Central

The central type sits in the middle of the somatograph: endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy all between 2 and 4, and no component more than one unit greater than the other two. Visually, this is the 'average build' across most adult populations.

Central body shapes appear in students, office workers, and many recreational athletes — bodies that have neither been pushed toward an extreme by sport selection nor toward unusual fatness or linearity by sedentary lifestyle.

The original Heath-Carter literature treats Central as the statistical reference type rather than a target. It is the body shape before specialisation. Trained athletes typically migrate away from Central toward one of the three corners as their sport selects for one component.

From a coaching standpoint, a Central somatotype has the widest range of options: most disciplines will move the body at least slightly toward one corner, and the starting point is balanced enough that there is no strong contraindication for any kind of training.