Body types and their brief characteristics

The body of each person has its own, unique characteristics - it's weight, and shape, and size, and the amount of muscle mass, as well as proportions. But among all the diversity in science it is customary to single out certain basic types of physique.

To begin with, it is worth noting that the physique of a person is a manifestation of genetic material. Some scientists also believe that the types of physique can determine some common properties of the body, a tendency to some diseases and even character traits and temperament. In addition, the features of the body structure are taken into account when choosing a system of physical training or creating the right diet. But there are several classification systems.

Types of the human body according to E. Kretschmer

A well-known German physician believed that the physique of a person can determine certain common psychological characteristics, assess the individual's reaction to the influence of the external and internal environment. The types of physique in this system were as follows:

• Asthenic . People of this type had a high growth and a fragile physique. The asthenic man has narrow shoulders, thin arms, long legs, an elongated face. Women could also be short, but fragility and leanness remained unchanged.
• Picnic . This form is characterized by a small growth and a blurred figure, which was explained by the presence of rich fatty deposits. It is these people who are most often prone to problems with overweight.
• Athletic . Here you can include people of high or medium height with a sports figure, strong muscles, a wide shoulder girdle.
• Dysplastic type . To this group, Kretschmer referred individuals with an unformed body structure or the presence of any deformations.

Types of build: the system of Professor VM. Chernorutsky

This classification is not so much different from the previous one, but it is considered more accurate and modern. Professor identified three basic types of the structure of the human body.

• Hypostenic type - characterized by high growth, a small amount of adipose tissue and poorly developed muscles. The shoulders are narrow, the neck is long, the thorax is elongated.
• Normostenichesky type - this group includes people with normal, average statistical indicators. Such a person is perfectly formed skeleton, as well as well-developed musculature. If we talk about the amount of subcutaneous fat, then it meets the average. The extremities are proportional, the shoulders are wide and the thorax is convex.
• Hypersthenic type - a man characterized by low growth and excess fat tissue. That's why such people are more prone to obesity. It is believed that in this group can be attributed to patients with elevated cholesterol levels in the blood.

Types of physique of men

This classification system was created by William Sheldon, a professor at Harvard University. By the way, and to this day it is very popular among bodybuilders. It is customary to distinguish three main types of male physique:

• Endomorph - a person with rounded, sometimes vague body shapes. For such a man is characterized by a short neck, large breasts, wide hips, large ball-shaped abdomen, soft muscles, thin wrists. As a rule, such representatives of the stronger sex are more prone to obesity.
• Ectomorph is a typical lanky man. In such people, high growth is combined with disproportionate sizes of arms and legs, a long thorax and almost complete absence of subcutaneous fat deposits.
• Mesomorphm - this refers to people with a normal physique. They have a developed muscular system, but there is a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat. They are men with a dense, athletic build.

Of course, it's very rare to find a person who would be a pure specimen of some type of physique. Much more often in people two or even three forms are combined.