March 30, 2001
Issue # 40

GENETICS
by Grendel

There was a kid in my high school class, David W. Now this guy was a complete stoner skateboarder. He also happened to be about 190 pounds of ripped muscle year round at about 5’8. He and I were on the same wrestling team and I was in the weight class above him. He and I were closely matched (he often won) despite the fact I weighted almost 50 pounds more then him; and I am no pussy when it comes to strength. The best part of this story is that all Dave did was drink, smoke cigarettes and pot, and eat junk food. I do not mean eat hamburgers; I mean eat candy bars. Oh yeah, and this guy was 16 years old. He never worked out, never. I think he went into the gym once for physical education and he was easily one of the strongest guys in the gym.

Now I am sure most of you know or knew someone like that; a guy that just makes you sit back and say, GODAMMIT! I have no doubt that almost all the top ranked bodybuilders where just like my friend Dave when they were kids. Look at pictures of guys like Jay Cutler; at 16, they are bigger and more defined then many juiced-out 35 year olds. So, lets take someone like David and put him on a regular weigh training program and a high-protein diet. He could easily win a natural show in no time. Then pump him full of steroids and he goes professional in a few years.

That is genetics for you; when I think of genetics and bodybuilding I do not think of genes or DNA sequences, I think of a stoned David W. eating a candy bar after wrestling practice and still have one of the best physiques in my school. I think of someone at 16 years old having a body that would make many grown men cry (or make Jason Meuller rock hard for the first time since his viagra script ran out).

Now a lot of you know I was recently in California with Jason Meuller. Going to the gym there was all the proof I ever needed of the dominance of genetics. For those of you familiar with formal statistics (like the damn bell curve) lets imagine a 5-tier range; a median range and then 2 standard deviations above and below it. Well, looking around the gym I saw the whole spread of genetics.

At the very bottom of the scale, the lowest tier of genetic gifts were the extremely poorly structured guys with no degree of muscle development. These are your classic 98-pound weaklings, even if they weight 290 pounds. They have terrible muscular shape, no bicep peak, you get the point. Steroids do very little for these people but shrink their wallet.

The next tier is that below average guys; those who take years to gain any substantial weight but have no obvious muscular asymmetries or truly lagging body-parts. These guys look the same year after year. With steroids they can probably move up to median or even above average level.

Then we get to the median group; your average men’s health reader. Exercises fairly regularly and looks fit; not ultra-ripped or anything. Just looks athletic and can make reasonably steady gains year and after. By using steroids they can look pretty impressive, like someone off the cover of MuscleMedia 2000.

Now, we come to the above average class. These guys are naturally muscular and have reasonable muscle shape. Usually they are endomorphic which is why they are not in the super-human class. They make good gains and with drugs can make it to moderate levels of bodybuilding success.

Then there is the super-human class, people like my friend David. I have already gone into great length about these sort of people in my first paragraphs so I will spare us the torment of hearing how great they are.

I should mention some caveats. Age makes a big difference; its hard to compare 20 year olds to 30 year olds; muscle density and size continues to increase for all men till about 35. In addition, I am not going to say that everyone can easily pegged into this class. Many people out there look normal or even over-weight that can get in shape very quickly. That is a mark of good genetics, perhaps not the best, but still good.

Obviously, this is a very unscientific breakdown; but it serves a purpose. I would put myself somewhere between just above median. I put on muscle easily enough and I look large but I am not genetically gifted enough to stay constantly lean. At my best I might be a decent amateur but the professional ranks are closed to me. Then we have Jason Meuller; I would put him somewhere just below super-human and he could do more if he was consistent.

So what the hell was the point of me writing this article? Well sadly, I think many people need a reality check and that can be hard. The attitude of many people on the board and in this whole industry is that anyone can have a great body. That is a lie, sorry folks. You can always look better then you do, but the truth is that no amount of steroids or supplements are going to change your basic genetic structure. So what can we do about this…well I have this new supplement that actually splices Flex Wheeler’s genes into you and if you buy two you get one free. No, sorry folks, no such snake oil from me today!

All I can say is that there is nothing sadder then someone who does not realize their limits. We cannot all do everything we set our minds on despite what your mother may have told you. This is true in school, in business, in life and especially in the gym. We spend a lot time here at Anabolic Extreme helping the ordinary people improve, people probably a lot like yourself. The fact that you are reading AE means you are probably not an elite bodybuilder.  I doubt Ronnie Coleman takes to time to peruse the latest crop of muscle mags and websites to find out the secrets to gaining mass. 

I think every one should look in the mirror and really evaluate what they see. Do not be upset that you are not Dorian Yates you probably never will be. Do not spend thousands of dollars on steroids so you can have the exact cycle Ronnie Coleman uses. Probably 1 percent of the population has the ability to become top ranked NPC competitors. Now, lets assume that some self-selection is going on here and most of the people reading AE are not the bottom percentiles of the population; so maybe 5 percent of this readership could be competitive at a national level.

I remember the first conversation I ever had with Jason Meuller about a year ago when I first started writing for AE. He asked me if I had aspirations of turning professional and I told him flat out I didn’t have the genetics to make it. I might win a local competition or place at a state show. Do I cry myself to sleep at night over this? No, because I have developed my natural advantages and abilities. I want be a professional bodybuilder but I also won’t waste my life in pursuit of something that I can never have. Now I can hear the angry murmurs already; it is all about drive or you can do anything. No, sorry, that is bullshit man. You either have it or you don’t and if you have to ask if you have it then well, you don’t. Is this the end of your life? No, if you finally wake up and see you don’t have a chance in hell of being a professional, you may make some changes that make life a whole lot better. If you make this realization and stop killing yourself (and your wallet) with huge cycles to become something you never can be, then I would say your life is just beginning.

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