Body Composition and Somatotypes

Monday October 6th 2008

The percentage of body weight which is fat, muscle and bone body composition As previously seen, body composition is important to both professional athletes and normal everyday people Body weight is assessed by 2 factors:
% of body fat (skinfold callipers) Lean body mass (bones, muscles, organs etc)

Body composition is genetic but can be changed This can be done through dieting (loosing weight) and partaking in an intense training programme (body builders) An individuals diet is dependent upon a number of factors: natural build, sport (position) e.g. prop & scrum half in rugby- a rugby players weight varies from position to position (see below)

Effects of under/overeating on body weight & performance

Optimum: most favourable or best compromise Professional athletes all know their optimum weight at which they perform best at and try to keep within this area What effects our optimum weight? height, sex, bone structure, muscle girth This is tested through skinfold callipers (P.54) and wrist girth (P.41)

Obesity and Eating disorders

Many people in everyday life struggle to keep at their optimum weight Some people are pushed towards disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

Anorexia: chronic illness, no appetite Bulimia: fear of becoming fat

Being underweight can also affect ones performance in sport Some sports categorise with weight limits Jockeys: deliberately underweight Boxing: certain weight class How one looses weight can be a determining factor Crash dieting, exercising wearing sweat suits, going in saunas resulting in loss of fluid Drugs also aid individuals-Diuretics This all results in dehydration-poor performance
Read (P.42-43 & P.50) on dieting

Somatotypes
Performance of athletes come under 3 categories classified as your somatotype These are:
Endomorph sumo wrestler Mesomorph 100m sprinter Ectomorph high jumper

Task: Categorise as many different sporting people as you can into the 3 categories

Endomorph:

Round physique/soft body Underdeveloped muscles Weight loss difficult

Mesomorph:

Athletic/muscular body Gains muscle easily Excellent posture Mature muscle mass

Ectomorph:

Delicate built body/thin Lean/lightly muscled Small shouldered Difficult to gain muscle

Identifying your somatotype can be done through measuring your:

Height Weight Bone size Muscle girth Fat

Scores out of 7 is given in each category:

Fatness endomorphy Muscularity mesomorphy Linearity ectomorphy

Measuring fat
Fat lies just beneath the skin and covers most of the body The amount varies between individuals and position on the body We measure our body fat % using skinfold callipers This is done on 3 specific sites on right hand side of the body:

Biceps/triceps Subscapula Supra-iliac

Bicep/Tricep Upper arm

Subscapula Just below shoulder blade

Supra-iliac Just above hip bone (iliac crest)

Skinfold measurements
Taking measurements is done by raising skinfold at specific site with thumb and forefinger (left hand) Open callipers by squeezing trigger with forefinger (right hand) Put calliper over skinfold and release gradually Measurements are taken in millimetres

Testing
In pairs you will now take measurements of the 3 sites Please follow the instructions on P.55 and in the booklets provided and record your results in your jotters