Race and Bodybuilding

[LawMan018]

I was just thinking and would like to know what you guys thought of it. Do you believe that your "racial descent" plays any part in how muscular you can be? Like depending on your ancestors location and how they adapted to the environment over the years, would that make you more or less able to gain muscle and/ or weight? Or does it play into body types? Are Negroids more capable of being Mesomorphs then say Mongoloids, etc. What do you guys think?

[J.S.N.]

it's not really a negroid vs. mongoloid vs. causcasian thing as those three classifications are really, really, broad and encompass lots of groups with diverse characteristics, not to mention the groups excluded.

there are definitely people and groups with a genetic gift for muscle though. it all tradeoff- many kenyans are tiny but they can run forever, many samoans are strong but couldn't do too well say rock climbing, etc etc etc.

[J.S.N.]

remember the good old days when you could delete a double post?

[JohnboyF]

To an extent yes... I don't have enough knowledge yet. but genetics do play a role particullary in fat storage. Most people from a south asian background tend to store fat in there hips and love handle areas. Not sure about muscle development.

[ecivon]

Yep, I think to a certain degree. Though genetics may not be totally responsible as much as societal/cultural influences, though genetics does have a major part. Blacks especially may be more able to gain more from BB. Short statures notwithstanding with shorter muscles, but blacks being oppressed economically and segregated with each other have been involuntarily predisposed to participate in more physical activities with each other than whites, Asians, Jews, or other ethnic groups more prosperous and integrated into mainstream activities which are more or less more sedentary. As a result Blacks were for hundreds of years engaged in more rigorous and physical activities just to get by as they were prevented from any type of economic livelihood as most, especially inner-city kids still are. These physical attributes in time would have been capable of being passed along from generation to generation. Blacks also, generally speaking, have different statures than say whites. They have longer and more slender bones and muscles, longer leg bones and more developed glutes -- hence the Woody Harrelson lament, "White men can't jump" is valid because as a rule blacks have genetically more developed and powerful glutes and longer slender legs. Blacks do not possess as much dense mass and bone structure as whites, therefore as much body weight per body volume, while maintaining at least equality in strength and don't need to expend as much energy, effort, or muscle effort to do the same exact muscle response as whites as they don't have as much body weight to move the same distance, but have at least the equivalence in strength. And I am white and have virtually no vertical leap. In college I had a professor in cultural anthropology who was black and took great effort to make certain his point of view was well delivered and bottom line is he was right. Case in point, my two oldest sons are 23 and 21. The oldest has a black guys frame and stature, is 6'2" slender frame, long legs, long muscles and can flat foot dunk a basketball, but can only bench 285. My 21 is 6'1", 25lbs. heavier, big boned, big jointed with heavy muscles, just like me and he can bench press 350 and whip his older brothers butt. But his brother is definitely more gifted athletically and has a killer bod the girls go nuts over. Oh Well.

[ecivon]

I'm going to add on a different perspective to my post a little earlier. I am personally not into building big mass -- I am not a BB, just have always worked out off and on most of my life and got my kids into it. I do know that shorter muscles are easier to develop than longer ones and muscles without as much mass are easier to define no matter the length. But how does that translate into a black being more powerful and have more mass than a white guy? The barometer for the question can only be answered by those that are serious bodybuilders who do contests, or are serious about adding defined mass and strength. I think it would take whites longer/more expenditure to get to a certain point in muscle definition than blacks because of their muscle mass volume and denser bone structure, but to me, though I could be wrong, it seems whites in contests and serious bodybuilders have thicker, more dense and more developed muscle structure. I am not qualified to answer that, only those at that level, who have seen the end results would be able to.

[Schmidty]

I would say yes. Most guys are either models bodybuilder or strippers at somke point in ther life in my family.Same with girls

[J.S.N.]

Yep, I think to a certain degree. Though genetics may not be totally responsible as much as societal/cultural influences, though genetics does have a major part. Blacks especially may be more able to gain more from BB. Short statures notwithstanding with shorter muscles, but blacks being oppressed economically and segregated with each other have been involuntarily predisposed to participate in more physical activities with each other than whites, Asians, Jews, or other ethnic groups more prosperous and integrated into mainstream activities which are more or less more sedentary. As a result Blacks were for hundreds of years engaged in more rigorous and physical activities just to get by as they were prevented from any type of economic livelihood as most, especially inner-city kids still are. .

um that's really stupid. if that were true then why do (black) pygmies exist? why are there guys in south america descended from hunter gatherers just 30 years ago who aren't all swole naturally?

[shifty_git]

this is a deap subject!

man evolves, some men and bloodlines further than others -

some men are good thinkers, some men are good hunters...

race possibly plays a part in it (i.s typical diet, lifestyle, activity levels) even going as far as slavery days and getting the stronger males and females to breed to make super-slaves (please please please dont think thats a racist comment)
all depending on how the ancestors had to live.
i personally think the differences between each man proves evolution...

[ecivon]

um that's really stupid. if that were true then why do (black) pygmies exist? why are there guys in south america descended from hunter gatherers just 30 years ago who aren't all swole naturally?

Wow, These comments really escape me. No context whatsoever ...