The next book is finally OUT!!! Really proud of how it turned out. It has completely new information, as I've learned quite a bit about training since the first one. It's focused on improving your hypertrophy-training process and breaking plateaus. It includes an almost SEVEN HOUR audiobook, which I decided to record myself rather than outsourcing. Feedback has been excellent so far. I don't do sponsored videos or have ads on the channel, so I really appreciate the support. I really is YOU who keeps the channel going! Can grab a copy below if it sounds like something you'd be interested in! www.verityfit.com/product-page/resurrecting-your-gains-finding-your-muscle-growth-formula
@@Baloshz unfortunately not this time around, Amazon takes the lion's share of ebooks (65%) and I'd make like $2-3 from physical books so I'd effectively lose money on them (due to less ebook sales).
You can be optimistic about your ability to build muscle, improve, and look great (strong/athletic/etc), while also being pessimistic about your genetics, expecting to need to fight for it more than the average person, and not expecting to look like a fitness influencer. That way you get all the motivation, you get to accomplish your goals, and you begin the quest with a willingness to work hard, to learn, and to be patient.
It's kinda hard to be optimistic about gains when you're pessimistic about your genetics, it can feel like an uphill battle you can't win, especially when you add some other life stuff weighing you down even further...
@@djomla9999 I hear ya, man. The way I like to think about it is that if you go from out of shape to moderately in shape, you've gone from something negative to something positive. In my case, at 6'2 and 130 pounds, everyone bugged me about being so skinny. The endless insults drove me crazy. At 150 pounds, which is still very thin for someone my height, nobody bothered me anymore. I'd gone from being "skinny" to being "thin but fit." I looked like someone who enjoyed playing soccer or going on jogs. This whole thing of looking like a natural bodybuilder isn't necessary to have a "good" body. All you need to do is look healthy to look good. You don't need THAT much muscle to look healthy. I never thought I could look like a natural bodybuilder, so I was never disappointed that I didn't look like one, just like I was never disappointed that I didn't have a trustfund or hadn't been drafted into the NBA. I gradually bulked up to 200 pounds, and things got even better. I feel like I appreciate it even more because I didn't think I could ever get here. I didn't even think I could make it to 160. My point is, you can DEFINITELY make it to the next step. And getting to that next step will have a massively positive impact on your life. When you get to that next step, you can work towards the next one.
@@djomla9999 Also, if you prefer to view your genetics more optimistically, go for it. I don't find it as motivating, but plenty of people do. You can do whatever works best for you :) And you got this, man. You'll see. One step at a time.
This is the best comment here. Get a reality check on your expectations if you have poor genetics, but do know you can get okay results overall by training hard consistently for a long time. After three years of training no one would think I lift. But now I look like someone who plays basketball on the weekends instead of a sickly stick with a belly like I used to look.
There’s an old man with dementia who lives near me. I pass him every day on the way to work and he always says ‘do your best’. I think he’s onto something, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing, just do your best.
Glorify Undefinable, The Answerer or The Stabilizer of Worlds Controllers of Body, By eternal Existence rely to Undefinable alone, be Serene and judge by how Matter executes! The Identity can exist in every possibility! Ask guidance and things You can't get to The Answerer, THAT allowed You into this body, THAT gave truth for clean-minded in Subconscious, and avoid numbness! All ways looked in depth mentions Lord of Existence, and don't use what is unknown, until You will understand it! Shape Your own makings, and You will be supported! Blessed is Controller of Man united with intuition and subtle joy! That relies to The Originator alone, That chooses by the best, That hears brainwaves and sees eye pixels! The life can be mastered, for rules were made simple to Observant! Don't be fearful of destiny, because We're parts of Possibilities, that have freewill with Serenity! With wonders of DNA nature and fat-stores fasting, be satisfied! Forbid high anti-nutrient, PUFA, synthetic food - allow wheatgrass, fruit seeds and ferment food! Universe remains to its original law, and don't change adaptable bodies in ignorance! Trial is what evil awaited and good missed! Challenging are the days of Illusion and a sad burden to anyone that didn't seek independence, no first-cause is miracle-free! Great are the days of Responsibility that nourish the Soul! We have always existed! Everything is possible, You're in this body! Simulation theory is insufficient, and lucid dreams are managed by nutritionally sufficient and aware! The World is created for Observer's favor! Whole Multiverse is in perfection for Purpose! Matter adapts, has paired like! Current place is special by The Stabilizer!
I think one thing that would help is learning to embrace the process and focus on how much healthier (physically and mentally) training + diet can make you. The focus on genetics is putting too much emphasis on the end product (which in a way there shouldn’t even be one) and not on the journey itself which is the most important thing.
Such an important point, so many people only care about end results. I get annoyed sometimes because say someone lost 100 lbs, is strong snd healthy af and putting that work in. Theres always a bunch of kids in the comment section “hes gonna need surgery for that loose skin” or “its so sad that he can never look good.” People just dont quite get it do they. It isnt about looking good. It may have been at one point, when you first started and were tired of how you looked and how you were treated, but the true motivation that keeps you doing something day in day out and taking steady steps towards a goal is all intrinsic. Its intrinsic motivation thats important not extrinsic.
Friend of mine squated 250lbs for 10, first time ever squatting with skinny legs. Another friend of mine benched 260 for the first time ever benching. The guy has 17 inch arms and hands the size of a gorilla, without doing any weight training ever before. Theres some serious freaks out there and if youve seen Ronnie irl (I have), you know why people believe he was natural for so long
@@floppyfeet426 Squat guy is just physically active overall, had crazy good mobility and endurance from other sports. But still, his legs literally looked like he didnt ever lift. He built that up to 295 for 8 within two months aswell. Second guy is a mechanic, but he looked like that even when he was a 15 year old. His hands are like twice as large as mine and in general he is just built like a gorilla. Long thick arms, wide shoulders and back, huge wrists and hands
This was a great video! I do agree that you give down-to-earth advice, but it's never de-motivating. Really appreciate the info you put out and plan to buy your book.
The genetics discussion is one of the ultimate double-edged sword discussions in this industry ⚔️ and honestly, man, you’ve done a great job keeping it real in regards to this debate 💪
One point to make about genetics is that you really know how good/bad it is only after you start training. I see fitness influencers show before/after pics where they are super skinny before and say: look, I have bad genetics, but that doesn't mean much. I think, this applies to you:) Long distance runners are skinny, but I'd bet they on average can get massive faster than a typical person who wasn't good at any sport
I’m a lil stoned but I’m so grateful for the rest of you guys into noble natty underground RUclips fitness. Just think it’s cool to have a little sense of community you can relate to on more than one thing. That with lifters who started very skinny (I’m 5’8 and went from 105lbs-170lbs over the past year and a half). You guys are awesome we all gonna make it brahz
The biggest problem with genetics is that 99% of the people looking it up do not need to. Unless you are competing, do not even think about genetics. It is could be due to the delusion people have that a good physique is going to make them happy and that they are willing to do anything for it. Whether you have a 16-inch arm or 18, it is not going to affect your life in any way. But 12-inch arms, that will.
This exactly!! Almost anyone can get a good physique, many people could potentially get a great physique even. But the difference between good and great doesn't really matter to any normal person, so why let it define you?
You've helped me immensely to understand that if I put in the consistent work, maximum effort, eat right, get enough sleep, etc, that I can improve significantly. And I have made noticeable progress to my goals after restarting training from basically zero due to a catastrophic health issue that knocked me on my ass for several years. I worked out before my illness, but was definitely guilty of fuckarounditis. Also, your book "SWEAT" is fantastic!
So true. I am fairly muscular and I would say I just have a solid Beach physique and stay lean all year around by counting my calories and keeping things pretty strict. Everyone tells me I have skinny guy genetics and lips so I'm all set but they have no idea how focused I am and I know how quickly you can all unravel if I'm not. I would say I have perhaps slightly, just barely, above what I would consider average genetics for having a good athletic Beach physique. I would say I have average genetics for staying lean as well. Maybe even slightly below average. Anyway, just trying hard people and stay focused in the kitchen and you will look great! Take some long walks a few days a week. Enjoy the day everyone!
I don't know. I've trained an awful lot. But people who don't progress far generally don't have popular fitness channels. See where I'm going there...?
@@johncalla2151 I totally do. It's a tough situation because obviously big muscles and low body fat look cool even on a guy with average genetics. So, irregardless of genetics, someone who can stick to a nutrition plan and is willing to inject and train hard will almost always have more followers because of the demographics of social media. Mostly young or middle-aged at the oldest follow fitness. The heart of social media following Fitness probably Falls somewhere between the ages of 16 and 30. So, being huge and jacked out of your mind is where it's at whether it's natural or not. I'm just happy to be fit and feel great and pretty happy with how I look. I really enjoy the process! Best to you my friend
While genetics absolutely play a huge role in how your physique ends up, but it's really hard to guess (or easy) whether you actually have good or bad genetics without actually training for a considerable amount of time. GVS's old pics are a very simple example of this, it's very easy to dismiss stuff as good or bad without even trying it. Edit: No intention of blackpilling or anything like that here XD Let's just make use of the cards we're dealt with ✌🏻
True, but Geoffrey admitted to being a long distance runner, that he didn't really do any strength, and that he had a poor diet. Even people with great genetics would likely not look it following that plan.
@@geoffreyverityschofieldsbu3660 Correlation doesn't always mean causation, obviously strength is correlated with size because training for strength (especially rep strength) also causes hypertrophy, but you can still grow if you don't train for strength. Geoffrey clearly doesn't prioritise strength, that was the entire premise of Steve Shaw's video about him.
@@medhanshchatterjee Geoffrey has the strength you would expect for his size, leverages, and body fat %. You can't gain muscle without gaining strength, only the reverse but even that is only relative to your 1 RM. What I mean by that is your rep strength won't increase just because your 1 RM increased. If you can already do 220 for 12 it doesn't matter if you peak to a 315 max because 70% of 315 is still 220. I don't think anyone disagrees about genetics being on a bell curve, our argument is just that below average genetics can achieve way more than people think. Most people would be happy with NH's physique and strength and he's still making progress. You would have to believe NH is gifted which has no basis based on his early results
Definitely don't change anything about your message. You are riding the line perfectly between inspiration and realism. I definitely fall in the camp of having way better genetics than I thought. I used to be morbidly obese and while I lost the weight I still had no confidence, was stuck in binge cycles and looked like shit because of all my loose skin. Even when I got my diet in order I was still to scared to eat for muscle due to the fear of binging. Your content gave me the courage and mindset to go after what I wanted and I bulked. Lucky me it turns out I might be a freak for muscle growth
Novices underestimate how long it takes for an average natural to get a good physique. 3/4years atleast imo. When someone complains about not having good genetics i often say that you haven’t trained long or hard enough TO EXPRESS your goddamn genetics🤦♂️
@@squirrellsquats8428 it so true. look at alphadestiny and where he started and where he is now look at Geoffrey look at natural hypertrophy look at sean nalwanyj they all have 2 things is common They trained for well over 5 years and all of them have what we would call a very good or desirable physique.If someone looked at a picture of them when they started lifting and if they dont know any better they would say they have bad genetics and if you then showed them after 5 years they wouldn’t believe that they physique they built and will be very shocked that they deemed guys with "bad genetics"
As a kid I was really skinny, lean and defined but not much muscle. …Very small joints, ankles, wrists, etc. I did, however have explosive speed possibly indicating a good amount of fast twitch musculature. When I began to train I got great results. My small joints and narrow hips were an excellent contrast against my new found muscle and VERY wide shoulder structure… Moral of the story…Some people start with nothing and have to build every inch of their physique,,,,others have to diet down to achieve the best version of themselves. Train On!💪
Thank you GVS, Bald Omni Man, NH, and Alpha Destiny for providing quality information throughout the years. I have made the decision to stop watching RUclips fitness and only return to videos when needed, such as the Berserk Method video. The information has done wonders but it is time for me to take what I've learned and get off this damn computer.
I think one thing that is super important to note is that even if your progression is slower and not as impressive in the same amount of time, you still reap the benefits. The physical and mental gains will still be achieved. You still make an improvement and you're in forward motion.
Yea that’s true for yourself but the outside world doesn’t give 2 shots about the hard work you did to achieve your goals. They just care about the results themselves. Why do so many enjoy watching the 10yr old kid that plays piano like he’s played for 50 years in his past life rather than the 45 year old guy who has be playing for 20 years to get where he is. This is what the Italian word “Sprezzatura” means. If you’d like to reap the social benefits of of the 10 year old piano prodigy then you must work at your craft but do not talk about the hard work it has taken to achieve that. Literally no one care besides maybe your mom and dad. Just make it look easy and don’t discuss and hardships that you have faced. This is how you can reap the benefits of Sprezzatura without actually being a “freak of nature” at something. I personally keep this word in mind in all aspects of my life. Google it for an exact definition so you can understand me
@@derrick2251 I think what you said is fair and I don't disagree, I feel as though I've had times in my life where I have over thought and fantasized too much about optimization or the "perfect" strategy and it doesn't exist. My comment was more towards suggesting that hey, just start, and eventually you'll figure it out. It might not be great and far from optimal but the effects will compound, and even if it's not as profound as the prodigy's as you stated who commits a larger amount of time to their passion/hobby/skill you'll go a long way. For instance in regards to fitness a lot of men are struggling with obesity. putting your head down and just working will get you out of that hole faster. Perhaps a simpler thing to say is for example, I've started working out and seen great results in 2 months...that's all it took for it to be noticable to people...I wish I just shut up, didn't overthink and started doing it earlier. Part of my thought process when I wrote the comment was that it's easy to see all these incredible bodies on RUclips, IG and if you live in a city you'll see them ever so slightly but they're still very VERY rare outliers. You might be tempted to compare yourself to them but maybe they've been athletic at every stage of their life, maybe they done sports as kids and didn't have a large "gaming" phase. At the end of the day I think the journey is what needs to be focused on, that's your intrinsic motivation and eventually as you chisel and refine the process it will lead to something above average and potentially even outstanding and amazing, maybe you can be that prodigy but you need to have that will first. Maybe not exceptional at first but certainly above average, and From there it can keep improving should you keep striving. getting to above average alone should start reaping it's benefits and that is an achievement! Anything above average will be noticable to those who are receptive. However you need to do it for yourself first however that may present itself. That will ensure you continue the process. You can't reap the social benefits before putting in the work, my comment was to hopefully motivate someone start falling in love with their own process before seeking validation from others, which will come eventually. The validation should be the cherry on top but you need to feel proud about the fact your advancing for your own sake.
"If you're homeless.. why don't you buy a house!?" 🤣🤣 I have been training for 30 years with poor muscle growth genetics. I have enjoyed all that time. I'm not big or strong.. but I'm athletic looking.. and happy with it 💪
100% true. Many people are just messing up one or more variables (sleep, training, consistency, etc.) and then attributing their results to bad genetics. I've said the same thing for years. Unless you're trying to be an Olympian, genetics don't change the process.
I think you can somewhat determine if someone has poor genetics before even training though. We've all seen guys who have long lanky and thin limbs...they're generally narrow with thin bones, and barely any muscular development. These are the guys who are 5'6 120, 5'10 150, 6'1 170, and yet still have some fat on em. (skinny fat). Even with a very good response to proper diet/training.....these guys might put on 25-30lbs of muscle with years of training (5+) and end up at 5'6 150, 5'10 180, 6'1 195 etc. These are great improvements of course, but might still be regarded as "do you even lift" status by most at the end of the day.
@@chrisfaulkner3831 Sure, if you see someone's who's jacked without lifting a single weight you know they have great genetics. But you can't always tell someone's potential just from looking at them. Dr. Mike from Renaissance Periodization even talks about this. Some people have a very adaptable response to weight training. When they lift hard and consistently, they grow. The only way to truly gauge someone's genetics is to put them on an effective training routine with progressive overload (which depends on the person), and let them eat, sleep, and lift hard & consistently for at least 5 years. This is something most people are simply not going to do, so they blame genetics.
Good points. i think you overstate how optimistic one needs be. You only need enough optimism to get to the gym and to eat well long enough for it to be a habit.
We need more videos like this. It's so damn hard to talk about genetics in the fitness sphere without it coming across as a coping mechanism, or as if it holds back your average person from making significant progress. Genetics only really matters at the extreme ends of the distribution, and that should be the takeaway.
Unfortunately, all the physiques people are shown on social media, magazines, bodybuilding, etc are (for the most part) those on the extreme end of the distribution. Between that, and the prominent use of steroids.....perception of what is generally achievable is very skewed. Because of this, most people desire and shoot to develop a physique they simply don't have the genetics for.
No genetics matter all the way. But you don't have to think about it and workout. You shouldn't compare yourself to others and rather focus on your improvement. Why does everyone wanna hear genetics don't matter ? It does matter....
@@Propraj It keeps people's hopes up that they can achieve whatever physique goal they aspire to as long as they work hard enough. The fact that something might be out of you reach no matter what you do is depressing....even if its the reality. Also, saying "genetics don't matter" makes it much easier to sell the "fix" to your lack of results. $$$
@@Google_Censored_Commenter If you say it doesn't matter you are stupid. Since lifting isn't your bread and butter and you do it for fun and for you looking slightly better every year why the hell do you wanna know use genetics term for you ? My issue is people comparing themselves to others progress is the issue because if you talk about improving yourself each and every year then that's not genetic.
I like that you're realistic about how much genetics play a role. Many youtubers seem to say genetics is just a small part. Maybe that is because they want to pull those fatalist thinkers out of that hole, so it could be good to think that way for some. But I definitely prefer your realistic approach.
Ditto. As someone confidently in the 'realist' bucket, I definitely feel on an island sometimes because people tend to lean to either extreme (mostly the positive on lifting channels, the negative tend to congregate in more 'blackpill' communities).
IMO, the people who push genetics as just being a "small part" are trying to sell you something. Like...."yea, you can gain 40 pounds of muscle and look like a pro bodybuilder despite the fact that you've already been training for 5+ years and your diet is 85% the way there"......."all you need to do is buy this training program, buy my cookbook, buy this supplement.....etc etc" Gotta keep people on the hook.....and if they aren't buying it, just insult them.
@@TheGreektrojan As with many things, I find the truth is often somewhere in the middle. Genetics are very important in terms of where you can go......AND....many people don't train long enough/properly enough to be able to conclude that their genetics are shit. Both of these are true.
I started training at 22 6’1 150lbs, now I’m 34 and a lean 215. Thankfully I started out by powerlifting so I was eating around 3-4K calories a day to gain weight. 6 years in I decided the initial bulk was over at 190lbs. Never really lost my abs completely, and I’m all back and legs, my genes decided my arms will forever slow grow.
You technically can "learn" genetics. Epigenetics can turn a pile of dough to a rock. Forcing gene expression with habitual changes from top to bottom can and will change a person which is why you are 100% right about people being capable of becoming a 1% body. Hell, you're a prime example, from long distance runner to house. Trusting in the science and the process and doing what works will absolutely create incredible physiques. While I was going through puberty I could still owe a lot of my big changes to my environment. In high school I went from ~190 fatass to 140 rail to 180 brick shithouse at 5'9" the first jump was from cross country and track, the jump back up was from lifting and wrestling. Seeing the major changes fuels a person to drive even harder too. It's all about getting momentum. People either don't eat or don't see something different in the first month then lose motivation and it sucks because I could argue 95% of people are capable of being genuinely jacked.
I think many people underestimate just what you can do when you put your 100% into something. How many people really put their 100%. How many even put their 50% into something? Its not always about doing more work in the gym, if everything you do is perfect, you optimize your program, not skip training days/weeks, auto regulate, got your diet down to a TEE and never cheat on it, you now have a recipe for greatness. Geoff honestly is a prime example cause I dont think he has as good genetics as he says he does. He said he doesnt want to be another influencer that claims bad genetics when they really have good genetics but honestly i think geoff has slightly above aberage genetics at most
thank you Geoffrey, for all the knowledge and sane takes you provide, I have your first book and just purchased your second book, also I am very happy that you decided to release an audio version as well, for when reading is not possible and I still want to soak up the knowledge. thanks again and have a great day
The power of the mind and the power of belief are extremely strong I started out at 6' 3 170 pounds and I had already been doing calisthenics training in the military years before I tried body building, I didn't have the best genetics to start to start but I didn't think that.... I believed that I could become Arnold Schwarzenegger naturally and that belief carried me very far or in my training. I didn't diet correctly for many years doing what's called a perma bulk all the way up to 253 pounds, My best ever physique was during covid before I got injured injured again and I was 210 pounds at 7% body fat . I deadlifted 575lbs conventional 2 months begore this. Working back towards that right now, feeling my strongest ever at 205lbs focusing on sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. High carbs lower fat diet I reached a 24.4 ffmi
I am a carelessistic. I don't care about my genetics and I try to improve as if it didn't exist. Whenever the thought crosses my mind I instantly put it aside.
Genetics gets extremely obvious in the military. You have hundreds of guys in a company with as controlled environment as you are going to get, especially when they are confined for several weeks. Given how controlled military life in training phases can be, the variability in external factors is about as minimal as it gets. Similar training, similar diet, similar rest, similar sleep. You will still see wildly different bodies, strength, performance at the end of training.
Bought the new book. There's so much in it compared to the first one. It's gonna take me a long time to read through it. So far, what I've read is brilliant. Amazing work. I've been watching you for about three years now and I always thought you had very good genetics. You're a high responder. You put in a great deal of intelligent effort and output great results. That's a high responder. Others that put in the same effort but only output average results are low responders. I think of genetics this way: High input... + low output = poor genetics + average output = below average genetics + high output = average genetics + great output = above average genetics Average input... + low output = below average genetics + average output = average genetics + high output = above average genetics + great output = great genetics Low input... + low output = average genetics + average output = above average genetics + high output = great genetics + great output = elite genetics
20 years lifting, trying absolutely every method under the sun. I'm just not getting bigger than 5'10, 155 lbs around 12% body fat. I made 90% of my gains in the first 3 months of lifting where I absolutely exploded --- and then peaked. I've done the "just eat more" situation, and bulked up to 183 and got marginally stronger but looked and felt like crap. When I trimmed back down I retained none of what I had gained it was useless. I think it's safe to say boys be comfortable with whatever the gym gives you and if you are giving an honest effort and it's not going anywhere... you're probably tapped.
Have you had your blood tested? Are your test levels normal? But I do agree with you. Genetic limit is a thing, and some people reach it quicker that others. I've seen people like yourself and I've also seen some people put like no effort in whatsoever and still be 5 ft 9 190 pounds of muscle
This video was spot on. I'd definitely consider myself optimistic, leaning towards realistic or delusuional, depending on the day and how i feel haha. Being a natural and seeing all these giant monsters on the internet definitely takes a toll on you, but at the same time i'm seeing myself slowly develop my physique and get stronger. At the end f the day what counts is that i'm healthy, i'm happy with how i look, and i am striving to look better. Great video!
This is a great video, thanks for putting a lot of thought into it. I am way too pessimistic. I am mid-thirties and really trying to be in the top 1% physically of my peer group by the time I'm 40. Ironically, my training journey started when I just said, "I am going to run a marathon. I'm going to finish it, no matter how long it takes." But by running and finishing a pretty slow marathon I became "elite" to a lot of my friends.
I would love some research into Gene modification, when it comes to working out and human potential. Gene Editing vs Steroids for example, pros and cons etc
Well said. Sure, if you see someone's who's jacked without lifting a single weight you know they have great genetics. But you can't always tell someone's potential just from looking at them. Dr. Mike from Renaissance Periodization even talks about this. Some people have a very adaptable response to weight training. When they lift hard and consistently, they grow. The only way to truly gauge someone's genetics is to put them on an effective training routine with progressive overload (which depends on the person), and let them eat, sleep, and lift hard & consistently for at least 5 years. This is something most people are simply not going to do, so they blame genetics.
I have great lazy genetics. I've never been freakishly big and lean, I'm just naturally big and strong. In school I broke all the powerlifting records on my first day. Suddenly had a bunch of my bullies want to be my friends. Fastforward about a decade. I remember being depressed that I'd been too busy with work and university and all the other necessities of the time to be able to lift or really exercise at all for a few years. Then my gym bro mates said they wanted to lift with me because I'm obviously doing something right in the gym with the very little time I had available... but I wasn't lifting AT ALL, in fact I was barely sleeping and drinking way too much to deal with the stress! I once did an insane 3month lifting challenge, actually lost loads of weight, peed brown syrup which I took to mean I had rhabdo, barely moved for a month except to slowly crawl between bed and the toilet or accept food deliveries because I was that messed up, finally got to a point where I felt comfortable leaving the house, went out for my birthday and was accused of taking PEDs because after the month's rest I looked huge. Admittedly, the massive weightloss probably played a big part in the starkness of the transformation.
@@shelfcloud487 yeah, it's no joke! It was awful! In some ways it feels like a badge of honour because I've been called lazy a lot yet I essentially hospitalised myself with too much hard work, but that's stupid. It basically means I was doing everything wrong, and I should have known better.
The good thing about being completely average is that if I take a spreedsheet of expected numbers I always fit right into it, so it's way easier to follow my progression - just my OHP is a little bit better than the spreedsheets indicates.
I enjoyed this video ! I think one other component to add to the list is also hormones. I’ve recently learned that testosterone Matters a lot and it isn’t talked a lot about. Why aren’t older Men on TRT? It’s dangerous to have Low T than high T (and by high I mean in the normal ranges of 900 nG/dL).
Unnatural atrophy (or hypotrophy). Some dude on PEDs who can't get results despite his cycles and preaches the black pill mindset. Hardstuck at 100 subscribers but planning to monetize his channel once he hits 1000 just to make less than Bloho. I hope an actual person like this doesn't exist...
Great video Geoffrey! I would say you’re pretty realistic but not to the extreme where it’s demotivating, it’s a good in between of optimism and realism. I’m also glad I didn’t start training during this era of social media, I knew as a distance runner I had more slow twitch fibers but I just figured training to be explosive/strong would fix that.
Great video! I also think "personal motivation" plays a role. Let me put it this way: I'm absolutely determined to make "the muscle-up" so I train for that every day, I've advanced more on it than everyone else in the gym (my lats show that too). But I'm just not interesting in squatting and I can't squat half of what the other guys do... and there's the runner who makes around 70% of the time per lap the rest of us do (and he's fresh as a lettuce). So, even if genetics help me, I'll never grow legs as the guys who train for that, and the drive to make it happen play a good role.
This is really well done. I especially liked the scale from fatalist to dilusionist. I guess I'm somewhere between realist and optimist. I will never be Mr. Anything but I will never stop trying to build muscles. Senior year of high school 1976,18 years old, I was 6'1" 145 pounds. Almost every workout partner I have had since then responded to the same exact training better than me, but they all eventually quit. When I was in my late 30's a guy from work started working out with me. He was 24. Played football and baseball in college. First time he ever benched was in 10th grade. He maxed 300 pounds. First time I benched was in 9th grade. I maxed 95 pounds. I could give other examples , but you get the picture.
No truer comment than people "crumbling with age." The longer I'm in the strength and bodybuilding game, the more of an "outlier" I've become. I maybe have above average genetics, but definitely not gifted. It's taken me years and years to get where I am, but pretty much everyone else my age has fallen off the wagon. Honestly, I was a chronic under eater, even into my late 20s. For one, I couldn't really afford to eat that much and my job made it difficult, and two, I was overweight as a kid/teen and a big fear of getting fat again. At my gym, I'm one of the only serious naturals in his late 30s who is still trying to get bigger and stronger. I see a lot of people close to my age who spend most of their time doing the same routine over and over in hopes of "maintaining" their physiques when in fact the lack of a stimulus is causing them to decline. I've asked several of my gym acquaintances to guess my age and invariably they guess late 20s. People are just not used to seeing natties who have stuck with it a long time with a reasonable body composition. When you're younger, you want quick results. But as you get older, longevity matters. I'm damn proud of the fact that I'm now in the top echelon of naturals my age. Stay natty and age like a fine wine. Some might think it's the survivorship bias you referenced, but in reality my physique tread water for a lot years and I only kept at it because I like exercising. I've done low volume, vertical jump training, crossfit (short lived luckily), Olympic lifting, and finally stumbled into modern strength and bodybuilding in the past 5-6 years. In the past 5-6 years, I've gained about 20 lb with only minimal fat gain, I think a lot of that is because I was just chronically undertraining volume and undereating for size.
Everybody has things they’re better at and worse at. Some are smart but can’t put on muscle. Some are good at math but can bench 6 plates. Some can gain muscle, but are too short to play their favorite sport. And so on. The question shouldn’t be “do I have good genetics?” Instead, it should be “what are my genetics best at doing?”
Look at someone like Jesse Laico from Athlean-X, he’s a true ‘ectomorph’ (don’t really like that term because I don’t think body types can actually be put into just three categories) or ‘hard gainer’. He’s built a great physique over the years and looks fantastic but you can still see he has a naturally small frame and will never get ‘big big’, he still has skinny legs compared to most guys even though he is pretty big for his size. The annoying thing is that the vast majority of guys were skinny as teenagers and young adults, so when many of them get big from the gym, they look down at people like Jesse and think or say out loud “I used to be skinny too, I’m an ectomorph/hard gainer and look how hard I’ve worked and how big I’ve got, you’re just not working hard enough”. But really they weren’t ‘ectomorphs/hard gainers’ they were simply just teenagers. I’ve got a body pretty much just like Jesse’s and it’s frustrating when other guys who may be tall and somewhat gangly too but don’t quite have the same body type think ‘oh you’re just not working hard enough’.
When I started lifting weights, I watched all of my friends get bigger and stronger than me way faster than me. 9 years later I have surpassed them through consistency where they either fell off completely or have had years off of the weights during the same time period. Some of us just have to work harder for longer. The thing that made me better is I wanted it way more than them.
Fantastic perspectives on so many levels. Joe Weider didn’t tell the full truth through the decades, selling that anyone could be like Arnold or Ronnie, but I was inspired to learn and to get up and make huge changes over time. Here’s my lifelong perspective that I intend to keep: “do the best you can with what you have.” It’s worth it!
I'm for ducking sure on the fatalistic side of things. I am struggling with my mental health for, well ... for my whole life, more or less. And even though I had great results in changing myself (quit smoking, losing 75kg of weight, eating healthy most of the time, getting my shit done most of the time) I don't possess a single fucking grain of self-belief. It's so hard to change youself and your life over and over again while not believing you can do it. I even did the first steps and trained really hard (full body workout on machines in a gym) as a 40+yo but things didn't work out quite as I wanted them to. "Gym life" just sucks. There're just too many douchebags walking around. So I want to get a little homegym with just the basic equipment for a 5x5 training routine and start all over the old school way.
Took me a year of consistent training to get to a 225lb deadlift and 135 bench press. Some people can do double that the first time they go to the gym. But I still look and feel better than I did a year ago so does it really matter what someone else can do?
I started training at 36 and am interested in how that effects my potential and my gains. The information is very rare about this topic, maybe you information about this topic due to experience with clients and share some insights?
Perhaps an effect, but it's quite small, almost certainly smaller than most people think. Generally people gaining more muscle when younger is a matter more of prioritizes, sleep, stress and scheduling than anything physiological like hormones or cell biology.
I'm part of a strong man Facebook group and there are people still marking gains into there late 40s. I saw a 50-year-old deadlift 650 as a lifetime PR. You got plenty of time :)
If it helps, I started at 55 after 30+ years of zero training (basically a novice), and have made very significant gains, and continue to do so. Your limitations are, primarily, self imposed.
I didn't start taking training seriously til 31 (was mostly off with temporary bouts of on that didn't go far enough to be worth mentioning), and I can say it probably hasn't affected me any.
It hit me how important genetics are when they literally hit me with a sledge hammer when I was 18. I was always training kinda hard for a kid and was always naturally strong compared to other children, but I never gained much mass. I was obviously a child. 7 months after my 18th birthday I was 6'8" with 190lbs. Then genetics said "You are an adult now! Viking genes go brrrrrrr!" and 3 WEEKS later I was, obviously still 6'8", but then at 240lbs, almost all of it muscle gain. Trained the literal same way I always did. Above average, but still nothing spectacular. In the next 6 months, I went up to 280lbs and that was when this ridiculously sudden genetic intervention stopped. I still bulked up a bit after that over the years, but it was at a normal rate, and since I always ate too much in my life, a higher proportion than before was fat. The 40lbs 6 month bulk was already completely ridiculous. But the 50lbs 3 week bulk was absolute lunacy. And the most crazy thing was, I didn't even really realize it. I just did what I always did and wondered why some people would suddenly think I was on steroids. Only in hindsight did it dawn on me that gaining 50lbs of muscles in less than a month was not normal. I wouldn't necessarily call my genetics "great" though. Before I got 30 my spine basically imploded. Whatever genius spent all my evolution points in muscles didn't think through that you might want to put a few ones into the skeleton as well xD But it thaught me a very powerful lesson about genetics!
At 16yo I went to a doctor due to lasting back pain. I went to a physio that coached handball players aswell and he introduced me to squats and deadlifts. I told that to my doctor and he said since I am an ectomorph or whatever (tall and skinny) I will never have mass and all I got is some endurance. So glad I didn't take him seriously. I reached 4 plate Squat rather quickly, 210kg Deadlift, ate food and gained mass even though I should not have strenght or be able to stop being skinny according to a fucking doctor talking to a kid
6:32 "I have such and such wrist size. This unironically applies to me. I can wrap my pinky and thumb around my wrist. I have like 16/17 inch biceps the last time I measured while at like 12% bf, 177 pounds, 5'10. My bench has been stagnant at like 115kg and OHP at 80kg for the past few months, and I unironically feel my wrists let me down.
I completely agree that only the highest goals require good genetics. Most people just want to be reasonably fit, or want to make 100k per year. These goals do not require good genetics at all. Now if you want to be an elite athlete, or a rocket scientist, you’re going to need top tier genetics. I also really don’t believe in the concept of an exercise non responder. I would bet my life that these people just have no idea where true failure is, don’t push anywhere near failure and so they get no adaptations. This is the reason why most people in commercial gyms get no results.
I have to say many people only look at what someone looked like before training to see if they have good genetics but very often people with very good genetics you will never really be able to tell until they work out for a bit the only real way I think you can know if you have good genetics is if your parents train and are big and strong other than that there isn’t really a way to know until you test it yourself
Dude just wanted to say you are the best! I watch nippard and Dr Mike and I like those channels but I feel like I have no real idea of how to piece this stuff together but your channel has done wonders for me, and IDC what anyone says you are jacked dude!! Your the goal man, like seriously look at you, you look great! Keep up the great content I appreciate it!!!
Genetics CAN be everything. The difference between being the worst or the best or mediocre. Flex Wheeler had a rare myostatin deficiency mutation. He even said himself he barely had to workout hard and etc... that he would just grow.
I’ve done genetic testing. Both ACTN3 deficient and have every unfavorable known variant for fast-twitch fibers. Still managed to put on a little more than 30 lbs of lean mass by lifting. The ONLY difference I’ve noticed between me and other lifters is that my high-growth areas are opposite those of my peers. My legs - especially calves - got big quickly. My upper body grew - but at a far more modest pace.
Man I am watching my school mates and associates decline like crazy with age. Looking like poo when in school they had been the very attractive popular group. I'm not saying they are now bad people. Life is really tough but what I am saying is that once your over 30 you need to really focus on taking care of your body or it will literally slide down the hill faster then U can catch it. I've been a drug addict on and off and trained on and off but I've noticed now (31M) that if I don't be careful I will end up in a very very bad place and sometimes I feel myself balancing on the edge. Please look after yourself peeps. Be the best you can be. Focus on a healthy lifestyle or you WILL wake up one day fat, unhealthy and with chronic illness. 100% fact
Growing up people keep telling me stop lifting, I m not going anywhere; I was like 6 feet as a kid and like 68kg 149lbs Years later still have “trouble gettin bigger” but at 6’4 230lbs ~15%bf people now say “ohh that s God Given”🤡🤡🤡
It's weird that people think there's a genetic contribution to height but little when it comes to building muscle. Forget about going from 149 to 230 lbs. Tell me what you did to become 6'4". I want to do that too.
alright bro youre making it seem like 68kgs is anorexic or something its really reasonable and average to be 68kg as a teenager. Try being 6'5" 215 and 20% bf after lifting for more than one year
This whole topic makes me think of how in the early days of a sport everyone looks pretty average, but the longer the sport is around, and the more people can train specifically for the sport, the more genetics comes into play at the top levels of the sport. Like how today's NBA players have longer arms and shorter necks compared to average proportions, so a 6'9" NBA player has a standing reach equal to or higher than a normally proportioned 7 footer. If you put in the work and develop the skill, you can be a good basketball player, but those "genetic freaks" are good, plus they have optimal physical frames for elite level competition.
The next book is finally OUT!!!
Really proud of how it turned out. It has completely new information, as I've learned quite a bit about training since the first one. It's focused on improving your hypertrophy-training process and breaking plateaus. It includes an almost SEVEN HOUR audiobook, which I decided to record myself rather than outsourcing.
Feedback has been excellent so far. I don't do sponsored videos or have ads on the channel, so I really appreciate the support. I really is YOU who keeps the channel going!
Can grab a copy below if it sounds like something you'd be interested in!
www.verityfit.com/product-page/resurrecting-your-gains-finding-your-muscle-growth-formula
@user0178 glad you're liking it! I definitely didn't take a "dry and corporate" approach to it, that's for sure :)
No paper book version ? My love for old books sounds like a pain in the ass today I get it. I can pay an extra something ofc
Already finished reading it lol. It has everything you ever would want to know about hypertrophy. Glad I can support you!
@@PerfectCellMax appreciate that, happy you liked it!
@@Baloshz unfortunately not this time around, Amazon takes the lion's share of ebooks (65%) and I'd make like $2-3 from physical books so I'd effectively lose money on them (due to less ebook sales).
"You can't teach genetics"
Biology teachers: "Watch me"
You can be optimistic about your ability to build muscle, improve, and look great (strong/athletic/etc), while also being pessimistic about your genetics, expecting to need to fight for it more than the average person, and not expecting to look like a fitness influencer. That way you get all the motivation, you get to accomplish your goals, and you begin the quest with a willingness to work hard, to learn, and to be patient.
It's kinda hard to be optimistic about gains when you're pessimistic about your genetics, it can feel like an uphill battle you can't win, especially when you add some other life stuff weighing you down even further...
@@djomla9999 I hear ya, man.
The way I like to think about it is that if you go from out of shape to moderately in shape, you've gone from something negative to something positive.
In my case, at 6'2 and 130 pounds, everyone bugged me about being so skinny. The endless insults drove me crazy.
At 150 pounds, which is still very thin for someone my height, nobody bothered me anymore. I'd gone from being "skinny" to being "thin but fit." I looked like someone who enjoyed playing soccer or going on jogs.
This whole thing of looking like a natural bodybuilder isn't necessary to have a "good" body. All you need to do is look healthy to look good. You don't need THAT much muscle to look healthy.
I never thought I could look like a natural bodybuilder, so I was never disappointed that I didn't look like one, just like I was never disappointed that I didn't have a trustfund or hadn't been drafted into the NBA.
I gradually bulked up to 200 pounds, and things got even better. I feel like I appreciate it even more because I didn't think I could ever get here. I didn't even think I could make it to 160.
My point is, you can DEFINITELY make it to the next step. And getting to that next step will have a massively positive impact on your life. When you get to that next step, you can work towards the next one.
@@djomla9999 Also, if you prefer to view your genetics more optimistically, go for it. I don't find it as motivating, but plenty of people do. You can do whatever works best for you :)
And you got this, man. You'll see. One step at a time.
This is the best comment here. Get a reality check on your expectations if you have poor genetics, but do know you can get okay results overall by training hard consistently for a long time. After three years of training no one would think I lift. But now I look like someone who plays basketball on the weekends instead of a sickly stick with a belly like I used to look.
@@djomla9999 Same, but now I use the negativity as fuel. No f**king amount of DNA will decide how hard I lift today. I f**king decide.
There’s an old man with dementia who lives near me. I pass him every day on the way to work and he always says ‘do your best’. I think he’s onto something, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing, just do your best.
That’s all anyone can do.
Beautiful thought.
one of the four agreements. he definitely knows whats up
Glorify Undefinable, The Answerer or The Stabilizer of Worlds
Controllers of Body, By eternal Existence rely to Undefinable alone, be Serene and judge by how Matter executes! The Identity can exist in every possibility!
Ask guidance and things You can't get to The Answerer, THAT allowed You into this body, THAT gave truth for clean-minded in Subconscious, and avoid numbness!
All ways looked in depth mentions Lord of Existence, and don't use what is unknown, until You will understand it! Shape Your own makings, and You will be supported!
Blessed is Controller of Man united with intuition and subtle joy! That relies to The Originator alone, That chooses by the best, That hears brainwaves and sees eye pixels!
The life can be mastered, for rules were made simple to Observant! Don't be fearful of destiny, because We're parts of Possibilities, that have freewill with Serenity!
With wonders of DNA nature and fat-stores fasting, be satisfied! Forbid high anti-nutrient, PUFA, synthetic food - allow wheatgrass, fruit seeds and ferment food!
Universe remains to its original law, and don't change adaptable bodies in ignorance! Trial is what evil awaited and good missed!
Challenging are the days of Illusion and a sad burden to anyone that didn't seek independence, no first-cause is miracle-free!
Great are the days of Responsibility that nourish the Soul! We have always existed! Everything is possible, You're in this body!
Simulation theory is insufficient, and lucid dreams are managed by nutritionally sufficient and aware!
The World is created for Observer's favor! Whole Multiverse is in perfection for Purpose! Matter adapts, has paired like! Current place is special by The Stabilizer!
1 Corinthians 10:31 ...do everything to the glory of God.
I think one thing that would help is learning to embrace the process and focus on how much healthier (physically and mentally) training + diet can make you. The focus on genetics is putting too much emphasis on the end product (which in a way there shouldn’t even be one) and not on the journey itself which is the most important thing.
Such an important point, so many people only care about end results. I get annoyed sometimes because say someone lost 100 lbs, is strong snd healthy af and putting that work in. Theres always a bunch of kids in the comment section “hes gonna need surgery for that loose skin” or “its so sad that he can never look good.” People just dont quite get it do they. It isnt about looking good. It may have been at one point, when you first started and were tired of how you looked and how you were treated, but the true motivation that keeps you doing something day in day out and taking steady steps towards a goal is all intrinsic. Its intrinsic motivation thats important not extrinsic.
Strongly agree.
Friend of mine squated 250lbs for 10, first time ever squatting with skinny legs. Another friend of mine benched 260 for the first time ever benching. The guy has 17 inch arms and hands the size of a gorilla, without doing any weight training ever before. Theres some serious freaks out there and if youve seen Ronnie irl (I have), you know why people believe he was natural for so long
I'm curious on what your friends did for work ?
We're they like rock crushers or something lol
@@floppyfeet426 Squat guy is just physically active overall, had crazy good mobility and endurance from other sports. But still, his legs literally looked like he didnt ever lift. He built that up to 295 for 8 within two months aswell. Second guy is a mechanic, but he looked like that even when he was a 15 year old. His hands are like twice as large as mine and in general he is just built like a gorilla. Long thick arms, wide shoulders and back, huge wrists and hands
Some people have a good background in sprots which helps them to progress faster
So his hands are 400 pounds each, like a gorilla? :D
Jesus, you need weaker friends 🤣
This was a great video! I do agree that you give down-to-earth advice, but it's never de-motivating. Really appreciate the info you put out and plan to buy your book.
Thanks, and I appreciate the support! edit: typo!
It matters if you concern yourself with competitive bodybuilding, otherwise it doesn't.
I'm definitely in the 'delusionistic' camp. I feel like if I can get my supplements just right I wont actually have to do any work.
The genetics discussion is one of the ultimate double-edged sword discussions in this industry ⚔️ and honestly, man, you’ve done a great job keeping it real in regards to this debate 💪
One point to make about genetics is that you really know how good/bad it is only after you start training. I see fitness influencers show before/after pics where they are super skinny before and say: look, I have bad genetics, but that doesn't mean much. I think, this applies to you:) Long distance runners are skinny, but I'd bet they on average can get massive faster than a typical person who wasn't good at any sport
This is a good point that's often overlooked.
‘potential is only an expression of a possibility, something that can be assessed accurately only in retrospect’ - Mike Mentzer
Bought your new book immediately once it dropped, as the first one was immensely valuable. Only a few chapters in but already enjoying it. Thank you!
I’m a lil stoned but I’m so grateful for the rest of you guys into noble natty underground RUclips fitness. Just think it’s cool to have a little sense of community you can relate to on more than one thing. That with lifters who started very skinny (I’m 5’8 and went from 105lbs-170lbs over the past year and a half). You guys are awesome we all gonna make it brahz
The biggest problem with genetics is that 99% of the people looking it up do not need to. Unless you are competing, do not even think about genetics.
It is could be due to the delusion people have that a good physique is going to make them happy and that they are willing to do anything for it.
Whether you have a 16-inch arm or 18, it is not going to affect your life in any way. But 12-inch arms, that will.
Lmao the ending got me 😂 but very true
12 inch arms 🤢🤮
Why be ignorant and block yourself from discussing a subject. Thats irrational
This exactly!! Almost anyone can get a good physique, many people could potentially get a great physique even. But the difference between good and great doesn't really matter to any normal person, so why let it define you?
@@malik_alharb that true but ppl care to much about just go hard and eat a lot
You've helped me immensely to understand that if I put in the consistent work, maximum effort, eat right, get enough sleep, etc, that I can improve significantly. And I have made noticeable progress to my goals after restarting training from basically zero due to a catastrophic health issue that knocked me on my ass for several years. I worked out before my illness, but was definitely guilty of fuckarounditis. Also, your book "SWEAT" is fantastic!
I love the fact that you stated that the more you train the more you get accused of having good genetics. Funny how that works.
So true. I am fairly muscular and I would say I just have a solid Beach physique and stay lean all year around by counting my calories and keeping things pretty strict. Everyone tells me I have skinny guy genetics and lips so I'm all set but they have no idea how focused I am and I know how quickly you can all unravel if I'm not. I would say I have perhaps slightly, just barely, above what I would consider average genetics for having a good athletic Beach physique. I would say I have average genetics for staying lean as well. Maybe even slightly below average. Anyway, just trying hard people and stay focused in the kitchen and you will look great! Take some long walks a few days a week. Enjoy the day everyone!
I don't know. I've trained an awful lot. But people who don't progress far generally don't have popular fitness channels. See where I'm going there...?
@@johncalla2151 I totally do. It's a tough situation because obviously big muscles and low body fat look cool even on a guy with average genetics. So, irregardless of genetics, someone who can stick to a nutrition plan and is willing to inject and train hard will almost always have more followers because of the demographics of social media. Mostly young or middle-aged at the oldest follow fitness. The heart of social media following Fitness probably Falls somewhere between the ages of 16 and 30. So, being huge and jacked out of your mind is where it's at whether it's natural or not. I'm just happy to be fit and feel great and pretty happy with how I look. I really enjoy the process! Best to you my friend
While genetics absolutely play a huge role in how your physique ends up, but it's really hard to guess (or easy) whether you actually have good or bad genetics without actually training for a considerable amount of time.
GVS's old pics are a very simple example of this, it's very easy to dismiss stuff as good or bad without even trying it.
Edit: No intention of blackpilling or anything like that here XD
Let's just make use of the cards we're dealt with ✌🏻
True, but Geoffrey admitted to being a long distance runner, that he didn't really do any strength, and that he had a poor diet. Even people with great genetics would likely not look it following that plan.
@@geoffreyverityschofieldsbu3660
Correlation doesn't always mean causation, obviously strength is correlated with size because training for strength (especially rep strength) also causes hypertrophy, but you can still grow if you don't train for strength.
Geoffrey clearly doesn't prioritise strength, that was the entire premise of Steve Shaw's video about him.
@@medhanshchatterjee Geoffrey has the strength you would expect for his size, leverages, and body fat %. You can't gain muscle without gaining strength, only the reverse but even that is only relative to your 1 RM. What I mean by that is your rep strength won't increase just because your 1 RM increased. If you can already do 220 for 12 it doesn't matter if you peak to a 315 max because 70% of 315 is still 220. I don't think anyone disagrees about genetics being on a bell curve, our argument is just that below average genetics can achieve way more than people think. Most people would be happy with NH's physique and strength and he's still making progress. You would have to believe NH is gifted which has no basis based on his early results
@@domenucakar Natural Hypertrophy
Definitely don't change anything about your message. You are riding the line perfectly between inspiration and realism.
I definitely fall in the camp of having way better genetics than I thought. I used to be morbidly obese and while I lost the weight I still had no confidence, was stuck in binge cycles and looked like shit because of all my loose skin. Even when I got my diet in order I was still to scared to eat for muscle due to the fear of binging.
Your content gave me the courage and mindset to go after what I wanted and I bulked. Lucky me it turns out I might be a freak for muscle growth
Novices underestimate how long it takes for an average natural to get a good physique. 3/4years atleast imo.
When someone complains about not having good genetics i often say that you haven’t trained long or hard enough TO EXPRESS your goddamn genetics🤦♂️
Agreed. Most people will take 5 to 10 years to get close to their genetic potential for size.
@@squirrellsquats8428 it so true. look at alphadestiny and where he started and where he is now look at Geoffrey look at natural hypertrophy look at sean nalwanyj they all have 2 things is common
They trained for well over 5 years and all of them have what we would call a very good or desirable physique.If someone looked at a picture of them when they started lifting and if they dont know any better they would say they have bad genetics and if you then showed them after 5 years they wouldn’t believe that they physique they built and will be very shocked that they deemed guys with "bad genetics"
As a kid I was really skinny, lean and defined but not much muscle. …Very small joints, ankles, wrists, etc. I did, however have explosive speed possibly indicating a good amount of fast twitch musculature. When I began to train I got great results. My small joints and narrow hips were an excellent contrast against my new found muscle and VERY wide shoulder structure… Moral of the story…Some people start with nothing and have to build every inch of their physique,,,,others have to diet down to achieve the best version of themselves. Train On!💪
Following in the footsteps of Vince McMahon I like to refer to myself as "The Genetic Jackhammer".
Thank you GVS, Bald Omni Man, NH, and Alpha Destiny for providing quality information throughout the years. I have made the decision to stop watching RUclips fitness and only return to videos when needed, such as the Berserk Method video. The information has done wonders but it is time for me to take what I've learned and get off this damn computer.
*"When the potential becomes the actual, only then is man fulfilled."*
I think one thing that is super important to note is that even if your progression is slower and not as impressive in the same amount of time, you still reap the benefits. The physical and mental gains will still be achieved. You still make an improvement and you're in forward motion.
Fantastic point
Yea that’s true for yourself but the outside world doesn’t give 2 shots about the hard work you did to achieve your goals. They just care about the results themselves. Why do so many enjoy watching the 10yr old kid that plays piano like he’s played for 50 years in his past life rather than the 45 year old guy who has be playing for 20 years to get where he is. This is what the Italian word “Sprezzatura” means. If you’d like to reap the social benefits of of the 10 year old piano prodigy then you must work at your craft but do not talk about the hard work it has taken to achieve that. Literally no one care besides maybe your mom and dad. Just make it look easy and don’t discuss and hardships that you have faced. This is how you can reap the benefits of Sprezzatura without actually being a “freak of nature” at something. I personally keep this word in mind in all aspects of my life. Google it for an exact definition so you can understand me
@@derrick2251 I think what you said is fair and I don't disagree, I feel as though I've had times in my life where I have over thought and fantasized too much about optimization or the "perfect" strategy and it doesn't exist. My comment was more towards suggesting that hey, just start, and eventually you'll figure it out. It might not be great and far from optimal but the effects will compound, and even if it's not as profound as the prodigy's as you stated who commits a larger amount of time to their passion/hobby/skill you'll go a long way. For instance in regards to fitness a lot of men are struggling with obesity. putting your head down and just working will get you out of that hole faster. Perhaps a simpler thing to say is for example, I've started working out and seen great results in 2 months...that's all it took for it to be noticable to people...I wish I just shut up, didn't overthink and started doing it earlier. Part of my thought process when I wrote the comment was that it's easy to see all these incredible bodies on RUclips, IG and if you live in a city you'll see them ever so slightly but they're still very VERY rare outliers. You might be tempted to compare yourself to them but maybe they've been athletic at every stage of their life, maybe they done sports as kids and didn't have a large "gaming" phase. At the end of the day I think the journey is what needs to be focused on, that's your intrinsic motivation and eventually as you chisel and refine the process it will lead to something above average and potentially even outstanding and amazing, maybe you can be that prodigy but you need to have that will first. Maybe not exceptional at first but certainly above average, and From there it can keep improving should you keep striving. getting to above average alone should start reaping it's benefits and that is an achievement! Anything above average will be noticable to those who are receptive. However you need to do it for yourself first however that may present itself. That will ensure you continue the process. You can't reap the social benefits before putting in the work, my comment was to hopefully motivate someone start falling in love with their own process before seeking validation from others, which will come eventually. The validation should be the cherry on top but you need to feel proud about the fact your advancing for your own sake.
@@W-xg8on well said
In an parallel universe Geoffrey is making videos how to improve your competitive knitting skills
"If you're homeless.. why don't you buy a house!?" 🤣🤣
I have been training for 30 years with poor muscle growth genetics.
I have enjoyed all that time.
I'm not big or strong.. but I'm athletic looking.. and happy with it 💪
Glad you liked the video my dude! And another successful podcast down🎙
Yea was another good chat!
100% true. Many people are just messing up one or more variables (sleep, training, consistency, etc.) and then attributing their results to bad genetics. I've said the same thing for years. Unless you're trying to be an Olympian, genetics don't change the process.
I think you can somewhat determine if someone has poor genetics before even training though. We've all seen guys who have long lanky and thin limbs...they're generally narrow with thin bones, and barely any muscular development. These are the guys who are 5'6 120, 5'10 150, 6'1 170, and yet still have some fat on em. (skinny fat). Even with a very good response to proper diet/training.....these guys might put on 25-30lbs of muscle with years of training (5+) and end up at 5'6 150, 5'10 180, 6'1 195 etc. These are great improvements of course, but might still be regarded as "do you even lift" status by most at the end of the day.
@@chrisfaulkner3831 Sure, if you see someone's who's jacked without lifting a single weight you know they have great genetics. But you can't always tell someone's potential just from looking at them. Dr. Mike from Renaissance Periodization even talks about this.
Some people have a very adaptable response to weight training. When they lift hard and consistently, they grow.
The only way to truly gauge someone's genetics is to put them on an effective training routine with progressive overload (which depends on the person), and let them eat, sleep, and lift hard & consistently for at least 5 years. This is something most people are simply not going to do, so they blame genetics.
I hate talking about genetics and in this I agree with Mike o' Tren's arguments.
self deprivation is depressing
@@reallifevegeta552 you mean self-deprecation?
@@fichshreds2661 whatever the fuck its called
Good points.
i think you overstate how optimistic one needs be.
You only need enough optimism to get to the gym and to eat well long enough for it to be a habit.
5:19 left side, when Im occupying bench for too long and the big dude starts approaching me.
We need more videos like this. It's so damn hard to talk about genetics in the fitness sphere without it coming across as a coping mechanism, or as if it holds back your average person from making significant progress. Genetics only really matters at the extreme ends of the distribution, and that should be the takeaway.
Unfortunately, all the physiques people are shown on social media, magazines, bodybuilding, etc are (for the most part) those on the extreme end of the distribution. Between that, and the prominent use of steroids.....perception of what is generally achievable is very skewed. Because of this, most people desire and shoot to develop a physique they simply don't have the genetics for.
No genetics matter all the way. But you don't have to think about it and workout. You shouldn't compare yourself to others and rather focus on your improvement. Why does everyone wanna hear genetics don't matter ? It does matter....
@@Propraj It keeps people's hopes up that they can achieve whatever physique goal they aspire to as long as they work hard enough. The fact that something might be out of you reach no matter what you do is depressing....even if its the reality. Also, saying "genetics don't matter" makes it much easier to sell the "fix" to your lack of results. $$$
@@Propraj It's contradictory to say "it does matter" and also saying "don't have to think about it". Pick one.
@@Google_Censored_Commenter If you say it doesn't matter you are stupid. Since lifting isn't your bread and butter and you do it for fun and for you looking slightly better every year why the hell do you wanna know use genetics term for you ? My issue is people comparing themselves to others progress is the issue because if you talk about improving yourself each and every year then that's not genetic.
Bro flexed at 6:57 and I damn near dropped my phone in awe. Just got virtually mogged by real life Paul Bunyan.
Youve done so well that when you dont upload for a couple of days i rewatch older videos like this one :D
I'll be more optimistic, since you've been looking juicy lately, and looks like your gains exploded exponentially 💪🏽keep up the good work dude
I like that you're realistic about how much genetics play a role.
Many youtubers seem to say genetics is just a small part.
Maybe that is because they want to pull those fatalist thinkers out of that hole, so it could be good to think that way for some.
But I definitely prefer your realistic approach.
Ditto. As someone confidently in the 'realist' bucket, I definitely feel on an island sometimes because people tend to lean to either extreme (mostly the positive on lifting channels, the negative tend to congregate in more 'blackpill' communities).
@@TheGreektrojan Exactly. And all that meanwhile truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
IMO, the people who push genetics as just being a "small part" are trying to sell you something. Like...."yea, you can gain 40 pounds of muscle and look like a pro bodybuilder despite the fact that you've already been training for 5+ years and your diet is 85% the way there"......."all you need to do is buy this training program, buy my cookbook, buy this supplement.....etc etc"
Gotta keep people on the hook.....and if they aren't buying it, just insult them.
@@TheGreektrojan As with many things, I find the truth is often somewhere in the middle. Genetics are very important in terms of where you can go......AND....many people don't train long enough/properly enough to be able to conclude that their genetics are shit. Both of these are true.
6:57 Was not prepared for that. Gah dayum you got some meatloaves
I started training at 22 6’1 150lbs, now I’m 34 and a lean 215. Thankfully I started out by powerlifting so I was eating around 3-4K calories a day to gain weight. 6 years in I decided the initial bulk was over at 190lbs. Never really lost my abs completely, and I’m all back and legs, my genes decided my arms will forever slow grow.
holly shit i didn t watch your videos in probably a year and boy did u blow up! u got huge man
Thank you, that was very optimistic without being delusional.
You technically can "learn" genetics. Epigenetics can turn a pile of dough to a rock. Forcing gene expression with habitual changes from top to bottom can and will change a person which is why you are 100% right about people being capable of becoming a 1% body. Hell, you're a prime example, from long distance runner to house. Trusting in the science and the process and doing what works will absolutely create incredible physiques. While I was going through puberty I could still owe a lot of my big changes to my environment. In high school I went from ~190 fatass to 140 rail to 180 brick shithouse at 5'9" the first jump was from cross country and track, the jump back up was from lifting and wrestling. Seeing the major changes fuels a person to drive even harder too. It's all about getting momentum. People either don't eat or don't see something different in the first month then lose motivation and it sucks because I could argue 95% of people are capable of being genuinely jacked.
I think many people underestimate just what you can do when you put your 100% into something. How many people really put their 100%. How many even put their 50% into something? Its not always about doing more work in the gym, if everything you do is perfect, you optimize your program, not skip training days/weeks, auto regulate, got your diet down to a TEE and never cheat on it, you now have a recipe for greatness. Geoff honestly is a prime example cause I dont think he has as good genetics as he says he does. He said he doesnt want to be another influencer that claims bad genetics when they really have good genetics but honestly i think geoff has slightly above aberage genetics at most
It sounds so simple: all you have to do is sell yourself on the idea that it’s worth it.
😂
So you're saying I can become black?
LOL
thank you Geoffrey, for all the knowledge and sane takes you provide, I have your first book and just purchased your second book, also I am very happy that you decided to release an audio version as well, for when reading is not possible and I still want to soak up the knowledge. thanks again and have a great day
Looks like you finally decided to check out the rings, Geoff. Very cool
Great video. Yeah, most people don't really know how good their genetics are until they put in the effort!
Damn SON!! You are blowing up like a balloon, and i mean that as a compliment.
Keep up the good work!!!
This video was very good. Keep making videos like this, most people; especially teens who get into lifting have no idea about these.
The power of the mind and the power of belief are extremely strong I started out at 6' 3 170 pounds and I had already been doing calisthenics training in the military years before I tried body building, I didn't have the best genetics to start to start but I didn't think that....
I believed that I could become Arnold Schwarzenegger naturally and that belief carried me very far or in my training. I didn't diet correctly for many years doing what's called a perma bulk all the way up to 253 pounds, My best ever physique was during covid before I got injured injured again and I was 210 pounds at 7% body fat . I deadlifted 575lbs conventional 2 months begore this. Working back towards that right now, feeling my strongest ever at 205lbs focusing on sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. High carbs lower fat diet
I reached a 24.4 ffmi
in the course of a year i'll go through each step from fatalistic to delusionistic only to restart once a new year begins
Think you strike a good balance between optimism and realism. Really liked that video from dave too 👌
I am a carelessistic. I don't care about my genetics and I try to improve as if it didn't exist. Whenever the thought crosses my mind I instantly put it aside.
gotta say man you are tricep goals im not gonna stop till i have tris like yours
Genetics gets extremely obvious in the military.
You have hundreds of guys in a company with as controlled environment as you are going to get, especially when they are confined for several weeks.
Given how controlled military life in training phases can be, the variability in external factors is about as minimal as it gets.
Similar training, similar diet, similar rest, similar sleep.
You will still see wildly different bodies, strength, performance at the end of training.
Nothing wrong with encouraging people to train harder with good technique and fatigue management. You have helped me a ton.
Bought the new book. There's so much in it compared to the first one. It's gonna take me a long time to read through it. So far, what I've read is brilliant. Amazing work.
I've been watching you for about three years now and I always thought you had very good genetics. You're a high responder. You put in a great deal of intelligent effort and output great results. That's a high responder. Others that put in the same effort but only output average results are low responders. I think of genetics this way:
High input...
+ low output = poor genetics
+ average output = below average genetics
+ high output = average genetics
+ great output = above average genetics
Average input...
+ low output = below average genetics
+ average output = average genetics
+ high output = above average genetics
+ great output = great genetics
Low input...
+ low output = average genetics
+ average output = above average genetics
+ high output = great genetics
+ great output = elite genetics
20 years lifting, trying absolutely every method under the sun. I'm just not getting bigger than 5'10, 155 lbs around 12% body fat. I made 90% of my gains in the first 3 months of lifting where I absolutely exploded --- and then peaked.
I've done the "just eat more" situation, and bulked up to 183 and got marginally stronger but looked and felt like crap. When I trimmed back down I retained none of what I had gained it was useless. I think it's safe to say boys be comfortable with whatever the gym gives you and if you are giving an honest effort and it's not going anywhere... you're probably tapped.
Have you had your blood tested? Are your test levels normal? But I do agree with you. Genetic limit is a thing, and some people reach it quicker that others. I've seen people like yourself and I've also seen some people put like no effort in whatsoever and still be 5 ft 9 190 pounds of muscle
This video was spot on. I'd definitely consider myself optimistic, leaning towards realistic or delusuional, depending on the day and how i feel haha. Being a natural and seeing all these giant monsters on the internet definitely takes a toll on you, but at the same time i'm seeing myself slowly develop my physique and get stronger. At the end f the day what counts is that i'm healthy, i'm happy with how i look, and i am striving to look better. Great video!
This is a great video, thanks for putting a lot of thought into it. I am way too pessimistic. I am mid-thirties and really trying to be in the top 1% physically of my peer group by the time I'm 40. Ironically, my training journey started when I just said, "I am going to run a marathon. I'm going to finish it, no matter how long it takes." But by running and finishing a pretty slow marathon I became "elite" to a lot of my friends.
Oof, reading that title made me think you were gonna whip out a copy of The Bell Curve.
I would love some research into Gene modification, when it comes to working out and human potential. Gene Editing vs Steroids for example, pros and cons etc
Well said. Sure, if you see someone's who's jacked without lifting a single weight you know they have great genetics. But you can't always tell someone's potential just from looking at them. Dr. Mike from Renaissance Periodization even talks about this.
Some people have a very adaptable response to weight training. When they lift hard and consistently, they grow.
The only way to truly gauge someone's genetics is to put them on an effective training routine with progressive overload (which depends on the person), and let them eat, sleep, and lift hard & consistently for at least 5 years. This is something most people are simply not going to do, so they blame genetics.
I have great lazy genetics.
I've never been freakishly big and lean, I'm just naturally big and strong.
In school I broke all the powerlifting records on my first day. Suddenly had a bunch of my bullies want to be my friends.
Fastforward about a decade. I remember being depressed that I'd been too busy with work and university and all the other necessities of the time to be able to lift or really exercise at all for a few years. Then my gym bro mates said they wanted to lift with me because I'm obviously doing something right in the gym with the very little time I had available... but I wasn't lifting AT ALL, in fact I was barely sleeping and drinking way too much to deal with the stress!
I once did an insane 3month lifting challenge, actually lost loads of weight, peed brown syrup which I took to mean I had rhabdo, barely moved for a month except to slowly crawl between bed and the toilet or accept food deliveries because I was that messed up, finally got to a point where I felt comfortable leaving the house, went out for my birthday and was accused of taking PEDs because after the month's rest I looked huge. Admittedly, the massive weightloss probably played a big part in the starkness of the transformation.
Rhabdomyolysis. I had to look that up. Yeah, peeing brown syrup would be a big concern.
@@shelfcloud487 yeah, it's no joke! It was awful!
In some ways it feels like a badge of honour because I've been called lazy a lot yet I essentially hospitalised myself with too much hard work, but that's stupid. It basically means I was doing everything wrong, and I should have known better.
@@AndusDominae Hahaha! I hear ya! I go to extremes sometimes. Especially when I was younger.
You deserve more subscribers. I'm pretty sure you will hit a million subs in under 5 years. Keep it up
The good thing about being completely average is that if I take a spreedsheet of expected numbers I always fit right into it, so it's way easier to follow my progression - just my OHP is a little bit better than the spreedsheets indicates.
I enjoyed this video ! I think one other component to add to the list is also hormones. I’ve recently learned that testosterone Matters a lot and it isn’t talked a lot about. Why aren’t older Men on TRT? It’s dangerous to have Low T than high T (and by high I mean in the normal ranges of 900 nG/dL).
You’re very honest and uplifting!
I wonder who’ll come along and create the antithesis channel to Natural Hypertrophy…
Unnatural atrophy (or hypotrophy).
Some dude on PEDs who can't get results despite his cycles and preaches the black pill mindset.
Hardstuck at 100 subscribers but planning to monetize his channel once he hits 1000 just to make less than Bloho.
I hope an actual person like this doesn't exist...
@@fichshreds2661 Ah, you blissful fellow. Bless you
Great video Geoffrey! I would say you’re pretty realistic but not to the extreme where it’s demotivating, it’s a good in between of optimism and realism. I’m also glad I didn’t start training during this era of social media, I knew as a distance runner I had more slow twitch fibers but I just figured training to be explosive/strong would fix that.
"If you are homeless , buy a house" 🤣😂
Great video! I also think "personal motivation" plays a role. Let me put it this way:
I'm absolutely determined to make "the muscle-up" so I train for that every day, I've advanced more on it than everyone else in the gym (my lats show that too). But I'm just not interesting in squatting and I can't squat half of what the other guys do... and there's the runner who makes around 70% of the time per lap the rest of us do (and he's fresh as a lettuce).
So, even if genetics help me, I'll never grow legs as the guys who train for that, and the drive to make it happen play a good role.
I think the most important genetic variable is how the muscles look on your frame.
This is really well done. I especially liked the scale from fatalist to dilusionist. I guess I'm somewhere between realist and optimist. I will never be Mr. Anything but I will never stop trying to build muscles. Senior year of high school 1976,18 years old, I was 6'1" 145 pounds. Almost every workout partner I have had since then responded to the same exact training better than me, but they all eventually quit. When I was in my late 30's a guy from work started working out with me. He was 24. Played football and baseball in college. First time he ever benched was in 10th grade. He maxed 300 pounds. First time I benched was in 9th grade. I maxed 95 pounds. I could give other examples , but you get the picture.
No truer comment than people "crumbling with age." The longer I'm in the strength and bodybuilding game, the more of an "outlier" I've become. I maybe have above average genetics, but definitely not gifted. It's taken me years and years to get where I am, but pretty much everyone else my age has fallen off the wagon. Honestly, I was a chronic under eater, even into my late 20s. For one, I couldn't really afford to eat that much and my job made it difficult, and two, I was overweight as a kid/teen and a big fear of getting fat again.
At my gym, I'm one of the only serious naturals in his late 30s who is still trying to get bigger and stronger. I see a lot of people close to my age who spend most of their time doing the same routine over and over in hopes of "maintaining" their physiques when in fact the lack of a stimulus is causing them to decline. I've asked several of my gym acquaintances to guess my age and invariably they guess late 20s. People are just not used to seeing natties who have stuck with it a long time with a reasonable body composition.
When you're younger, you want quick results. But as you get older, longevity matters. I'm damn proud of the fact that I'm now in the top echelon of naturals my age. Stay natty and age like a fine wine.
Some might think it's the survivorship bias you referenced, but in reality my physique tread water for a lot years and I only kept at it because I like exercising. I've done low volume, vertical jump training, crossfit (short lived luckily), Olympic lifting, and finally stumbled into modern strength and bodybuilding in the past 5-6 years. In the past 5-6 years, I've gained about 20 lb with only minimal fat gain, I think a lot of that is because I was just chronically undertraining volume and undereating for size.
Everybody has things they’re better at and worse at. Some are smart but can’t put on muscle. Some are good at math but can bench 6 plates. Some can gain muscle, but are too short to play their favorite sport. And so on.
The question shouldn’t be “do I have good genetics?” Instead, it should be “what are my genetics best at doing?”
1:23 bruh what i woulnt give to "suffer" from problems like this lol
Look at someone like Jesse Laico from Athlean-X, he’s a true ‘ectomorph’ (don’t really like that term because I don’t think body types can actually be put into just three categories) or ‘hard gainer’. He’s built a great physique over the years and looks fantastic but you can still see he has a naturally small frame and will never get ‘big big’, he still has skinny legs compared to most guys even though he is pretty big for his size. The annoying thing is that the vast majority of guys were skinny as teenagers and young adults, so when many of them get big from the gym, they look down at people like Jesse and think or say out loud “I used to be skinny too, I’m an ectomorph/hard gainer and look how hard I’ve worked and how big I’ve got, you’re just not working hard enough”. But really they weren’t ‘ectomorphs/hard gainers’ they were simply just teenagers. I’ve got a body pretty much just like Jesse’s and it’s frustrating when other guys who may be tall and somewhat gangly too but don’t quite have the same body type think ‘oh you’re just not working hard enough’.
When I started lifting weights, I watched all of my friends get bigger and stronger than me way faster than me. 9 years later I have surpassed them through consistency where they either fell off completely or have had years off of the weights during the same time period. Some of us just have to work harder for longer. The thing that made me better is I wanted it way more than them.
Fantastic perspectives on so many levels. Joe Weider didn’t tell the full truth through the decades, selling that anyone could be like Arnold or Ronnie, but I was inspired to learn and to get up and make huge changes over time. Here’s my lifelong perspective that I intend to keep: “do the best you can with what you have.” It’s worth it!
I'm for ducking sure on the fatalistic side of things. I am struggling with my mental health for, well ... for my whole life, more or less. And even though I had great results in changing myself (quit smoking, losing 75kg of weight, eating healthy most of the time, getting my shit done most of the time) I don't possess a single fucking grain of self-belief.
It's so hard to change youself and your life over and over again while not believing you can do it. I even did the first steps and trained really hard (full body workout on machines in a gym) as a 40+yo but things didn't work out quite as I wanted them to. "Gym life" just sucks. There're just too many douchebags walking around.
So I want to get a little homegym with just the basic equipment for a 5x5 training routine and start all over the old school way.
Peak optimism in my experience has been the anime lifter crowd 🥂
Took me a year of consistent training to get to a 225lb deadlift and 135 bench press. Some people can do double that the first time they go to the gym. But I still look and feel better than I did a year ago so does it really matter what someone else can do?
Yeah man, even "non responders" looks better with training than before so whats the problem
How's the progress??
I started training at 36 and am interested in how that effects my potential and my gains. The information is very rare about this topic, maybe you information about this topic due to experience with clients and share some insights?
Perhaps an effect, but it's quite small, almost certainly smaller than most people think. Generally people gaining more muscle when younger is a matter more of prioritizes, sleep, stress and scheduling than anything physiological like hormones or cell biology.
@@GVS 100% agree.
I'm part of a strong man Facebook group and there are people still marking gains into there late 40s.
I saw a 50-year-old deadlift 650 as a lifetime PR.
You got plenty of time :)
If it helps, I started at 55 after 30+ years of zero training (basically a novice), and have made very significant gains, and continue to do so. Your limitations are, primarily, self imposed.
I didn't start taking training seriously til 31 (was mostly off with temporary bouts of on that didn't go far enough to be worth mentioning), and I can say it probably hasn't affected me any.
Great and well thought out video. Also, you have gotten big as shit…you got lucky with them there genetics 😉
It hit me how important genetics are when they literally hit me with a sledge hammer when I was 18.
I was always training kinda hard for a kid and was always naturally strong compared to other children, but I never gained much mass. I was obviously a child.
7 months after my 18th birthday I was 6'8" with 190lbs. Then genetics said "You are an adult now! Viking genes go brrrrrrr!" and 3 WEEKS later I was, obviously still 6'8", but then at 240lbs, almost all of it muscle gain. Trained the literal same way I always did. Above average, but still nothing spectacular.
In the next 6 months, I went up to 280lbs and that was when this ridiculously sudden genetic intervention stopped.
I still bulked up a bit after that over the years, but it was at a normal rate, and since I always ate too much in my life, a higher proportion than before was fat.
The 40lbs 6 month bulk was already completely ridiculous. But the 50lbs 3 week bulk was absolute lunacy.
And the most crazy thing was, I didn't even really realize it. I just did what I always did and wondered why some people would suddenly think I was on steroids.
Only in hindsight did it dawn on me that gaining 50lbs of muscles in less than a month was not normal.
I wouldn't necessarily call my genetics "great" though. Before I got 30 my spine basically imploded. Whatever genius spent all my evolution points in muscles didn't think through that you might want to put a few ones into the skeleton as well xD
But it thaught me a very powerful lesson about genetics!
So it’s really down to just be the best you.
So…being easy left if the curve, I’m aiming for excellent health as I age.
You always do well!
At 16yo I went to a doctor due to lasting back pain. I went to a physio that coached handball players aswell and he introduced me to squats and deadlifts. I told that to my doctor and he said since I am an ectomorph or whatever (tall and skinny) I will never have mass and all I got is some endurance. So glad I didn't take him seriously. I reached 4 plate Squat rather quickly, 210kg Deadlift, ate food and gained mass even though I should not have strenght or be able to stop being skinny according to a fucking doctor talking to a kid
@Joske Vermeulen doctors should stay in their lane, especially when they are not sports doctors and are dyels. let alone talk shit to kids
I refuse to use my genetics as an excuse and I’m disabled. No black pill. No pessimism. Just slow progress.
6:32 "I have such and such wrist size. This unironically applies to me. I can wrap my pinky and thumb around my wrist. I have like 16/17 inch biceps the last time I measured while at like 12% bf, 177 pounds, 5'10. My bench has been stagnant at like 115kg and OHP at 80kg for the past few months, and I unironically feel my wrists let me down.
80kg ohp isn't bad for someone your size bro
@@kren4449 I know, but I get hand/wrist pain at these weights when I didn't before for 2 years of training. At a block right now.
@@mkzzzzzzzzzz1 have you tried wrist wraps? I use them for all presses, they make my wrists feel much better.
small wrists are more aesthetic imo. wrappers help yeah.
@@kren4449 Nah, I think of them similar to lifting gloves, so I just avoid them. Might consider though.
I completely agree that only the highest goals require good genetics. Most people just want to be reasonably fit, or want to make 100k per year. These goals do not require good genetics at all. Now if you want to be an elite athlete, or a rocket scientist, you’re going to need top tier genetics.
I also really don’t believe in the concept of an exercise non responder. I would bet my life that these people just have no idea where true failure is, don’t push anywhere near failure and so they get no adaptations. This is the reason why most people in commercial gyms get no results.
I have to say many people only look at what someone looked like before training to see if they have good genetics but very often people with very good genetics you will never really be able to tell until they work out for a bit the only real way I think you can know if you have good genetics is if your parents train and are big and strong other than that there isn’t really a way to know until you test it yourself
Dude just wanted to say you are the best! I watch nippard and Dr Mike and I like those channels but I feel like I have no real idea of how to piece this stuff together but your channel has done wonders for me, and IDC what anyone says you are jacked dude!! Your the goal man, like seriously look at you, you look great! Keep up the great content I appreciate it!!!
Genetics CAN be everything. The difference between being the worst or the best or mediocre. Flex Wheeler had a rare myostatin deficiency mutation. He even said himself he barely had to workout hard and etc... that he would just grow.
Danny Padilla once said “ Poor genetics can be overcome with enough drugs “
I’ve done genetic testing. Both ACTN3 deficient and have every unfavorable known variant for fast-twitch fibers. Still managed to put on a little more than 30 lbs of lean mass by lifting. The ONLY difference I’ve noticed between me and other lifters is that my high-growth areas are opposite those of my peers. My legs - especially calves - got big quickly. My upper body grew - but at a far more modest pace.
Makes sense since calves probably are much more slow twitch fibers.
Where can you do this kind of genetic testing?
Man I am watching my school mates and associates decline like crazy with age. Looking like poo when in school they had been the very attractive popular group.
I'm not saying they are now bad people. Life is really tough but what I am saying is that once your over 30 you need to really focus on taking care of your body or it will literally slide down the hill faster then U can catch it.
I've been a drug addict on and off and trained on and off but I've noticed now (31M) that if I don't be careful I will end up in a very very bad place and sometimes I feel myself balancing on the edge.
Please look after yourself peeps. Be the best you can be. Focus on a healthy lifestyle or you WILL wake up one day fat, unhealthy and with chronic illness. 100% fact
Growing up people keep telling me stop lifting, I m not going anywhere; I was like 6 feet as a kid and like 68kg 149lbs
Years later still have “trouble gettin bigger” but at 6’4 230lbs ~15%bf people now say “ohh that s God Given”🤡🤡🤡
Before i started lifting was 6’2 61kg. I am another chronically undereating guy out here
It's weird that people think there's a genetic contribution to height but little when it comes to building muscle. Forget about going from 149 to 230 lbs. Tell me what you did to become 6'4". I want to do that too.
alright bro youre making it seem like 68kgs is anorexic or something its really reasonable and average to be 68kg as a teenager. Try being 6'5" 215 and 20% bf after lifting for more than one year
Very well thought out video. Steel manned the argument and hit all of the points. 👍 For the algorithm!
Honestly my goals were to add muscle to help support my joints. So i havent really thought about genetics.
This whole topic makes me think of how in the early days of a sport everyone looks pretty average, but the longer the sport is around, and the more people can train specifically for the sport, the more genetics comes into play at the top levels of the sport. Like how today's NBA players have longer arms and shorter necks compared to average proportions, so a 6'9" NBA player has a standing reach equal to or higher than a normally proportioned 7 footer. If you put in the work and develop the skill, you can be a good basketball player, but those "genetic freaks" are good, plus they have optimal physical frames for elite level competition.