Sculpting YOUR Physique

BY CORY FREEMAN

B

y now many of us are a month in on our fi tness New Year’s resolution. How’s it going? Have you become discouraged at all? If so, you are not alone. Early February is when the gyms become a little less busy each year, because “Resolutioners” are starting to drop like fl ies. As the temptation to skip the gym begins to hit, this is a good time to look at what we are using for gymspiration (inspiration for the gym).

Addressing this was pivotal in my fi tness journey. I, like most people, had an idea for my perfect physique. I would seek out men who had achieved this particular physique, and used their pictures as my inspiration for going to the gym to look like them. I really wanted that thick dense muscular look everywhere.

I would work so hard to build as much muscle to replicate that physique. I would go as far as to overeat in order to give myself that fuller in the abdomen look that I wanted so badly. Each time looking in the mirror I was so disappointed that I still looked somewhat lanky.

It was about three years ago when I made the conscious realization that I was never going to achieve that particular physique, and most of that was because my genes had me built diff erently. I’m taller with longer limbs and a narrow waist. The physiques I was so inspired by were all shorter men with shorter limbs and thicker waists. What I was realizing is that no one really has the same build or physique as anyone else.

There is a degree of variation within our species for anatomical attachments and tendon to muscle length diff erences. This variation amongst us, as we in the LGBTQ+ community understand, is what makes us uniquely beautiful. What makes us diff erent is what we should embrace in ourselves.

I decided to apply this to sculpting my physique. I have a physique that the world has yet to see fully sculpted. What inspires me the most to get all my training days in is knowing that each day I’m sculpting MY physique. I’m building the best physique that my body can become, which is unlike any other in certain ways. I would also like to encourage you as you seek out inspiration for your health and fi tness goals to also be inspired by that which is uniquely you.

Find those parts of your body that are unique, and fi nd ways to showcase them. I fi rmly believe we can be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously. Find joy in this journey and recognize that there is not a set endpoint. Physique is a consequence of what we eat and do every day. Diet and training are just how we sculpt it. — CORY FREEMAN is a two-time fi rst-place national bodybuilding champion, having won both of his fi rst-place titles, The Men’s Classic Physique Master’s Over 35 at the 2019 NPC Viking Championship and at the 2019 NPC Masters USA in his rookie year. Cory works as a physical therapist in the home health industry.