How genetics affect the way your body builds muscle

Medicine has played a significant role in helping humanity understand the human body. It has also allowed scientists to learn how to maintain and take proper care of the body to improve health.

An essential part of the human body is genetics. Each individual possesses unique genetic structures that play a significant role in their health, physical, and mental conditions, and even in the process of muscle building.

Genetics And Muscle Building

According to this page, genetics can play a significant role in bodybuilding, as well as in muscle building, in general. However, it doesn’t necessarily determine the ability of a person to develop an amazing body physique.

The role of genetics in muscle building lies in the fact that each individual inherits a unique genetic pool that determines how fat is acquired, stored, and used, as well as how the body develops and builds muscles.

The role of genetics in muscle building, therefore, becomes visible in a few aspects ingrained in an individual’s genes, which are the body type of the individual, the muscle fiber density, the hormones present in each individual, and also the fat type and fat distribution.

Body Types

To better understand the role of genetics in the building of muscles, it is important to understand the various body types or somatotypes. With this understanding, people can now know how responsive their body will be to physical activities intended for building the muscles.

There are generally three basic body types:

Ectomorph: This body type has a faster metabolism, which means it converts food (sugar) into energy much faster, leading to an almost impossible ability to build muscles. This body type has lean muscles and no muscle type II, as well as low body fat. People with this body type are generally thin and have long limbs.
Endomorph: This is generally the bulky body type, with broad hips and shorter legs. It has very slow metabolism that allows the body to store fat in the lower body and energy in the muscles. It usually has much more strength due to the storage of energy, but has a strong tendency to gain weight than intended if not actively fit.
Mesomorph: An in-between body type, which is a mix between an ectomorph and an endomorph. It is a more susceptible body type of building and maintaining muscles. With broad shoulders, as well as steady and moderate metabolism, a mesomorph finds it easier to gain muscles.

There are three primary body types, but not everyone falls in any of these categories. It’s important to note that some people are unique mixtures of these body types. For more information regarding this, you may visit spotmebro.com.

Muscle Tissues/Fibers

When it comes to muscle fiber density, it is crucial to understand that there are some muscle types and muscle densities genetically set to aid or deter muscle building.

There are two muscle fiber or tissue types:

Slow Oxidative/Type I: This muscle type deals more specifically with aerobic activities because it uses carbohydrates and fat as energy sources. Muscle contractions here are, however, slower.
Fast Oxidative/Type II: Also sub-divided into Type IIA and IIB, it is in charge of ensuring strength, and it also grows when an individual engages in weight exercises. Type II muscles are faster with the contraption, and make use of a large quantity of strength.

Each muscle type is entrusted with a specific responsibility, and the human body is a combination of both muscle types in different ratios, as determined by the genetics of the body. So, for each individual, the nature and proportion of muscle present will determine how much strength such a person uses and exert. It can also determine the time frame in which a specific muscle can be built based on its oxidative speed.

Hormones

Muscle building owes a lot of its processes to specific and different body hormones that act directly or indirectly in the body. For instance, when it comes to muscle growth and muscle strength, the hormones in the body that are linked to such are the testosterone, insulin-like growth hormone, and the growth hormone.

On the other hand, the hormones responsible for energy and fuel supply to the body and muscles as a whole include adrenaline, glucagon, cortisol, and norepinephrine. Each of these hormones aids the provision and release of energy (glucose) to the body for strength when carrying out physical exercises for muscle building.

Fat

Just like other genetic factors that influence muscle building, fat also plays a role in the building of muscles. Research says that the genes of each person influence about half or 50% of fat distribution in any human body.

This becomes even more relevant when the type of fat distributed by the gene is considered. For instance, amongst the three types of body fat found in each individual, which are the visceral, brown, and subcutaneous fat, the subcutaneous fat is the most important as it’s located right under the skin and also on muscle surfaces.

Conclusion

When trying to gain muscle mass, it is essential to note that genes play a very vital role as they affect your physique type, as well as the fat distribution in your body. With that being said, your genetic makeup can determine how long or fast or easy it is for you to build muscles.