natural physiques

leglock

Im just interested to know peoples views on the limits to a natural physique.....do you think there is a limit to the size and strength gains its possible to make naturally and whether age is an issue....ive trained on and off for many years and can honestly say i have made very little gains in the last few years during which time i have taken it probably more seriously than as a younger man......now in my late thirties i am wondering whether there is simply a genetic limit to size/strength in regard to natural training and age....obviously if we just kept growing and growing in size and strength forever we would never fit through the door so....just wondered what yall felt ?

CMinOZ

I'm really interested in this LegLock - this may open a can of worms

Tall

Theres a few guys in the Natural Powerlifting Feds who are pushing a total of 1000kgs... And they aint small guys...

So I'd guess it depends on training / genetics / life but anything is possible if you are focussed and train hard enough to acheive your goals.

But I also beleive too many use genetics as an excuse for poor diet/training/too much drinking/lack of rest - the body is an amazing thing and is forced to adapt to 'overload'.

crazycal1

i dunno tall i reckon the genetic factor is a reasonable "excuse" for the MAJORITYof naturally thin peeps especially if they have a small bone size too..
i`m not talking about peeps who were thin and simply got fat along with growing muscle tho.
for example 5"9 at 13 stone with a 32" waist counts for more in my book than 15 stone and a 38" waist....
there are limits for the average guy,but for a true mesomorph-different story...

einsteins mind was the key to all things...to understand more than to know.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk

Zav

LegLock, if you have the time (and its a longish article) read this. Its about the effects which the MYOSTATIN gene has on skeletal muscle growth.
http://www.thinkmuscle.com/ARTICLES/volk/myostatin.htm

Bodyworks

there absolutely is a limit to the amount of muscle one can build without the assistance of drugs. there are numerous scientific reasons why too. genetics is one but that differs person to person. i doubt however, that anyone has ever reached their full gentic potential, so this is in my mind an excuse for most people as tall said. building muscle requires several hormones to be present in the body. not least of which are testosterone and growth hormone (it's no coincidence drug assisted sportsmen and women take extra amounts of these). as you age, you body produces less of both of these hormones, making it more difficult to build lean muscle tissue in your fifties than it was in your twenties. likewise, the metabolism slows over time, making it more difficult to stay lean as you age. there are many other factors involved too, all along the same lines. basically as you age, you will find it more difficult to achieve the body of a young looking man.

Huey

Great post,agree completely.

I am now 35yrs old and still have ambitions of entering competition.I have always trained unassisted using only basic supps.In my early twenties gains came very easy with a less than perfect diet and lifestyle but i stopped training for a while only really getting seriously back into it about 3 - 4 yrs ago and now find it so much harder to progress,this is with an excellent diet and much greater knowledge.

I definitely believe we have a natural limit and age is certainly a defining factor.

scottswald

i'm glad i'm just 18 then.

if you made some really good gains when you were young, will you find it hard to maintain your size or will maintaining be quite managable in middleage?

Pikey

If natural it will be hard to maintain but the guy who first got me into weights is now 71 - natural can bench 220lb and has abs at about 10 stone so it isn't impossible and his skin is reasonably tight. I think one of the biggest things is maintain motivation and the fire to want to do it.

Bodyworks is right as you get older it is harder - that's why there's masters competitions. Huey go for it mate non of us are getting any younger and I was 38 when I went in my first show

BigAndyJ

Take advantage of your age mate - wish I'd had done when I was 18...

I would say it would be easy to maintain in middleage - especially if you started younger.