Recently, I’ve had what seems like alot of people, both in real life, and on internet forums claim that I have ‘elite genetics.’ Well I decided to dig through my old cell phones in search of pictures. I was actually really surprised with what I found.
I was way fatter than I remember being, and I took these pictures because I thought I was looking great at that moment. ha
Check out the pictures below. This first set was from around 3 years ago. As you can tell I don’t have ‘elite genetics’ or even close to it. Keep in mind, I probably looked worse than these pictures show. I took these pictures because I thought I was looking good. The fact is, I was no where near elite. In fact, despite me lifting weights and ‘watching what I ate’ I was still totally fat (by my standards at least).
VS.
I’ve found that getting your body to the highest level is a game of inches. I’ve never taken steroids. And in the past 3 years all I’ve done is be ridiculously consistent, working out ridiculously hard, while being ridiculously anal about what I put in my mouth. Also, I’m constantly evaluating the ’cause and effect’ of what, and how much, I eat and how it affects my body.
It’s definitely small changes in how you train, how you eat, and how consistent you stay that make all the difference in the world. In other words, it is ‘inches’ that take you from one level to the next.
“Life is a game of inches. So is football. In either game the margin of error is small. One half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it.
But the inches we need are everywhere around us. In every minute of our lives. We have to go for every inch. Because we know that when we add up those inches, that will make the difference between winning and losing.
And I know that if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willing to go for that inch. And that’s what living is. The six inches in front of your face. Now what are you gonna do?” -From the move “Any Given Sunday”
Trust me when I say I do not have elite muscle building or fat loss genetics. What I do have is an obsession with making the most out of life. For me, this obviously this includes having an elite body that is healthy, athletic, and aesthetic. I decided that I would do whatever it took to figure out what it takes to the next level and I had a willingness to do whatever ‘it’ was. I want to emphasize this doesn’t come out of a sense of desperation but just because it makes life more fun.
This is a good opportunity to insert one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors:
The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, “How lucky he is!” Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, “How highly favored he is!” And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, the remark, “How chance aids him at every turn!” They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it “luck”; do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it “good fortune”; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it “chance.”
In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. “Gifts,” powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized. – James Allen
