Quote:
Originally Posted by cyberworkspace
1.) you only have a certain amount of muscle cells. no training whatsoever increases the number of muscle strains or cells. you can only alter the cells metabolism and increase the amount of protein / water / fat stored inside these cells (hypertrophie) by training.
2.) as the number of cells is fixed, so is the physical arrangement of your muscles and bones. the diameter of the endpoint of your muscle which is attached to the bone has a huge impact onto the maximum lift-effect your muscle can achieve. simple physics. this is in favor of the smaller guys, as naturally the diameter and length of their muscles is relatively larger than that of skinny but larger guys (in %). hence, they can lift relatively more, as they have to put less effort into it. that's one reason, why most bodybuilders are relatively small guys.
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Very good post, cyberworkspace.
To add to your point #1: HGH users actually grow new muscle cells. That is one reason that it's use is so widespread in activites where muscle mass can help performance.
About #2: You are dead on regarding the effect of muscle attachment points in relation to strength. However, that has no correlation to the ability of an individuals ability to increase muscle mass through weight training. It just means that two people might be lifting different amounts of weight to reach a failure point. The reason why shorter guys make up the majority of bodybuilders is because of proportions. A short guy's 20" arms will appear larger than a tall guy's 20" arms on stage. Since modern bodybuilding is all about the 'perception' of freakish size, the shorter guys have the advantage.
You skinny guys out there are referred to in bodybuilding slang as 'hard-gainers'. You can find some forums out there with advice, good and bad, in relation to getting the results you are after. A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that what works for them MUST work for everyone else. As cyberworkspace very nicely explained, your genetics 'are what they are'. You need to experiment to find the right program that can get the most out of what you were given to work with.