Please note: This series of articles details the experiences of training one individual and is not meant to be used for your own training needs. Everyone's needs are different, so every training and nutritional program will vary from person to person. It's intended for informational and entertainment purposes only and we cannot be held responsible for any accident or injury that may result by following any part of this program.

October 1, 2006

The "Building a Beautiful Body" Series

Part Two: Creating a Blueprint for Success

Last month, I wrote an article introducing the "Building a Beautiful Body" concept. This month, I will describe one of the vital tools I use to build a beautiful body, which I like to call a blueprint for success.

I use this blueprint stage because many people don’t realize that getting into really good shape and creating a truly beautiful body involves more than just lifting weights and being on a good diet. I believe that you need a plan (the blueprint) to get the best results in the least amount of time.

This blueprint, though, isn’t a magical diet on a piece of paper, and it’s not just an exercise program comprising so many sets and reps. The blueprint I’m talking about is your goal for what you want to look like at the end of your program. In other words, it’s your plan for your ideal look and it will guide the way you train and diet.

To some, doing this will make sense. Others, I suspect, will ask why. In fact, very few so-called "personal trainers" I’ve met even do this sort of thing. Instead, what seems to be in fashion today is assessing progress by measuring bodyweight in pounds and bodyfat as a percentage. The thinking seems to be that if you meet certain targets for bodyweight and bodyfat, you’ll have a great-looking body. Nothing could be further from the truth. Quite simply, you can have two people who weigh the same and have roughly the same percentage of bodyfat but bear no resemblance to each other. Heck, they both might not even look good. What do those numbers mean then? Nothing, really. They exist, I believe, to give some personal trainers a feeling of self-worth.

Instead, I like to think of weight training and nutrition as a way to sculpt your body, not unlike the way a sculptor uses clay to make a statue. (I actually wrote an article called "Your Own Custom-made Body" last October that talks about this.) However, before I say anything more, I want to make it clear that I didn’t invent any of this. Trainer Vince Gironda taught me these things decades ago, and he was teaching it decades before that. Gironda was not only a legend but also a pioneer in terms of weight training and nutrition, and he had the eye of an artist. His goal was to create physiques with interesting shape and form, including his own. To be successful, then, you have to revise your thinking to be more in line with that of a sculptor rather than being just someone who goes to the gym to lift weights. You must have purpose when you go there.

There’s no magic to creating this blueprint; the key is to just do it at the beginning. The rest is easy. It’s simply a matter of looking at your own physique objectively and then imagining the way you’d like it to be. You may do this with your personal trainer, a friend, or by yourself, and you can use things like a mirror, photos, video, or some other tool to help you (just don’t bring the scale or the fat caliper into it, because they won’t help you a bit). Personally, with the people I help, I like to use photos, since they give the most objective image, and then I sometimes like to draw on the photos, adding some muscles here and there, and reducing some in other places in order to better imagine the desired look that we want to achieve.

When you imagine, though, you must exercise caution. It’s important to dream about your new shape, but you must not fantasize. Fantasy, at least the way I define it, is not possible; dreams, on the other hand, can come true. So, you must be grounded in your thinking and realize your own genetic limitations, since there are some things you’ll never be able to overcome.

For example, if you have extremely wide hips, you can avoid adding more size there and you can work to offset the width by building up other areas, such as your shoulders. But, due to your genetic makeup, you may never have hips that are as narrow as those of someone who was simply born that way. Likewise, women with very narrow hips can build them up so they have a more curvaceous appearance, but, again, they may never be able to build them up to the same point as someone who is naturally curvier there. Quite simply, there are certain things you can’t overcome, so don’t try to or you’ll get really frustrated.

However, realize two things. First, nobody’s perfect, so everyone wants something that someone else has. Second, even if your genetics don’t allow certain things, don’t give up. I’ve never met anyone who can’t make an astonishing change to their physique and build a better, more beautiful body if they set their mind to it. You may not be able to do everything, but you can do many things – I’ve personally seen many women make amazing changes, and the best way to achieve this is to make a blueprint up front.

As I mentioned last month, I train Natalie Waples – an accomplished figure competitor and fitness model. Natalie and I often sit down and talk about what we’d like her to look like for whatever it is she’s doing next. For example, Natalie was the winner of the Miss Grand Prix Toronto competition that was held in July, and next she will be traveling to Mexico City in November to face off in another competition against the other Grand Prix title winners from other cities. It will be a tough competition for her, but you can be sure that we’ve checked out what her competitors look like and we have a very specific plan – our blueprint – for what we want Natalie to look like when she competes there. I’m confident that when Natalie arrives in Mexico City, she’ll show off a body that looks like no one else’s there.

Likewise, when I wrote the article "Your Own Custom-made Body," I made reference to beautiful Christy Wolfe. Christy looked fabulous at the last competition she was in this season, but she knows that she can always improve her physique. So, after that competition, we talked as we looked through her most recent photos, deciding upon what areas of her body she still needs to improve so she’ll be even better next year. Christy now has a blueprint that will guide her over the fall and winter months and into next season. I’m willing to bet that by having a blueprint and structuring her program to achieve the goals we set out, she’s going to look even more amazing next year.

A blueprint is important because it forces you to think about what you want to look like before you start, and it gives you a plan to follow. That’s why it’s so important to do this at the beginning. Now, here’s the only thing you must realize: No two people will have the same blueprint because everyone’s body is different, and so, too, are their goals.

But even though no two will be the same, there are some general guidelines that everyone can follow to improve their shape. This will come later in an article called "Striving for Superior Shape." Before we get to that, though, I'll outline what I call the Ten-Point Strategy for Success, which you should understand before you get started since it will help you achieve positive results in the least amount of time and with any type of program. Next time I’ll tell you what those ten things are.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

To learn more about Natalie Waples, visit www.NatalieWaples.com. To learn more about Christy Wolfe, visit www.ChristyWolfe.com.

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