IrishMack's picture
IrishMack
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+ 8 Are my genetics holding me back?

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Here is something everyone hears all the time and gets thrown around too much, genetics. There is not enough time in a day to actually break this down but I will use it for bodybuilding purposes.
I did a lot of studying on genetics just so I can have an idea of what I was working with, Did you also know that when you take AAS before the age of 25 you will never know if you reached your genetic potential?
Look it up; Google is your friend.

People who say they have bad genetics are just plain lazy lets be honest.

Think of your body as a tree. Given the right stimulus, a tree will grow. If it doesn’t, that means something is wrong, disease, not enough light, too much water, The same thing will apply to your body: There is always a reason you’re not growing. And No; it is not that you haven't injected enough test.

To be successful has three tiers: training, recovery, nutrition. You can't expect to build muscle if you skimp out on any or all of those.
Most of us will never be Arnold , but it doesn’t mean we can't come close.

Body Types:

Mesomorphs experience greater muscular hypertrophy and fat loss. Mesomorphs have decent metabolisms, and have a naturally nice build.

Ectomorphs carry little fat and little muscle. Fast metabolisms are the problem, while it's a gift it's also a curse. Ectomorphs are hardgainers due to difficulty gaining muscle and trouble retaining muscle. Ectomorphs have naturally skinny builds.

Endomorphs carry more fat and muscle. Endomorphs struggle trying to lose fat and gain fat easier then gaining muscle. An endomorph will have wide hips, wide waist and a stocky build.

Muscle Growth Potential:

The growth of your muscle is slightly determined by the amount and length of muscle fibers.
The length of those muscle fibers is critical to growth, those with long muscles, or a larger cross- sectional area grow a lot more muscle. Here is an example--- Flex your bicep and then see how many fingers you can put between the bicep and the forearm "gap." For example I can barely fit 2 fingers unless I squeeze them inside so my muscle growth ability is pretty damn good, If you can fit more then 2 fingers then you will have a very limited muscle growth ability. In other words the greater the gap between your elbow joint and bicep, the less potential for growth, this is true for every muscle throughout the body. And No, No amount of training or AAS will fix that so if you believe it will, whatever helps you sleep at night.

Stop working out and start training. Training means, “Increase the capacity to perform a skill or work.” If you are still training with the same weights after a year, you suck. Push yourself to the limit every workout.

I used a calculator to calculate my genetic potential based on my dimensions: Currently I am 5' 6" and 209 pounds at 19% BF.

Your estimated maximum muscular bodyweight at ~19% bodyfat is: 218.6 lbs

Your estimated maximum bulked bodyweight at ~19% bodyfat is: 227.3 lbs

Your estimated maximum muscular measurements (@ ~8%-10% bodyfat) are:

Chest: 47.9 in Biceps: 17.2 in
Forearms: 13.7 in Neck: 16.7 in
Thighs: 25.4 in Calves: 17.1 in

Thats pretty fkn big considering my Biceps are 17.1 now so I am almost maxed with my BF being as high as it is; if I drop to 10% BF I would be a monster.

Here is the link to the maximum potential http://www.weightrainer.net/bodypred.html

Would you like to research more on my topic? Take a look at some of these links
to give you a better understanding of what the term Genetics really means as far as your potential.

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/genetics.html

http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/bodybuildingfaq/a/How-Much-Of-A-Factor-...

UgtaBkdNme's picture

Amen bro;)

I spent most of my life assuming my flat ass and fat knees were genetic and therefore impossible to change. I'm so glad I was wrong its possible it just takes work.

IrishMack's picture

And lots of it too lol. Anything is possible and the human body is a marvelous thing.

manbearpig's picture

I'm a true ecto. Believe me, it can be overcome even by natural means. 135lbs on the bench was my longest plateau. After i got my diet dialed the rest is history.

rolltide3's picture

Good post Mack plus one liked the read

Dextermorganlv's picture

Great thread! Thanks for posting +1

TheFlash85's picture

edit bro, wrong thread lol.

In a promo × 1
GRIMEY's picture

Uh oh, 3 fingers between my forearm and bicep lol.

Nice post, genetics are a huge factor whether you are training for aesthetics or strength. I was blessed with long limbs, high insertions and thin muscle bellies which makes things a little harder, but isnt the challenge why we do this?

Anything easy isnt worth doing.

+1 bro, not -1 this time;)

Owes a Review × 2
IrishMack's picture

No kidding; I saw that reference with the fingers even in text books so that's why I added it. It seems that this is the way they measure it. Seems fkn ancient but if it works...

TheFlash85's picture

my mate is obsessed with that 3 figer gap lol.

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rolltide3's picture

Lol many a brother's fell victim to the three finger gap

robb's picture

As an ectomorph im well aware of the struggle to reach one's potential. It's one of the reasons I started training, to try fill out my gangly arms n legs. At 17 I was 125lbs at six foot tall. It was a struggle wen I first lifted at 19.
20 year later, I cant even get 1 finger between my bi/forearm gap now, things have improved lol.

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Green Ranger's picture

Great read bro thanks for sharing

White Bolt's picture

yes, genetics most certainly play a HUGE role in bodybuilding, especially when training natural. my natty genetics are skinny-fat, gotta work twice as hard as the cave man to look half as good.

just gotta keep hustlin

White Bolt's picture

haha, i know what you mean bro... thats why us skinny guys start lifting in the first place, to get with the fuckin program. i remember when i was happy benching 50lb dumbbells on the flat lol

TheFlash85's picture

another great post, so true, read and learn! another post with substance! +1 bro.

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Dickkhead's picture

If u don't place well or don't win and you can honestly say to yourself - no one is gonna beat me cause they trained harder or dieted harder and that's the truth and the winner just had truly the gift of better genetics - u r always a winner as far as I am concerned.

IrishMack's picture

Exactly, hence why I put those up so ppl can see what category they truly fall in.