Resuming from part 1, Jay finishes his common sense, yet effective approach to getting the results you want!
6. Neuromuscular Efficiency Your brain is the command center of your central nervous system, and your central nervous system initiates all of the signals that force your muscles to contract, so neuromuscular efficiency determines the quality and power of movement. The variations from person to person can consist of the speed at which these signals travel, the quality of the signals, the amount of muscle fibers called into action (which will affect how many muscle fibers can be stimulated for growth), etc. The differences manifest themselves as varying levels of agility, reaction time, balance, strength, muscle size, etc.
7. Hormone Profiles Hormones and their abilities to be produced and utilized by our bodies are very unique to each individual. Each hormone has a distinct and powerful impact on how our bodies work. Some help with muscle growth (testosterone, growth hormone) while others can contribute to the loss of muscle (cortisol). Some help to store energy (insulin) while others exist to use energy (glucagon). Our hormone profiles are extensive, diverse, and can have a dramatic influence on our health and our ability to alter our physiques.
8. Stress Tolerance & Recovery Ability Our bodies respond to physical stress in the same ways but at differing levels of severity. And, our abilities to recover from those differing levels of severity are also contrastive. All of the systems, subsystems, and reactions involved in these processes are so numerous and interrelated that science may never have a complete picture of what takes place. Nevertheless, what we do know is that each person has a unique tolerance for physical stress before they reach a point of over-stressing (over-training), and each person's body requires a particular amount of time before they able to recover from and overcompensate (improve) as a result of that stress.
If you include all of the other countless genetic variations that make each of us unique, I'm sure you would agree that comparing your body to someone else's is pointless. It should also help you to realize that just because the spokes model for the new and exciting aerobic dvd looks amazing and claims to have developed their body from the advertised aerobic program doesn't mean that it is possible for you to look like them. I don't care how convincing they sound. If that is their pitch, it is an outright lie devised in order to snatch money right out of your hand. Likewise, just because someone at your gym works out for two hours every day (and miraculously still makes progress), that doesn't mean your body can handle that kind of volume and frequency without crumbling to the ground devoid of progress.
The truth, as you will come to learn with experience, is that some people (a fraction of a percent of the population) are blessed with genetics with such a disposition toward fat-reduction and muscle-building that it just happens to be something their body is good at. For these people, it doesn't matter as much if their workouts are scientifically sound. They can deviate farther from the verities of standard exercise physiology, because the physiological make-up of their bodies are different than 99.9% of the human race (or because they are on steroids or some other type of pro-hormone).
Let's take another example. Suppose that you want more defined triceps (the back of your upper arm), and you notice someone in your gym with a perfect pair. You ask them how they developed those muscles so skillfully, and they give you a list of very detailed instructions. I'm betting that those instructions don't include: I happen to have a small distribution of fat in this area, a slightly thicker bone structure that allows the muscle to form in this particular way, long triceps muscle bellies, and a fair allotment of glycolytic muscle fibers throughout my body.
These are the reasons why it is so crucial not to assume that someone's physique is tantamount to their knowledge of physique transformation. This is also how a great majority of confusion is injected into the fitness industry.
I would also like to mention the fact that there is a difference between what you consider to be your best physique and your highest health. Let's take a woman in her mid-forties. Let's say that she has gone from 38% all the way down to 15% body fat (which is already below the recommended level), but she still has a thin layer of fat covering her abdominal wall, so much so that her ab muscles cannot be clearly seen. It just so happens that a good percentage of her 15% body fat is in this general region. What should be done? Well, I always say that health trumps physique any day. Going below 15% body fat for a woman in her mid-forties can cause some serious health issues, and unless there is a greater reason for this risk (physique competition, professional sport, etc.), I would say that her health should always be prioritized.
Do you want to be the least motivated that you've ever been in your life? If so, try fitting an impossible mold. Try achieving a you that cannot exist. Whatever emotions and beliefs that you had built into a powerful ambition will be crushed beneath the weight of reality.
What, then, should we do about setting goals for ourselves? How can we be motivated? If we are limited by genetic factors, and we are unsure what our highest health looks like at this point in our lives, what should we focus on? Behaviors.
Let's face it... the accumulated result of behaviors is what has gotten you where you are today. It takes a lot of steps backward to add up to 150, 200, or 300+ lbs (or whatever the case may be). It takes a lot of choices to lose 10, 20, or 30+ lbs. of muscle. It takes a lot of bites of the wrong kind of stuff to summate 20, 50, or 100+ lbs. of fat.
Now, it will take that same catalyst to bring us back to our healthiest state. Choice by choice. The adoption of a new lifestyle. It's all rooted in our behaviors. The choices that you are making right now (today's behaviors) are taking you somewhere. That will always be the case.
But, there is way too much emphasis on visualizing where you want to be or what you want to look like. If your only joy in life is to visualize something that you may never completely actualize, then your life has been one big lie to yourself. We do not have the ability to accurately visualize what we will be, but we do have the ability to want the best for ourselves... to choose a direction (goal) and continue in it, step-by-step (necessary behaviors)... to enjoy the process and celebrate each healthy and rejuvenating step... to turn our eyes away from what others have and fall in love with ourselves.
- What Did You Expect? Part 1
The fact is, even the best fitness and nutritional regimen is limited by your genetics.
- What Did You Expect? Part 2
Resuming from part 1, Jay finishes his common sense, yet effective approach to getting the results you want!
- Most Common Fitness Myths Debunked
Don't let the mainstream media and "fitness pundits" fool you into buying their garbage. Learn the truth about fitness and nutrition in some of the most common misconceptions in the fitness world!
