My wife and I are researching various water parks to take our kids to this summer. It’s been three years since we went to a large water park. I enjoy the rides at water parks versus the non-water amusement parks, especially when it’s hot. A coworker of mine disagrees. She told me she doesn’t like the water parks because of all the types of bodies walking around.

If you’ve ever been to a water park, then you understand. You’re often forced to wait in line for the water ride and a lot of times you’re waiting in line on stairs looking up or down at all types of people wearing all types of swimsuits. So many different types of bodies! It made me think of a fitness column that I wrote a few years ago about various body types. The ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph.

We all know that many people are overweight or more precisely, over their ideal body weight. We all could tighten and tone up our bodies. Even fitness trainers like me need to watch our daily behaviors, especially with eating. I have the body type that can easily gain muscle and fat weight. Maybe you do too. If you do, then I know you have a friend or family member that doesn’t have this problem. It seems like they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.

Your friend that can eat whatever they want is the ectomorph body type. They have a small delicate frame, they’re thin, find it hard to gain weight and have a fast metabolism (they can burn up calories very quickly). They need short and intense workouts focusing on large muscle groups to build the muscle and maintain an ideal body weight.

I’m the mesomorph body type. I’m athletic, strong and have a large bone structure. I can gain muscle easily with strength workouts. I can also gain fat more easily than the ectomorph. This is why I have to be careful with my food consumption or calorie intake. I need to combine strengthening exercises with cardio (aerobic) exercises to maintain my ideal body weight.

The endomorph body type is usually a short and stocky build with a round shape. This person can gain muscle and fat very easily and they have a slow metabolism. To maintain an ideal body weight, the endomorph must always train the cardio (aerobic) along with the strengthening exercises.

It’s easy to see that every body type has its challenges. We all have the challenge of building and maintaining the needed muscle mass to protect our bones and joints.

I enjoyed rereading my column about body types. I hope you did also. Be happy with your body type as you work to maintain your ideal weight and live healthy. Here’s to your good health.

Jonathan Souder is the Fitness Director at Manor House, an Acts Retirement-Life Community in Seaford, Delaware. This column appeared in the August 3, 2017 edition of the Seaford Star.