Yes and no, since it depends on one important factor: YOU.
There tend to be a lot of questions that come up when people think about getting in shapes, such as how hard is it going to be, will a person need to go on a diet, will they need to take a pill or many pills. Some of the questions get ridiculous thanks to a few different factors such as whether a person can eat whatever they want and still lose weight, or if they can take on the same diet that they’ve seen the celebrities engaging in because it appears to be working for them when they need to fit into a swimsuit or a tight pair of pants. One thing I would love a lot of people to do when it comes to understanding what it takes to get fit is probably what a lot of fitness instructors would love to say point-blank and without the need to be kind: TO HELL WITH CELEBRITY DIETS, PILLS, AND ‘MIRACLE’ WORKOUTS.
Was that clear enough? Plenty of people have said it over the years, and the truth is that you might need pills, a diet plan, and perhaps a steady and dedicated workout that works for your body type or your unique physiology, but leave the miracle and Made for TV crap out of it. They’re doing their best in a market that’s all about wowing the people, taking their money, and then trying to defend the idea that their ideas don’t produce results for everyone. No offense to anyone, but one workout doesn’t work for everyone. You’re not bound to get washboard abs in the same way that your next-door neighbor might, and you won’t be getting the type of thigh muscles that your friend that runs marathons will, even if you’re doing the same workouts. Why? That’s the simple part; you’re who you are, and they’re who they are. If you need a diagram to figure this out then the problem runs deeper than fitness and we might need to hold a seminar on genetics. Maybe I should sell tickets…
You won’t be the person next to you, and you shouldn’t try to be. It’s a great goal to get in shape and to try to live a healthier life, but if you feel the need to copy someone and hope for the same results, then toss the dice and start lifting, running, whatever it takes. Chances are you’ll figure out after a few months that even if you see results, they won’t be the same as the person you’re trying to copy. There’s nothing wrong with trying to get fit and find your way to a more energetic and trim form we here at Radass salute you for having the idea to better yourself in this manner. But do it because you want that healthy body and state of mind, not because you want to get ripped and impress anyone. Are you ready for a few more truths? Trust me, a lot of us have learned this the hard way over the years, and while some have given up and said that it can’t work, there are plenty of us that are still content to keep going.
Let’s roll it out there folks, burn some calories while trying to touch your toes, and then move on.
Your body is similar to many others, but it won’t work like everyone else’s.
Your body type is important to pay attention to since this will affect what kind of workouts you’ll need to focus on, how you might want to adjust your diet, and why you might not see results as quickly as others. Let’s get into that:
- Ectomorph-This is the type of individual that’s usually thin as a rail and actually has trouble building body mass sometimes. It’s easy to look at these folks and wonder how in the world they stay so thin when they eat all the time and don’t appear to gain a pound. This is because they have a metabolism like a wildfire as it burns up just about everything they eat.
- Endomorph-There are a lot of people that are in this classification as they store more fat in their midsection and have a tougher time getting rid of it. They do tend to have a greater chance of achieving more muscle than Ectomorphs, but this comes with more fat as well, which makes workouts tough as trying to burn off that excess fat is difficult thanks to their slower metabolisms.
- Mesomorph-These are the folks that a lot of people tend to look at and hate simply because they can eat a full meal, go for a run, a walk, or head to the gym and burn all that crap off. The trick is that a lot of Mesomorphs tend to know how to burn the fat, how to keep it off, and that their body is going to work for them so long as they maintain it. Okay, some folks might appear to be naturally gifted with muscular, athletic forms, but a lot of them still tend to work for it, which is what anyone needs to do to maintain their health.
If you need inspiration you can use, then checking out HolyElle on her Twitter on this site would help no doubt, as she shows what a person can do with enough grit and determination.
Forget this image for now, I’m serious. Just get it out of your head.
Everyone needs a goal, I get it, and while this is ambitious it’s not the worst thing in the world to wish for. But my advice to you is don’t post this up on your wall or anywhere you can see it, since likely as not you’re going to get depressed after a while when it comes to comparing yourself with a picture like this. I get it, some folks might push harder and attain this, but the number of those who will manage this is small in comparison to those that will end up walking away from their workout after a while. But let me explain this in a way that more people might understand: this is a gym rat. Yes, he’s famous, yes, he’s a star, and yes, he made his fortune off of being one of the most impressive human beings in the world. All that is true, but a gym rat is someone that hangs out in the gym ALL THE TIME. If they don’t work out for 24 hours, some of them get cranky.
Gym rats aren’t negative people or a bad influence, but they do spend a great deal of time in the gym and they do end up getting pumped and ripped like this provided they find a workout that is right for them. If that’s the life you want, then work into it, because like it or not, if you have a life outside of the gym that demands your attention and time, this won’t work.
Home is where it needs to start.
If you can’t work out at home then chances are that you’re not going to go far in a gym since unless you have the extra scratch to pay a personal trainer, no one is going to help you. At home, it’s even tougher since it’s your comfort zone, and trying to get in shape isn’t all that comfortable at times since your body is going to reply with a feeling that’s the equivalent of “What the hell are you doing to me???!”, and it becomes very easy to simply give up and go sit on the couch with a bag of chips and a soda as you turn on Netflix and forget all about that nasty, no-good painful noise called exercise. Yeah…that’s the story of many people that try to get started working out at home, and it’s so easy to remedy that people forget about it more often than not.
Turn off the Netflix, put the chips down, and get your butt in gear. If you need stimulation, turn on YouTube and find a yoga video, or another form of exercise, and then conveniently lose the remote for a while. If you can work out at home, then you’ve found the determination and dedication you need to start.
What you eat does matter.
Let’s get this straight right now, potato chips aren’t healthy because they have the word ‘potato’ in them, and none of the crap that you like to eat normally (if you do) is suitable for the daily functions your body needs to perform for survival. Let’s put it this way, if you put crappy fuel into your car, what’s going to happen? It might run for a while, but eventually, it’s not going to run as well and you might find that it won’t run at all if you keep this up. Your car won’t get fat, for all you smartasses out there, but its innards will get gunked up and cease to work the way they should. The human body isn’t much different in this regard since the refined sugar and grease and fat that we take in far too often will eventually clog our pipes (arteries, bowels, take your pick) and will start to erode our innards in a manner that will not only be painful after a while, but will leave us fat, slow, and extremely unpleasant to look at. Hey, it’s the truth, you can’t go eating McDonald’s three meals a day and stay healthy. You can’t just eat sugary and salty snacks all the time without blowing up like a blimp eventually. Even the Ecto and Mesomorphs can’t do this since eventually their bodies will show the degradation brought on by the wrong foods as well.
Do yourself a favor, and eat a vegetable once in a while. Cook your own meals, and see what happens. I promise unless you’re that bad of a cook, it probably won’t kill you.
Stay hydrated at all times when working out, whether you’re a novice or a pro.
You’ll never see anyone that knows what they’re doing without a water bottle. Want to know why? Working out takes energy, it causes one to burn calories, and in the process of burning calories, one can get dehydrated. There’s a much longer explanation for this but I’m not a dietician or a coach so I’ll tell you from experience what I know. The moment you walk into a gym or decide to work out at home, your body is going to get ready to sweat, and one way or another, you’ll end up needing to replenish whatever fluids are burned up as you continue to work out. If you don’t keep water handy, your body is going to remind you that it’s not going to keep working without a way to keep itself cool. Trust me, you start a workout without water at your own peril. You don’t need to chug one bottle after another, in fact, I’d recommend not doing that, but keep a bottle handy so that you have the means of keeping yourself refreshed and ready to keep going.
Lastly, stick to it, and don’t cheat yourself.
This should go without saying, no one is going to care about your fitness, which is why you should. You don’t get anywhere by cheating, since your body isn’t going to be fooled by your need to justify another snack or an explanation on how you couldn’t go one more step or do one more rep. Your body is you if that makes sense, and trying to fool it into getting in shape on its own through the power of positive thinking makes about as much sense as trying to force yourself to do…well, anything. Get your butt to work, and your body will give you the signals as to how much it can take, and when it’s time to relax for a while. Just do yourself a favor and listen so you don’t hurt yourself.
WTR? (Why’s That Radass?)
We here at Radass want to see y’all do better and feel better, which is why working out is worth the effort and the pain that is going to come. It takes a great deal of dedication and self-sacrifice, but if you want it, then you’ll sweat and perhaps even bleed for it since nothing worth doing is ever accomplished by going halfway. Reach down and figure out that you have what it takes to keep going.
