Poll..How Many Yrs to Reach Genetic Potential

[getswole]

I just had a conversation w/ a guy about some of these IFBB pros..and we got off topic about how long it should take someone to reach their genetic potential....So Of course keeping it in mind that everybody genetics are different...On the "Norm"...how long would you say it should take someone to hit their genetic potential(max)...

Assuming they know their body,Are Using A proper Lifting Technique,and proper diet....

I think if a person really knows their body and knows how to lift properly with proper diet can reach thier full potential in as little as 3 Yrs....I'm talkin' about hitting it hard,everyday.

I say this because I knew a friend who started hitting the gym around 18-19yrs old...by the time he was 21-22
he was freakin' huge...theres no way he could get another 5lbs on there naturally,it would have been near impossible...
Sure it could have been his genetics..maybe so/maybe not..
And then I can speak for myself ,I remember when I first started lifting,the first year was hell... but after that first year I started getting pretty big,lifts went way up fast,But I didn't keep lifting enough to push myself as I was into other things at the time(Women,Money,Etc..)but If I would have kept it up,theres no doubt in my mind I'd have maxed out genetically in around 3 years......

Lets hear what everybody thinks.....

 

[Rodja]

I would say about 10 years. The mass gains obviously start to taper off as the years go by, but improvements are still being made. Muscle maturity takes much longer than most people think.

 

[ReaperX]

I think 3 years is shortchanging it quite a bit. I have to also say about 8-10 years you'll be around your genetic ceiling assuming your doing everything right and all natural.

 

[getswole]

I have to say I really do think its possible to hit your max in as LITTLE as 3 years...

I've seen some serious transformations in just 1 yr..as in you couldn't even barely recognize the person anymore they grew so much.Of course they had some help..But Still

Keep in mind we're talking about GENETIC potential......not 10 yrs of juicing...

 

[ReaperX]

I have to say I really do think its possible to hit your max in as LITTLE as 3 years...

I've seen some serious transformations in just 1 yr..as in you couldn't even barely recognize the person anymore they grew so much.Of course they had some help..But Still

Keep in mind we're talking about GENETIC potential......not 10 yrs of juicing...

Well that is true. I know plenty of people make large changes in 1-2 years and that is just due to starting bodybuilding from nothing it really changes up your body's processes. Once you've been doing it, it starts becoming repetitive and your body adapts to it. Even if your only putting on 3-4lbs of muscle each year your still making changes but its nothing too drastic and not a lot I agree. This is possible to have this happen 7-8 yrs of bodybuilding.

There is a difference between making absolutely 0lbs gains and making minimal gains (3-4lbs/years).

 

[Polynomial]

The graphs in Starting Strength and Programming for Strength Training seem to indicate that you can hope for reaching near your genetic potential within three years. It also depends on what kind of training you're doing, though.

The problem is that for what they call advanced trainees, progress is done on sometimes monthly basis or more, and even that can apparently be sustained for a couple of months at a time with changes. And even then you're usually working a particular aspect of your training at a time...so it's a pretty long time until you can't make any more than, say, yearly progress. And that's about as close to genetic potential as I think we can probably get.

 

[Jstrong20]

Nobody hits their genetic potential.lol you would have to wait until your 40 or 50 for that. I've been lifting over 10 years and can still make progress naturally.

 

[getswole]

Nobody hits their genetic potential.lol you would have to wait until your 40 or 50 for that. I've been lifting over 10 years and can still make progress naturally.

So you never used gear? Thats what I thought...
Once you throw gear in the mix you really can't back up that statement.

I'm not being an ass,I'm just saying those ten years your talking about arent 110% as they could have been,I know I can speak for myself that looking back ten years,I could have done 75% of things much better and harder...but its within those 10 yrs most people learn...I'm saying if someone is Full Force,knows their body,diet is right,training is right to their goals/body..then they could easily plateau in 3 yrs...Look at most of your "strongman" guys,the younger ones..now its given they're probably juiced all the SH1T and back,but alot can be accomplished in 3yrs.I'm not saying I've done it,Far from it,like most all of us...it takes a good ten years,but if you were looking at it from a pro standpoint...3 yrs IFBB and your not going very far,plateaud,and you better be throwing some gear in the mix,unless your just happy with placing 3rd at the county fair,...I'm just saying,If you won the lotto today,quit your job,built your own gym on a tropical island somewhere...and knew proper nutrition/training...if you set yourself a goal of 3 yrs...you'd probably hit it in closer to 2 yrs...not that any of us have it that good,or ever will...but if you had 110% of your time and applied yourself...# yrs is extra time..

But thats just this whiteboys 2 cc's,although you wouldn't know from the 20iu's mt-II everyday!

 

[Jstrong20]

Yeah I have but the thing is I can still grow off cycle. If anything the fact that I have used gear should of pushed me close to me genetic limits way faster then somebody that doesn't use gear. Even with the fact that I cheated time I can still get larger without gear. It just takes way longer and sub par diet, lack of rest, stress levels can throw off gains really easy.

 

[Dagron]

I've been training since I was 15 and I'm still making progress. It's slower going but it's still there. Significant changes in training styles can improve your muscle quality and overall health without any gear once you think you've 'hit your limit'.

Long story short, I can see my progress coming to a prolonged plateau in a few years. Ten years would be my conservative guess.

 

[Dutchman]

Of course you can "gear" it up and hit your potential in about 10 years if you are really dedicated. On the other hand I am pushing 66 and still getting better, ie stronger, every week or two. I've done a lot of different things at one time or another including about 7 cycles of SD. Now I am a complete believer in safely pulsing Epi + Form and still hitting lifetime PRs because of it. Long story short....even if you first "really" get into it in your later years ie 40s, 50s, and 60s, you still face a good 10 year window before you max out.

 

[getswole]

I always love to hear that,gives all us young guys hope for the future...Props on a healthy life,keep up the good work..

 

[ITHURTZ]

Id say atleast 10 years of training. 15yo-25yo. But I guess it depends on how you calculate it. Iv packed on over 60lbs since I started under 5 years ago, of course I would never see those kind of gains again. I dont think anyone really has reached there genetic potential because

A. the guys that get close, end up juicing because they want more
B. or it just takes way to long

Eventually, your gonna be busting your ass day in day out, month after month after every calorie counted and every protein and gain what, 2lbs of muscle a year? Then each year it gets lower and lower. When is it that you have reached your genetic potential, when you cant put on 1lb of lbm a year? .2lbs? Or when you have busted your ass for 5 years, upped cals, proteins etc trying to gain that extra ounce?

I really cant answer how far you can go naturally, because it takes to much time, and I dont know about you guys, but I can speak for myself saying I would never find it because I couldnt stand busting my ass for a year and gaining 1lb or less. Id just stick myself and fly past it.

 

[B5150]

Iv packed on over 60lbs since I started under 5 years ago, of course I would never see those kind of gains again.

Yeah,unless you want to go through puberty again.

I have seen many people claim to have gained 40,50,60lbs since they started training....at 16-17. They want to claim that there training is what put the weight on.

There is, in all probability, the most likely chance that you would have gained 30-40lbs or so by passing through puberty without training.

 

[ITHURTZ]

I started training at 18, @ 160lbs. My brother who is 20 doesnt workout and he is 175-180lbs @ 6'. He needs to drop 7-10lbs though so 165-170 would be the weight we are naturally at.


Id also like to add, when you get older your natural test levels drop, so does doing HRT to get ur test levels back to normal void out the "genetic" term? In reality then the older you get the smaller you will become.

 

[B5150]

Of course I by no means would suggest that your efforts were less than responsible for a majority of your physique. Of course it is.

You are by no means near any level of having reduced or lowered test levels. But myself on the other hand have. I would cycle and never really be able to retain my gains for long. Once I began TRT, with intermittent cycles, I have been able to retain my LBM even without the disciplines of training that I used to have.

For me, it seems as though I am able to remain more muscular now that I am on TRT. It is not a myth that men will/can experience andropause as early as 40. It is also not a my that they will loose LBM, gain body fat, increase cholesterol, develop ED and depression and a whole lot of other symptoms simply and solely because they are test deficient.

 

[awmcdon]

It has everything to do with genetics!
I have a friend that started training when he was 15.
He won the teenage Mr. Oklahoma at age 17.
He had taken one cycle up to that point and it was 400mg of TC a week for 7 weeks.
The dude was a freak. His arms were 19" at the age of 17. When he started training at 15 his arms were 15"
He's only 5'10".
He could have went pro so easily with just a couple more years of training but he got married and settled down and now he looks like an average joe.

I think most of your pros have this type of genetics. They hit their genetic potential quickly and become much larger without juice than the average person.

For the average person I agree with the majority, about 6-10 years depending on a few variables.

 

[ITHURTZ]

pro's I dont think get anywhere near there limit before they juice

 

[CHAPS]

I'll say 10 years

 

[awmcdon]

pro's I dont think get anywhere near there limit before they juice

I respectfully disagree.
I think that's what sets them apart, their potential is so much more than the average joes and they hit it much quicker and easier.

Juice doesn't make you a beast........ genetics does. (In most cases)

 

[Jayhawkk]

Nah, a beast of today's size are the product of juicing. Just compare the natty comps versus the juiced and I would be willing to bet the nattys in a lot of cases use items that aren't illegal but still yield better than pure natural results (insulin, for example).

If the starting time is mid to late teens with good nutrition and training habits and we stop the time where the big gains stop I would have to agree with 3-5 years. If we're talking post teens then 5+ years. Kind of a real hard question to answer though because of the variables. I think we all know people that float from one extreme to another on how much and how fast they put on muscle both naturally and juiced.

 

[awmcdon]

Nah, a beast of today's size are the product of juicing. Just compare the natty comps versus the juiced and I would be willing to bet the nattys in a lot of cases use items that aren't illegal but still yield better than pure natural results (insulin, for example).

If the starting time is mid to late teens with good nutrition and training habits and we stop the time where the big gains stop I would have to agree with 3-5 years. If we're talking post teens then 5+ years. Kind of a real hard question to answer though because of the variables. I think we all know people that float from one extreme to another on how much and how fast they put on muscle both naturally and juiced.

I agree I just meant that genetics plays a huge factor. I've seen to many people take a boatload of juice and not achieve nothing. Then I've seen my buddy achieve freak status with hardly no juice whatsoever.
I guess what I really meant is in order to be a beast it takes juice and genetics.

 

[getswole]

Nah, a beast of today's size are the product of juicing. Just compare the natty comps versus the juiced and I would be willing to bet the nattys in a lot of cases use items that aren't illegal but still yield better than pure natural results (insulin, for example).

If the starting time is mid to late teens with good nutrition and training habits and we stop the time where the big gains stop I would have to agree with 3-5 years. If we're talking post teens then 5+ years. Kind of a real hard question to answer though because of the variables. I think we all know people that float from one extreme to another on how much and how fast they put on muscle both naturally and juiced.

Thats all I was saying pretty much,is that its very possible in 3 yrs...I'm not saying for everybody,quite the opposite...and due to the lack of consistent/proper training and diet even more people than that,probably only around 30-40% could even attain it that quick,and probably only 10% actually have the commitment to make it happen...