Genetics and buff bodies?

dani21496

dani21496

Cathlete
I was just curious. Do you think it's easier for some people to look as buff as Cathe (and others on this board) than others? I mean do some people just work harder and eat better than others, or do you think genetics plays a bigger role?

Is achieving a physique like Cathe's just impossible for some people, or do you think it's possible for everyone who puts in the same amount time of effort when it comes to excercise and eating right?

I would think genetics plays a bigger role. I mean one person can work as hard and as much as someone else and not get the same results you know what I mean?

I guess the most important thing is being the best you can be right?
 
I was just thinking this today. I have a very hard time putting on muscle. For a number of months straight I was using heavy weights and looked more "buff" than usual. Now it's only been a couple of weeks not lifting so heavy but doing endurance and circuit workouts, and I've got my skinny flat arms again!

I do think genetics play a role how easily building muscle, or as you say achieving a physique like Cathe, with some people it may take longer, with others it may never happen.

This may be a good question to ask her in the Q&A time in July. I'd like to hear what she says, since she has worked with so many people.

Susan C.M.
 
It's genetics. It all depends on your body type. Tome Venuto talks about this in length in his "burn the Fat Feed the Muscle" e-book.

That doesn't mean a certain physique is impossible, it just means you have to work harder. However, some things are impossible. For example, I have a very short waist/torso. No workout in the worl is going to lengthen that area. I doubt there is a thing I could do to get any curve in my waist, except gain weight in my hips...and we all know it is not up to us how and where we gain weight...or lose it, for that matter!
 
Dani, it's funny you ask this. Last night I was just asking my husband: How much more weight do I have to lift to be as muscular as I want to be? He said I've gained a lot of muscle in the last two years, I just don't see it. Maybe, but I lift more than Cathe in some workouts and I'm still not THERE. Granted that I've had to give away several shirts and blouses and that I've had to stock up on safety pins to keep the waist bands of some of my pants to fit me right... I'm still not THERE. I look at pictures of the women in my mother's family, whose bodies I take after. They were all slender in their youth even though they were "hippy", but soon after childbirth, boom! The fat rolls started settling in, and now that they're in their 50s and 60s, they look quite like my grandma at that age, chubby and matronly. No wonder my aunts were oohing and aaahing when they saw me last year (after 5 years of my being away), and were checking me out the way one checks out an outfit on a mannequin. They walked around me as they looked me up and down. And then, the inevitable: How do you do it after having a baby? EVERYBODY asked me that. I guess because all the women in the family went through the same thing, and from their perspective, it seems I've been lucky enough to "escape" it. Yeah, but I'm still not THERE. I've changed my body enough to make people take notice, but I'm still not THERE. But I keep trying even though I know the limits of my own biology. Because I'll only hate myself if I don't. Sorry for rambling.

Pinky:)
 
Oops! I meant "same amount of time and effort".

Thanks so much for your input ladies! I really appreciate it.

I also notice some things on me that are similar to my mom and grandma. :)

I just might ask this at Cathe's Q&A!

Thanks again!!

:)
 
I think genetics plays a part, as stated earlier about being short waisted, etc. Also, there is insulin resistance to foods we eat. I would bet you could have pretty high insulin resistence, but still not high enough to be considered diabetic; but would be more carb sensitive than someone not so resistant.

However, there is SO MUCH that you can do or build with what you were genetically given. I'm in better shape than anyone in my family ever dreamed of being in. But that's because I put the time and energy into it, and none of them have.

I find the comment interesting, "I lift heavier than Cathe" and still don't look like her, to paraphrase. While I'm sure Cathe does "her workouts" to put out the best quality DVDs there are, learn the routines, etc., don't necessarily assume that she trains that way on her own. She may be in the gym lifting heavy, and she may have a trainer to help her get in shape too. She may not... I'm getting off track here. All I'm trying to say is that there are certain fundamental principles to building muscle and shedding fat. Cathe obviously knows how to incorporate them to get her best physique. But you may not get that physique doing Cathe videos alone.
 
Snazzy, to clarify... when I said I lift heavier than Cathe in some workouts but "am still not there", I mean to say I'm not where I want to be, which is to put a bit more muscle than I have right now. I know I won't look/be exactly like Cathe. I don't have her body type.

I also know she has a trainer, she said that in a previous post, and she did say she worked really hard to get her body the way it is for the HC series. She also had to clean up her diet. Even Cathe has to put incredible energy into getting the best body she can have with her genetics.

There are many ladies on this forum who work out at home (to Cathe or other instructors) who have wonderfully muscular bodies. Maybe they have good genes. But I do know they also work very hard for what they have and they use everything they know to get the results they want.

Pinky
 
Pinky! Isn't it past your bed-time? :(

Actually, I know what you mean. I can make my legs pretty muscular but my upper body looks ridiculously heavy, not at all muscular or toned or anything! You'd think I needed to go back to Denise Austin before I could even consider Cathe!!! So I soundly agree. Gentics has a big role in it.

Marla

P.S. How wonderful did it make you feel to amaze your relatives with your awesome figure? That's your hard work paying off!
 
I think it’s all to easy to blame genetics. “oh I’ll never look like so and so because I don’t have the same genetics”… well that’s true. You’re unique but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a strong, very lean, toned body if you want. If you look at pictures/videos of Cathe in her first videos she looks completely different from what she looks like today. Perhaps even she thought (back then) that she would never achieve what she looks like today.

Remember exercising right, eating right, small, frequent meals, getting enough rest, it is all a full time job. I honestly think that most people will never ever reach their genetic potential.

If we want to be lean we all know what we have to do. Exercise is only a tiny part of the equation. DIET (I honestly think) is 80% of why Cathe looks the way he does. The rest is exercise and genetics.
 
Such an interesting thread. I was wondering the same thing about curling with more weights than Cathe and still my arms are not as big as hers, but then again I have only been working upper body since January of this year and I have seen some major improvements in a short time. I just hope I can still go further and increase mass more...only time will tell. I am not sure I will ever be able to get my body fat down to 13% like I want to. I really am very good about what I put in my mouth and I workout hard, but seems impossible to achieve. I did go down to 14.9% yesterday, and this is only the second time I have been in the 14% range.

Charlotte~~
 
Charlotte!!! I love your new picture!! Pretty smile!!!

I'd love to be long and lean like you, but I'm a shorty! (5'01'') :p Gotta work with what I have right?
:7

Wayne, I do agree with you that diet has a lot to do with it too! Definitely! :)
 
interesting thread! I can lift heavier then Cathe in some of the w/o's but if you look at me, there's hardly any muscle definition! Loosing a few pounds did make me look a bit better, but I still don't look the part. And I doubt I ever will however heavy I may lift in the future. So I do think genetics has a big part in it.

Dutchie
 
I agree with the previous post that to many blame genetics-I don't build muscle easy but I have really good muscle and definition.I work hard at it and as I've stated before when I was able to lift heavier than 20 lb dumbells on my upper body -that is when I started to notice the difference in my muscles.
 
Don't get me wrong, ladies...I'm not "blaming" genetics, taking my toys and going home. Charlotte is a perfect example...it is obvious that she works hard and to get muscle definition, she has to because *genetically*, she is long and lean. It is very hard for a long and lean person to achieve the definition Charlotte has. I am sure if we asked her, Charlotte would confirm that she works her little ass off instead of saying "I'm long and lean...destined to look like Oliveoil...why bother". Instead she looks like a fitness model and works for it.

I, on the other hand, am so short...4'11! I tend to show muscle easier because of my shorter limbs. However, no lifting in the world is going to make me look like Charlotte!

So it is both. Some pieces of our genetics can be worked with and others can never be changed...not even with surgery. We do metabolize differently as well and Tom talks about this in his book, too.

I also agree 100% that 80% of the work needs to be done in the kitchen...diet is so critical!

I just don't want you to think I am "blaming" genetics. Just because I will never look like Charlotte doesn't mean I am going to quit! It just means I need to work hard every day to look like the best Sarah I can!
 
I think genetics has a lot to do with it. When I started lifting, my sister warned me about how easy it is to bulk up quick.....well not for me. She used to lift and within 2 months she had "huge" bicepts....I have seen some differnece, but not enough for anyone else to notice. My tricepts are not responding to anything. I think everyone is differnt. My best friend CAN'T keep weight on......and she eats like a horse. I can go over my points on WW and I will gain 3lbs in one week. The most important thing is that all of us are working our but off, even if we may never look like Cathe, all of us will be much healthier and look better for all of our work.

joanna
 
Sarah,

Uh, I don't know what to say. I am blushing. Your too kind. Although I would love to have your arms with all the mountains and valleys you got going on there and veins popping out. I am still striving for it, ya know.
We all have areas to improve and I am not sure I will reach my own personal goals, but you just keep going and see where it will take each of us.


Charlotte~~
 
In my opinion, genetics is a big part of everything.

I once had a 24" waist. When I was 17 years old and severely anorexic. That will never happen again. I doubt I'll ever have a 6-pack, but then there are a lot of folks out there who would probably like to have my lean legs.

No one is perfect, and we've all got our strengths and weaknesses.

My Mom was an administrative law judge and I became a lawyer. My mom has flat feet and gets terrible foot cramps and so do I. I inherited her propensity for cavities and her bloodhound sense of smell, not to mention her impeccable good taste. :+ As I recall, you have some amazing genes in your family. Both your mother and your grandmother are gorgeously buff, right? What the heck do you have to complain about?? Huh??? :D

Sounds like you're having a bad day. Cheer up girlfriend!!! :D :+

Your pal,
Nancy
 
I think it does have something to do with genetics. On occasion I have worked out with other people that get results way before I do. The women in my family tend to get these big sausage like arms, so I have really had to work HARD to get shape in mine. I have a sister that runs also but she does not lift like me and she has no definition in her arms. My other 2 sisters don't have definition either.

I also notice as I age, it does become more about diet. When I am anally strict I do get the best results...but when I eat crappy I seem to get this layer of fat back on and I am still working out!! But, I won't ever stop...as I love working out...http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/12.gif[/img]

Hi Wayne....I've missed you...nice to see you posting some...http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/f/jumping.gif[/img]

Dutchie....that is a great running pic!!! I do see muscles...:)...Carole
 
Of course genetics has something to do w/it, as it does w/almost anything in life. But that doesn't mean you can't be buff. I mean, my mom has an a$$ the size of Texas & my dad is this skinny little thing (5'10", 135 lbs). If I don't diet I would definitely be a hefty woman. And I lift very heavy but do not really gain size. I think if I hadn't been doing this for as long as I have, & if I didn't push myself hard, I'd be a stocky, flabby chick at this point. I just look at my sister, 11 months younger than me w/no exercise routine at all, to see what I'd look like. It is not a pretty picture. :eek:

ETA: probably shouldn't compare yourself w/the weight Cathe uses in her DVDs. My suspicion is she does about 75% of her max so she's not straining as she's instructing.
 
I find it sooooooooooooo odd (but completely human) that when we don't get the body we hoped for we blame genetics. Not our diet. Not our exercise routine. Not our daily life habits, but our genetics. I could be much bigger than i am now, and leaner too, but i'm not. Why? Cause i have bad genetics? Perhaps, but because i don't eat enough, i don't exercise hard enough, i don't eat 6-7 small meals a day, or get enough protein, etc... genetics are not to blame for my choices.
Why is it that I, being a man, find it "hard" to build muscle mass, when, say "sooooooo many women" (I know I’m generalizing) find it sooooo easy to pack on the mass? Even though I produce 10 times more testosterone than women. Guess I will have to blame my genetics…
 
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