Are you an apple or a pear?

Apples, Pears, EndoEctoMesomorphs…
But weren’t we all created equal?

The founding fathers had a number of things right…but if they meant that all men and women were created physically equal…they were woefully wrong. Even a moments consideration will point out the most obvious examples…the 7 foot giants in the NBA, the muscular hulks of the NFL, the beautiful women in the top fitness contests…these humans bear little physical resemblance to most of us ordinary mortals. And this unfortunately is a source of great confusion in the field of exercise and nutrition today. It is a natural mistake to assume that Reggie Bush got his muscular physique from his scientific exercise program and his perfect diet…when in fact awesome genetics are almost entirely responsible for his athletic prowess and he excells in spite of his unscientific exercise and far less than optimal diet. Hundreds of similar examples can be seen amongst men and women in the top levels of sport and they exploit their genetic advantage by endorsing products, food supplements and exercise programs guaranteed to make diamonds from mud!!

We who are not similarly blessed physically need to wake up and establish reasonable goals. Women who are built like pears will always have a pear shape just as women who are more like apples will always resemble that fruit. Some men are endomorphs(accumulate fat easily)…some ectomorphs(tend to skinny unmuscular appearance)…and a few lucky men are mesomorphs…muscular specimens who will excell at strength and speed sports. But while we can’t change our genes, we can optimize our health, fitness, strength and appearance. And just what is required to do this? Read on dear reader…

Proper Exercise…figure out muscle function…design or devise an exercise that provides full range exercise and maximally loads the muscle throughout the range of motion…work the muscle as hard as humanly possible in that range of motion and exhaust the muscle as quickly and efficiently as possible while doing the least amount of exercise possible…then move quickly to the next muscle and the next muscle and the next muscle…in practice this will require about 8 to 12 exercises performed for one set each to total failure…about 30 minutes of strength training twice per week for most people. That’s it…no 1 to 2 hour classes…no ballistic fast movements…no plyometrics…intense exercise is like a prescription drug…there are bad side effects…always…and the less of the drug you take the better. Most trainees and their trainers are on the exact wrong track…instead of trying to determine how little exercise is required…they try to see how much they can stand..

Proper Diet…I’m going to leave you hanging on this one till next time. For now, I’ll leave it up to you to do some homework…Read up on the Eat To Live Diet and the Paleo Diet…they are both excellent and not all that different really….but there are some core differences which I’ll explain next time. So you have your assignments!!

Now quickly back to Apples, Pears and the rest…make your self the best looking apple, pear, endo, ecto or meso you can…you will feel terrific and be healthier than you ever dreamed possible…and you will reduce by 90% your annual medical expenses.

Any questions?…..jmwald@gmail.com