Do some people add muscle more easily than others

MrBiggiesworth

I know some people say this is true but are there any real studies that support this idea.

I have a very hard time adding muscle mass and I see other fellows who seem to become really muscular during the same that I am staying the same size even though we are basically doing the same lifting routine.

elroberto78

Yes, depending on your body type it can vary greatly. Ectomorphs (Generally extremely lean and skinny) have difficulty putting on large amounts of muscle, but they don't gain fat that easily either. Mesomorphs usually can put on a decent amount of muscle and providing they eat sensibly not get overly fat either. The last group are Endomorphs (I'm one of them. Generally thickset and stocky in build this group can actually put on muscle mass quicker than the other two body types but unfortunately we have a tendency to pput on fat just as easily so it's vital for us Endos to monitor our nutritional intake.

Big factors in muscle building are also your testosterone levels, the higher your 'T' levels, the easier it is to add muscle's to your frame. It's the reason that bodybuilders take anabolic steroids. You don't have to go down that road though. Eating good saturated fats (such as Avocado, Grassfed Butter, Egg Yolks) can help promote good testosterone levels. It can be worth having your levels checked as if they are seriously low it might require medical supplementation.

And also if you're looking to build muscles you'll have to do some resistance training, heavy as you can manage. Just a few short intense weightlifting sessions a week can help, but it won't all happen overnight. Give it some months and you should notice the difference.

Cortelli

Meh - I don't give any credence at all to any of the "morph" body type discussions.

But I think it should be self-evident that individuals can both add and lose weight, fat, muscle, etc. at varying efficiencies. We're all subject to the same general physiological laws, but we are also genetically individual human beings. Some of us are going to add muscle mass more easily than others; some of us are going to be more challenged; some of us will have better luck adding muscle while minimizing adding fat while in a surplus; others will add a fair bit of fat as a cost of adding muscle. Afraid you're just going to have to figure out how challenging it is for you, and adjust your approach accordingly. (i.e., you say you're not adding mass the way some others are -- perhaps you're not eating a sufficient surplus, or perhaps you need to revisit your program and intensity efforts, or perhaps you need to better set your own expectations - adding muscle is apparently very difficult! - I say "apparently" only because I am in my first real effort to add muscle mass through a deliberate bulk -- I'll have a better sense of it al in a few months)

neandermagnon

yes

endo/ecto/meso isn't a scientific way to classify people and variation in humans on matters like how easy it is to gain muscle, it is still true that some people gain muscle more easily than others, and that some people have a harder time not gaining fat than others. There are a lot of independent factors that can vary in all kinds of ways....

one of the most common reasons for failure to gain muscle is not eating enough though. You need to eat a calorie surplus and lift heavy. Without the calorie surplus you're not going to gain, kind of like the inverse situation to the person who feels they can't lose weight no matter what they do - if they're not creating a deficit they're not going to lose......... if you're not creating a surplus you can lift all the weights you want and you won't gain................ genetic variation comes into it in that even at a surplus some will find it harder to gain than others... but without a surplus you have no chance at all*


*noob gains and muscle memory gains may happen while eating at a deficit but these are one time gains and don't last.... so if you're comparing yourself to people who are obese and new to training, they're in an optimal situation for muscle gain, they may gain in a deficit to begin with, but then they'll hit a point where no more gains are possible without a surplus, they're not genetic freaks, they just in a particular situation that you're not......

trojan_bb

Yes, weightlifting is largely influenced by genetics. Some people gain muscle far more quickly and easily, others gain fat more easily, etc. The bodybuilding world is defined by genetic potential. You can make huge improvements with subpar genetics though.

Chaskavitch

From personal experience, yes. My sister and I are basically the same height, and we started lifting again at about the same time. We lift together - we use the same weight for squats, bench, dead lift, lat pulls, chest press, incline press, all sorts of curls, but her upper body muscles are far larger and more defined than mine are, and her legs are a little bigger. She has slightly less fat, which makes a difference in how you see the muscle, and by measurement her arms and legs are still bigger than mine. She maintains muscle better than I do, too. Even if we stopped lifting, she'd still have awesome biceps in like a year; my dad hasn't worked out at all in years, not consistently since he retired from the Army in 1996, and he can still do like a million pushups whenever he wants.

PJPrimrose

Genetics no matter how you classify it. I will forever be a "hard gainer' due to my genetics. Also, I'm female so less testosterone, narrower shoulders, higher fat and less upper body strength in general. My DH is naturally big so I encouraged him to take up weight lifting to get in shape as it will be easy for him to make progress. Plus, with his big ole man build, cardio is his least favorite thing!

No_Finish_Line

absolutely. people grossly underestimate how much genetics have to do with it.

your genetics probably determine 90% or more of your muscularity and what you do on top of it is more of tweeking what you have.

some men just very naturally have larger bodies and will carry more muscle mass even if they never set foot in a gym.