This doesn't really change the basic facts - that your lats suck, that your biceps doesn't have that awesome peak, or that your shoulders are narrow - but you can always create an illusion of looking better than you actually do.
However, there is one point where there's not that much you can do about genetics. You can't fake brute strength. In other words, when you're actually lifting the weights.
You can do a lot to improve your strength - let there be no mistake about this! - deadlifts, squats, and heavy presses are excellent ways to boost your overall, core strength. However, strange as it might sound to you, a truly crucial factor is where the muscles attaches to the bones.
Think about the upper arm-bone. The pec attaches perhaps 1.5 inches away from the base of the bone, near the shoulder-joint. When you're pressing weights, you have biomechanics working against you (it's like holding a short bar with one hand at the very end! Light as the bar might be, the mechanics makes it hard). If you were to move your hands a couple of inches in, the bar is easier to hold. On the same coin, the longer arms you have, the heavier holding the bar will feel.
Having longer arms also means that the weight will be traveling a longer distance from top to bottom position, as opposed to someone with shorter arms. And what has to pull the extra load? The pecs. There are two factors at play: The length of your arm AND where the muscle attaches to the bone.
Assuming that the muscle is exactly as large and strong as, say on your twin, you'd still be considerably weaker if that muscle was attached only ΒΌ of an inch closer to shoulder joint.
Follow the logic: The muscles are equally sized and of equal strength. The muscles are working equally hard when hoisting the weight for X amount of reps. However, the small difference of where the muscle attaches, allows one of you to use 30 lbs more.
Likewise, a guy with the exact same size and strength, and the exact same placement of the pec muscle attachment, will differ in strength if one of them has 20% longer arms. Remember the bar? The guy with longer arms are holding a longer bar, making the mechanics work against him. And - not only that - the weight has to travel further than with the other guy.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Matt Danielson's Weight Training topic, please visit the Discussions page.