When I was growing up I was not particularly athletic. I tried and sort of participated in several different sports - none of which I was very successful at. I was just sort of awkward and despite my height - I had no real potential for sports like basketball or football. (At least that is how I remember it) As I became an adolescent I drifted towards individual activities such as (of all things) skateboarding which I actually did for several years and got pretty descent at. When high school rolled around I went into diving because believe it or not, I actually had a slight gymnastic ability. I wasn't ever really good at that either and my longer awkward frame made it sort of ugly when I dove (again ... how I remember it). I tell people this story from time to time. When I was a sophomore, I was photographed for the yearbook with 3 other divers. There we were sitting on the end of a diving board in speedos of all things. The other three guys had what I wold describe as very typical mid-adolescent bodies that were being transformed by the raging hormones that we experience at that time. They had little pecs, abs, guns, etc. etc. And then there was me. A longer skinnier version of those guys with a flat chest, almost concave looking arms (meaning they seemed to swoop in instead of out) and broad but bony shoulders. Definitely not the genetic makeup of a guy with a proclivity for weight lifting. To top all of this off - I had developed this horrible roll of belly fat right around my belly button. A result of my mom's incredible cooking, my love of all things pasta, and a couple of years previous to that where I spent at least two summers doing nothing but watching cable.
My point is I had poor genetics. I did not have the natural V-taper of the back to midsection as my fellow divers and I carried my body fat in the exact wrong place at a pretty early age and my muscularity was pretty nil. The only thing I did have was a decent set of legs that I think some of which came from using them during all that skateboarding. I read once that the one time you can really make-up for lack of genetic potential in a short amount of time is early adolescence as your body is producing tons of great hormones at that time for muscle building.
Later in high school I got involved in wrestling which again, I wasn't great at but I actually learned a lot about in a short amount of time and still kick myself to this day that I didn't get involved earlier so I could of experienced a little more success in that sport. It was actually a sport where I could learn to use some of my length to my advantage. That only lasted for awhile and then my lack of experience would catch up with me.
Anyway, around the time I was 13 or 14 I started to look at bodybuilding magazines because I was fascinated by those physiques. I really never stopped looking at those magazines over the years. But what started as a fascination with looking at the pictures became actually reading the articles and then eventually putting them into practice; especially around the time I was 16 or so. I found my first serious gym and because I had spent years reading magazines that preached a lot about form, set and rep schemes, developing symmetry and balance and the "correct" way to do things - I was able to start training properly. Over the years I tried a variety of techniques and strategies to train my muscles and work on my weaker body parts. But I always kept in the forefront of my mind the lessons from the magazines that talked about things like working your chest as much as your back and how legs are just as if not more important than your arms. And because I looked at all those pictures and read all those articles I believe I did so with consistent proper form. I believe to this day that this is why I have avoided injury in 16 + years of weight lifting.
Of course I sought out the advice of others hundreds of times and experimented with different ideas of the proper way to train. And I definitely had my slumps where I would slack on the lifting. Also, I didn't even consider doing any cardio work until college and on into my early twenties. But weigh training remained a focus for me and has been one of the most consistent things in my life.
So to wrap all of this up. I still don't have the best genetics. But looking at where I came from - I have done almost as much as I could possibly do with my genetic potential. What was once a flat bony chest actually has a little size and definition ... it is sort of one of my stronger parts now (a testament to lot's of incline presses and work which I believe so many people neglect). And after all these years of practice makes perfect work, feeling the muscles work and connecting with them mentally has become second nature. But that took time - a lot of time thinking about the exercises and "toying" with them to make them work for me. I think I now have a much more complete physique. Of course I still want to improve areas and of course I still battle that "genetic belly syndrome" (ooh .. I should coin that term). And I understand that these will be things that I have to work on forever.
And this is my lesson for the day! :) I think people should realize that they have the bodies they have and that to make real change takes years, even a lifetime of commitment. But this should not be an overwhelming fact as the idea that weight training and exercise will be part of your life forever should be comforting. You will always have something to work on and you will always have a goal. It gives me purpose in one aspect of my life and I think others who choose to should look at it that way as well. True change comes from consistent, proper, specifically crafted training programs that make the best of your assets and help you bring up those areas you need to work on.
Thanks for reading ... I know this was a long one.
Andy
