The Role of Genetics in Fitness
Have you ever known a "skinny/fat" person that can eat whatever they want, and does, but stays skinny, doesn't gain weight, and doesn't display obvious fat on their body? And if you ever met their family, you noticed that there are more people like them? Why couldn't I have been born into this family momma? LOL. There is also the family that accumulates fat in their lower back, some families with big hips, some families with double chins, and the families with fat in their abdomens. The latter is my family. My mother, her brother and sister, and their father all had the infamous stomach belly ball. You know, the roundness in the lower area of the stomach. I eventually learned that my digestive tract also impacts my stomach bulgeness, but that's a whole nother topic. So despite that fact that my diet is healthy about 80/20.... 70/30..... or 65/35 on some days, LOL, and my exercise game is on point, I have a difficult time losing the stomach fat. But, this is not to say that I am doomed to always have more fat around my stomach, this just means that I have to work a little differently and possibly a little harder to make it go away and stay away.
It's worth mentioning that even if you do not have any noticeable negative genetic traits like fat accumulation, if you have specific goals for your physique such as a particular body shape or muscle mass ( like how most girls want a big butt now even though some of us will just never have it no matter how many squats, lunges, and hip thrusts you do), you want to be aware of diminishing returns. Diminishing returns is defined as the principle in which after a certain level of performance has been achieved, there will be a decline in the effectiveness of training at furthering a person's performance level (American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Manual, 5th Edition). When you exercise you may be able to lose weight or build muscle for a period of time, but eventually your genetics may say, "Okay, we've had enough and we are not going to change this body anymore" despite the quantity and quality of of your training. This is different from a plateau even though the solutions to both are similar and diminishing returns is often even referred to as a plateau. With a plateau, your body has simply adapted to the physical demands placed on it, but with diminishing returns, your fighting against your DNA, and you have your ancestors to thank, or not.
If your genetics is causing you to struggle with your body image or preventing you from obtaining your fitness goals, then getting over this barrier will need to include a level of awareness, discipline, and new exercises to illicit a new neuromuscular response. Here are a few tips to help you overcome what your mama gave you (or didn't give you):
1.Undulating Periodization
Add macrocycles/mesocycles/microcycles to your exercise program, with the goal of continual progression. With a plateau, a change to your exercise habits, such as working out at a different time of the day when you have more energy could to be beneficial to reignite your metabolism and to help you progress toward your fitness goals. However, if diminishing returns is your issue, then you need to place more physical demands on the body to progress toward your goals. For example, a bodybuilder may want to incorporate some plyometric work into their routine to activate more fast-twitch muscle fibers for muscle growth, or someone who does cardio conditioning may want to start adding sprint intervals to their training. These are basic examples that deserve more explanation but I don't want to write a book here. But you can progress your workouts in many ways such as adding weight, speed, jumps, frequency, and duration. You should also consider changing your exercise program. For example, if you typically do isolation moves, try combination moves to target more muscle groups at once. If you only focus on strength training, add some cardio.
2. Review your Fuel (Food that is!)
Do you count macros? If not and you have been unable to reach your goals due to diminishing returns, maybe you should consider doing so. Are you getting enough protein to build muscle? Do you have enough energy from carbohydrates? These are just some suggestions that could give you the boost you need.
3.Rest and Recovery
You may want to review your recovery time. Are you allowing your body to receive the proper rest so that your muscles recovery and grow? Review what your workout plan looks like. Do you do split routines were you do upper body one day and lower body the next day? Are you only receiving 24 to 48 hours of recovery time between workouts doing your split routine? If so, then perhaps you can allow yourself additional recovery time by adding a rest day and cardio day in-between big sessions to allow up to 72 hours of recovery time. This all depends on your goals and how often you workout, but it could be a solution to your genetic wall.
4.Don't Get Discouraged
Although it may be a hard pill to swallow, sometimes we have to accept the things that we cannot change and embrace what we have. This is not to suggest that you give up on your fitness goals, but rather a recommendation to find the positivity in what you are capable of doing with your body and make it work for you.
Erica Russell-Averette
Personal Trainer
The Torch Room, LLC
www.thetorchroom.com
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