“Oh man, I’m so jealous you’re so skinny. I wish I had your genetics.” From time to time, I do get these comments and I would be lying to you if I said it didn’t annoy me when people say this. Here’s the thing; people aren’t born in shape, or muscular. It takes hours and hours in the gym, eating properly for years. Not MONTHS, YEARS ladies and gentlemen. That’s what people don’t realize. People assume that others are “naturally” skinny, or muscular. And that’s just not true. What you don’t see is the work these people are putting in.
Let’s start with myself. I have been playing sports since I was a kid. I grew up playing soccer and basketball. I joined AYSO at a young age and always chased after that little ball from field to field. Give me a ball and I’ll chase after it for hours (maybe I was a dog in my previous life, hah). Then, I picked up basketball in junior high. Played it every recess and to this day, will play here and there. I just LOVE being outdoors and sweating. I started working out in high school because I wanted to increase my strength to be able to play sports. I was definitely a gym rat in high school, going 6 days a week. This went on for YEARS. Looking back, I did not know what I was doing (hey, I was 14 at the time and going by myself). But the main thing is, I was CONSISTENT. I liked going to the gym and getting my short cardio in and lifting weights. It made me feel good.
I felt better because my body frame is small. I grew up tall; was 5’6 in 5th grade (I’m 5’8 now. Yes, I did not grow that much okay). When we took class photos, I was that kid next to the teacher. I probably weighed about 100-lbs, and that’s just too skinny. Looking back, I can see all my ribs in photos from my elementary school days. The process of adding muscle doesn’t take overnight, TAKES YEARS. From high school to now, I have put on close to 40 pounds and I can say that majority of that is muscle. But, we are talking about a 18 year process. 18 FREAKIN’ YEARS, ladies and gentlemen of being consistent. That’s a long time and I hope to continue that as I get wiser (like how I didn’t use “older”? Hah). So before you blurt out the “genetics” thing, always think about the amount of work involved. Don’t always assume they were like that from the beginning because trust me, they weren’t, and they WORKED and ARE WORKING for it. Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog, stay tuned for more next week………………….Kei