Within the past decade, the “fit” image has massively taken off.

While it has many many positive aspects, there is absolutely no denying it also has many downsides as well.

Chiefly, one of the main belief that anyone and everyone can be fitness model or a competitor simply with 3-6 months of gym, a copy and pasted diet/lifting/cardio regime and a supposed hardcore diet.

A False Reality?

This isn’t reality.   One may ask then, where did this idea come from?

If we were to work it out, we’d hazard a guess to a few things  — the growth of social media, the pushing of competing by federations for categories that did not exist 10 years before (bikini and men’s physique) and general news media/movies/glossy magazines.

Without a shadow of a doubt, men’s physique and bikini divisions in the bodybuilding world has brought bodybuilding to the forefront of many peoples mind, and created an industry of fitness, and this has sprung up seemingly overnight.

 

Why does the idea exist?
Many of these businesses market “bikini prep” to first-time trainers and so, competitors. And this is not forgetting the likes of CrossFit (spit! LOL)  and men and women’s cage fighting etc – it has massively popularized images of muscled and highly fit looking athletic men, and almost Amazonian looking women.   Which is only a good thing -a generation of empowered men and women.

As a direct result, people everywhere now want the“look”.   And people wanting your money will often say whatever they need, to get you to sign on the dotted line, or so to speak.

 

A few basic facts

To start, we need to put some basic facts down about men and women.

It’s a fairly accepted that that the for a woman to approach the same look  as a man at 15% body fat for men is basically equivalent to 20–25% for a woman.

To put in perspective – a man at 10% will be a woman at around 20%.

The average man is not 10% body fat, and the average woman does not walks around with sub 20% body fat with abs.   They are simply a a genetic outlier.  That is to say, its not average, not normal.

Another way to look at it, its basically the same equivalent to men who are naturally “ripped” without any serious diet planning nor training.

You could argue by a few percent, but the fact being the point that being really lean with abdominal definition isn’t a normal “walk around” body composition for most normal people.  It takes them effort and time to get there.

 

What it Really Takes!

In general, to get the ‘look’ the following is usually needed:

-A completely sorted diet.  Not an OK one, but one exactly to the point.  Without this, wheels will just be spinning forever.
-Lifting 4-6 days a week, heavy compound movements and carefully constructed workout programs.
-Cardio wil usually be done daily, at least 5-6 days a week.
-Plenty of good rest, each and every night.
-Normally, constant training over several years, not a few months.

 

The expectation v reality

Many believe the stage look one can achieve is one that happens relatively quickly, within months.  This is however not normal, not true for most.

Yes, Yo hit the stage just six months after we began working together and won the entire first competition she entered entirely, including overall and was competing internationally by her third show.

But once again, Yo is not the average woman, the effort and time she puts in is not normal and her genetics are above the normal every day person.  It is not impossible to get where Yo has gotten, but one cannot expect the same from their first six months, just because they think they should.

One must remember, Yo straight away was coached in a manner that gave her many years head start in terms of diet, training etc  and most people do not have this.  They muddle around for a few years, working out what works and what doesn’t – they essentially have to sift through the rough for a significant time period. to find the diamond within.

 

So, how did they get there?

The athletes you see on stage and magazines are that way not by luck in the  most part (although some people do have amazing genetics straight out the box that allow this)  but constant effort.  The reality for most is busting your ass, for at least a couple of years, and this is proper hard graft – not weak ill thought lifts with no diet backing, nor thoughts on recovery from training.

And this point needs realizing – it is constant hard effort, not working hard for a few months, having a few months off, and repeating.  It is something one does each and everyday, for years.

In conclusion

The folk you see on stage are the result of years of effort.  The male physique/bikini look again, is not usually created within months, it takes at least couple of years or more.  A bodybuilder again, will be many years longer than this in the most part.

Now we didn’t write this article to put you off.  We wrote it for you to understand you CAN do it, you WILL do it, it just usually takes a little loner than you’d think!

Thanks for reading!

 

If you would like a nutritional plan with training guidance or indeed coaching, please see our page www.team-wild.com/oc.