does the human body have lifting limits?

[shivastorm]

if you workout really hard all your life, one day will you reach some limit and not be able to lift higher weigths anymore?

[GarethCheeseman]

It's called old age, eventually the body atrophys and you loose strength

[shivastorm]

ok.. but before you reach that point, you can keep adding weigth to what you lift?

[sholiz]

ok.. but before you reach that point, you can keep adding weigth to what you lift?

In theory, yes.

[akumaboi]

i wonder same too, so it impossible for a powerlifter to bench 1000 5 times

[CyberGenetics]

In theory, yes.

Yes in theory if you supply the muscle with a challenge greater then its capable of it will adapt to become capable of that strees (provided proper nutrition and rest). But of course we are human not supermen and we do have are limits.

[Prep8611]

No id actually say its impossible to reach any limit. Robbie Colman who has juiced and taken HGH for years still only bicep curls 120 maybe 1 or 2 times. It is impossible in his lifetime for him to possibly go up any further. The body hits a limit in which it stops growing and getting stronger. Your bones remain the same size usually after ur 25 so u can only pack on so much muscle onto those bones.

[deviltrainee]

also muscles will reach a size limit eventually

[TheReporter]

Well Yes, to break it down in mathamatical terms, your body has a limit depending on many factors..gentics..juice..health..training.etc.
So There is a limit put on by these factors, your training will approach that limit and once near it you will be making smaller and smaller gains.
Maybe Ozs. instead of LBs. So yes you will still make gains, but the gains are very small and they are approaching this "limit".

This of it as 2 football teams and one teach is at the 5 yard line tying to make a touch down. Lets say they have unlimited error on the other team and they keep getting penlty evertime someone jumps before they are being told, the other team keeps moving on by 1/2(the by 1/4..1/8..1/16..etc) of that distance so they can do that as many times but they will never make a touch down.

[sholiz]

Yes in theory if you supply the muscle with a challenge greater then its capable of it will adapt to become capable of that strees (provided proper nutrition and rest). But of course we are human not supermen and we do have are limits.

Well of course we might progress 1 rep in a months time, but you're still progressing right? Look at Big Gene Rylchak (SP), he's pressing 1000+. I'm sure he is nowhere near his limit. I'm thinking he'll break the 1100 barrier someday.

And yeah, we have limits but over a lifetime we'll be able to keep breaking the limits that we've set for ourselves. Right, we set a limit everytime in the weightroom. You only got X reps with Y weight, well we break that limit the next time around. IMO, you can keep doing that over your lifetime.

Of course old age will get it's best of you and you'll lose your prime, but that's already been mentioned but until you're ... 50 years old with arthristis, you should be able to keep lifting and breaking PR's IMO.

If someone says steroids, I'm going to say you start running cycles and see if you're close to it. 1000lb press is amazing regardless of AAS useage or not.

[CyberGenetics]

Well of course we might progress 1 rep in a months time, but you're still progressing right? Look at Big Gene Rylchak (SP), he's pressing 1000+. I'm sure he is nowhere near his limit. I'm thinking he'll break the 1100 barrier someday.

And yeah, we have limits but over a lifetime we'll be able to keep breaking the limits that we've set for ourselves. Right, we set a limit everytime in the weightroom. You only got X reps with Y weight, well we break that limit the next time around. IMO, you can keep doing that over your lifetime.

Of course old age will get it's best of you and you'll lose your prime, but that's already been mentioned but until you're ... 50 years old with arthristis, you should be able to keep lifting and breaking PR's IMO.

If someone says steroids, I'm going to say you start running cycles and see if you're close to it. 1000lb press is amazing regardless of AAS useage or not.

Good show, lol you basically said what I was trying to get across using different wording and example

Overall The harder you work the more you will progress, dont worry about a limit because the human body is capable of some pretty impressive performance.

[getshorto]

THeoretically muscle should continue to grow. In my mind, the weak link is the connective tissue (bones, tendons, etc.) Not trying to be racist but that is why you see alot of asains with torn tri's and bi's after juicing. The muscles get huge, but they are generaly smaller body frames and the connective tissue can't handle the muscle tension.

[jack_of_all]

no one you meet will ever reach their true limit, its never been done. even ronnie coleman who has used hGH and steroids to drastically lengthen the years of his prime has not reached his limit and will eventually just get too old to progress. its not that he reached his limit, its that he will run out of time. sooner or later his lifestyle is going to catch up with him, and i feel sorry for him when that day comes.

[GuineaLifter]

the human body is the most complicated thing in earth. we never even come close to tapping its potential

[Train Hard]

maybe genetics can have a limit for growing but I havn't seen any proof of having "limits" to grows

[getshorto]

Here is another thing to think of. SKelatal Muscle under goes hypertrohpy, not hyperplasia. Thus oyu are pretty much stuck with the same out of muscle fibres(cells) no matter how hard you work out. With hypertrophy, a cell can only grow so large until the Volume to Surface Area ratio is too high. Then there will not be enough surface area in the cell for all the reactions needed to kepp the cell alive. If a cell grows too big and doesn't divide or shrink it will die. I guess this would have to hold true for muscle cells too.

[AJ010]

They say the human body, in the elite athlete sense, has its limits. There should be a point where records will never be broken anymore. However, I hope this isn't true.

[Train Hard]

I say its true because if ronnie coleman was able to get that size anyone can, well should be able to. right ?

[Ballysmvp]

well i look at it like this-your height stops somewhere right, well so does your muscle gains there is always a limit but genetics play a general role. With my genetics i highly highly highly doubt ill bench 1000 even 800 but something like 400 seems possible with years of hard work and dedication.

[CyberGenetics]

I say its true because if ronnie coleman was able to get that size anyone can, well should be able to. right ?

You are not supposed to get that big period.

[braindx]

The limit is what your bones can take and how much muscle will limit your range of motion. For example:

1. If your bones can't support the weight being put on them they will break. Bone density does not keep up with muscle hypertrophy and increased weight.
2. If you're muscles are getting in the way of lifting weight, then you won't be able to progress far.

As far as lifting weight is concerned.. we are approaching limit #1.

[GarethCheeseman]

I say its true because if ronnie coleman was able to get that size anyone can, well should be able to. right ?

Well no because the rate at which you can make gains determines that. When you start out a pound a week is quite normal, after a while that may slow to a pound a month until eventually you barely notice the gains. And with a finite amount of time before the body reaches it's peak, very few people can be the ronnie colemans of this world

[AJ010]

Just incase anybody was curious or wanted to know:

Strength seems to peak at 35-45 years old
Speed/Power seems to peak in the 20s to low 30s.


I don't have exact answers, for several reasons. 1, because this is roughly what I remember. 2, because everybody is different! These ranges should be accurate to a certain degree though.

[Big_League]

It does have genetic limits. There is only so big and so strong you can get, now most people (even hardcore lifters) may never reach that point, but it exists. Of course there is always AAS that some people use when they want to pass their natural limits.

[hhherc23]

Of course there is a limit. And btw Gene Rychlak is close to his limit IMO. he just dumped 1015lbs on his ass yesterday at the Olympia because he lost his 'groove'. There's vids on IFBB and powerlifting forums. The Raw/real bench press record is 715 lbs. You'll never see anyone bench pressing 2000 lbs raw. People were bench pressing 600 lbs back in the day. The strongest guys. So it hasn't gone up as much as you'd think. I say the highest, and I mean highest Gene will ever bench is 1100 lbs. But I think less. He's getting older and his bench isn't jumping up like it used to. Unless he's done 1100 lbs in training and the only reason he hasn't done more is because of losing the groove.