Consider this post a little wake up call and a rant at myself too, after all I am guilty of the “quick fix” mindset at times.
We see ripped abs, sexy buns and flat stomachs every day in advertising which leads us to believe that anybody can achieve such a physique. They can’t.
Genetic variance is so vast that the models used in advertising are such a rarity in society that they may as well be a different species. they are both physically and mentally different from the vast population. Humans have adapted for generations to display wildly different physical characteristics due to the environments with which they have been exposed.
Take the fatty deposits in the eyelids of the Mongolian people for an example; if it suddenly became in vogue to have such eyelids in the same way it has become cool to have a six pack, how many people do you think would succeed in training for this…..exactly, a tiny percentage of the globe. My point? Genetics, the coding you have been passed down from your ancestors greatly determines what you can be.
Muscle size and body fat distribution is no exception to this rule. If you have a lineage of thin, short muscled and tall ancestors, you will find it impossible to become a giant behemoth strong man competitor. If you come from a long line of sumo wrestlers, do you think you can get a six pack as easily as a family history of sprinters and athletes?
It also in the mind, we get passed down and nurtured into thought processes and lifestyle patterns that become so engrained in our being that to alter them would be as hard to grow a third arm. You may have the physical ability to be a great and lean athlete but if you are not of the mental capacity then you’ll never realise that potential.
Six pack in his family…I think not
For example;
I come from a long line of strong willed and physically active stubborn people. For generations we have worked hard manual jobs, been soldiers on horseback, farmers and gardeners. Being strong and capable is “in our blood” so to speak. To be weak and feeble is an insult to us. To be gluttonous is an insult to us. Our minds and bodies are programmed for this and to change it would be an immense upheaval and would all but destroy our spirits in the process. It is who we are.
Now just think for a moment, if my ancestors were the opposite, if they were office bound, aristocrats or just plain lazy or came from a line where being over weight were seen as a sign of health and wealth for generations. Do you think it would be easy for me to change that trait, if all I have known is this? NO, it would be down right hard work in all but a few cases.
So if you are not lucky enough to have had the family before you I have that blessed you with frugal eating habits, big and strong bones and a mindset that says never quit then give yourself a break. It just may not be in your destiny to be athletic, strong and physically superior. It takes a strong willed person with the right hereditary expression to be a great physical specimen.
Average people see me train and are often times wowed by the weights I use and how hard I can push myself but make no mistake, I am as weak as kitten compared to any professional strength athlete, these guys were born to be huge and strong. Could they keep up with me on a heavy bag, a jump rope or chin ups…unlikely as they are not endurance types, their genetics allow them to be strong and massive and should they one day decide that they want to become master marathoners with their 6`5″ twenty stone bodies then they too would have as rude an awakening as the skinny kid wanting to be massive. It just ain’t in your future.
Play the cards you have and play them well.
Am I saying that if you are fat you should just stay that way, no. I am telling you to keep some sense of realism to your goals; everyone can keep their body fat levels to a degree that is considered sexy and fit but not everyone can have a visible six pack.
Just because you can’t build a massive chest, firm round bum or mega arms doesnt mean that you can’t make them stronger and better than they are now, just be realistic.
I have a distinct feeling that I’ll never break any deadlift records because I simply don’t have the mindset to eat anywhere near as much as I’d need to but it won’t stop me trying and I won’t be left in disbelief when it doesn’t happen. I am realistic.
With all that said, none of your best potential can ever be realised without the long term gut busting hard work that needs to be applied on a DAILY basis to achieve your own greatness. Sure some people appear to look great in-spite of their lack lustre efforts but that is down to their lucky genetics and the joke is on them, if they look great with pitiful efforts then they are wasting their potential by not pushing as hard as you. They lose out from not knowing what it is like to push and achieve. Struggling and making it out the other side is what makes us great.
Writing this has inspired me to train harder as I know I can, some days I just wish I could work a little less intensely, eat what I want and it’ll somehow work out, I fall prey to that mindset too. The belief that my diet isn’t that bad or that my training will somehow counteract that diet. It won’t but sometimes I believe or hope it will. I look at myself and realise that to squander my ability is just downright rude. People out there in this world struggle so much more with so much less so who am I to bitch about what I don’t have?