This week I’m joined by Dr Eric Helms, a sports scientist, coach, and WNBF pro natural bodybuilder who has spent more than 20 years building his own muscle and strength without drugs. He co-founded MASS Research Review, co-directs the Sports Research Institute New Zealand at Auckland University of Technology, and has coached everyone from world championship competitors to recreational lifters.
Almost everyone who trains for a few years wonders whether they have hit their genetic ceiling. Eric’s answer is more nuanced than most of what you will hear online. Diminishing returns are real, but the idea of a single, fixed limit does not match how adaptation actually works. This conversation separates what the research can tell us from what social media assumes, and asks a more useful question: what is the next bit of progress actually worth to you?
What We Cover
- Why it is extremely unlikely that someone who has trained for five or ten years has hit their genetic limit, and what a “ceiling” really means
- What the well-known response variation studies do and do not tell us about “freaks” and non-responders
- How much progress is realistic year on year, using data from drug-tested powerlifters
- Why women and men gain muscle at similar relative rates despite very different testosterone levels
- Whether past steroid use leaves a lasting advantage, and how polygraph-tested natural bodybuilding federations work
- Why the Enhanced Games and the “every Olympian dopes” argument are shakier than they sound
- How many sets, which rep ranges, and how close to failure make sense if you are 40 to 60 and short on time
- Why most people should not start with power training, and how supersets can save time
If you have ever wondered whether you have hit your limit, or whether chasing the next kilo is worth the effort, I think this conversation will give you a far more useful framework. As Eric puts it, compare yourself to yourself, and a little goes a long way in resistance training if you can keep it up for a lifetime.
To connect with Dr Eric Helms, visit MASS Research Review for applied research reviews or Muscle and Strength Pyramids for his books, and follow him on Instagram as @helms3dmj. You can also listen to his podcast, Iron Culture, on Spotify.
- Genetic Potential: Have You Really Hit Your Limit? (00:00)
- How to Build Muscle Based on Your Goals (04:58)
- Low Volume vs High Volume Training for Muscle Growth (09:44)
- Why Muscle and Strength Gains Slow Down (14:48)
- Do Genetics and Testosterone Limit Muscle Growth? (23:53)
- Muscle Loss From Dieting and Aging Explained (40:01)
- Natural Bodybuilding Over 40: Why Stay Natural (44:41)
- Steroid Use in Bodybuilding and the Enhanced Games (51:17)
- Do Steroid Gains Last? Muscle Memory Explained (01:02:22)
- Powerlifting vs Bodybuilding: Training for Muscle Size (01:16:38)
- How Many Sets per Week to Build Muscle (01:22:42)
- How to Do Supersets Without Losing Strength (01:28:21)
- Best Rep Range for Strength and Muscle After 40 (01:36:35)
- Training to Failure vs Reps in Reserve (01:41:14)
- Strength vs Hypertrophy Training: How to Program Both (01:50:17)
- Strength and Power Training for Healthy Aging (01:53:17)
- What Genetic Potential Means for Natural Lifters (01:59:52)
Resources and links:
- Modeling the Trajectory of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy During Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains
- Using Powerlifting Athletes to Determine Strength Adaptations Across Ages in Males and Females: A Longitudinal Growth Modelling Approach
- Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions
- Dose-Response Modelling of Resistance Exercise Across Outcome Domains in Strength and Conditioning: A Meta-analysis
- American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews
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More about Eric Helms
Eric Helms, PhD, CSCS, AccredSpNut, is a science communicator, researcher, coach and athlete. He is the Chief Author of the Muscle and Strength Pyramid books, now in their 3rd edition. He co-founded MASS Research Review and co-directs the Sports Research Institute New Zealand at the Auckland University of Technology where he researches strength and physique sport/nutrition science and mentors master’s and PhD students. Since 2009, he’s served as the science officer and coach for 3D Muscle Journey, which he co-founded, guiding competitive and recreational drug-free strength and physique athletes at all levels. He also competes as a WNBF pro natural bodybuilder and strength athlete.
