By Jeetendra Rathour
Over the years of working with different people, I have learned one important lesson about exercise: there is no single workout that produces the same result in everyone.
Two people can follow the same exercise program, eat relatively similar foods, train with similar intensity, and still experience very different results. One person may build muscle quickly, another may struggle to gain strength, while someone else may lose weight easily but have difficulty improving cardiovascular fitness.
This is where genetics becomes an interesting part of exercise science.
Our genes do not determine everything about our fitness. However, they can influence how our bodies respond to exercise, nutrition, recovery, and even training stress. In my view, understanding this can help us move away from the idea that everyone should train exactly the same way.
Genetics Is Not a Fitness Destiny
When people hear the word “genetics,” they sometimes think that their genes have already decided whether they will be strong, lean, muscular, flexible, or athletic.
I don’t look at genetics that way.
Genes provide instructions and influence our biological characteristics, but our lifestyle and environment also matter enormously. Exercise itself can change how certain genes are expressed and how our bodies adapt over time.
Think about two people starting a strength-training program.
One may experience noticeable increases in strength within a few weeks. Another may need considerably more time to see the same improvement. That does not necessarily mean that one person is working harder or that the other person is doing something wrong.
Their bodies may simply respond differently.
This is one reason I believe trainers should pay attention to the individual response, rather than blindly following a predetermined program.
Why Do People Respond Differently to Exercise?
There are many factors involved in exercise response, including genetics, age, sex, previous training experience, sleep, nutrition, stress, medical conditions, recovery, and consistency.
Genetics can influence several important areas.
1. Muscle Growth
Some people appear to gain muscle relatively quickly when they begin resistance training. Others make progress more slowly.
Genetic differences can influence muscle fiber characteristics, muscle protein synthesis, hormonal responses, and other biological processes involved in adaptation.
But there is an important point here:
A slower response does not mean a lack of potential.
A person who does not see dramatic muscle growth in the first few months may still become considerably stronger, more functional, and healthier with appropriate training.
As a trainer, I would rather focus on measurable progress than compare one person’s body with another person’s body.
2. Strength
Strength is not simply about having bigger muscles.
The nervous system plays a major role in strength development. When someone begins resistance training, improvements in strength can initially come from better coordination and nervous-system adaptations before substantial muscle growth occurs.
Genetics may influence muscle structure, leverage, neuromuscular characteristics, and other factors affecting strength.
This helps explain why two people of similar size can have very different strength levels.
3. Cardiovascular Fitness
People also respond differently to aerobic exercise.
One person may experience significant improvements in endurance after a relatively short period of consistent cardiovascular training, while another may need more time or a different training approach.
Genetic differences can influence factors related to oxygen transport, cardiovascular function, metabolism, and aerobic adaptation.
This does not mean that someone with a slower response should give up.
It means that the training program may need to be adjusted.
The Concept of “Non-Responders”
One of the most interesting topics in exercise science is the idea that some people are “non-responders” to particular forms of exercise.
I prefer to be careful with this term.
A person may appear not to respond to a specific exercise program, but that does not necessarily mean their body cannot respond to exercise.
Perhaps the intensity is inappropriate.
Perhaps the training frequency is too low.
Perhaps recovery is inadequate.
Perhaps nutrition is limiting progress.
Perhaps the exercise is not appropriate for that individual’s age, physical condition, or training history.
Or perhaps the person simply responds better to a different type of training.
For this reason, I believe the phrase “non-responder to this particular program” is much more useful than labeling someone a “non-responder” altogether.
Genetics and Recovery
Recovery is another area where individual differences become obvious.
Some people can train hard several days per week and feel ready for their next workout relatively quickly. Others need more recovery between challenging sessions.
Sleep quality, age, training experience, nutrition, stress, and genetics can all contribute to differences in recovery.
This becomes especially important when working with older adults.
For a healthy young athlete, a particular training load might be completely reasonable. For an older adult with multiple physical limitations, the same workload could create excessive fatigue.
That is why I believe exercise intensity should be individualized rather than standardized.
Training harder is not always training better.
Sometimes training smarter is better.
Genetics and Exercise for Older Adults
My experience with older clients has reinforced this idea even more.
As we age, the goal of exercise should not simply be to lift heavier weights or perform more repetitions.
For many older adults, maintaining independence can be a much more meaningful goal.
Being able to stand from a chair, walk safely, maintain balance, climb stairs, reach overhead, get up from the floor, or perform daily activities can be more important than achieving a particular gym number.
Genetic differences may influence how an older person’s muscles, nervous system, cardiovascular system, and connective tissues respond to training.
But regardless of genetics, appropriate exercise can provide valuable benefits.
Strength training can help maintain muscle and functional capacity. Balance training can challenge stability. Mobility exercises can help maintain movement quality. Cardiovascular activity can support endurance and overall health.
The program simply needs to respect the individual’s current abilities.
Your Genetics Do Not Replace Your Responsibility
There is another side to this discussion that I think is very important.
Genetics should never become an excuse.
Someone might say, “I am genetically not good at building muscle,” or “I am genetically not good at losing weight.”
We have to be careful with statements like these.
Genetics can influence our response, but it does not eliminate the importance of exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and consistency.
A person’s genetic potential is also not something we can accurately determine simply by looking at their body.
I would much rather ask:
What can this person improve from where they are today?
That question is far more useful.
The Trainer’s Job Is to Observe and Adjust
This is where I believe personal training becomes more than simply counting repetitions.
A good trainer should observe how a person responds.
Is the exercise producing the intended result?
Is the client recovering adequately?
Is their movement improving?
Is their strength increasing?
Are they becoming more confident?
Are they experiencing excessive fatigue or discomfort?
Are they enjoying the program enough to remain consistent?
The answers to these questions should influence the next step.
In other words, I don’t believe in forcing a client to fit the program.
I believe the program should fit the client.
Genetics, Environment, and Consistency
It is tempting to blame genetics when progress is slow, but exercise response is much more complicated.
Imagine genetics as part of the starting framework.
Then add nutrition.
Add sleep.
Add stress.
Add age.
Add previous exercise experience.
Add medical and physical limitations.
Add training quality.
And finally, add consistency.
The result we see is the interaction of all these factors.
This is why I don’t want people to become obsessed with whether they have “good” or “bad” genetics.
Instead, I want them to understand their own response.
What I Have Learned as a Trainer
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that individualization matters more than imitation.
We often look at athletes, fitness influencers, or people at the gym and assume that their workout should work for us.
But we don’t have their genetics, training history, lifestyle, recovery, nutrition, age, or physical condition.
Their program belongs to their body.
Our responsibility is to understand our own body.
For some people, progress may mean gaining muscle.
For someone else, it may mean losing body fat.
For an older adult, progress may mean walking more confidently.
For someone recovering from an injury, progress may mean regaining mobility and strength.
And for another person, success may simply mean having enough energy to enjoy everyday life.
These are all legitimate forms of progress.
The Bottom Line
Genetics influence how we respond to exercise, but they are only one piece of a much bigger picture.
We should not use genetics to predict someone’s limitations before they have even started.
Instead, we should use exercise as a process of learning.
Start with an appropriate program.
Observe the response.
Measure progress.
Allow adequate recovery.
Adjust the training.
And continue.
We may not be able to choose our genes, but we can influence how we live with them.
That is one of the reasons I believe exercise is so powerful.
The goal is not to build someone else’s body.
The goal is to help each person develop the strongest, healthiest, and most functional version of their own body.
And sometimes, the best exercise program is not the one that looks most impressive.
It is the one that works best for the individual standing in front of you.
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