Ever wondered if you have good enough genetics to actually build muscle? If so, this is the video you need to watch. Jeff Cavaliere and Jesse Laico dive into the viewer mailbox to answer the question of what can be done if your genetics for building muscle just aren’t so great.
The reality is, far too often people try and simplify one of the most complicated phenomena in the human body – genetics. It is not as simple as having either good genetics or bad genetics. Instead, you may have elements of your genetics that are favorable for building muscle and getting ripped while others are not nearly as gifted.
Instead of looking at yourself as either a Lamborghini or a Prius you have to realize that no matter what model car your body resembles at the moment you can quickly improve it – just as if you were to upgrade to a better package on the model you have now.
As with any discussion of genetics however, there are intangibles and outside factors that influence that way your genetics express themselves. If you do these things right, the expression of your genes can wind up with an entirely different outcome than you would expect.
Let’s discuss some of the things that are hard coded however and not likely to be influenced by anything other than picking your parents. These are called anthropometric factors. Things that influence your body structure, dimensions and proportions. Bone structure and skeletal width are very important factors. Let’s face it, if you are 5 foot 7 and have narrow shoulders you will never have the muscle mass like the Rock.
He simply has a much wider, broader skeleton that allows him to pack on much more muscle than you do. Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t optimize the amount of muscle that you can put on your frame and look amazing at the end of the day.
Other things like the torso to lower body ratio can dramatically impact leverages and your ability to lift strongly. It leads to reason that if you have better leverage to perform more powerful lifts that you will have an easier time building muscle through overload than someone who has very unfavorable limb lengths.
It goes even further…
If you have poor distribution of androgen receptors within your muscle bellies you simply won’t respond hormonally to training as a stimulus as someone who has a greater density of them. Likewise, if your muscles are made up of a much higher proportion of type I fibers rather than type II, your ability to be explosive and carry more muscle as a result will be lower.
These are things that you cannot change much, if at all, so it doesn’t merit much focus in your training.
The things that can be changed however are your willpower and consistency of training. I don’t care what your genetics look like, if you are willing to commit to a consistent workout program or schedule and get yourself in the gym on a regular basis to train hard and smart – you will have better results than most who don’t or aren’t willing to do the same.
Likewise, if you have a greater capacity to remain focused during a session or have a higher threshold for pain and training discomfort you will likely be able to push yourself harder than the next person and get a greater stimulus for growth from your workouts.
Of course, what you do outside the gym matters immensely in other areas as well.
What does your nutrition look like? Are you eating well enough to support your hard training in the gym? Are you getting adequate sleep to promote optimal recovery from your workouts which will help you to recover faster and see better gains because of it.
The bottom line is this, instead of looking to others and idolizing their results in comparison to yours, focus on yours alone and look for ways to optimize them. I promise you this, if you do, the results you achieve will be nothing short of amazing and better than you ever could have imagined. If you’re looking for your question to be answered in a future episode of AX JEFF, be sure to leave a comment below this video and you might be selected next.
For a step by step muscle building program and meal plan to help you get the most out of your genetics, be sure to visit athleanx.com via the link below and remember to use the program selector to find the workout plan that best matches your current goals.
For more videos on how to build muscle and how much genetics has to do with the size of your biceps, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link below and remember to turn on your notification so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
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48 comments
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Why don't these guys even talk about Cristiano's athletic physique? He is the best of all, no doubt about that though
I never forget what a doctor told me once. “Genetics” just means I don’t know in medical speak.
Yeah buddy jes u gt gains now bro …i …
How can I strengthen my grip when I dead lift I feel like I can do a lot more but I notice my grip gives out before I can reach my best on it.
Hockey FTW
Messi is gifted, Ronaldo is hard work machine
Are we just forgetting if you give two people the same diet and they work a out the same amount. They will not have a the same results. So genes do play a part it but it’s just not the reason why someone should not work out.
Pro Tip : If you don't go to the gym, you won't be having any gains to kill…
Modern problems require modern solutions…
Wonderful presentation
Thanks
you already know Jeff was killing it in school back in the day, so knowledgeable
Joel Romero. The cuban missile crisis. https://media.bleacherreport.com/f_auto,w_800,h_533,q_auto,c_fill/br-img-images/003/823/431/hi-res-55c831153274a335d1870ff45cd241fb_crop_north.jpg
Looks like a 30 year old god, but is allegedly 43 (although many people think hes older than 43 because they didnt use birth certificates when he grew up in cuba so he doesnt really know when he was born)
Is jeff his son?
I would like a video about how to get enough calories 🙁
What can be done to increase testosterone?
O.J. Simpson is allegedly killing my gains.
Next Video : Breathing is Killing Your Gains.
Hey Jeff. I'm in the military. According to the military I've always been overweight due to my height (220lbs at 5'11"). But everyone says I look like I'm in shape. What does this mean? Do I still need to shred the weight to make it to 197lbs? Or should I be happy where I am?
These comments are pathetic lmao. Why do you guys even watch these videos? Just to boost your ego for a tad bit?
You’d rather spend 25 mins mustering up a dumbass “joke” that 4 people will like in the comments. Rather than getting off your ass and doing some exercises. Sheep will be sheep i guess. Easier prey in my eyes. ⚒
jesse is big now, and getting bigger
jessie do you workout?
Was hoping they'd bring up St. Louis, lets go Jessie!
He actually never denied dominance of genetics.
Be the best YOU CAN BE
Thanks for the Letterkenny reference Riley and Jonesy
It is possible to have a body recompositions being skinny fat?
Genetics and steroids are the excuses of losers.
Is it possible to increase height after 23 years old ?
Jesse is looking GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
Laser Ramón!!!
I'm 14, 5'10, 136 pounds, and still have a lot of growth to do, and I've been working out, but haven't gotten any visual progression. My arms haven't had much progression, but my legs have. I can run 5 minute miles easily, and many vertical has improved from barely dunking at 8'6 to dunking on 9 ft. I've been watching your videos for two hours today, and am building a workout best for me based of your recommendations, thank you so much!
Dude this is so uplifting! I always thought I had horseshit genetics but now I better change my mind into upgrading my car💪🏻
What do you do if you have a hyper fast metabolism ? I am currently following your AX1 program to build muscle and burn fat. Earlier on when I used to train I didn’t even have so much muscle to begin with ( Quite Soft looking ) but I had and still have veins in my arms , chest , legs but again still soft looking. So earlier on I had to have 4500 calories just to maintain weight at the weight of 61 kg and 179 cm . It drove me crazy eating all day nutrient dense foods high protein moderate carbs and fats . I was eating everything that I could stick with for life but I just felt disgusted at myself for the amount of food I was eating plus it was getting expensive and miserable I almost puked out of sickness many times. Now following AX1 I train 5 days a week and everyday I have 3200-3400 calories of nutrient dense foods which is still mind my language shitloads of food , once I gain some good amount of muscle I will have to have abnormal amounts of food as with more muscle you need more food to maintain that muscle with. With AX1 even at 3000 calories I was loosing weight so I bumped up the calories . When I gain some good amount of muscle I will have to eat abnormal amounts of food please tell me how do I avoid this and make the process for my entire life easier, some tips and tricks would be appreciated.
"Youtube ads are killing your gains!"
Drinking water kills your gains
I just realized..
Jeff looks like Novak Djokovic with a very very long face and better gains
Jesse looks like confused Jesus
Hey Jeff can home workout build bigger muscles like gym workout does?
Arnold Schwarzenegger op 🔥
jesse looks like Eminem
Rn I'm probably a Volkswagen but I'm working on upgrading to a viper 💪😤
Jeff, you’re the master at knowing what’s killing our gains. Give me the hard facts; masturbation is killing my gains, isn’t it?
Hello, Jeff. I have applied your training for a couple of years and have seen the absolute best results of my life. I tell everyone about you and have joined your AX program and following it daily. I love it and I thank you. I do have a question. I seem to be unable to get much muscle development in my middle chest. No matter what I do, I can still see the sternum bones in the center chest despite filling out in my upper and outer chest and nice improvement on my lower chest. This is much more apparent when I flex. Is it possible that I have different attachment points that is causing this? Is there a way to know for sure?
Could you talk about exercises that will boost performance in specific sports?
Can we make our tendons stronger. If yes how? 👍
I have train for long time…but my biceps are not good why ?? My biceps isnt long but still not peaky biceps ….i train very hard for long time…. people train. 4 months and they have good looking biceps …why??????????
Jeff, what is your take on Arm Blaster devices for helping to do curls? Sort of seems to make them like preacher curls whilst standing up.
Is that as far back as their forearms bend when there flexing it…. because at full flex I barely fit one finger… I'm confused
I truthfully had started off pushing out my stomach out instead of keeping in during my abs exercises but I had correct it ((thank you jeff for ur videos🤓🤓🤓)) during my exercises I had a thought if I was to have Bloated abs is there a certain path to correct that or is it just tighten your abs and it'll eventually correct it?