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edited Jul 25, 2021 at 4:47

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Better For What?

Understanding the question a little better, I think the question comes down to this: What do you want those muscles to do? Beware magical fixes in biology. It is almost never a simple case that something different is simply "better." Inevitably, there are trade-offs. These can be predictable or they can be complete surprises. The surprises are even more likely if they are the first generation of people with these enhancements.

Biologically, it's a loaded statement to call something better. You need to be very specific when doing so, defining how and why a given thing would be better than another. So when talking about better muscles, we need to understand the consequences of muscles being stronger per unit of volume and mass.

Bone anchors for muscle will need to change to compensate for a greater amount of force /then the corresponding bones will need to be reimagined. You might need the person to have shorter limbs to compensate due to the greater force per length of bone. Or, the bones might need to be denser or made of different materials. Otherwise Your person could break bones when punching through doors or lifting cars.
More efficient engineered muscles are going to operate differently. The most likely scenario is that the muscles will operate more slowly. They will deliver lots of force, but reaction times might be considerably lower. So super strong person might be a slowpoke.

Your muscles might potentially have higher requirements for nutrients and oxygen. The cells might need larger storage of these to make the greater power work. There might need to be more vascularization to supply the extra nutrients to the muscles, or the person could end up becoming rapidly fatigued.
If your muscles are optimized for delivering force per unit volume, they might be inefficient at delivering force per unit time. Gorillas are able to perform great feats of strength, even with equivalent muscles. Humans have some of this ability in the form of hysterical strength But their ability to perform repetitive task is significantly reduced. Humans are endurance hunters and apply their strength over time to achieving endurance tasks. This means they can work all day and still function. It would be embarrassing for your hero to be constantly napping, getting exhausted after taking walks, etc.
Your muscles might be less efficient users of calories. the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just being alive. The same muscles are exerting far more strength to do totally routine things because they are using more energy for everything. I would suspect your enhanced individual will likely burn a ton of calories while sitting around. They'll probably also use more oxygen. And at the same time, a small person producing huge amounts of heat from extremely powerful muscles will potentially be constantly hot and prone to heat stroke.
The differences in size, muscle function, muscle layout, vascularization, color, and bone structure could all add up to your person looking distinctly different from normal people. I imagine a hyperventilating wiry dwarf who is constantly perspiring, who looks like they have varicose veins covering their distinctly reddish or bluish muscles and is constantly snacking on everything is sight.

So consider that there will likely be consequences for any extraordinary advantage one organism has over another. It's not likely to simply be a case of "The muscles just work better."

Better For What?

Bone anchors for muscle will need to change to compensate for a greater amount of force /then the corresponding bones will need to be reimagined. You might need the person to have shorter limbs to compensate due to the greater force per length of bone. Or, the bones might need to be denser or made of different materials. Otherwise Your person could break bones when punching through doors or lifting cars.
Your muscles might potentially have higher requirements for nutrients and oxygen. The cells might need larger storage of these to make the greater power work. There might need to be more vascularization to supply the extra nutrients to the muscles, or the person could end up becoming rapidly fatigued.
If your muscles are optimized for delivering force per unit volume, they might be inefficient at delivering force per unit time. Gorillas are able to perform great feats of strength, even with equivalent muscles. Humans have some of this ability in the form of hysterical strength But their ability to perform repetitive task is significantly reduced. Humans are endurance hunters and apply their strength over time to achieving endurance tasks. This means they can work all day and still function. It would be embarrassing for your hero to be constantly napping, getting exhausted after taking walks, etc.
Your muscles might be less efficient users of calories. the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just being alive. The same muscles are exerting far more strength to do totally routine things because they are using more energy for everything. I would suspect your enhanced individual will likely burn a ton of calories while sitting around. They'll probably also use more oxygen. And at the same time, a small person producing huge amounts of heat from extremely powerful muscles will potentially be constantly hot and prone to heat stroke.
The differences in size, muscle function, muscle layout, vascularization, color, and bone structure could all add up to your person looking distinctly different from normal people. I imagine a hyperventilating wiry dwarf who is constantly perspiring, who looks like they have varicose veins covering their distinctly reddish or bluish muscles and is constantly snacking on everything is sight.

So consider that there will likely be consequences for any extraordinary advantage one organism has over another. It's not likely to simply be a case of "The muscles just work better."

Better For What?

Bone anchors for muscle will need to change to compensate for a greater amount of force /then the corresponding bones will need to be reimagined. You might need the person to have shorter limbs to compensate due to the greater force per length of bone. Or, the bones might need to be denser or made of different materials. Otherwise Your person could break bones when punching through doors or lifting cars.
More efficient engineered muscles are going to operate differently. The most likely scenario is that the muscles will operate more slowly. They will deliver lots of force, but reaction times might be considerably lower. So super strong person might be a slowpoke.

Your muscles might potentially have higher requirements for nutrients and oxygen. The cells might need larger storage of these to make the greater power work. There might need to be more vascularization to supply the extra nutrients to the muscles, or the person could end up becoming rapidly fatigued.
If your muscles are optimized for delivering force per unit volume, they might be inefficient at delivering force per unit time. Gorillas are able to perform great feats of strength, even with equivalent muscles. Humans have some of this ability in the form of hysterical strength But their ability to perform repetitive task is significantly reduced. Humans are endurance hunters and apply their strength over time to achieving endurance tasks. This means they can work all day and still function. It would be embarrassing for your hero to be constantly napping, getting exhausted after taking walks, etc.
Your muscles might be less efficient users of calories. the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just being alive. The same muscles are exerting far more strength to do totally routine things because they are using more energy for everything. I would suspect your enhanced individual will likely burn a ton of calories while sitting around. They'll probably also use more oxygen. And at the same time, a small person producing huge amounts of heat from extremely powerful muscles will potentially be constantly hot and prone to heat stroke.
The differences in size, muscle function, muscle layout, vascularization, color, and bone structure could all add up to your person looking distinctly different from normal people. I imagine a hyperventilating wiry dwarf who is constantly perspiring, who looks like they have varicose veins covering their distinctly reddish or bluish muscles and is constantly snacking on everything is sight.

So consider that there will likely be consequences for any extraordinary advantage one organism has over another. It's not likely to simply be a case of "The muscles just work better."

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created Jul 25, 2021 at 4:37

DWKraus

64.4k
4
93
263

Better For What?

Bone anchors for muscle will need to change to compensate for a greater amount of force /then the corresponding bones will need to be reimagined. You might need the person to have shorter limbs to compensate due to the greater force per length of bone. Or, the bones might need to be denser or made of different materials. Otherwise Your person could break bones when punching through doors or lifting cars.
Your muscles might potentially have higher requirements for nutrients and oxygen. The cells might need larger storage of these to make the greater power work. There might need to be more vascularization to supply the extra nutrients to the muscles, or the person could end up becoming rapidly fatigued.
If your muscles are optimized for delivering force per unit volume, they might be inefficient at delivering force per unit time. Gorillas are able to perform great feats of strength, even with equivalent muscles. Humans have some of this ability in the form of hysterical strength But their ability to perform repetitive task is significantly reduced. Humans are endurance hunters and apply their strength over time to achieving endurance tasks. This means they can work all day and still function. It would be embarrassing for your hero to be constantly napping, getting exhausted after taking walks, etc.
Your muscles might be less efficient users of calories. the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just being alive. The same muscles are exerting far more strength to do totally routine things because they are using more energy for everything. I would suspect your enhanced individual will likely burn a ton of calories while sitting around. They'll probably also use more oxygen. And at the same time, a small person producing huge amounts of heat from extremely powerful muscles will potentially be constantly hot and prone to heat stroke.
The differences in size, muscle function, muscle layout, vascularization, color, and bone structure could all add up to your person looking distinctly different from normal people. I imagine a hyperventilating wiry dwarf who is constantly perspiring, who looks like they have varicose veins covering their distinctly reddish or bluish muscles and is constantly snacking on everything is sight.

So consider that there will likely be consequences for any extraordinary advantage one organism has over another. It's not likely to simply be a case of "The muscles just work better."