If you have hit a plateau in your journey to lose fat and gain muscle, it’s easy to blame your lack of progress on genetics. Now before I move onto the valuable lessons that I’ve learned about genetics, it is important to note that we do have some genetic limitations when it comes to transforming our body. I definitely acknowledge that. BUT, most of us are nowhere close to achieving our genetic potential or reaching those limits.
It’s my hope that today’s video lesson and my personal example, will ignite a fire under your butt to step up your game and make the absolute most out of the gifts that you have been given.
If you prefer to read rather than watch the video, here you go…
I’ve been lean and active my entire life. In addition to playing sports I got involved in weight training at the age of 14. Just recreational, but I really enjoyed how the little bit of added muscle made me look and I really loved the comments that I got from the girls.
As I got older and entered my 20’s I began to train even harder, but I had a very difficult time gaining muscle. Here is a couple dorky pictures of me showing off, what I thought was a pretty good physique, even though I weighed only 123 pounds soaking wet 😉 Note: I’m 5’7″
Although I looked pretty good, I was a bit embarrassed about how small I was. A slight breeze could blow me over. I’ll never forget a moment when my girlfriend at the time introduced me to one of her guy friends. I over heard him tell her, “I thought you said he was big and muscular.” Wow! What a shot to the ego that was.
I couldn’t blame him though. I mean… look at those stick legs 🙂 Yes, that was a nick name that I got at work too. Another blow to the ego. I had so many people tell me that I was genetically predetermined to have skinny legs and calves. So I believed them. It was easy to believe them. I hated training legs and never did. If I had crappy genetics, why bother training legs?
I was a bit discouraged and a self proclaimed “Hard-Gainer”. I thought it was damn near impossible for me to gain muscle. I was spending hundreds of dollars each month on supplements that were supposed to help me build muscle, yet it just wasn’t working.
So I went on training really hard and not getting anywhere. Then I opened my own health club, worked 16 hour days, ate like crap, and didn’t have time to workout. Kind of ironic eh?
For anyone who ever thought that I had amazing genetics that kept me lean, I sure proved them wrong when I gained 45 pounds at the speed of light. This was the most depressing time of my life and I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my body.
This was definitely a time when I realized that I can gain fat just as rapidly as anyone else if I’m living a crappy lifestyle. It was also a time when I realized that, “Hey, I can’t possibly be a “Hard-Gainer” if I can get this fat this quickly.”
That was an eye opening experience and it was a time for me to re-examine the kind of workout and nutrition program that I had been following.
I’d love to say that the results happened over night, but the reality is that it’s taken years of educating myself, going through trial and error, and learning to listen to my body and what it needs to lose fat and gain muscle.
I have a photo shoot scheduled for 40 days from the time I made this video. It’s provided a huge motivational boost to blast through my plateaus and drive toward my genetic potential. The photo shoot also provides me with the incredible opportunity to capture my moment of success… To celebrate my victory… To see just how far I have come.
Before I show you where I am at right now, just 40 days away from the photo shoot, I would like to show you my previous photo shoot from a couple years ago…
I was really proud of my achievements back then, but I was still struggling with a limited mindset. I believed that it was incredibly difficult to build my chest. I thought that due to my genetics I could never have a big and massive chest.
Well, I may not have a big and massive chest today, but in the past few months it has grown pretty dramatically…
Like my legs, it had very little to do with genetics and more to do with my training. What did it take to blast through my plateau and move toward my genetic potential?
For my chest, it was a matter of narrowing my grip a bit, bringing the bar lower on my chest, and keeping my elbows closer to my body.
…that, and incorporating strength training into my workouts in addition to hypertrophy training. I had been neglecting strength training for years because of my lack of time and brief short bout workouts. These workouts made me lean, but I really sacrificed a lot with them.
The same was the case with my legs. Well, that and the fact that I never trained legs for many years, much like most young guys in the gym.
Above all, it’s my level of focused intensity. It’s that mind-body connection. It’s my ability to hear that inner voice say, “Stop at this rep, that’s enough” and block it out, then replace it with my conscious voice that says, “I know that I’ve got 2 more good reps in me. Push through it and show me what you’re really made of!”
It’s my ability to block out all distractions and really be in that moment. To feel that connection with the dumbbells and barbells as if they are an extension of my own body.
It’s also been my ability to create workout programs that challenge my body and forces it to lose fat and gain muscle. I give my body no option but to improve.
It’s only been a few months where I have this renewed passion for building my best body possible. This marks the beginning of something truly wonderful that I can’t wait to experience.
I have discovered a joy with fitness that I have never experienced before.
I have discovered a fascination with my body that I’ve never experienced before.
I have discovered that I do not want to settle for mediocrity… I deserve the BEST!
It’s easy to settle and give into the genetics excuse. But reality is that genetics only account for approximately 18% of your results. It’s what you do with the other 82% that makes all the difference in the world.
Are you willing to make the most out of that 82%, because that’s where your BEST Body awaits you!
Before you go blaming your lack of results on genetics ask yourself, “Am I REALLY doing everything that I can in order to make progress?”
Sculpt a Masterpiece,
Scott Tousignant
About The Authors
Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.
Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.
Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.
We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!