How to Overcome Genetics in Bodybuilding
Genetics in bodybuilding… How it affects our successes in the difficult task of gaining muscle mass? Here is the question of the famous scientist in the field of sports physiology Greg Nuckols, namely: “How much success comes from talent, and how much from hard work?“
What is genetics
Genetics in bodybuilding is an individual reaction of your body to loads.
It turned out that the first studies on the individual response to training stimuli were carried out as early as 1980 on 20 pairs of twins, and then it went on.
So, today it is precisely known that there is an individual reaction to strength training. You will be surprised, but the range of results is simply huge, so in this one study, 585 people trained one, non-dominant arm for 12 weeks.
On average, the increase in shoulder volume was 19%, and the 1RM of lifting for biceps increased by 54%. Surprisingly, some participants at the output received a decrease in volume, and for one lucky man, the volume increased by as much as 59%. With power indicators – the spread is even greater, and there were those who did not become stronger at all and one unique increased strength by 2.5 times.
Scientists have even coined a term for people whose reaction to training is lower than most and are called “not responding to exercises.” But a deeper study of the problem led to the introduction of another term – “have not responded to the exercises.”
You feel the difference, in one case, it is a sentence, and in the other a reaction to a specific load, but unfortunately, this will not allow you to seriously redraw genetics.
Here is what G. Nuckols writes on this subject. “Hard work and smart work can elevate you to a higher level. If you have poor genetics in bodybuilding, you can rise to an average level. If you have average genetics, then to a good level. If you’re good, then you can become great, but if you are gifted, you can become the best of the best. “
Genetics and Bodybuilding
Genetics has the most direct relation to bodybuilding. The length of the levers, the places of muscle attachment, the shape of the muscles, muscle composition – we cannot influence all this in any way. We can only, through training, have the ability to influence the volume of these very muscles. But here genetics also rules and the same exercises performed in controlled experiments showed a huge spread of results in terms of muscle hypertrophy.
Moreover, even among professional bodybuilders who have won the genetics lottery, in spite of all the pharmacology arsenal they use, there are both lagging and dominant muscles.
When the owner of the trickiest legs in the entire history of bodybuilding, Tom Platz, was asked thanks to what he was able to develop them to such a level, he answered: “Thanks to genetics.“
When a similar survey was conducted among Russian athletes with huge calves and asked the secret of their training, it turned out that most of them train them purely symbolically.
In this regard, imitation or analysis of training schemes for genetically lucky ones makes no sense. As for this very successful genetics, one does not need to think in extreme categories, such as talentless or gifted, because many are in the middle.
And in conclusion, we will cite G. Nuckols own words: “Do not blame people who have less muscle than your laziness or lack of knowledge – just not everyone grows equally well, although this is dishonest, but it is, and big muscles are not always talking about knowledge.“
Additionally, see how to lose fat with a scientific approach.
What is more, find out whether it is important to do stretching to grow big muscles.
