How important are GENETICS?

[luvs2workout]

How much of a role do genetics play in our quest for the perfect body?

Katie Uter swears its mostly her good genetics that cause her to look like she does....she said she only diets 3 wks. out from a show?WTF? Then theres a girl at the gym who has the most perfect bubble butt, no cellulite and has never worked on it a DAY in her life..people like that make me sick!

Anyone know any facts about this?

 

[diamonddiceclay]

genetics play the #1 role and I speak from personal experience-I eat 100%clean, use hgh,igf-1,sust, train with a top pro bb'er and still cannot get shredded-we've concluded that this is due to genetics

 

[starfish]

I don't know but it is a good question.. My old trainer Jill never dieted and sometimes she would laugh as I flipped through a fitness magazine and say "those people don't really do that."

 

[crazyfit1]

Genetics is the foundation from which you are able to mold from. I have a friend who has done a lot of muscle mag covers who I know doesn't eat clean all the time. She diets like a week before a photo shoot and yet I have never seen her in shape where her 6 pack isn't gleaming! I have seen this girl eat cookies and sweets with a tighter mid section than some girls (including myself) after dieting and working their ass off for it. If you open up her pantry, she has all the sweets you could think of in the world, yet her body tells a different story. I conclude, its her genetics. Damn, life ain't always fair, is it? hehe..

 

[Temple]

think I'll just go slit my wrists.......

 

[luvs2workout]

Exactly what I thought.....while Ive worked my ass off in the gym - Ive seen a girl workout not near as hard as I do and totally transform in less than 3 months.....while discouraging at times, Its not an excuse to quit or just give in to shitty genetics, but a reason to work that much harder I suppose

 

[new@gettinbig]

I think they play a big part of it...and it gives you your froundation, but you have control from there to how far you take it and push yourself...you can do a lot w/ time...proper training...and diet...You can transform if you are consistent....but everyone has their good and bad parts....

 

[Gladiola]

I agree genetics play a pretty significant factor. I have lousy abs, but biceps that are quite peaked & yet I don't curl all that much. My weight for curling hasn't increased much (relative to my strength gains elsewhere) & yet they are still getting bigger - go figure?!

No question that some ppl are blessed naturally lean, some are blessed with a good ability to build muscle mass & some work & work without growing a lot. BUT... we still all can work with what we got.

Yup - win some, lose some

"Everyone can be a model of fitness, but not everyone can look like a fitness model."
-My exercise physiologist friend

 

[Brishen]

think I'll just go slit my wrists.......

This is an interesting article from Muscle and Fitness Hers:
http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/magazines/magViewer/FitnMagArt.asp?Catid=523&Objid={2BFE5EB0-0F5E-11D6-B8C7-0090277C0A31}&curpage=1&curCatID=534&SuperCID=534&CID=B&SubCID=A

Chrissakes. The link is cursed! You have to copy and paste it in a new window. Stupid "{"....

 

[The_Monster]

Sure theyre important, but they arent the "be all end all".

We all have some genetic trait that is desirable, mabye we wish we had genetically high bicep peaks but we dont. But that girl/guy with them looks at us and thinks "Hell, I wish a had the genetics to have shoulders like that!"

I was definatly not born with a genetic disposition toward leaness. Its a constant fight, and sure I look at naturally lean people and wish they were dead
BUT! I gain muscle very easily, and that isnt such a bad genetic card to draw!

My biceps attachment is crappy. I have that little space between the bicep and forarm, and there is nothing I can do about it. It is a source of insecurity for me. I fight for every inch on my arms while others have naturally nice biceps.
But I drew the genetic card for huge calves and quads/hams with little training. Plus my delts respond very well to training, so I have very wide shoulders. Id still like good biceps, but its not a bad trade I guess.

In the end genetics only really matters when you get to a more advanced level of conditioning. I personally dont feel that many people ever develop to their full genetic potential.
We have to make sure we dont use genetics as an excuse to not train to develop what we have as best we can...

 

[Gladiola]

I personally dont feel that many people ever develop to their full genetic potential.
We have to make sure we dont use genetics as an excuse to not train to develop what we have as best we can...

Very well put, & I so agree that most ppl don't even develop enough to know WHAT their genetic weaknesses are!

 

[Cheetarah]

Word.

I was lucky and never had any cellulite despite eating whatever the heck I wanted to. But yet now, when I decided I want to be leaner, have more muscle definition, seems I'm having a heck of a time getting leaner than 16%! But yet I do seem to put on muscle fairly easily.

And as far as muscle genetics go, my biceps seem to have developed quite nicely with little training, same with my traps. I don't even isolate traps at all and yet I have some big traps for a girl. And I seem to have some thick abs as well as they show even at 19% body fat and at 16% I can even make out my 6 pack. But calves, ugh! My lack of calf definition makes up for my abs showing at a relatively high body fat and my shoulders, ugg as well! I have to work the heck out of them and they're still not where they need to be! I've NEVER had nice shoulders!

So IMO, very few of us are perfect, or at least not in our own eyes. We all have good points and bad points. My biceps, traps, and abs all came along great with little training but my calves and shoulders suck! Legs are okay, I don't even have to train them as my speed skating has done that for me. But they are way ahead of my upper body in terms of muscle mass. I've had to work hard to add mass to my upper chest too. So we all have to work with what we got and some areas require harder training than others, so I hear ya on that!

 

[Lumberg]

Stop comparing yourselves to others. Long ago I decided to try to do the best with what I got, and it's fun 'cos it's 100% selfish and about me, not anybody else. Sure I love sharing tips with people both on this board and in real life, but in the end I am all about making ME as beautiful as I can be. It's fun discovering new things about your body, like how you respond to certain supplements or whatever.

This sounds selfish but I know that my mental state has an impact on others and that when I am happy the people I'm around a lot are happy. And as long as what I'm doing isn't hurting anyone, I'm gonna do it.

my 2 cents,

JC

 

[MS]

I would think that with modern surgical implants, liposuction, rib removal and AAS, hGH, IGF-1 etc.....that genetics does not have to be limiting unless you wanna be a natty, or can't afford any of the above. If I had the moula I'd be first in line for some lipo and calf implants. The biggest reason I have not used AAS yet is that my calves are my genetically lagging bodypart, and taking AAS will not bring them up to match the rest of my body, so it won't help balance my physique. At the pro level ALL of the above are important, prolly more so than genetics. But having limbs too short or long, and muscle insertions in the wrong place will stop ya from being a top pro BB/Fitness chick. It won't stop you from being the best body that you can be within the boundaries you set for yourself though.

 

[Arioch]

I have seen many athletes who were blessed during the genetic lottery, but they failed miserably, because when they got to a point where they had to work as hard as everyone else, they found out that few things hit as hard as reality. While some people may have an easier time of achieving their goals, why limit yourself by worrying about your limits? When you hit what appears to be a limit, keep working and experimenting. I have far more respect for someone who fails 999 times to finally succeed on the 1000th try than I do for someone who succeeds with relatively little effort.

People with incredibly limiting disablities have succeed in fields that would completely crush me, such as an athlete with one leg skiing the giant slolom, or another with a prosthetic leg completing the Boston marathon. I am willing to wager that these people overcame worse problems than a struggle to drop the last couple of pounds of excess bodyfat. If they did it, so can you, because nothing can take the place of the desire to succeed.

 

[chrisoh]

Genetics is the most important determining factor of how you look and react to different things. Many of my friends eat fast food 3 times a day and hit the gym 2-3 times a week and are still sitting at 4-5% BF, it's genetics when it hits a point like that. Genetics determines every aspecct of your body and people are born with superior genetics in some area but not all. Someone might look amazing but have poor health in the future. People with better genetics will always look better than people with lower class genetics but theres things that always help them get to the higher level (like gear), but of course if the superior guy takes gear, he becomes arnold-like and no one can touch them. It's all about natural potential.

The only thing good genetics gave me is immunity to baldness, heart problems, etc... no one in my family was ever bald or had diseases. I'll live a hell of a long time but I'll probably never look like arnold, well maybe I'll be close after the next 6 weeks

 

[rake922]

50 cent has a crappy diet and still looks great... You think he's making sure he gets plenty of protein and mineral etc....



some guys who juice don't even look as good as 50 cent

 

[florencia]

think I'll just go slit my wrists.......

I will join you!!