How Important Are Your Genetics - GetFitOver40

In this YouTube video titled "How Important Are Your Genetics" I talk about how your genetics play a big part in your health and fitness journey.

The most important point I want to make in this video is that we are all different and unique and we should not be comparing ourselves to others around us. At least in terms of wishing we had this attribute or that attribute that someone else may have. This kind of thinking will only lead to disappointment because often there may be little we can do to achieve a certain genetic feature that another person is blessed with. You too will have genetic advantages in certain areas and the goal is to work with those advantages and also work even harder on areas that are genetically not our strong points. As long as you are making small positive improvement over time you are doing it right!

Specifically when weight training, some people have a genetic muscle makeup that responds to lifting weights really well, it's almost like they don't even need to try and they get stronger and more muscular, and then others work super hard in the gym but only see very slow progress in their strength and muscle gains. And the way our muscles grow is also determined by our genetics, not just which areas grow faster and larger but also how those muscle shape and attach to the surrounding muscles. There is very little we can do about the shape of our muscles as this is almost exclusively a genetic feature but we can work harder on those areas that are slow to grow to create a more balanced look. This is what body building is all about.

Another big roll in genetics is the placement of our body fat, some people put body fat all on their kegs and but while others put it all on their upper body or even just their belly region. Some people put very little weight on their face and then others seem to gain a lot of weight in their neck and cheek area. The only way to create equality in how body fat is stored would be to reduce it to extremely low levels so that it becomes none relevant but this is very hard to do and not practical for most people as we generally need some body fat on us to be healthy and feel energetic and healthy.

Genetics also determine to a large degree how our bodies will wear over time. Some people even at very young ages can get arthritis and/or even other diseases like diabetes and heart disease that can change drastically their ability to perform even moderate exercises. While some people seem to be healthy and strong even into their elder years.

At the end of the day we are who we are with our individual strengths and weakness. Make the best of what you have and if you want to compare yourself to anyone, compare yourself to the person you where a month ago or a year ago or even 10 years ago. If at the end of the day you are moving forwards and not backwards then you have nothing to complain about!