Genetics and body composition.. abercrombie boys

One question has repeatedly occured to me over the course of my training. How much a part does genetics play in acheiving your body composition goals. To what extent through the use of chemical compounds can one overcome their own predisposed body types?

I mean I am perfectly confident of the fact that through continuous dedicated work out routines, proper diet, and AS I can be one big mother ....... But my body structure naturally lends itself to explosive strength movements. I played D line and Fullback in school. I lean a bit towards the bulky side of the muscular realm. Over the summer, when I drop 15 or so lbs, I am fairly vascular, with good to excellent definitions in my extremities, and merely fair definition on the trunk of my body. Much of this I understand is due to the rigors of athletic trials that my legs undertook on a daily basis during the season. However, since I reached sexual maturity, my calves have had the size and definition some serious body builders would envy.

Which leads me to my point. Although many, including myself, scorn abercrombie models for being faggy pretty boys, I feel confident that most would envy the fact that they have more vascularity in their lower abdominal section than most people can acheive throughout their entire body. So, are these people just so genetically blessed that they can acheive this by the tender age of 21? Lets be honest here, those guys dont look a day over 18.

I am inclined to believe that most, if not all of them have had chemical help in one way or another. Maybe its envy talking, but you just dont see that ever day. Or most any day in fact. So, is the average athelete doomed to have an offensive tackle's physique, or can anabolic aids transform people into poster boys? My thought on that is not exactly. I would guess that those guys were born with an extremely low disposition to body fat deposits.

Upon reflection I am not sure that I would actually want to look like that. But to be honest, I would like to know that I could, if that makes sense. Well, just something to toss around. Happy discussion :strong:

peace bros

-RC

Never really put that much thought in the abercrombie models....but I genetically have always had a 6 pack without having to do a single crunch, not saying I havent. There is always room for improvement...just a positive side of being lean

I know a abercrombie model and he is chemically enhanced but he also has always had a 6 pack. Some people have in and some have to work for it, but I think it is possible for everyone to obtain a 6 pack.

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Originally Posted by nevaenuf

I know a abercrombie model and he is chemically enhanced but he also has always had a 6 pack. Some people have in and some have to work for it, but I think it is possible for everyone to obtain a 6 pack.

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So do I actually. at times throughout my life I have had near enough one to be quite happy. But there is, in my view, a large difference between a healthy six pack and what you see on store windows. I can count the number of times I have seen somone who looks like that in the gym on one hand, and I wouldn't need all the fingers. You guys are right though... most people don't put the time into pointless thought like I do.... its a curse :p

peace


-RC

I've always been lean - and when I was in my teens and 20s - I always had a 6 pack - and I loved it.
The trade off, however, is the fact how difficult it is to bulk up.

As they say - you win some, you lose some.....

There's rearly a perfect combination when you can have em all......

Jay

RC, some things you are forgetting are that these guys (and girls) are young and do not yet have real jobs. If they are of "real job" age, and they are still modeling, they probably do it as a primary job. Add a higher metabolism to lots of free time to spend in the gym - and of course the "supplements" - and its not surprising that they look great.

When I was in college, I used to lift and run all the time. I had classes for a few hours a day, and nothing else. I was completely AAS free - infact I was also supplement-free because I had no money - and I was still muscular and ripped with less than 5% BF. (I know that is nothing for all you competition guys, but hey . . . I would still be happy with that 5%!) It was all hard work and high-protein foods. I lived on tuna fish, eggs, and milk. (I had no grill - and yes it got old very quickly.)

I guess I am trying to say that anyone can be ripped and vascular if they have the time and discipline. Supplements help spped the process, but are not the base on which great physiques are built.

T

HOLD ON GUYS...If you want vascularity like the "Abercrombie" boys, do this right here....Take Vandyle Sulfate, ECA, and Creatine...go to the gym pump up and watch out...POOF veins like a mother. Now if you kill youself doing this, I never told you, but it works...LOL.

EVERYONE has a 6 pack! It just takes cardio for most people to see it. I think the Abercrombie boys use some gear and, like was mentioned above, have tons of time to dedicate to their bodies...moderate weight training and tons of cardio I would say.

JMHO

D

I guess it's only fitting I throw my 2 cents in. Personally, I've always had a well-defined 6 pack no matter what I did. That means no working out, eat like crap, whatever - it'd still be there. Working out only makes it that much better. So yeah, a big part of it is genetics. But like it's already been mentioned, the flip side of that is things such as bulking are a struggle to say the least. I'm all natural so far, plan to stay that way for a while since I am still growing at a reasonable rate. However, I do know some young models that use the gear as already mentioned above. I seem to get asked at least twice a week lately by random people what kind of gear I take to get that poster-boy effect. I don't take a damn thing. I just put in a lot of time and NEVER expect things to 'just happen' for me since I am throwing around some weights. You have to really pay attention to everything you do. It's all about figuring out how your body works since everyone is different. Once you do that, you can achieve almost anything. One last thought to branch off of my last statement - it seems that a lot of the people on here that get jeered by vets forget that important step before crossing into things like AS. If you haven't figured out how your body works yet and what it takes to get what you want, you better take a step back, hit the gym hard, see how you react to different stuff, and pay close attention to your diet. Without knowing things like that, you are only wasting your time and are most likely doomed for disappointment.

'crombie

hmm, lots of guys here with 6 packs. I have a 6 pack, too... but I'm a scrawny 180lbs spread over 6'3". Kinf of hard not to have one :)

I've done some modeling before for a male "beachbod" calender...

And I sure as hell am chemically enhanced! Not going for the lee priest look. I want to maintain my ability to run flat out for 4 miles. For this reason I'll never be 6' 230 pounds again. I like the feeling of beign 185 with 7% BF - looking cut up as a mofo but also a perportioned physique any bodybuilder would admire.

It's Genetics. I still have a 6 pack and I haven't trained abs over a year and a half. When I train them and lower my body fat my abs are vascular.

it takes me a lot of hard work cardio and food dedication for me to have a 6 pack but i bulk up easily thats the trade off

awesome, lots of good input. And yes, these models most likely do have an enormous amount of work out time, which is key. And of course not all of the poster boys are completely rediculous, some I could easily imagine being enhancement free. Some however are unreal. I guess what it comes down to is that somone with my build can easily obtain nice definition and a lot of mass with a good workout regimine. But for me to get down to sub 7% bf I would need to work out for 6 hours a day all the while eating with extreme precision. And heavy physical exertion for 6 hours out of a day... I dunno I think I would need some serious chemical help. I played for a high school 5a football team that won state every year I was there (not bragging... I was second string :P) and went through hellish conditioning. I mean I don't know how much more I could have squeezed out of my 6 foot frame. So realistically I will never have the time to condition myself to such an extent untill I retire. And I have never seen a 60 year old abercrombie model :) but I digress. Great discussion bro's peace till next time

-RC

I model part time. When I have a show or shoot coming up I live on protein, drink water like it's going out of style, and do maintenance weights for 2 weeks prior and I'm usually good to go. Right now I'm trying to add a few pounds so my abs are suffering as seen on the left. I'm trying to get more body work because I'm kinda tall at 6'3.5 and it sucks when you go to a fitting and realize that you can't do the show because they don't have pants your length. :)

I do zero cardio and sit on my ass in front of a computer for my day job. So I'd have to say that composition is largely genetic. Bone structure probably plays an even greater role. I think models tend to be naturally skinny twerps who decided to pick up some weights one day.

BTW, how a person looks in print is far different from how they look in person. The lighting is designed in such a way as to bring out definition. A lot of work is done digitally too. Most people have little concept of how to light their own photos. I see this all the time on the "member's picts" area. I know some guys could look 100% better if they knew a little about lighting.

Nixter.

Ah Nix your so sexy man.....

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Originally Posted by talon

Ah Nix your so sexy man.....

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I think I hear Elite Fitness calling your name bro! :lol:

Nixter.

I used to have an 8 pack in high school! But i was skinny as a rail, i mean UNDERSIZED (about 140) That was my senior year. My freshman year in college (last year) i decided to just go sick style and eat like a motherfucker. That made me bigger ( now im 160) but my 8 pack dissapeared. Now its a 4 pack. Oh well