Body Type Calculator
Estimate your somatotype tendency (ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph) from wrist, height and shoulder measurements, with training and nutrition starting points.
Somatotype is a way of describing physique tendency using three labels: ectomorph (lean, narrow-framed), mesomorph (broad-shouldered, muscular) and endomorph (rounder, wider through the middle). It was devised by the psychologist William Sheldon in the 1940s. Most people are a blend rather than a pure type, which is why this calculator gives you a percentage across all three instead of a single verdict.
What this calculator actually measures
It works from skeletal frame, not from body fat or weight. That is deliberate, and it is the honest version of somatotyping: your bone structure does not change with your training, so a frame-based reading tells you something stable. Two inputs do the work, and two more refine it.
| Input | What it contributes |
|---|---|
| Wrist circumference and height | The height-to-wrist ratio, a standard frame-size proxy. A high ratio means a thin wrist on a tall body, so a small frame |
| Wrist circumference on its own | Absolute bone size, which the ratio alone misses |
| Shoulder and hip width (optional) | The V-taper. A wide shoulder-to-hip ratio is the mesomorph signature |
The frame thresholds:
| Small frame | Medium frame | Large frame | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ratio above 10.4 | 9.6 to 10.4 | below 9.6 |
| Women | ratio above 11.0 | 10.1 to 11.0 | below 10.1 |
where ratio = height ÷ wrist circumference, both in the same unit.
Worked example
A man 70 inches tall with a 7.0 inch wrist, 18 inch shoulders and 14 inch hips.
- Ratio = 70 / 7.0 = 10.0, which sits between 9.6 and 10.4, so a medium frame: 3 points to mesomorph
- Wrist 7.0 inches falls in the 6.5 to 7.5 band: 2 more points to mesomorph
- Shoulder-to-hip = 18 / 14 = 1.29, above 1.15 but below 1.35: 1 point to mesomorph, 1 to ectomorph
- Totals: ectomorph 1, mesomorph 6, endomorph 0, out of 7
Result: 86% mesomorph, 14% ectomorph. A medium-framed man with a moderate V-taper.
How much should you believe this?
Less than most fitness sites will tell you. Sheldon’s original work was constitutional psychology: he claimed body type predicted temperament and criminality, and it collected the Ivy League posture photographs that became a genuine scandal. That side of it is discredited and nobody defends it now. The anthropometric descendant, the Heath-Carter method, is a legitimate way to describe a physique, but it needs skinfold calipers and a trained assessor, and even done properly it describes what you look like today rather than predicting how you will respond to training.
The training and nutrition advice below follows the conventional somatotype framing because that is what people come here for, and the general principles in it are sound for anyone. But there is no good evidence that a lean person needs a fundamentally different program from a broad one. Progressive overload, enough protein, and a calorie intake pointed at your goal do the work. The frame reading tells you what you started with, not what you can build.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
SuperGlobalCalculator is independently built and maintained. See how we build and verify our calculators.