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EVER WONDER WHY one guy can get swole in six months while it took forever for you to get to where you are now? It’s fair to wonder if your friend stumbled on some super-secret fitness hack or if the supplements a fitness influencer is selling actually work.
Technically, there is a cheat code: genetics. The DNA that influences your height and metabolism also influences how your body looks and responds to training, making it significantly easier for some guys to achieve goals like building bigger biceps or a V-taper torso. “The people that are in the gym lifting already usually have better genetics than people that walked into the gym and were like, ‘nah, I’m not about this’ because you self-selected into something on some level,” explains Mike Israetel, the sports scientist, competitive bodybuilder, and fitness creator behind the Renaissance Periodization YouTube channel, in a recent Strong Talk episode.
Not all hope is lost if you weren’t blessed with Adonis-like genes. Israetel joins MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S to discuss the two ways genetics may help workout results, the strategies for overcoming genetic disadvantages, and examples of people who didn’t let their ‘bad genes’ stop them from achieving their goals.
Along with a person’s shape, Israetel says their initial large size can influence how they will look in the future. Take a 15-year-old who is already built like a tank without ever stepping foot in a gym. Israetel explains that someone predisposed with a large composition is already at a better starting point than someone with a smaller physique. The second genetic aspect to muscle size is responsiveness. As you start to consistently train muscles, they will continue to grow. For people already starting off with a larger body size, Israetel says they’re already ahead of the curve and will likely show quicker improvements than someone with a smaller and skinnier frame.
Does this mean working out is a lost cause if you weren’t born with a large physique? Not necessarily. Samuel says that genetics plays a role in training but a person can compensate by consistently challenging their bodies to lift heavy. There’s also the varying degrees of where a person’s genes help parts of the body. Your unique genetic makeup impacts muscle groups differently.
For example, Samuel notes squatting is more difficult with a short torso and long legs. Meanwhile, Israetel says he has short legs and a long torso, which makes it easier for him to maintain a better upright posture for squatting movements. Israetel also points out that he has genetically good chest muscles, so a few press exercises and weighted dips is enough to sculpt a chiseled chest. Meanwhile, his genetics do not work in his favor for building large biceps. For that, he needed to create a harder biceps plan to work them to exhaustion.
“No matter what genetics you have, you just got to try to do your absolute best,” Israetel explains. “Not only in general, but figuring out what your genetics are, working around the weaknesses, and attacking them really strategically. Riding the waves of the strengths so that you can do your best with what you have.”
Take bodybuilder Nick Walker, for example. He started out with a skinny physique, and now looks nothing like he does today. “Almost everyone who ever looked at him at that first show would be like ‘this kid has no genetics for bodybuilding.’ Now they say he has the ultimate genetics for bodybuilding, because he filled out his frame,” Israetel says. But, “he just kept making progress.”
Want more deep-dive fitness wisdom from Samuel and other celebs and experts who’ve been on our Strong Talk podcast? Check out all our episodes here.
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men’s Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she’s not working, she’s doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.
