curious about something

[wrkoutfrq]

exactly how much of muscular definition is genetic and how much is training related?

for example, there are some people who no matter how much they work their abs, when relaxed you don't see much definition. *a good example is vince del monte. *and then theres some people have such deep cuts between their abs that even at a high body fat they are still visible when relaxed.

i know some of it is conditioning based. *you can see the same thing with some other body parts as well (e.g. biceps)

any thoughts?

[brademan76]

exactly how much of muscular definition is genetic and how much is training related?

for example, there are some people who no matter how much they work their abs, when relaxed you don't see much definition. *a good example is vince del monte. *and then theres some people have such deep cuts between their abs that even at a high body fat they are still visible when relaxed.

i know some of it is conditioning based. *you can see the same thing with some other body parts as well (e.g. biceps)

any thoughts?

Some people also have more hypertrophy of the abdominals... giving them more definition.

[domingochavez]

Have been thinking about this, specifically abs lately as well. Would be interested in knowing anyone who has made theirs bigger through weight training allowing them to pop through at higher levels of bodyfat.

[NattyFLEX]

also some of the very lucky ones also tend to not hold a lot of body fat around their abs

[Slovation]

also some of the very lucky ones also tend to not hold a lot of body fat around their abs

Im one of these people but I make up for it by having a massive a$$.

[terrafunka]

Im one of these people but I make up for it by having a massive a$$.

What if you hold a lot of fat around your lower abdominals AND you have an enormous butt? My life is so hard!

[juliacheh]

Im one of these people but I make up for it by having a massive a$$.

Welcome to the club .

[Cape1]

The guys you see strolling around with Abdominal cuts at 20% body fat all seem to have one thing in common. They all lift heavy weight and do allot of big compound and/or olympic style movements. When lean, they look great! The guy you see busting out his 57th set of machine crunches, who thinks a squat rack is there to make straight bar curls more convenient, needs to be about 6% body fat before abs even show up flexed..

[B-Neva]

I've always had a 6 pack lol

[simpleguy4]

Abs definitely have a genetic component....check Jay Cutlers flat, asymmetrical ab development to Dexter Jackson's perfectly symmetrical,thick blocks. Both guys are the epitome of lean, yet have a very different look to their abs. I think a combination of training, diet, and genetics all play a part in ab development. Some are blessed with well defined, thick abs that show a lot of separation even when at higher body fat levels....others can be very lean but still have very shallow, flat abs.

[Barn01]

Abs definitely have a genetic component....check Jay Cutlers flat, asymmetrical ab development to Dexter Jackson's perfectly symmetrical,thick blocks. Both guys are the epitome of lean, yet have a very different look to their abs. I think a combination of training, diet, and genetics all play a part in ab development. Some are blessed with well defined, thick abs that show a lot of separation even when at higher body fat levels....others can be very lean but still have very shallow, flat abs.

+1 ^^^ just like any other body part or muscle belly.

We are not all created equal. How much is training and how much is genetic. Nobody will ever really know. All you can do is train, eat watch your body for responses and figure out what combinations of things appears to work best for YOU. Whatever body you end up with on the other side is what it is.

Even guys on the sauce have little control over how they end up looking. If it was easy or controlled through training and diet alone then every IFBB pro would look perfect on the 'O' stage and we all know that's not the case.

[Lathareo82]

The guys you see strolling around with Abdominal cuts at 20% body fat all seem to have one thing in common. They all lift heavy weight and do allot of big compound and/or olympic style movements. When lean, they look great! The guy you see busting out his 57th set of machine crunches, who thinks a squat rack is there to make straight bar curls more convenient, needs to be about 6% body fat before abs even show up flexed..

I lol'd, so true though.