# genetics, what does it mean?



## Jimmy1 (Aug 14, 2003)

I believe we are all restricted by genetics to varying degrees.

Its a shame but it doesnt stop us from being the best we can be. This is easier said than done and many think they are but in reality, arnt!

We are also restricted by knowledge, will power, lifestyle and wealth...sad but true

Lets loose the word 'genetics' here guys. Let use the word potential instead.

Some people are 5ft tall while some are 7ft tall, some are fat, some are thin. My mate doesnt train biceps, yet he has massive biceps. Any one ever known someone when they were at school that was ripped and massive without even touching a dumbell? Yep they probably only ever ate **** as well! These are the guys that go on to be huge.

Look at the size of Arnold at 16 yrs old!!!!!!!! He had to go on to be massive and he did! He did have dedication oh yes, and someone who is dedicated will go on to be the best THEY can be just like he did. But his potential was better than the rest at that time. Look at the mans waist....It doesnt matter what we strive for, many of us will never have a waiste like that!

The shape of a muscle is determined by so many factors. I have long muscle bellies which isnt great. The only way I can peak my arms is to site inject. I have one side of my body bigger on the arms and lat due to the years I have spent in my day job. Try as I might, it never evens out.

Some of us have good parts while other parts are lagging, thats the way it is. Yes we can help bring these parts up but it never gets them to the standard of our good parts.

My point is that some of us have more potential than others to grow, stay lean or have freaky body parts. Guys like Jay Cuttler have it all, they are lucky and thats why they have perfect symetry and are 300lbs+ at under 30 yrs of age. These guys still have to have the determination af Arnold combined with year in/out consistency and gear/ nutrition advise as well as top coaches training them to be where they are.

I tell you now that if I were to be under the supervision of Chad Nichols, Charls Glass, Dave Pulumbo and Milos Sarcev for ten years with unlimited gear and food, I still would not make top 6 at olympia. I would be a f'ing good pro, but it would be the best I can be.

I am not trying to be sceptical, rather realistic. Yes we are held back by our lifestyles and own lazyness or even lack of motivation, but many of us even having the perfect enviroment wouldnt be the best.

Paul Borreson was the most edjucated, motivated, passionate man I ever met regarding bodybuilding but even he recognised his limmitations. It never stopped him trying to overcome this which is what made him one of the biggest names in the sport. Thats what I admire in a bodybuilder, and thats what makes us the best we can be.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Where was this thread when I needed it

I do agree with this.

But Genetics are all what we are made up of and everyone has it already set.

I never do think of genetics because I cant change them so I try and work around it.

For example, I am too short to be a basketball player.

Hell, I cant shoot, dribble and even run very good.

But I do know that I have better than most in ballance and flexibility. Now even at my age (45) Im one of the best jetskiiers (besides winger) that I have seen.

This is a sport (in you can call it that) which suits my body.


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## winger (Jul 26, 2003)

What^^^^^^^^^^^^he^^^^^^^^^^^^^said.


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## Keyser Soze (Dec 12, 2005)

Just to throw in my 2cents on a subject of intense interest to me...

I think of genetics as that propensity towards a very specific trait. Could be height, or eye colour etc, could be general beauty/handsomeness, the list goes on.

Now, for BB purposes, what interests me is a persons LATENT Lean Muscle Tissue (LMT) stock. I define this as the amount of LMT he had aged 18, before eating like a BB'er or lifting weights. The common wisdom is to divide the human race into 3 somewhat overlapping groups, ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs.

I have these two young cousins, females, one 19 and the other 14. Same biological parents, same food etc. One parent is large, though not as large as me, and the other is short, she's 5'4" and not particularly heavy-set. The 19 y.o is tall and svelte, she has a catwalk physique, probably a size 6. The younger one is very robustly built, only 5'5", but already has a Baywatch figure, and getting larger. If she put her mind to BB'ing, she'd simply blow minds away. Genetics.

Now, as we all know, latin women commonly have wide hip-structures, black women (and men) usually have generous glutes. Lenda Murray need never do any isolation work for her glutes - already plenty of them, and I'm sure they respond automatically to squats/deads etc.

What I've also noticed - and I apologise in advance for stepping onto potentially dangerous ground - is that certain nationalities have disproportionately high numbers of mesos, for whatever reason. I'm thinking here about Samoa, Poland and Nigeria, and all 3 have contributed with the same disproportion to the "Strength" sports - BB'ing, Powerlifting, and Boxing, despite their lack of facilities for those sports.

I've seen plenty of people from all 3 countries - and although those people ALL seem to have the 'meso' gene, they had something even more telling in common - lack of stress. None of those nations suffers greatly from western types of stress (although I expect that will change shortly in Poland). Cortisol, as I'm sure you all know, is a deadly enemy of anabolisis.

That, plus a cultural emphasis on the high consumption of food (being big, even via fat, is a virtue in Nigeria/Samoa), lead to good breeding grounds for people with large latent LMT.

Elsewhere in the world, mesos tend to be thin on the ground and evenly scattered throughout the world; though environmental factors like plentiful cheap protein and lack of stress can certainly bring a few combination body types into the fold, people don't tend to stray far from their ancestral potential. For example, in America, latinos with plentiful consumption of dairy/meat/fish products tend still to remain somewhat smaller, shorter and slimmer than their anglo counterparts, although they are clearly larger than their Mexican/PR cousins.

There MIGHT be a delayed generational effect...perhaps it takes several generations of good nutrition and circumstance to even things out...we won't know until then.

KS


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## bacc (Nov 16, 2007)

Hello friends...

Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.


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## Guest (Nov 19, 2007)

bacc said:


> Hello friends...
> 
> Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.


Every one on this board can learn alot from you bacc please do keep posting these jewels of wisdom:love:

Great post Jimmy.


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## shorty (Mar 13, 2007)

bacc said:


> Hello friends...
> 
> Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.


ummm i smell a copy and paste from wikipedia... lol...  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics

busted!!! :dance:


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