Something to think about when you set goals regarding bodybuilding and fitness

“I want my waist to be smaller, but I don’t want my legs to shrink”
“I want to be toned, but I don’t want to get too big”
“My biceps won’t grow, I want to make my biceps bigger, but keep the rest of my body the same”
“I want to have an 8-pack”
“I want to make my upper inner chest bigger and more defined without making my back bigger”
“I want to my waist to get smaller, but I don’t want my boobs to shrink”

How many people have said this and actually got what they wanted? Not many, if any! I have come to the conclusion that it’s not up to us. The only thing we can control is how lean, or how fat we become. The rest is up to genetics. We have no say in it whatsoever.

I don’t know why I never thought about this until it hit me last night when I was talking to my wife. She was telling me what she wanted to work on in the gym and her goals… etc. and then it just hit me. Do what it takes to get leaner, and grow some muscle, and let genetics take their toll.

The only way to get an impressive physique is by heavy weight training, and strict dieting. Notice that I said “impressive physique” and not “lose weight”, “become thin”, “become flexible”, or “increase endurance”. This is the only way to do FOR GENETICALLY AVERAGE PEOPLE!!! By genetically average, I mean you, me, and almost everyone around us. I do not mean the dude or girl who jogs twice a day, does a couple of push ups, eats soy, and goes to pilate class 4 times a week and has an amazing body. Those are genetically gifted people who don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. I also don’t mean people who are genetically below average, where working out and dieting strictly has a very small effect (they usually need to work out and diet for a long time. Some might need medication if they have a medical condition).

There is always the “friend” who achieves extraordinary results with minimal effort. When I tell people what they need to do to look good, they say “well, my friend does push ups and sit ups everyday and eats whatever he wants and I want a body like his. I should do what he’s doing”. When in reality, this “friend” would have a six pack and full muscle bellies by eating McDonald’s and bending over to tie his shoe as a form of exercise. And when it comes to women, they are easy targets. All this Yoga, Pilates… etc. they’re all a scam. If you show me one woman, who looked like total shit before she started this scam, and in a year dropped body fat and looked “great”! (and I don’t mean 350 lb to 280 lb great… I mean “HOLY SHIT!! I WANNA LOOK LIKE YOU!!” great), I will quit bodybuilding.

People fail to realize that they are responsible for letting themselves go, and it’s not god’s fault. It is very easy to go on a healthy, nutritious diet that will yield great results. Most of my clients find no problems with the food they eat (if they aren’t extremely fat to begin with… other than that, they’d have to suffer unless they’re willing to wait for 2-3 years). Whenever a client of mine has a problem with a balanced diet that I provide him/her, I know that they eat junk most of the time, even if it’s home cooked. Also, they will not be able to keep up with the program and they will cheat all the time without me knowing. Those are the same people who send emails about how dangerous chemicals and preservatives are in food, and how we should all eat healthy and shit like that. In the end, they usually eat junk. Even if the ingredients are fresh, it ends up being toxic junk. They got so used to eating crap, they feel like healthy and natural food tastes and feels bad.

Back to our subject. You cannot say “I want my body to look like that!” Hell, if the world worked that way, I’d be looking like Ronnie coleman with a 26” waist! This is why I tell my clients to throw the scale away. They always get upset if they don’t lose, or gain weight (depending on their goal). And when I ask about how they look in the mirror, the answer is “much better” around 80% of the time. Your body shape will be determined by genetics, not by your weight or measurements. Your body also works in “stages” you can’t keep growing all the time, and you can’t keep losing fat all the time. You can’t build muscle in a certain area because you want to. Your body has to want it, not your brain. You can’t “shape” a muscle or your body.

My advice:
Just keep on working out. Make sure you are on the right track. And diet sensibly. Let your genetics take care of the rest. There is no easy way to get a good looking body if you aren’t genetically gifted. If right now you are wondering “am I genetically gifted?” well, if you have to ask yourself that, then you aren’t.

For men:
Get down to 7% fat. Then judge if you want to get bigger or not.

For women:
Get down to 12%. Then judge if you are going to look like a steroid freak if you weight train or not.

Most people complain that they’ll get “too big and muscly” if they lift heavy… WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!! You are at 25-35% fat with no muscle at all, and you are afraid of getting too “big and muscly”??




Some updates:

I really don’t know how much I weigh right now, and I really don’t care. I have decided that I will compete again….. in 2011 inshallah, in Bahrain. My preparation began around 5 weeks ago and will continue until the first competition in the season in 2011 in Bahrain. I’m hoping to come in as a heavy weight. This is probably the fattest I’ll get in the next 3 years (my waist is around 34.5 inches right now), and I’ll work on keeping it down. 2-3 lbs of muscle per year is the goal here. If I crack top 3 in that contest, I will keep on competing. If I don’t, I’ll quite competing once and for all. The contests in Bahrain are REAL contests, and not like the shit around here. So, wish me luck :) … I got a long road ahead of me.