Knowing your body is an important step when bodybuilding. Not only will you get to know how you react to various routines, but you will also see which muscles improve more than others. Before you start a bodybuilding course, take time to study yourself in a full length mirror. Find the parts you want to change, the parts you don't mind changing and which parts you don't need to change. This will set your routine in the right direction so you don't waste time developing unneeded areas. Try to remember how you look - or better still take a photo. Once you begin your course you can look back at how you once looked and this will hopefully stimulate you to progress further. Measurements also help, but only measure the parts your intend to grow or the parts you want to slim.
Another important lesson is discovering exactly what type of body you have. There are three types of 'build' you will genetically have, each with their own characteristics.
The outstanding feature of the ectomorph is the slim structure of the body. Ectomorphs have fewer fat cells in the body so gaining weight is much more difficult. This means that the body may be much slimmer, possibly with visible bone structure underneath. The muscle tissue is long and thin which means it is much harder to achieve visible size gains compared to Meso or Endomorphs. When gains are made, the results are much higher defined. The long muscles will also need to be worked much harder to make the same gains as the other groups, though body fat levels are low so high calories and a high energy diet are less of a problem.
These are the 'average' group and the group best suited to bodybuilding. They may already have a visible compliment of muscle and gains are quite easily made. Overall body fat levels are low and can easily be kept under control with the correct diet. Muscles tissue is much tighter than the Ectomorph which means gains will not only be more visible, but also much easier to achieve.
The biggest in shape and size. Endomorphs gain weight easily as they have many more fat cells in the body. They can be gifted with well built muscles already by these may be less visible due to excess body fat. Any intensity of exercise will reward high gains as the muscles grow very easily. They will also seem to grow bigger as any fatty area of the body decline. Diet is a major problem and a bad one can counter any gains you are making. So long as this is kept under control, an Endomorph will generally look stronger after completing the same routines as an Ecto or Mesomorph.
