I saw a sponsored post on Facebook that read: “I work out, and I’m pretty fit… So why don’t I look like it…?” It probably went on to offer a program that was advertised to be better than what the reader is currently doing. I don’t know. I didn’t take the bait.
This is a question one might currently be asking him/herself. It may be the programming. More than likely, however, the answer falls to effort, genetics, or both. I often quote Per Olof Åstrand, who said something to the effect of “if you want to be an elite athlete choose you parents wisely.” In other words, if we aren’t looking like we work out, it is our parents’ fault. Well, yes, our genetics impacts our body type and response to exercise—and, to a degree, our genes determine the degree to which we are responders or non-responders to exercise, but our genetics are not an excuse for poor health. I can blame my parents for the fact that I don’t have legs like Tom Platz, but it is my fault if I have “chicken legs”. I will never be (nor could I ever have been) a successful bodybuilder. It is harder for me to have six-pack abs (and harder to maintain, if I ever get them), but my genes don’t curse me to be obese—or even over fat. Results don’t come easy, but they come with effort. It requires proper programming, consistency, diet, and effort. So, no blaming the parents if we don’t look like we work out. If we look like we don’t work out, we are doing something wrong.
It is quite okay to not look like the images on the fitness magazines. Reality check: most of us never will. It is okay to be fit and fat—generally, the pairing of these does not equate to obese or overweight. Fit and fat should fall within the healthy range of body fat. (Those shredded bodybuilders are only their leanest for competitions and photo shoots. If they look lean year-around, it is a combination of good genes and consistency of diet and exercise. Their percent body fat is likely in the low healthy range.) If you want to be lean, you have to make sacrifices. You can’t “work out”, be “pretty fit”, and continue to eat a crappy diet and consume more than moderate alcohol, if you want to be lean. You can look your best “fit” and still enjoy food, but not if you “enjoy” food too much. And you especially can’t look fit if you don’t exercise.
If you are dissatisfied with your appearance, do something about it. Have reasonable expectations, but put in the necessary effort. If the necessary effort is too much, alter your expectations—or your commitment.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!