Thoughts on genetics & bodybuilding..

[don draco]

Why do some muscle groups respond better to physical training than others do ? And why does this responsiveness depend on the individual ?
For example, Person A's chest may be very responsive to physical training, while his biceps are not. Person B, on the other hand, may be the exact opposite -- responsive biceps, stubborn chest.

Calves are also another good example of this disparity. Some peoples' calves respond very well, while others' seem not to respond at all.

From an evolutionary standpoint, what would be the explanation?

Interested in hearing your opinions on this.

 

[PillarofBalance]

I have no clue... Go do some reading and come up with an answer.

 

[AndroSport]

This sounds more like a rhetorical question...

 

[AndroSport]

This sounds more like a rhetorical question...

Meaning I'm sure there are various hypothetical explanations but I doubt there is one solid proven answer for this question...

 

[TheLupinator]

There is no answer (yet).. might as well be asking why do people think a sort of way
Boring Answer: Everyone is different

I try not to dwell on the "why" but focus on the "what" as in what do I do about it. Learn what body parts are your strong points and which are your weak points. Try different types of exercises and set/rep schemes and see what works.. just don't think "my chest is small because of my genetics" instead you should be thinking "I have to train my chest smarter and harder because of my genetics"

 

[PillarofBalance]

Just remember the cure for shitty genetics is follistatin 344 produced from the loins of Phil Hernon.

 

[PFM]

Those are the challenges and obstacles that have kept me at this game for almost 40 years. When you yourself or you see a guy make substantial gains to s stubborn body part you then recognize their is no grace here, just gut busting, head down, nose to the grinding wheel sacrifice.

 

[coltmc4545]

Like was said before, you have to find what works for you. My chest training is completely different then the way I train calves. My quads respond differently then my back. It's all dependent upon each individual. Growing up I had huge legs and a tiny upper body. I had to work my ass off to get any type of symmetry at all. I was one of the guys that didn't do legs. Not because I thought they were unimportant or because the chicks didn't give a fuck about my quads they only cared about my chest and bi's. it was because I had to build my upper body so they would match my wheels. Even with big legs I feel I have poor quad development as far as shape goes by body building standards. I really want to step on stage and I would do it this summer but because I feel my quads don't have the huge "sweep", I'm putting it off until next year. That being said I started working with a trainer who competes a month ago and will be working with him and a nutritionalist for the next 11 months. I'm always willing to learn. I stay open minded. And I'm willing to adapt to new things. Just because my muscle shape in my eyes sucks, and yes I know I can't change the shape but I can at least make it appear better, doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and say "Ah well fuck it. My genetics suck on this body part and that's the way it will always be." Fuck that. There's plenty of body builders who have at least one body part that lags. I think training would be boring if every body part responded the same and was perfect. Wouldn't give me much to work for and I wouldn't have as much drive and dedication as I do. I love having lagging body parts. Just means I'm going to fuck the iron up that much more tommorrow so I can achieve my goals one day.

 

[Hero Swole]

I love training my lagging body parts. They just need extra care and attention.

 

[NbleSavage]

All of the above. It's in finding out about yourself, through research, trial & error, that you "win" in this game IMO.

 

[Georgia]

Like Hero Swole said...lagging body parts are very similar to lost puppies...you take them in and give them lots of care and attention and love them and they will grow up to be big and healthy...

Okay, maybe he didn't say all that...but my chest and biceps are lagging and I'm about to go to the gym RIGHT NOW and hit them twice this week. Working wonders for strength and symmetry...because my genetics have deemed me ungodlike I have to do this.

 

[Cashout]

I can't explain why some folks are genetically inclined to variation in the percentages of muscle fiber (red/white) or why others have large mitochondrial components of their tissue. These factors do affect muscle development.

The good news, from a body building perspective, is that you don't need superior genetics to be a competitive as a bodybuilder. Anyone can be competitive at the national level with consistently impeccable diet & training.

To win at the national level and beyond takes superior genetics and the aforementioned diet & training.

 

[RISE]

Muscle type placement (type 1, type 2, type 2a and type 2b) is one reason certain muscles do not grow the same as others. Also length of the muscle may have something to do with it as well. I'd be interested if certain part of the body can obtain more satellite cells then another... brb researching.

 

[Times Roman]

Why do some muscle groups respond better to physical training than others do ? And why does this responsiveness depend on the individual ?
For example, Person A's chest may be very responsive to physical training, while his biceps are not. Person B, on the other hand, may be the exact opposite -- responsive biceps, stubborn chest.

Calves are also another good example of this disparity. Some peoples' calves respond very well, while others' seem not to respond at all.

From an evolutionary standpoint, what would be the explanation?

Interested in hearing your opinions on this.

Let's see if I can explain this so that it is easily understandable.

Genetics plays a huge role in your body physique, and your physical abilities.

When i was younger, I had a "distance runner's body", which means long and lean, big lungs, with predominantly slow twitch muscle fiber in all the right areas. In the military, 2 miles in under ten (10) minutes was a no brainer for me.

Today, I'm still having to deal with "distance runners legs". which means my slow twitch muscle fiber isn't as strong as the guys that have predominantly fast twitch in their legs. So less strong, and hard to grow.

this is one variable.

Another variable is natural hormone levels. Some blokes have really high natty test levels. Others on the low side. those with the higher natty test levels, it would seem to me, would be more responsive to the growth signal while strength training.

Additionally, there are some documented cases of slave masters that selectively bread their slaves to produce offspring with particular physical attributes, which typically would be to produce a bettter worker via making bigger/stronger slaves. The extent of this practice i'm not sure about, so the extent we still see some of those traits today I am equally unsure about.

This leaves us with (as we all know) three basic body types.

Ectomorph - skinny hardgainer
Mesomorph - athletic hardbody
Endomorph - round softbody

there is a great deal of variability in our society with a healthy mixture of each of these three types. I suspect that as man evolved, there was less of a dynamic, as the hunter/gather body type would be advantage mesomorph. Pretty hard for an endomorph to go "chasing bears and wholly mammoths" with a round softbody. So I'm fairly certain that the occurance of the ectomorph/endomorph has increased since we have developed agriculture and scarcity of food is no longer the issue it was before.

There is an interesting discussion that follows this about intellectual abilities rising as the ecto/endo morphs increased in population. The mesomorph was no longer needed except in warrier class, and many of the intellectuals had softbodies.