This week I’d like to take a small break from the researched studies to deliver what I consider an important message. Chances are many of you come to this site looking for answers. You obviously want to learn about health and fitness or you’d never be here in the first place. If you are anything like I used to be, you’ll come here to read articles waiting for us to tell you exactly what to do to get the best possible results. If you’ve been reading for some time you’ve probably come to realize we rarely ever tell you “do this” do we? I remember sitting behind my computer screen a long time ago thinking “Just tell me what to do already!” If this is you, let me clear something up for you. It will never be that simple. It’s never black and white.
We will certainly teach things about how the body works in response to training and nutrition, what the research available says and give you options based on your goals. In the long run though there are so many variables unique to each individual we could never tell you exactly what to do. In fact if someone is telling you they know how to get you the best results without knowing anything about you while using some one size fits all plan, I urge you to be very cautious. There is no way someone could know what will work best for you without knowing how your body responds. It takes a good coach working very close to you to know what will work best for you. Of course everyone has different goals too, and your specific goals make a big difference in how you should approach things.
There are so many variables that go into how your body will respond to certain protocols there are more than one can even count. Your metabolism is one of those very key factors. Not only is each person’s metabolism different but your own metabolism changes depending on your recent protocols for training, nutrition, stress levels, age, etc. There are people who can eat 700 grams of carbs per day without gaining weight while there are others who will struggle to maintain eating 150 grams. Do you think these two people can do the same things and get the same results? This is why you can’t take a cookie cutter diet and expect to get the same results as someone else. A 140 lb ectomorph will not gain muscle the same way a 200 lb mesomorph will. Heck, a 140 ectomorph probably won’t gain muscle the same way as another 140 lb ectomoprh. The same thing can be said for anyone trying to lose fat, it’s different for everyone.
Nobody wants to hear it but genetics are such a huge factor. Some people get results because of what they do, some people get results in spite of what they do. If someone is genetically gifted enough they could have a terrible training plan, one that would bury the average person into the ground, and still get results. It’s not necessarily wise for the little guy to talk to the big guy at the gym to ask what he does to get so big. What worked for him probably won’t work for you and there is the possibility he’s just genetically programmed to be big. This of course is not always the case, but there are people out there who get great results even though they go about things in a less than optimal way. The genetic freaks will get results just about no matter what they do, even if it’s not optimal or potentially even unsafe for the average person.
Don’t get me wrong these people still have to work hard and do work hard, but it’s just not the same for you and you have to realize that. The people you see who are the absolute best of the best in just about anything in life are the people who are extremely gifted genetically AND put in more work than anyone else. You can’t help who you are genetically, but you sure as heck can help yourself be the best YOU. Not someone else, don’t worry about anyone else – they don’t matter. You may never be able to best someone else’s best, but you sure as heck are capable of being the best person you can be.
Now I’m not trying to sound like the guy we all know who thinks anyone bigger than them is either on steroids or genetically gifted. There are plenty of people who have great success despite having the odds stacked against them. I’m simply saying there are in fact people who are genetically gifted (or lets face it, on steroids) and they could very well be doing things in a less than ideal way but they can get away with it. If you try to do the same things you could very well not only struggle but end up getting hurt. You have to learn how your body responds to everything. Different training techniques, your diet, or how your body responds to carbs, fats, protein. It takes time and it takes trial and error, but you must learn these things. You have to have patience and continue to learn and grow. Learn what works for you and what doesn’t. If you expect to ask me or anyone else what they eat and try to replicate that expecting the same results, it’s likely to fail.
So continue to learn how everything works and we’ll continue to teach the best we can. Just never forget there are many ways to go about things and different things work for different people. None of us will ever know it all, but the more knowledge you have the better chance you have for success. You just have to make sure you put in the work, and learn what works for you, not someone else.
Happy Lifting!
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