Nobody is born to be lean/fat/muscular. These people picked a starting point late in life, evaluated it exclusively, and decided they were born that way. Wrong. Genetics primarily play into fitness at elite levels; when you've been lifting for 25 years and your deadlift has only increased from 825-830 over the past 3. That's an indication that you might have a genetic limitation. In broad strokes, we're all
about the same. There is no "naturally muscular guy." Muscles don't materialize out of thin air. They come from eating and moving. Fat guy replaced his testosterone with cookie dough and estrogen. Skeletor? He never ate enough or was active enough. People that bother with somatotyping do so because they want an excuse for how lazy they are. They want to justify years of sloth, gluttony, and fear. They want to pretend their situation is somehow not their fault.
As for eating and training...
Sure, if you've got 5-10% bodyfat, sure you can afford to dirty up the diet just for a few extra calories. Heck, big ol' fat powerlifters do this anyway - excess calories increase work capacity, so will therefore increase muscle mass if you put it to use.
Keeping reps around 10? That's awfully specific. In general, rep ranges should vary, for a variety of reasons on which one could write a book. Sure, low reps with high weight increases strength, but so does a lower weight with more reps. Almost everyone that's strong an getting stronger consistently spends the vast majority of their time working within ~60-80% of their 1RM on their primary lifts.
But sure, you're right - eating and training have to align with your goals. Fat guy has to unf*ck himself with HIIT and a ketogenic diet before he's going to get anywhere fast. A ketogenic diet will be less than ideal for someone that's already lean - they'll need the carbs to grow. And so on. Saying they have a "body type" though, indicates that "fat" is not a problem they made, but a divine assignment. And that's a weak way to think.
Anecdote: I was born skinny and stayed that was for years, never played a sport, then basically spent some 17 years sitting at a couch or desk eating donuts (think I peaked at 270lbs, weak as a kitten). For the past year, I've taken fitness seriously after getting next to nowhere doing 3 sets of 10 reps of accessory lifts 3x/week... started at 258lbs, did HIIT/cross-training 3 hours a week on 1,200 calories a day for like 3 months, then started eating more like 2,000 and was able to bump it up to 4-5x/week. After about 6 months total, I cut down on the HIIT and started programming more like a powerlifter and bumped up calories to ~3,500 and made some killer strength gains. Took a couple months off from injuries and sickness early in the winter, and now I program heavy and high volume, eating up to 4,000 calories a day - keto at least 5 days a week (try eating 4k without carbs and let me know how easy it was), in the gym for ~90 minutes 4-6 days a week. I primarily squat, deadlift, and overhead press - only the most basic movements so I can build a foundation. I haven't tested my lifts in a while, but before I was sick this winter, my lifts increased thusly: Squat:135-335, Front Squat: 95-290, Clean: 75-215, Press: 95-195, Snatch: 95-170, Deadlift: 365-525.
Cardio isn't a normal part of my training at all . I can now take my previously-skin-tight jeans off without unbuttoning them; proof that I'm leaning out. I need bigger shirts and jackets to fit my shoulders. Just last month, I realized I've started having consistent morning wood - I was so hormonally f*cked from being a fattycakes that I haven't since college and I didn't even notice. Fancy that. That's a fair enough indicator that my testosterone levels are coming up to an average level, with a year of hard work, after years at rock bottom. The average American is retardedly test-deficient. We're a nation of manboobs. 75% of the guys I know have manboobs from low test/high estrogen.
But no, I'm sure it's just genetics, not hard work. I can't be taking credit for my "body type" now can I?
I bust my ass in the gym and at the dinner table. This works for everyone, regardless of starting point. The differences between methodologies for different starting points vary little in what is most effective. It's simply problem solving as they occur.
So-and-so isn't a "hardgainer" - that would be a poor excuse for a lack of effort. He just never lifted heavy and ate his face off before.
Speaking of which, Kolton, if you're reading this, go eat an animal.
