Recently, there has been talk among bodybuilders about a genetic predisposition to gain muscle mass. Learn about the role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness. Of course, no athlete wants to know that his ability to gain mass is limited by genetics. But there's nothing you can do about it. Today we will try to understand in detail the role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness.
Scientists have carried out a lot of research on this topic. One of them was attended by over 500 people. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. All subjects used the same training program. As a result, some people lost 2% of the cross-sectional area of the muscles, and their strength indicators remained unchanged.
The best result was a 59% increase in muscle cross-sectional area and a 250% increase in strength! As you can see, the results strongly suggest that genetics have a major impact on muscle growth and strength. But why this is happening, now we will try to find out.
The influence of genetics on muscle growth
Scientists have found that muscle gain is possible when satellite cells donate their nuclei to muscle tissue. Thanks to this, the fiber cells can increase in size, which leads to muscle growth.
In the course of the research, it was found that the difference in the progress of the athletes participating in the study is directly related to the activation of satellite cells. The more of these cells an athlete has, the greater the effectiveness of his training will be.
It should also be noted that in such athletes, satellite cells have a high ability to increase their number under the influence of training. In the study described above, it was found that the athletes who showed the best results before the start of the experiment, the number of satellite cells was 21 per 100 tissue fibers. After 16 weeks of training, the number of satellite cells increased to 30 per 100 fibers. This made it possible to increase the cross-sectional area of the muscles by almost 55%. The athletes who performed the worst in the study had 10 satellite cells per 100 fibers. During training, this indicator remained unchanged.
Other experiments have yielded similar results, which makes it possible to talk about the genetic predisposition of some people to a rapid set of muscle mass. The speed of the athletes' program is influenced not only by the number of satellite cells, but also by other indicators, for example, the number of signaling molecules and their sensitivity to signals, the general expansion of satellite cells, etc.
Of course, the effectiveness of training is also influenced by its intensity, proper nutrition and other factors known to all athletes. But genetics should not be discounted either.
The role of genetics in gaining fat mass
We talked about the role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness in gaining muscle mass, but it also affects other functions and abilities of the body. Equally important for athletes is the tendency to gain fat. Scientists have established the relationship between genes and the rate of deposition, as well as fat burning.
Natural selection, which has continued throughout the history of mankind, has always been supportive of people with an economical metabolism. This allowed them to survive during a prolonged famine. Nowadays, when this problem is extremely rare, these genes can lead to obesity. The likelihood of this increases significantly with a sedentary lifestyle.
One study on this topic involved 12 pairs of twins who ate 1,000 more calories per day for 84 days. It is not difficult to calculate that they consumed 84 thousand excess calories during this period. All subjects were not involved in sports, and their lifestyle was sedentary. On average, the increase in body weight during this period amounted to more than 8 kilograms. However, the most interesting thing here is the large difference in the rate of weight gain, ranging from 4.3 to 13 kilograms.
All subjects ate the same diet, but people with a low metabolism had significantly greater gains in body fat. The body converted almost all the excess calories consumed into fats.
There have been enough studies like this to state the great role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness in the recruitment of body fat. However, those people who do not have a predisposition to gain muscle mass should not sit still and do nothing. Let's take a look at how genetics can affect a person's athleticism.
Athleticity and genetics
Scientists still have to do a huge amount of work in order to thoroughly understand human genetics. However, it has already been established that there are a large number of genes that affect the physical abilities of athletes. To date, more than 200 autosomal and 18 metochondrial genes have been found that affect athletes' athletic performance.
The best known and best studied is alpha-actin-3 or ACTN3. This gene affects a person's performance. It was also found that about 18% of the world's population lacks this gene. In their bodies, more ACTN2 is synthesized as a replacement, but progress in training is much more difficult for such athletes. However, once again, it should be said that scientists are still working on an accurate picture of all genes that can influence athletic performance.
Is genetics important?
Of course, the experimental results above are not very enthusiastic for some athletes. In this regard, they should be cheered up a little, despite the role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness described today.
First, every person has some genetic problems. It should be remembered that there is no perfect genetics.
Second, in the course of the research, all athletes used the same training program. But most bodybuilders know that muscle response to the same exercise can vary significantly from person to person.
Thus, it is necessary to look for those movements and the level of load that will be optimal for your muscles. Any athlete, if desired, is able to achieve high results and there are a lot of confirmation of this among bodybuilding stars.
For more information on the role of genetics in bodybuilding and fitness, see this video:
