat, they might not be able to run as fast on the pitch and therefore might not be able to score all the tries.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which games player position would be most suited to an endomorph? Would it be A, a centre in netball? Would it be B, a winger in rugby? Would it be C, a goal shooter in netball? Or would it be D, a prop in rugby? Yeah, like we said before, a prop in rugby needs to have that weight in order to keep possession of the ball and not get tackled to the floor.

Also why I didn't mention earlier as well was about the scrum, and actually the heavier the scrum is, the less chance the opposition have in pushing them towards their try line, so being a heavy prop with lots of body fat is an advantage to some extent.

Okay, for your next task, your next practise task, you have been asked to complete the table identifying the somatotype, the characteristics of each of the somatotypes, and a practical example that that somatotype would be suited to.

And for the second part of the task, you're asked to discuss how suitable rugby union would be as a sport for an endomorph body shape.

You may wish to pause the video now to give yourself time to complete the tasks.

Okay, so you were asked to complete the table.

In the first category, it was an endomorph, and we know that because the example was a sumo wrestler.

And we remember that the characteristics of an endomorph are there's a higher proportion of body fat, more fat around the stomach, thighs and arms, and it's usually a pear-shaped body.

The second somatotype was given to us, it was a mesomorph.

And we remember the characteristics of a mesomorph were high amount of muscle, broad shoulders and a thin waist.

And you could have used examples such as a sprinter, a weightlifter, a gymnast, or a swimmer.

And for the final part of the table, it was an ectomorph that was being described by thin, lean, long arms, narrow hips and shoulders, and little body fat or muscle.

And the practical examples you could have used was something like a marathon runner or triathlete or another endurance event.

So well done if you managed to fill that table in correctly.

For the second part of the task, you were asked to discuss how suitable rugby union would be as a sport for an endomorph body shape.

Now before we answer the question, you might want to consider the different positions in rugby and discuss whether the endomorph body shape, if it is suitable for rugby union, would be suitable for all the positions.

So the first thing that I would do would be to think about different positions in rugby union.

So here I've identified two quite different positions, the prop and the winger, so that I can structure my answer 'cause it's a discussion answer, I can structure my answer with these two examples of whether these two examples would be suited to an endomorph body shape.

It's also worth considering Alex's point.

So why do different positions in rugby commonly have the body shapes they have? Because in rugby there's different roles of each of the forwards and each of the backs, so it's possibly a reason why they have or often certain body shapes are more successful at certain positions.

So you might have written something along the lines to answer this question.

A prop in rugby union might benefit from an endomorph body shape.

Having a high amount of body fat will enable them more chance to tackle the opponent to the ground and be heavier to push them out of a scrum.

However, an endomorph body shape would not be suitable for a rugby winger, as having a large amount of body fat would slow them down and give them less chance of scoring by outrunning the opponent.

So this answer has discussed, has said which positions an endomorph body shape would be useful for, but also which positions an endomorph body would not be suitable for.

So well done if you managed to raise that in your discussion.

Okay, that gives us just enough time left to summarise today's lesson.

Somatotypes is a way of grouping different body types.

There are three main categories based on similar physical traits.

An ectomorph, which is lean and thin, and an example of this is an endurance runner.

A mesomorph, which has a high amount of muscle, and an example in sports of when a mesomorph body shape would be useful would be for a weightlifter.

And an endomorph body shape.

This has a higher proportion of body fat, and the example we often use for an endomorph of body shape in sport would be a sumo wrestler.

Well done today, we've learned about all the three different types of somatotypes.

I hope you've enjoyed your lesson and I look forward to seeing you again soon.