What is Muscular Potential? 

We are all born with muscular potential. All of us have genetic limiters that set our absolute top potential for all kinds of different performances or expressions, and muscle size is no different. You could train and eat perfectly, and you may never get close to lifting the kinds of loads that the top lifters in the world can lift. Even if you lifted the exact same way and lived the exact same life as Mr. Olympia does, you would likely not build nearly as much muscle (even if you took a ton of steroids). Some people have much HIGHER strength and muscle potential.

There are many factors (that we know of), that determine your muscular potential:

• Some of them are your bone structure
• Bone size
• Bone density

Bigger and denser bones can anchor and carry bigger muscles, while smaller bones limit how much muscle a body will build. Bones also play a role in how muscular someone “looks.” Wide clavicles and narrow hip bones create a V-shape that can make a smaller boned man appear more muscular than a heavier boned man with narrow clavicles and wide hips.

Another factor is your muscle belly length. The muscle belly refers to the meaty part of a muscle. The longer a muscle belly is, the more potential it has for size. Look down at your calves. If the muscle belly is short and you have “high” calves, you have lower muscle building potential than someone whose calves go all the way down to their ankles. High level bodybuilders often have long muscle bellies which make them look more muscular onstage.

Your muscles are also made up of muscle fibers. The two main types of fibers are the fast twitch fibers which are responsible for explosive strength, and the slow twitch fibers which are responsible for endurance.

• Fast twitch muscle fibers grow at much faster rates and get bigger overall when compared to slow twitch muscle fibers. This is one reason why strength training produces larger muscles than endurance training. Although your body can change how each fiber reacts to an extent, a large part of what determines which muscle fiber is dominant in your body is your genetics. If your body’s muscle fibers are made up of mostly fast twitch muscle fibers, it will build more muscle faster than if slow twitch muscle fibers made up your majority.

Hormones signal your body to perform many functions and one of those functions is to build muscle. Testosterone is the main muscle building hormone in men, but growth hormone and insulin also play a role. Normal levels of hormones can vary greatly between men, and one reason for this is genetics. Some men have double the testosterone levels of other men and this factor alone can make a big difference when it comes to muscle size.

Combine bone structure, muscle belly length, muscle fiber dominance and our natural hormone levels (and other genetic factors), and you have your muscle building potential. Some people have a higher overall potential than others. Some people have tremendous champion level potential. Many of us are somewhere in the middle, with very few at the top and very few at the bottom.

Potential plays a role, but no one can reach their ultimate potential without applying the right lifestyle. How you train, eat, sleep and live is literally the entire other side of the equation. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Mr. Olympia seven times, but he would have won zero contests if he did not train and live in a way that expressed his potential. Whatever your potential is, it’s very likely you aren’t even close to reaching it.

The key to muscle building success:

• Accept what you can’t control and to place all your focus on what you can control.
• Your genetics are what they are, and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Your genetic potential is set, accept it. 
• Focus on how you train, eat, sleep and live makes a HUGE difference in how much muscle you can build.
• Focus on those controllable factors to hit your personal potential.

How Does this Calculator Work?

You may be wondering how this calculator could possibly figure out what your individual muscle building potential could be. It uses a formula that is based on the best research available on natural bodybuilders. When you enter in your information, the calculator estimates what your natural maximum muscle building potential would be if you were healthy and did everything right. This includes training, diet and lifestyle. Although no formula will ever be perfectly accurate for everyone, we have found this one to be reasonably accurate.

Ready to learn how?