I just got back from an incredible vacation in California. I'm going to share a few stories from that over the next week or two, but here's one:

Appearances can be (and often are) deceiving.

During the trip we went by Muscle Beach in LA where we saw lots of people getting their Saturday workout done. 

But when we were waiting to do some rope climbs, we noticed a shredded, well muscled young buck struggling with the rope. He looked like he was in excellent shape and should be able to terrorize the rope, but he just couldn't pull himself up. At all. 

The video clip pokes a bit of fun, but I'm by no means putting this guy down. I don't know anything about his training goals or history. If he's mainly going for a certain physique, then he could be right on track. Again, the guys abs were popping off.

I do know, however, that if he wanted to get more functionally strong, he should probably change up his routine. Building on his existing foundation, he could see incredible progress with the right training and technique.

There is a difference between training for aesthetics and training for fitness/performance/real world functionality. Not every 'fit' person will have a physique that society deems 'ideal' or one that denotes a 'fit person.' 

As the old chestnut goes, don't judge a book by its cover. How someone looks doesn't always tell you how they'll perform. In my coaching practice, that's really what I care about. Performance. Doing stuff.

Look at coach Leah at our gym, Quantum CrossFit. She's pretty petite and most people wouldn't guess that she's a champion powerlifter. In reality, she's far stronger than most people who 'look' more muscled/fit/jacked.

THE Bottom line

Don't get caught up in looking a certain way. There's no guarantee that a certain physique will enable you to be able to do the things you want or to feel the way that you want. In my books, what you can do and how you feel trumps fitting into a certain body image category.