Your Unique Physique

I think at some point everybody looks in the mirror and thinks to themselves; I want to make my chest bigger, or, why aren’t my shoulders wider? Or, why isn’t my bum smaller? Most of us want to change, improve, or hone some part of our physique. After 12 years of working out, I have succeeded in sculpting a healthy physique which I no longer need to hide and can be proud of. However, after all this work, I still have long gangly arms, and long gangly legs – it is how I am made! But can I change this?

Through trial and error, I have learnt that different activities do shape your physique in different ways. Typically swimmers have big shoulders, runners have nearly 0% body fat and so on. Consequently it can be said that your body is a reflection of your lifestyle. The old phrase ‘you are what you eat’ is said for a reason.  (Note: I will focus more on physical lifestyles here but I do believe that diet is an even more fundamental component.)

Chose wisely my friend

When it comes to the weights room, of course lifting in different ways targets different parts of your body. I was once disillusioned by the body building magazines, which would, for example outline four key lifts to develop ‘big boulder shoulders’. My genetics dictate that I have quite a slender physique. My shoulders tend to slope more as oppose to square off, so I have always wanted to build them. When I was younger, my best friend did have these square shoulders. He was taller, and with longer arms he would complain about his lack of biceps. So effectively we wanted to switch body parts. Many years later, we live different lifestyles but these inequalities remain. On the one hand, you cannot change your bone structure, so arguably there may be limits but you can of course build muscle…

Textbook Lifts Wont Always Give Textbook Results

In the past I did the four classic muscle magazine shoulder lifts, commonly a shoulder press, lateral raise, rear deltoid fly and front raise. Did they work? Yes, to some extent I suppose. I’m not saying that these exercises do not work but it is important to be realistic about your genetic and real life limitations. Most of us are not bodybuilders with pockets stuffed full of supplements, spending hours at a time in the gym, and maybe our muscles do not respond to lift x, or movement y. I am not saying that you cannot change things if you want to, or that you cannot look like a cover model. The human body is an incredible thing. The correct weightlifting will ‘trick’ your muscles into growth. What I am saying is that you should not get too caught up on why you just can’t obtain a certain shape. We all have unique physiques that we should cherish, nurture and adore. The abdominal muscle group is a prime example – we all have different shaped abs, partly because we do different ab exercises, but also due to our natural physiques. Use a trial and error approach to sculpt away your physical goals but do not be disheartened about your natural look.

Real life is full of ‘interruptions’

Unless you have a career in fitness, or you’re a professional sportsperson, it is very difficult to keep on track all of the time. Even for those who are professionals, they have to have breaks sometimes. These breaks just happen more often for the rest of us. I always thought that if my job was fitness related, then wow – it would be so much easier to stay in shape. For most of us, a fitness regime is a voluntary lifestyle, which gets interrupted on a weekly or possibly daily basis. Sadly these ‘interruptions’ cannot always be avoided. The golden rule is to jump straight back into your healthy living routine as though the interruption never happened. The obvious example is when you have a blow-out day or even weekend with bad nutrition and no exercise. For me, it’s fun and enjoyable to eat the ‘naughty but nice’ foods, or drink alcohol sometimes. Just make sure you turn around and get back on the right road before you feel too guilty or undo your hard work.

So please embrace your unique physique; if you wish to change something then do, and use a trial and error approach to find out which activity is best for achieving your desired results. Lastly, be realistic in setting these goals. ‘Interruptions’ in your life should not be used as an excuse but equally do not be too hard on yourself.

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