Realistic Expectations

          We have heard countless stories of body issues in America. Women develop self-esteem and body issues when they see all those cover models like Kate Upton and Charlotte McKinney. And there is the endless parade of beauties like Sofia Vergara, Katy Perry, and Scarlett Johannson. This is where things like Photoshop, professional lighting and talented photographers all manage to distort reality. Truth be told, all those magazine companies know (and use) all the tricks to make any average woman look like Playboy centerfolds. Women fall for it hook, line, and sinker. But this is not a problem that is exclusive to females.

          Even as a heterosexual man, I look at male physiques and I do tend to idolize men. I think to myself, “I wished I looked like them.” For me, the ultimate is Schwarzenegger. There are so many professional wrestlers and action heroes out there that I aspire to look like. The Rock, Hugh Jackman, John Cena, Chris Evans… I do lurk quite a bit on bodybuilding websites, looking for helpful articles, strategies, and exercises to try. And low and behold, those fitness magazines and website pepper their articles with professional bodybuilders.

          And much the same way that Playboy uses professional lighting, perfectly tailored clothes, and artistic makeup to “enhance” their models, I am quite certain that the bodybuilders did not just wander into the studio right out of bed and after a 12-stack pancake breakfast. I am not saying that these guys are not cut and jacked but I would bet dollars to donuts that they only shoot those photos at the tail end of a massive workout session and they have professional lighting, makeup, and spritzing water bottles to simulate sweat for those photos.

          When you are working out, you might be trying to compare yourself to these professionals and you are wondering why the veins on your arms don’t look like a highway road map. That is how discouragement sets in…. So consider this. 

          Hugh Jackman’s regiment for him to become Wolverine had him eating boiled chicken and brown rice every four hours. And they had a technique where you overload your body with water for 7 days and then don’t drink anything for 24 hours. This helps get you that “shredded” look.

          Even Chris Pratt, Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, said that the massive training he did was to get to that one sequence where he knew he was going to be filmed with his shirt off. It is like those orchids that take months to cultivate and then bloom and die in a matter of seconds.

          Go lift up Gerard Butler’s shirt right now and I guarantee you he is not in King Leonidas shape from 300.

          Another thing to keep in mind; when Schwarzenegger was competing, his program was 6 days a week, where he basically did 3-day splits, twice a week, working out morning and afternoon. I don’t have that kind of availability. Few of us do. I have a 9 to 5 job and live in a single parent household. I cannot spend four to six hours a day in the gym. Sleep and work has chewed up 16 of my 24 hour day. It is not fiscally possible and it is not financially prudent for me. Unless I just want to give up sleep and double the miles I put on my car every year.

          I remember when I first got started in the gym, getting through 45 minutes (with cardio) was a nightmare. Eventually, I worked my way up to a solid hour. And now my time in the weight room is averaging closer to an hour and a half. You hear tell of guys spending six to eight hours in the gym. I don’t have that kind of physical stamina to begin with.   

          Now, you have to make time to hit the gym but we all have responsibilities we have to tend to. I’ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed. I’ve got my 40-hour a week job, parental duties, boyfriend duties (if I am dating), laundry to do, meals to prepare, a house to clean, a lawn to maintain, and the beat goes on and the beat goes on…

          Four hours in the gym would leave me only 4 hours left to handle all the other things I have to do in my day. I’ve got pages to write. You have to factor in time to shower. Eat. Commute back and forth. If I went this route, my whole life would be career, sleep, and they gym. There would be no time for anything else.

          See, this is the trap that we often fall into because I idolize the bodies of professional wrestlers and action movie stars. But John Cena’s job requires him to look like he does. When he spends 8 hours a day in the gym, it is like me spending 8 hours at the office. The gym is his office. So it is often an unrealistic standard for me to compare myself to Cena, when he is literally doing four times the work in the gym than me. I am not saying that you shouldn’t have goals. You can look like that. But do not let yourself fall into that “why don’t I look like” trap and get discouraged.