Do you ever feel like your very genetics are the things that are slowing you down from growing? Well, the thing is, I’m going to have to say the most taboo word in the bodybuilding industry – limitation.You must have heard of variating genetic potential, right? Or at least something along the lines of, ‘He’s only muscular because of his genetic make up.’If you don’t really understand these concepts, hopefully this will clear it up for you. I will explain the variating factors that can affect growth.
But, before I begin, I must say DO NOT BE DEMOTIVATED. I have less-than-average genes, and because of the hard work I put in, it works for me.
When I was younger, my parents used to call me ‘beansprout’ because I was so skinny, so you can’t purely blame genetics for everything. And now peope tell me just how ‘lucky’ I am to have ‘great genetics’. Pure BS in my opinion. It was hard work that got me through.
So let’s take a little look…
Body types –
It is without a shadow of a doubt that there are literally countless body types, however, these 3 main classifications are the standard used.
Ectomorph – Skinny, thin torso with little bodyfat or muscle
Mesomorph – Muscular, ‘V’ shape torso, less bodyfat, more muscle
Endomorph – Large, round torso with much bodyfat
Obviously, these are the three extremes of body types, and the chances are, you’ll be in between two of these somewhere.
Skeletal formations also have a big part in determining how well your body is designed to get muscular. For example, the best bones to get muscular would be broad shoulders, small waists and medium-length limbs. Also, the thickness of the bones themselves can play a big part.
Another thing that plays part in seeing how well you will gain is the relationship between your nervous system, and our muscles themselves. The better the relationship, the higher amount of muscle fibres will recruited to do your work, so growth is dependant on this. And, on the topic of muscle fibres, the natural density of your muscle fibres is a factor in genetic advantages as well.
Myostatin, a natural gene, also has a big part to play. Think about it – in the stone age times, food was precious, and had to stretch. Having a huge body was not only expensive calorie-wise, but it slowed you down. Your body had limitations to stop you from getting too musular, however, this can be broken with enough hard work.
The gene ‘GDF-8′ is responsible for these limitations. The less of this stuff you naturally have, the easier it will be for you to gain muscle.
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To conclude, I’ve got to say, don’t fret. Don’t panic. Hard work and dedication can work for you if it worked for me. Having a body MADE for bodybuilding is extremely rare, and the chances are that the majority of gym-goers are in the same boat as you.
