Geschatte leestijd: 8 minutenIf you don’t have a predisposition to build muscle mass or achieve muscle growth, it can significantly affect your fitness goals. How do you deal with differences in genetic predisposition when it comes to muscle mass and fat burning? Can everyone be lean and muscular?
No Predisposition for Muscles or Genetic Differences
Sometimes I get asked what to do for my current physique. That’s the modest version. Actually, the question is what the questioner should do for a physique like mine. In many cases, the honest answer is not pleasant:
“That depends on your predisposition and effort. But in terms of predisposition, you probably have to do a lot more than I do.” Usually, this reaction is based on a comparison of my own “pre-bodybuild physique” with the physique of the person asking the question.
By “differences in predisposition,” I mean primarily two factors influenced by numerous factors. The potential for additional muscle mass and the potential to lose body fat. Two opposing processes when it comes to the need for nutrition.
In two follow-up articles, I will delve into the research on individual differences in responses to strength training, diets, and cardio. Why do people react differently here?
So, the technical side.
Today, I mainly want to talk about honesty. To yourself as an athlete and to clients as a coach.
No Predisposition for Muscle Mass
First, a few examples to illustrate the magnitude of possible differences.
In 2012, researchers at McMaster University in Canada tried to find the reason for different responses to strength training [1]. 56 young men participated in the study. For 12 weeks, they engaged in strength training. In the images on the right, you can see the increase in lean body mass (LBM). As you can see, some gained 0 kilos in lean mass (or even lost some) while outliers on the other end gained almost 8 kilos. I will discuss the correlations with certain hormones in the follow-up article.
In another study, 23 men engaged in strength training for 4 weeks [2]. This study looked at the size of specific muscle fibers (the fast-twitch fibers that should benefit the most from strength training focused on muscle growth). While some saw these muscle fibers increase in size by 80%, in others, they did not increase at all and sometimes even decreased.
Researchers at the University of Alabama had 66 healthy, untrained adults (31 women, 35 men) train their quadriceps for 16 weeks [3]. A training with squats, leg extensions, and leg presses. Three sets to failure, 80% of 1RM as weight. So, a “normal training,” focused on quadriceps hypertrophy. The researchers wanted to look at the different responses in terms of muscle fiber growth in the quadriceps to then be able to divide the group into “extreme responders,” “moderate responders,” and “non-responders.”
Looking at the results, the absolute figures of muscle fiber growth won’t say much as they are measured in micrometers (thousandths of a millimeter). But looking at the differences between them, it is clear that they are significant.
Personal Differences in Response to Diet
Similarly, there are studies in which several people undergo a calorie deficit diet. A diet aimed at weight loss. Yet, in several of these studies, we see that not everyone loses weight with the same calorie deficit [4,5]. The reasons for this vary and are complex [6].
In two follow-up articles, I will extensively discuss the suspected causes for these differences when it comes to muscle mass and body fat formation.
“Help, I’m not growing!”
Research is useful because it allows you to demonstrate that all other conditions were the same. But from experience, we all know that there are naturally significant differences.
Every now and then, I receive a cry for help from a reader, client, or friend who is not achieving any results in the gym. Sometimes I get insight into their diet and training schedule, and sometimes everything seems to be correct on paper. The right macros (carbohydrates, protein, and fats) and a good schedule.
In fact, sometimes I even think:
“I would be a monster with such dedication.”
Then there are a few different possibilities why results are not forthcoming. The person in question may not be consistent enough with the diet, for example, or the training intensity is not high enough. But what if it is stated that the diet is being strictly followed and you can see for yourself that someone is training at the right intensity?
Is there a point as a coach where you’ve tried all means and you have to tell your client that their goal simply isn’t realistic? It might be achievable for others, but not for him/her, due to “a lack of predisposition.”
I understand that “we” as the fitness industry want to convey the message that we can help everyone achieve an “ideal shape,” provided they are in good health. Some may even believe that it is actually possible. That it might be a bit harder for some, but achievable. I just know that the price is too high in some cases. Depending on predisposition, “ideal shape,” and the size of the gap between them.
Climbing Mt. Everest with a Heavy Backpack
I just watched “Everest.” A gripping film about climbing Mt. Everest and the sacrifices it entails. So please forgive me for the following metaphor.
You can see achieving your “ideal figure” as climbing Everest. Everyone on the mountain has a backpack. Some with 1 kilo in it, others with 80 kilos. That backpack represents genetic predisposition, or the lack thereof. To go higher, you have to climb a bit every day. Every night when you rest, you slide back a bit, so standing still for too long means going backward. The heavier the bag, the faster you slide back down. Progress also becomes increasingly difficult because the higher you go, the thinner the air. So, you have to work harder and harder to go higher.
Where you stand on the mountain when you decide to reach the top naturally depends on how much you’ve climbed before that. Some have been exercising since their youth and have learned to eat healthily early on. Although they may have a heavy backpack in some cases, thanks to a healthy life, they might already be halfway up the top. Others may have a very light backpack but have never moved much and have ingested junk food all their lives. So, they have slid quite a bit, but once they learn to climb again, it will go fairly quickly.
Now the central question: Is it possible to reach the top with a 80-kilo bag when you’re at the very bottom of the mountain? Or do we only find people there who have an almost empty bag and a lot of perseverance?
By the way, we know from Mt. Everest that some reach the top without extra oxygen, while others “even” with the use of oxygen, die before reaching the top. Now you could say that in bodybuilding, that peak is unattainable without “oxygen,” but that’s only because we keep making that mountain higher ourselves.
No Predisposition for Muscle Mass? Set Realistic Goals
As a trainer or coach, unfortunately, you can only estimate what’s in that backpack. Often you make an estimate based on where someone is on the mountain and how much they’ve done before then. For example, if you already hear that someone has been training intensively for three years and has a good diet but still doesn’t get any higher, the chances are that the backpack is heavy. Especially if you hear that ten oxygen bottles were already needed to reach base camp.
You only know for sure after spending some time with the client. You see them climb with all their might every day and barely get any higher. Yet, the client claims to want to reach the top while you see that the expectations are not realistic. What then?
Do you try to adjust his goals? “I don’t think the top is achievable, but base camp 1 is. And you probably have to work harder for that than someone else for the top.” Or even: “Maybe mountaineering just isn’t your thing and you shouldn’t want to go any higher?”
Motivate or Be Realistic?
Difficult. On the one hand, you don’t want to discourage anyone. On the other hand, you don’t want someone to become totally obsessed for relatively little result. And by relatively, I mean especially in relation to an unattainable goal. In the article on muscle dysmorphia, I extensively discuss “going overboard” in training and nutrition.
It’s one thing if you make such big sacrifices and achieve the desired result. Just like any other top athlete who puts everything else in second place. However, in fitness and bodybuilding, I regularly see people who have the dedication of a top athlete but not the returns.
Bullshit: Balls to the wall!!
Naturally, some readers will think: “What nonsense, if you really want it and go for it, anything is possible!” Typically, the type of reader who always hopes that Kai Greene will beat Phil Heath one day as supposed evidence of “hard work beats talent.”
Feel free to replace that sentence with one of the thousands of clichés, and in all cases, you have a valid point. But Kai certainly can’t complain about predisposition. I’m talking about the people you have to restrain from tilting your head and saying “ohhh” out of pity when you see them walk into a gym. People you think, “Sucks to be you.”
But what if you had invested all that energy into something else that you might have a predisposition for? Or where you simply get more enjoyment out of?
When it comes to health, it’s pointless to be an obsessed “fitness freak” who has lost all balance just to look a bit better. “Fitness freak” is not the right term either; “physical freak” covers it better. You don’t need a six-pack to be fit. Not even as a man. I wrote earlier that you probably better aim for the right, healthy lifestyle as a goal and not a specific shape. Whatever figure follows from that seems to be your healthy shape.
The Pursuit of Happiness
When we discussed this topic in the editorial office, the question was raised, “But who are you to shatter someone’s dream?”
Who is the basketball coach to tell someone who’s 1.50m tall that the NBA is probably out of reach?
Then the question was asked, “Why does someone ultimately want that dream figure?”
My answer was simply “to be happier.” I can still vividly remember how it felt to suddenly be seen as “that muscular guy” thanks to 20 kilos of extra muscle mass. You feel more confident and are more satisfied with your physique. But well, my backpack is quite light, and my peak isn’t that high.
Moreover, you can grow in many ways. Your physique is only a small part of your identity. I also felt more resilient when I, 20 kilos lighter, started martial arts. I also felt more confident when I took salsa lessons with my wife. All things I couldn’t do before and can now. Activities that brought a sense of growth, of success, and thus self-worth.
Of course, these are all things that take time. Time that you don’t have if you want to reach the top of Everest with 80 kilos, with or without extra oxygen.
Oprah, out.
References
- West DWD, Phillips SM. Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength and hypertrophy in a large cohort after weight training. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2012;112(7):2693-2702. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2246-z.
- Mitchell CJ, Churchward-Venne TA, Bellamy L, Parise G, Baker SK, Phillips SM. Muscular and Systemic Correlates of Resistance Training-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy. Alway SE, ed. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(10):e78636. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078636.
- Bamman MM, Petrella JK, Kim JS, Mayhew DL, Cross JM. Cluster analysis tests the importance of myogenic gene expression during myofiber hypertrophy in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2007 Jun;102(6):2232-9. Epub 2007 Mar 29. PubMed PMID: 17395765.
- McLaughlin T, Abbasi F, Carantoni M, Schaaf P, Reaven G. Differences in insulin resistance do not predict weight loss in response to hypocaloric diets in healthy obese women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Feb;84(2):578-81. PubMed PMID: 10022419.
- Martinez JA, Parra MD, Santos JL, Moreno-Aliaga MJ, Marti A, Martinez-Gonzalez MA. Genotype-dependent response to energy-restricted diets in obese subjects: towards personalized nutrition. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:119-22. Review. PubMed PMID: 18296317.
- Bell CG, Walley AJ, Froguel P. The genetics of human obesity. Nature Rev Genet. 2005;6:221-36.
Other sources:
- Efficacy of myonuclear addition may explain differential myofiber growth among resistance-trained young and older men and women. Petrella JK, Kim JS, Cross JM, Kosek DJ, Bamman MM Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Nov; 291(5):E937-46.
- Potent myofiber hypertrophy during resistance training in humans is associated with satellite cell-mediated myonuclear addition: a cluster analysis. Petrella JK, Kim JS, Mayhew DL, Cross JM, Bamman MM. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2008 Jun; 104(6):1736-42.
