Workout Types: How to workout for your body type.
We will cover:
Classical Training Paradigm
Yudae's Training Approach
This article will provide an overview of the most common types of workouts, their benefits, and how to choose the right one for your fitness goals and body type.
Workout Types
Cardio (conditioning)
Cardio, or cardiovascular exercise, is any activity that increases your heart rate and breathing. It's essential for improving heart health, reducing the risk of chronic diseases, and burning calories. Cardio exercises include:
- running
- swimming
- cycling
- dancing
Strength Training
Strength training involves using weights or other resistance to build muscle strength and endurance. It's essential for improving overall strength, increasing metabolism, and reducing the risk of injuries. Strength training exercises include:
- weight lifting
- bodyweight exercises
- calisthenics
Flexibility Training
Flexibility training helps improve your range of motion and reduce the risk of injuries. Flexibility training exercises include:
- stretching
- yoga
- Pilates.
Balance Training
-
standing on one leg
-
walking heel-to-toe
-
Tai Chi
The Difference Between
Training, Workout, and Exercise
Training
Workout
Exercise
📝 Note: without a target goal exercises don't do much on their own.
Choosing the Right Workout Type
find an activity you enjoy
create a plan to improve
Advanced Workout Types
Athletic Training
Athletic Training is Sports-Specific
Athletic training, which has received over a decade of study, defines an approach to sports-specific training where we utilize exercises and workouts that otherwise don't appear to directly affect sports performance.
Athletic Training Examples
I'm working with an athlete who has the goal of increasing for sprinting speed. I would build a training plan that incorporates upper-body training at least 3 days a week to help starting block time and maintain form throughout the race.
Calisthenics training is one form of classical athletic training used by militaries around the world to enhance functional strength and conditioning of troops.
Injury Preventative Training
Injury Preventative Training Helps Prevent Injuries
Should be straight forward enough. Injury preventative training looks a lot more like physical therapy exercises than a classic gym-style "reps and sets".
For many decades this type of training has been highly recommended for preventing athletic injuries like PCL tears, ACL tears, and dislocation type injuries.
It Has Been Poorly Adopted
In large part because of legal restrictions, many athletic trainers are unable to offer therapy guidelines to their athletes, and vice-versa. Despite clear evidence, injury preventative training is still poorly adopted within the athletic community.
Hybrid Athletic Training
Hybrid Athletic Training - the new kid on the block
Hybrid athletic training is relatively unrecognized by the training community, but combines the valuable aspects of injury preventative training, cross training, and sports-specific training.
Heavily Used By Long-Term Athletes
Many athletes who participate in athletics, but refrain from competition and/or out of mainstream athletics, have begun to adopt this form of training.
In other words, a hybrid athlete means we are able to perform all modes of movement at high degree, in sport and out of it. This may include strength, flexibility, power, endurance, mindset, and nutrition.
What is my body type?
The terms ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph refer to the three basic body types in somatotyping, a system that categorizes human physiques based on skeletal frame and body composition.
These terms are often used in fitness and health contexts to help tailor exercise and nutrition plans to an individual's natural body type, but should not be taken as the end-all-be-all for training. We'll get into that later.
ectomorph
🏋️♀️
mesomorph
🫃
endomorph
Should I train according to my body type?
The body types listed below are all considered part of a classical training paradigm, particularly within the context of somatotyping, which was popularized in the early to mid-20th century by psychologist William Sheldon.
Each body type responds differently to exercise and diet, so understanding these categories can help tailor a wellness plan. However, most people are a mix of these types rather than fitting perfectly into one.
Classical Training Paradigm:
In the classical training paradigm, these body types were often used to tailor fitness and nutrition programs to individual needs.
The idea was that by understanding a person's natural physique, a coach or trainer could better design programs to optimize results in athletic performance, bodybuilding, or general fitness.
Ectomorph:
- Lean
- Long limbs
- Little body fat
- Difficulty gaining weight
- Fast metabolism
Strength training with a focus on muscle-building exercises, and a calorie-rich diet is often recommended for ectomorph body types.
The classical paradigm might suggest lower repetitions with heavier weights to promote muscle growth, alongside a diet rich in calories and protein to counterbalance their naturally fast metabolism.
Mesomorph:
- Naturally muscular
- Medium frame
- Well-proportioned
- Easily gain muscle and maintain low body fat
- Considered the "athletic" body type
Endomorph:
- Rounder body shape
- higher body fat
- often a slower metabolism
- Tend to gain weight easily but may struggle to lose it
Emphasis on cardio and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) combined with strength training. A diet focused on lean proteins and low carbohydrates is often beneficial.
The classical approach might recommend higher-intensity cardio along with strength training, paired with a diet aimed at fat loss and metabolism management.
Modern Fitness Perspectives
Today, while the somatotype theory is still referenced, it is often viewed as an oversimplification. Modern training paradigms tend to focus more on personalized approaches based on a broader set of factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and specific fitness goals, rather than strictly categorizing individuals into one of these three types.
Nevertheless, the ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph framework remains a foundational concept in classical training paradigms and continues to influence fitness and wellness planning.
Yudae's Training Approach
At Yudae we take a wellness first approach to all things health related. That means taking into an account your entire life, as well as your life goals, and fitness goals. This allows us to program training plans that are more specific to a function fitness approach, rather than a "everyone fits in this mold" approach.
1️⃣
Mesocycles
4-6 WEEKS IN DURATION
We like to break our mesocycles into a 4-week chunks to more easily plan for a month of fitness. Depending on how far that athlete is from their goal each week can offer a diverse profile goal specific training.
2️⃣
Weeks & Days
WEEK - WORKOUT TYPE
DAY - FITNESS FOCUS
That said, the amount of days spent training per week heavily depends on the athlete and their goals. In general we recommend somewhere between 5-7 times per week for the average exerciser. However this could easily be as much as 8-10 sessions per week for more advanced athletes.
3️⃣
Block Training Method
BITE-SIZED FOCUSED TRAINING CHUNK
1️⃣
warm up
2️⃣
CNS ramp up
3️⃣
block a
4️⃣
block b
5️⃣
block c
6️⃣
decompression
Blocks can be repeated in a singular workout, or added to other blocks to form a brand new workout.
Keep in mind that the goal of training and current physical conditioning will alter the appropriate amount of reps and sets. Try this upper body workout, and use the cards to adjust rep and set count for your goals.
If you don't know what your fitness goals are or feel like you don't have the words to describe it to your personal trainer, read our guide for communicating fitness goals to your personal trainer.
