It is clear that certain traits are handed down to us by our
parents and unfortunately our ablility to grow muscles beyond
certain limits is no exception. That doesn’t mean to say hard
work and carefully planned training won’t have a positive effect
on your physique – it just means that some people will inherit a
greater abundance of the favored physical characteristics than
others. Not everyone possesses the physical traits to become a
champion, but you can work wonders with the raw material you do
possess.
How responsive you will be to physical stimulation can be
predicted to a certain extent by examining your somatype or
natural body shape. Basically, there are three recognized body
types:
1. Endomorphs – these individuals tend to be squat with a round
torso, thick neck and short limbs.
2. Mesomorphs – these individuals tend to be musclar with broad
shoulders, powerful chest and limbs and little body fat.
3. Ectomorphs – these individuals tend to be slim and are
usually tall with little muscle and body fat.
The ideal bodybuilding physique tends more towards the mesomorph
with broad shoulders, narrow hips with arms and legs of medium
length. Two further inherited features have a role to play in
determining muscle building potential, and these are muscle
fiber density and neurological efficiency. Fiber density
determines the size potential of a muscle while neurological
efficiency refers to the relationship between the nervous system
and muscles. This is relevant because, in all out effort
genetically blessed individuals have the ability to activate up
to 50% of the fibers in a given muscle compared to the average
person’s 30%. This allows greater scope for stimulating growth.
The fact that there is no easy way to measure fiber density or
neurological efficiency is actually a blessing because the
incentive remains for all of us to train hard and strive for
improvement. Only a tiny minority of people have the genetic
tools to become champions but the rest of us can go a long way
to fulfilling our own personal goals.
About the author:
Rick Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com
website that provides guidance and information to athletes at
all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding
Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this
article.