Are blacks superior genetically bodybuilding-wise?

[Tb0282]

This is an interesting point. Levrone is half black and half Italian. Even scientists have a hard time accounting for racial mixing in literature. It's very difficult to get legitimately non-overlapping study samples in the Americas because our history. I've run into that problem with doctors giving me statistics about various things but not knowing what to tell me when my personal mix or my kids mix is a factor. Their studies tend to rely on self-identification or how the surveyor categorizes a person. Those aren't the most reliable measures by any means.

Fwiw, a lot of relatives say that our family can't tolerate alcohol because we have Indian blood. That adage is relatively common among black folks here in the US. Perhaps we get some bodybuilding genetics from there too.

Interesting. Had no idea he was half black. Good stuff, Cheers mate.

[Achillesthetics]

Interesting. Had no idea he was half black. Good stuff, Cheers mate.

I had no idea he was half italian.

[deadsheepmill]

How about saying African Americans instead of "blacks"?

How about no?

Unless they were born in Africa and emigrated to the US, of course. I don't go around calling myself a German-American.

[ResovoirDog]

Are whites genetically superior strength wise?

[Wayacrucis]

This is the way I personally see it.


Let's assume X is the variable representing how good someone's bodybuilding genetics are. 10X Being the highest and 5X being average.

The average black guy is gonna have a higher X value than the average white, asian, arab ( All other none-black) races. IN AVERAGE. However, people with the ratings of 10X are present in all race. Therefore, there are white, arab, etc guys that have the rating of 10X, which is essentially the equivalent of the rating a black guy with the best bodybuilding genetics would have. Though the average black guy is probably at 8X, while the average white guy is 6.5x

Strong bro science, but this is what I believe. Why? the average gym rat that I see juicing if hes black he looks way better than the white guy that is on gear. The average natty black guy that is dedicated looks better than the average white guy that is dedicated. At the same time, you have Olympia winners like Yates, Arnold, etc that were competing against the best and won, which means 10X bodybuilding genetics are present in white/other races, but just less common. Good example being top 10 Olympia line up being consistent of 7 blacks.

[ArchAngel'73]

Superior?
No.
I do think some races tend to have certain advantages/weaknesses in some areas but not all. There's always exceptions.
Takes calves for example- many folks from African descent have high insertion points, Asians tend to have lower insertion points, caucasians tend to be in the middle. But calves do not encompass winning a bb'ing show.
I think it all evens out in the end.

[AdamOakley]

Genetics for shape? Waist, joints, bellies...clearly yes.


Genetics for size? Mass, conditioning...maybe, maybe not.

[Esthetique]

Yes, but there are some white guys with "black genetics too".

Berry De Mey and Bob Paris are pretty awesome

[Zeneth]

I'd say yes speaking very generally. I think blacks are more inclined to be genetically gifted when it comes to athletics in general. You see a ton of black dudes that are ripped with zero work whatsoever. Watch any documentary filmed in an African country and see what I mean.

[B-Neva]

are u just realizing black guys have better genetics now???

[littlearm]

I'm just making stuff up here, but there may be a shred of truth in it:

Rich white kids sit around on the couch playing Xbox eating Doritos all day long.
Poor minority kids go outside and run and climb all day long.

Kids who grow up with an active lifestyle are more likely to be better athletes than sedentary ones.

It might be that black athletes are proportionately over-represented at the Olympia simply because from a cultural perspective they are more likely to be joining hardcore gyms. The white population is more likely to jump on the latest DVD workout fad.

[porrapaulao]

Are whites genetically superior strength wise?

At least in Strongmen competitions, whites from northern europe usually dominate.



Samoans are also some bigass dudes, samoan fighters are great, iron chin and heavy hands. <3 Mark Hunt

[Glenn Gould]

This reminds me of the short vs tall build debate. While it's true that most pros are 5'10" or shorter, Arnold, Gunter, Lou Ferrigno, Toney Freeman, and a number of other tall bodybuilders became champions. Similarly, Franco, Chris Dickerson, Lee Priest, Shawn Ray and many other short bodybuilders made it to the top as well.

[littlearm]

At least in Strongmen competitions, whites from northern europe usually dominate.

I think this is false logic. Strongmen competitions are part of their culture. They've been tossing cabers and doing other strength contests over there for centuries.

Why are the Swiss better skiers than Jamaicans? Is it because of genetics, or because that's where the snow is?

[Pump Freak 86]

I think this is false logic. Strongmen competitions are part of their culture. They've been tossing cabers and doing other strength contests over there for centuries.

Why are the Swiss better skiers than Jamaicans? Is it because of genetics, or because that's where the snow is?

[Canuck77]

Fair point, but since then we have had Dexter and Phil, who are black. And the bodybuilders most people are excited about in the future are also predominantly black......Cedric, Roelly, Rhoden.

What about the Ox and Pakman?!

I don't think too many are excited about Roelly tbh...just my observation and opinion.

[TropicalSunset]

These are two very strange points. One, your South African friend is not observant of his own country's history when it comes to race. Having travelled to South Africa, I was shocked to find out that I wasn't considered black, but colored because of my skin tone and that I don't have a tribal affiliation or language. In fact many black Americans would fall into that category because almost ALL of us are mixed in some form or fashion.

Two, racial categories and their names are grossly imperfect. Any kindergartener can tell you my skin is not black but is in fact brown. Latinos however are considered (archaicly) brown in the US. The term "African American" is generally used to describe people who are the descendants of those who were enslaved in the US before the civil war who were products of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. I use it when referring to us specifically as to not include blaks in the Caribbean, Latin America, and those who have immigrated from Africa. We are all black and American, so to refer to ourselves as such isn't very inclusive or pluralistic. Most of the people I know from Africa refer to themselves by nationality (Senegalese-American, Guinean-American, etc.) and the same is true of those from the Caribbean. African American is a term that has a specific meaning that gets misused as though its interchangeable with black when its really not. We had a problem with that at my alma mater where African and Caribbean students began pushing for either a Caribbean studies program and an African Studies program. Most of the School's knee jerk reaction was "don't we already have one of those? African American Studies?" They aren't perfect terms, but they're the most accurate to have been devised thus far.

Also, saying Asians are good at math is no less racist than saying they are sneaky. There are two ways to dehumanize someone, to denigrate them and to place them on a pedestal. The point is for us to all be equal as human brothers and sisters. I believe that broadly speaking, every "race" has great bodybuilding traits. Some individuals may have more than others, but its not really a racial divide.

You make some interesting points. First of all, my friend from South Africa wasn't discussing his country at all, but was commenting on the labeling practices of black people in North America. This whole "my ancestors come from there" theory is too complicated. You live somewhere now and were born there, as were your parents, grandparents and so forth......well you are JUST that. I am European originally, but my people came to Europe from Asia. I am not Asian European. Plus with it IS exactly this type of labeling which creates separation between people, or rather the focus on it. People care too much and place too much emphasis on their nationality, race, religion. We are all just people.

Also we tend to not be able to make generalizations about any sort of racial issue, even when they are true. There is a reason stereotypes are around. It is because there is a lot of time some truth behind it. Like the fact that Chinese ARE good at math. They are......I am not being racist, but look at the Math Olympics every year. THEY DOMINATE. Maybe the question should be why? Maybe it is not genetic but has more to do with the teaching system, which is what most people think, or maybe it is a little bit of both.

But I hate political correctness where you can not say anything generalizing. Of course as with any generalization there are going to be exceptions, but OVERALL you will be more right than wrong. Just like that, my point of black people being better genetically gifted to bodybuilding is OVERALL correct in my mind.

[weltweitefurcht]

These are the best responses. Most people overlook heredity in these discussions. Ronnie, Kevin English, and I are all black, and none more so than the others. I can assure you though that I have neither of their genetics - for better or for worse. In the pictures posted thus far, we seem to be overlooking the wide range of traits among black bodybuilders (waist size for example, which can change significantly). We also overlook the range if features among blacks. Pygmies and ****lians have to figure into it some kind of a way. Once you limit the discussion to people of West African origin, you're no longer talking about race as blacks in the Americas do not represent the entirety of black people worldwide. Even among West African groups, the slave trade pitted some ethnicities against others since there was no discernible racial ideology at play within Africa before colonialism.
.

Good post. There is such genetic diversity in Africa, it would blow people's minds. After all current science believes humanity itself comes from the African continent.

Here is more detail and I might repeat myself slightly.. read the bold parts specifically and how it may translate to bodybuilding itself. Think fatloss/muscle gain/ and ability to handle dehydration.

people from different parts of Africa, and even tribe to tribe varied greatly in genetics, so much so, that the differences can be greater than that of a caucasian and an asian.

(So people that share a skin color and features aren't necessarily genetically closely tied)

What was interesting is certain groups had unique genetic characteristics, such as, one tribe had genes that enabled them to utilize oxygen far better, for running and athletics.

Another tribe (bushmen) had a unique genetic expression where they had an extra taste bud sense.. they can taste test plants and leaves, and tell if one is poisonous over another based on that.

Fascinating stuff!

Examples:

The south African genomes will also make geneticists re-evaluate what they know about how our genes affect our health and risk of disease. Our current knowledge in this area is incredibly biased towards Western societies and the results of studies in such populations don't always translate to other continents. For example, one of the Bushmen had a SNP that is reputedly linked to Wolman's syndrome, a disease that prevents people from storing fat properly and kills at a young age. Try telling that to the eighty-something gentleman! Hayes says, "!Gubi is a very fit and healthy man and much better skipper on a skipping rope than I am

All of the Bushmen had a version of the vitamin D receptor that is associated with denser bones and three of them have a variant linked to better sprinting performance. Some of the SNPs grant the carrier the ability to taste bitter plant chemicals, and hunter-gatherers would certainly find it useful to avoid toxic plants. One of !Gubi's variants could allow him to break down foreign substances or resist parasites. Another might make his kidneys better at reaborsbing vital chloride ions and reduce the loss of salt and water, an important skill when you live in the scorching desert.

Other differences are perhaps more surprising - the five Africans all lack a genetic variant that is specific to Africa and that grants resistance against malaria. It's possible that the Bushmen may not need such resistance. But that could well change as their populations dwindle and they become forced into agricultural lifestyles, which carry higher risks of disease. Again, these newfound genetic markers could allow scientists to watch how they adapt to such challenges at a genetic level.

[Canuck77]

Also the fact is that the American blacks are the best of the best, because only the strongest and fittest were taken as slaves. So you can liken it to a really primitive eugenics program, but the American blacks really are superior physically because they were chosen for their physical fitness. At least that is one way of looking at it.

Black men tend to have more fast-twitch muscle fibers which is good for sprinting, basketball, boxing, etc.

White men tend to have more slow-twitch muscle mass, just look at powerlifting and strong man competitions. Nearly all the world's strongest men are white. Consider the traditional builds of historically white groups like the Vikings, Spartans, Celts etc. Many consider them the world's fiercest warriors.

There is also an issue of shading. The color black or any dark color for that matter further excentuates the muscle tone of the body. That is why when white men are tan they tend to look leaner and more muscular.

Seeing as bodybuilding is a hybrid of sheer mass/strength and appearance, I think it is fair to say that both races are pretty much on the same level with whites, genetically speaking, having more slow twitch muscle fibres (strength/mass) and blacks having more fast twitch muscle fibres and dark skin (aesthetic/appearance).

[Penile_Dementia]

Black men tend to have more fast-twitch muscle fibers which is good for sprinting, basketball, boxing, etc.

White men tend to have more slow-twitch muscle mass, just look at powerlifting and strong man competitions. Nearly all the world's strongest men are white. Consider the traditional builds of historically white groups like the Vikings, Spartans, Celts etc. Many consider them the world's fiercest warriors.

Powerlifting and strongman competitions - and maximal strength efforts - are perhaps the most fast twitch dominated sports out there.

Long distance running and endurance events in general are more slow twitch based.

[Groggery]

Wolman's syndrome, a disease that prevents people from storing fat properly

Well now i've heard it all. God ****ing damn this life, to say that there's a genetic lottery is even laughable at this point.

[Canuck77]

Powerlifting and strongman competitions - and maximal strength efforts - are fast twitch dominant.

Olympic lifts are fast twitch muscles mainly, while Powerlifting utilizes your slow twitch muscles.

Ol: Clean/snatch/ect..

PL: Squad/bench/dead

[Penile_Dementia]

Olympic lifts are fast twitch muscles mainly, while Powerlifting utilizes your slow twitch muscles.

Ol: Clean/snatch/ect..

PL: Squad/bench/dead

Just completely false.

Both are fast twitch dominated.

Doing 1,000 bodyweight squats or Power Cleans would be slow twitch dominated. Anaerobic/maximal force/strength work is primarily fast twitch, aerobic/endurance work is primarily slow twitch. This is not hard to double check.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle

(Not linearly relevant, but sort of ish: Take a guy who deadlifts 1,000lbs. Halfway through the movement, the weight magically disappears. Think he'll still grind to the top slowly while exerting that pulling force?)

[Canuck77]

Just completely false.

Both are fast twitch dominated.

Doing 1,000 bodyweight squats or Power Cleans would be slow twitch dominated. Anaerobic/maximal force/strength work is primarily fast twitch, aerobic/endurance work is primarily slow twitch. This is not hard to double check.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle

(Not linearly relevant, but sort of ish: Take a guy who deadlifts 1,000lbs. Halfway through the movement, the weight magically disappears. Think he'll still grind to the top slowly while exerting that pulling force?)

You're right, I stand corrected.

http://163.178.103.176/Tema1G/Grupos...GATP20/c34.htm

Your athletes' fiber type proportion will playa major role in the amount of weight that they can lift, the number of repetitions that they can complete in a set or interval workout, and the desired outcome (increased muscular strength/power or endurance).

For example, an athlete with a greater proportion of fast- twitch fibers will not be able to complete as many repetitions at a given relative amount of weight as will an athlete with a greater proportion of slow-twitch fibers and therefore will never attain as high a level of muscular endurance as will the ST -fibered athlete.

Similarly, an athlete with a greater proportion of ST fibers will not be able to lift as heavy a weight or run intervals as fast as will an athlete with a greater proportion of FT fibers and therefore will never be as strong or powerful as will the FT - fibered athlete.

If this is true though, I wonder why all the strongmen competitions and powerlifting is dominated by white men? Strongman, clearly, I suppose you could attribute to endurance, the competitions are rigours and long. But Powerlifting, is a RM, utilizing more fast twitch muscle fibres, so wouldn't blacks have an advantage over whites? Maybe it is because whites can train with a heavy weight longer...IDK?! lol...



The deadlift being performed by 2009 IPF World Champion Dean Bowring



How many of these guys are black? Looking at the names and countries, I would lean toward saying, not many...

[Penile_Dementia]

I stand corrected.

http://163.178.103.176/Tema1G/Grupos...GATP20/c34.htm

I have an inkling. Tell me if this is familiar to you:

[Penile_Dementia]

If this is true though, I wonder why all the strongmen competitions and powerlifting is dominated by white men? Strongman, clearly, I suppose you could attribute to endurance, the competitions are rigours and long. But Powerlifting, is a RM, utilizing more fast twitch muscle fibres, so wouldn't blacks have an advantage over whites? Maybe it is because whites can train with a heavy weight longer...IDK?! lol...

The deadlift being performed by 2009 IPF World Champion Dean Bowring

While strongman involves levels of strength endurance there is no question it is primarily a strength/anaerobic/fast twitch sport.

Between far greater training and practise prominence in particular cultures, and northern Europeans having a higher fast twitch count than you might assume. Not to mention body structure, bones, joints etc. There is no real mystery, except maybe the exact weighting of these variables.

[Canuck77]

I have an inkling. Tell me if this is familiar to you:

Who cares man...I was wrong...I don't care to admit it...

[Penile_Dementia]

Who cares man...I was wrong...I don't care to admit it...

wut? I was asking if that image/DVD/drum teacher was familiar to you.

[Mounakis]

i think they have superior genetics...on average
Maybe they don't store as much as fat as Caucasians do cause of their genetics cause of the temperature-way of life black people have in africa.
So when they gain weight they gain more muscle than fat on average than Caucasians do.

Not sure...just a thought of mine

Also they tend to have narrow waist-hips.I had gone to a gym and a guy was going there x3 per week...not having a real routine and he was lifting weights for 2 years.
8-9% body fat of peace with super narrow waist and full-round muscles.Srsly if he wasn't taking roids already he should consider start competitive bodybuilding.
He was like that with no real routine or diet



@the guy above saying why there are almost no black people in powerlifting-strongman competitions who dominate them....
i think black people tend to have small and light bones+narrow hips (less strength)

[mike8190]

I thought it was pretty obvious black people have better bodybuilding genetics. Slavery definitely has something to do with it. I remember my teacher for a nutrition course was talking about the holocaust and there are a lot of fat jews (the one's who had ancestors in the holocaust) because theyre ancestors were starved and their bodies learned to hold on to fat. Lol not sure if this is true because she was dumb bitch when it came to many things. But an interesting point when thinking about slavery, and being forced to do labor for generations. It isn't a surprise if their body/genetics made them leaner or able to build/hold onto more muscle to help them do their work.

Not just looking at olympia winners, but the overall majority of successful bodybuilders are black. There's really no denying this. Look at the top guys today, it was already pointed out the top 10 was 70% black lol.