3 Simple Steps To The Perfect Chiseled Gymnasts Body
It is that time again. The every four year cycle, as the Olympics approach, we are re-introduced to the sport of gymnastics. And once again I find myself, one among the many, in awe of the impressive physiques the male gymnasts are rocking.
These young dudes are a sight to behold. Strong, agile and flat out shredded. In my book this is much more impressive than a bodybuilder. The spectacular musculature is certainly the result of lean muscle but they look much bigger because of how lean they are.
It’s really a hell of a perfect combo. Right.
Of course, as has become the every fourth year tradition, the morning after the men’s Olympic qualifying round the emails and messages come pouring in…
“Shawn…How do I get a gymnast body?”
Yes, of course. That is the question: How do you?
I’ll be honest. In the past I have happily ignored the questions. Perhaps I didn’t find them amusing or was feeling less energized by the topic. No, not this time.
If you’ve ever wondered just “how do you get that perfect gymnast’s body” you’re in luck. Because this time I am going to answer it.
And just as Andy said toe Opie, “I’m going to give it to you straight son.”
The 3 Simple Steps to the Perfect Gymnasts Body
First, the brief disclaimer. Let me be very clear that I have never trained anyone to be nor even to look like a gymnast. Nor have I ever been a gymnast; at home nor on TV. Thus, what you find here is a rational deduction from common sense and my collective experience.
Do not try this at home… Unless, of course, you want to.
Step 1: Select the right parents and ensure they pass you the perfect genes.
Be clear, elite gymnasts, the guys you see on TV, arise from a very well filtered, self-selected gene pool. By the time you see them, although still relatively young, they have been training seriously for a decade and some. And at each step along the way, every coach, every club, every part of the system has been working the process of elimination — letting those who lack the innate talent and ability go.
That means… Physically, if your body is not trending towards an absurdly high muscle/strength to weight ratio, if you’re not getting stronger faster than bigger, if you’re not leaner than 99% of people, you have long been set free.
This is not harsh not an exaggeration. This is just a fact. Deal with it.
It’s funny to me that no one would ever deny that being a 7-footer in the NBA is the result of genes — and that if you’re 5’-9” tall at 35 the chances of you growing to become a seven-footer playing in the NBA is less than zero. Regardless of how much effort you put into growing taller or how much positive thinking you do.
Yet, many of these same people will deny that looking as lean and perfectly sculpted as these gymnasts is built on the foundation of genetics. They prefer to hold on to the belief that it’s simply positive focus and some formula of suffering and hard work that they will deliver them.
I’m all for working hard and training smart but comes a point where you should find you own strength in accepting you can’t throw a 95 mph fastball or dunk a basketball. Denying reality is different than thinking positive.
Step 2: Make sure you are somewhere between 18-22 years old.
Fact is this age window is the prime time for the male to develop athletically, to recover, to perform and to become all that you can be. If you’re going to join this elite club of athletes it really helps if you are truly one of them.
Remember, you’re aiming for the elite gymnasts body and that means you can’t afford to be delusional.
Note: Commentator and former olympic gymnast Tim Dagget is a helpful reminder that gymnasts age too and face the same challenges we all do. (aka fat and flab)
And finally..
Step 3: Train your body with all manner of strength exercises and performance routines for 8–12 hours a day, 5–6 days a week for 10–12 years.
This may be underestimating the hours a wee bit but it gives you an idea. You gotta want this more than anything and even then you’ve got next to no shot.
Sure, there are other formulas that can give you a great body without these hours.
Of course but even those are not to be found on the other side of the line most refuse to cross, “easy.”
That’s it. There you go.
Simple… right? I didn’t say easy. I said simple. And this is all pretty damn simple to understand. And it’s a perfectly effective formula for 1% of the human race.
The Truth and a Test
Yes, this has been a test of your reality interpreter.
Did it sound negative? Did you find yourself vindicated? Happy to be released and justified for not taking any action to be leaner, stronger today?
Or did you take it as a fair warning and good reminder that great that climbing Everest is not easy.
What this simple exercise can do, by doing exactly what the fitness salesmen try like hell NOT to do — confront the facts — is help you recognize what your stance towards progress is: Hopeful or helpless.
The hopeful will not take this personally. It’s not about them. It will serve as a good reminder of their own work and why things like having a goal, a coach or trainer matter. They will take something good out of it and be strengthened.
The helpless will feel more of the same. They will use this as water cooler justification for their continued inaction. Their feelings of inadequacy will be deepened and renewed.
The Wisdom You Can Take Away
Regardless of where you fall in the above “test” here are insights and reminders that arise for me that you may choose take away from this voyage into the rarefied air of elite athletics.
- Hard work pays off. Yet, you have to recognize the role in this of the meaning. Real dedication to something meaningful — a purpose larger than self — fuels epic results. Short term, shallow goals come up short.
- Having a real, tangible meaningful goal always beats trying to “get lean.” These athletes develop lean bodies not because they care but because they serve. Unlike the beauty pageant of muscle events — like bodybuilding — these athletes are not aiming for a sculpted body, it’s a side effect. [What can you aim for that would produce the “get fit effect?”]
- You don’t have to be huge to look big and having amazing muscle definition. These guys are not large. I know from experience and simple physics that these guys are not nearly as big as they look. So, perhaps you don’t have to get huge but just get lean. Muscle looks a lot bigger when fat has left the building. [yes, diet matters… or better yet, nutritional freedom]
- Lean muscle is just deeply ingrained in our DNA. It looks great to us. Certainly better than the frail marathoners and such. One can reasonably expect there is a reason we seem to prefer it. Given that research continues to point out muscle is the engine of youth and health, it is no great mystery. Right. [aim for strength, for muscle, not simply trying to “run it off.”]
- Appreciating an others physique need not come at the price of hating your own. Most of us find it easy to be inspired by the dedication and performance of a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady yet we never, ever think to beat our own ego down because we can’t throw the perfect spiral. Yet, some how when it comes to an athlete’s body or a body in general, most of us have fallen into the trap of believing that if we hate our own body that will somehow help us get better.
- This “hate yourself forward” model is absolute rubbish. You know it. Let it go. Most of us don’t let not being 7 feet tall bother us. Embrace your genes and yourself. You are already the perfect expression of all the amazing grace that has been given you. Embrace it. And live your own song with reverence and respect for the vessel you journey it in. [radical acceptance of where you are today is how you start from strength.]
Finally, I can’t tell you how many epic sporting events I see a year… from Bodi Miller winning downhill races to Superbowl winning QB’s and yet, not once have I ever had someone ask me how they can “be Peyton Manning.” or “How do I become an Olympic skier?”
No one would ask that because it’s just unbelievably naive.. They know it. They recognize that these athletes have given a lifetime to this.
Yet.. those same people believe for reasons I dare not even speculate on that the body of a gymnast, who has every bit the equal training pedigree, is a reasonable request. Reasonable? You think? Check the simple 3 Step Formula above and see what you think now.
Ultimately, it’s up to you. Control what you can. Focus your energy on the things you can change. Be honest and forthright in your interpretations of situations and desires. Be willing to confront and even embrace reality as your ally not your enemy.
When you do this you begin to get free. You become an informed consumer who is immune to the deluge of BS that is stealing money and time from the other 80%. You begin the journey to freedom, to actual mastery, to awakening your true and full strength.
Here’s to YOUR Life at FULL STRENGTH!
P.S. Hopefully you found this before you bought one of the dozens of heavily marketed “Get your gymnast body with bod weight blitz” programs… For as fast as I’m helping spread the truth virus, wise men are out there seeking to get your money.
