What's Your Body Shape?

I was up watching various Olympic events until 1 AM last night.

I don’t usually break my sleep routine like that, but I can’t get enough of it!

I love watching athletes at the top of their game in any sport.

Plus, the Olympics reminded me of a very important health concept:

You can be healthy or unhealthy at any size.

Let’s size this up:

1. The Big Picture 🖼

2. Explain It To Me It Like I’m 5 🧒

3. Various Body Fat % Of Women Athletes ⛹️‍♀️

4. We’re Not Olympic Athletes ♨️

5. Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

The Big Picture 🖼

From the Shot Put to Marathon and every size in between, everyone at the Olympics is an athlete.

If you haven’t been watching, the spectrum of body shapes and sizes ranges widely and includes:

• Large, thick, heavy-set athletes with over 35% body fat, such as some shot putters or weightlifters;

• Large, thick, heavy athletes who are also very lean, such as some wrestlers or water polo players;

• Medium-framed athletes with lots of lean muscle and explosiveness, like sprinters;

• Marathon runners with extraordinarily long and lean bodies;

And many more; that list could become quite long.

Yes, these athletes’ bodies, through years of training, further develop and transform into the shapes that we see.

So you’ll see that Olympic kayakers and swimmers have extremely strong shoulders, while sprinters have thighs like tree trunks.

But these athletes were also born with a genetic predisposition to perform these activities - and their bodies most certainly ‘fit the bill’ for their chosen sport to some degree when they were young.

In other words, it’s a combination of both nature and nurture.

These athletes chose sports that they love - and they were also drawn to or selected for them because their bodies had the potential to perform well at a specific sport.

Don’t worry - I promise this applies to you, too.

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

Today’s topic, as simply as possible:

“You can change the shape of your body, but you can’t change your body.”

Various Body Fat % Of Women Athletes ⛹️‍♀️

These numbers seem a little high, but I didn’t do the research:

The interesting thing is that they are NOT in the teens or single digits, which you often see on magazine covers and runways.

We’re Not Olympic Athletes ♨️

We’re not Olympic athletes, but we are human.

The shape of your body matters.

To a large degree, you can control how much muscle or fat you have and which muscles you develop.

But you cannot change the frame of your body.

I will always be 5’10” with a lean/medium/average frame.

I can focus tons of energy on building more muscle, but I will never be thickly built like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Reg Park.

You Can Be:

• A healthy, big, thick person - or an unhealthy one.

• A healthy, lean, narrow person - or an unhealthy one.

• Anything in between.

You can achieve the healthiest possible version of your body.

But you cannot achieve someone else’s body type.

Nor should you strive to look like what you see far too often on social media …

… unless it genuinely matches your body’s potential …

… and makes you intrinsically happy …

… without impairing your life.

Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

A simple word, phrase, or thought to take with you:

Be well,

Coach Matt

PS: I’ll do ‘part two’ of kids’ nutrition soon. Today was an ‘Olympic’ break.

PPS: Here are some other newsletters I recommend:

PPS: My common-sense disclaimer …

The advice I offer is not medical advice. If you have any medical issues, please consult your doctor first. The advice I offer should be personalized to your needs. I can help you make those personalizations or refer you out. Reply to this email if you need help.