Genetics is probably the most widely used excuse for failure in becoming a more physically fit, healthy individual. If we don’t progress as fast as we’d like, we blame genetics. So let’s explore this ‘bag of foolishness’ as my friend Jo would say—- a bit more closely. Bruce Lipton, a renowned microbiologist and researcher, believes that the true secret to life does not lie within our DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of our cell membrane.
If you asked me a year ago what my training philosophy was, I probably would have said something like this: diet and exercise are the two cornerstones of health and wellbeing. Diet being 85 percent of the work and exercise being 15 percent of the effort. While I still somewhat believe this, I’ve since evolved my thinking to encompass so much more.
My current training philosophy is as follows: Lifestyle is more important than diet. There’s no such thing as a genetic predisposition–meaning for example, that just because your parents are overweight, doesn’t mean that you’re automatically destined for a life of obesity. Mindset is EVERYTHING… if you set your mind to a fixed goal and you’re consistent in thinking positively about working toward said goal, you will inevitably achieve it. And lastly, human potential is boundless regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and so on…
Lifestyle Versus Diet
Though I completely agree that eating a healthy plant-rich diet is an important factor in achieving overall wellness, I also believe that maintaining a balanced lifestyle is equally or even more important for achieving optimal health. Dr. Chatterjee, a renowned British doctor and researcher believes that replacing pills with ‘lifestyle prescriptions’, helps people much more when it comes to getting healthy. He also believes that health care professionals should put more emphasis on preventing chronic, lifestyle-related conditions by recommending behavioural changes to their patients.
Much like Dr. Chatterjee, I agree that the secret to a longer, healthier life lies in relaxation, sleeping, movement and a carefully chosen diet.
Genetics Is A Cop Out
We live in a world of excuses. Most people don’t want to accept that when something goes wrong in their lives, they’re at least partly to blame. If you ‘can’t’ lose weight or gain it too quickly, it must be because of your shitty genetics! Genetics is probably the most widely used excuse for failure in becoming a more physically fit, healthy individual. If we don’t progress as fast as we’d like, we blame genetics. So let’s explore this ‘bag of foolishness’ as my friend Jo would say—- a bit more closely. Bruce Lipton, a renowned microbiologist and researcher, believes that the true secret to life does not lie within our DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of our cell membrane. The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. According to some scientists including Lipton, changing your health may be as “simple” as changing your thoughts and beliefs. So having ‘obesity’ in your DNA does not automatically mean you’re destined to be overweight. Far from it. This genetic information does not ever have to be expressed. In short, we are not controlled by our genetic makeup. Instead, our genetic readout is primarily determined by our thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions. All this suggests that the central dogma that’s been fed to us for all these years has proven to be false. So why are people still so hung up on believing that they’re ruled by their genes? Because it’s easier to believe that we are victims of our DNA then it is to believe that we can do something about it. It’s easy to look at people like Kobe Bryant or David Goggins, who consistently train hard everyday and say that they’re genetic freaks or superhuman—rather than trying to achieve a high level of fitness success for ourselves.
Mindset is Everything
Some people think that I have an iron-clad mindset, and I do. But I wasn’t ‘born’ with it. I cultivated it through REPETITION. And make no mistake…it’s no coincidence that my company is called Repetitions Fitness. Our success in life depends on our ability to master our mental state and control our minds. According to work by Stanford psychologist Carol Dwek, the best predictor of success in life is our mindset. If we don’t learn how to control our mind, it will most definitely control us. If we tell ourselves that we’re going to fail at something then we inevitably will. In order to cultivate a strong mindset, we have to be willing to put in the work on a very consistent basis.
Human Potential is Limitless
Remember when you were little and you thought you could do anything? Fly in the sky like superman, scale tall buildings like spiderman, become an astronaut, painter, singer or unicorn? What happened? Well, as we got older our mindset changed. We went from thinking we could do anything to thinking we could only do a limited amount of things.
Self-limiting beliefs causes the vast majority of us to fail—sometimes before we even start to pursue something. I hear it all the time, people use the word ‘can’t’ more than they use the word ‘can’. We train ourselves to believe that certain things aren’t possible.
My belief is that everything IS possible. In the same way scientists can find no end to time and space, the same can be said of the mind. The reason why I like ultra endurance athlete David Goggins so much is that he represents the highest order of mental toughness and human capability. The stories we tell ourselves often prevent us from realizing our potential and it’s our fear in letting go of these stories that prevents us from experiencing a new reality. So how do we rectify this? By beginning to tell ourselves a different story. One in which we are the heroes capable of doing anything.
So How Does This All Relate To My New Physical Training Model?
Simple…I take all of the above criteria and apply it to how I service my clients. Without giving away too much, I train my clients’ bodies and minds so they not only experience body transformations, but mental ones too. So if you’re interested in training with me hit me up at @repfitness or @fitnadz on Instagram!