modified accordingly, and no comparison made with the development of the
competitive elite.Keep your integrity, sanity and health. Absorb with every atom of your being
the paramount fact that your health is your most important possession. And
your integrity is not far behind in importance. Train drug free, always!Where you stand in the spectrum of potential
Dividing a random sample of drug-free weight trainees into degrees of
“hardgainingness” cannot be done accurately because of the difficulty of
specifying, identifying and then quantifying with consistency the character-
istics of “gainingness.” But for the purpose of getting at least an approxima-
tion, here are some suggested figures.At the “hardest” end of the gaining spectrum are the near-zero gainers who,
for reasons of health or extreme structural problems, find it almost impos-
sible to gain (but not impossible if they train properly). ey number fewer
than of any random sample from the training masses.At the “easiest” end of the spectrum are the super easy gainers who have
phenomenal genetics and fantastically-responsive bodies. e phenom-
enally blessed—the genetic freaks, and I am not using “freaks” in a pejorative
sense—number much fewer than of the whole training population.e genetic freaks have a blend of bodytype, muscle insertion points, neu-
romuscular efficiency, muscle belly length, muscle fiber type and number,
tendency for leanness, and recovery abilities that give them a tremendously
responsive body. For competitive bodybuilding there are pivotally impor-
tant aesthetic factors that are also genetically determined. See for a
detailed discussion on how genetic freaks are assembled.Behind the extremely responsive easy gainers are the “regular” easy gainers
who are able to gain to some degree on most programs, though they do not
have the talent to become fantastic unless pumped to their jowls with chemi-
cals. ere is a considerable number of these easy gainers, perhaps as many
as or so of a random sample of weight trainees. It is this group that
provides gyms with most of their successes. But these successful trainees use
programs which are training suicide for genuine hard gainers. Many trainers
and coaches belong to the category of “regular” easy gainers. But these easy
gainers often have a body part and an exercise or two they struggle in, rela-