AROUND 15 years ago, if you asked any man whose body they would like, you would hear these four words: Brad Pitt, Fight Club.

Brad Pitt has always been a favourite of women, but it was this movie that made men want to be him.

The thing is, his body is not well developed in this movie.

He didn’t spend 12 months beefing up like Christian Bale did for Batman or Hugh Jackman for Wolverine.

I’d bet he couldn’t bench press that much either – but he looks awesome, and here’s why.

He has a very favourable body structure, good genetics and most importantly, he is totally lean – easily sub 10 per cent body fat, probably more like six per cent. He’s also got Brad Pitt’s face!

For millions of men whothat aspire to have ‘that look,’ it’s both easy and almost impossible.

Work out hard for a few months, eat lots of protein, and then reduce body fat to six per cent 6%. Simple.

Unfortunately, unless you are the same height and have a similar bone structure, you will never emulate the mighty Pitt.

And it’s the same for many womenfemales aspiring to resemble pop and reality TV stars with completely different body types photographed in great light bywith a professional camera person, and then touched up afterwards in the editing room.

It is a common occurrence in the fitness industry.

People often fail in reaching their goals simply because they try to become something that is physically impossible, or at best, highly unlikely.

It is possible to get many of the characteristics of your idols, but striving for an exact match will probably end in disappointment.

Celebrities often have an added advantage – motivation.

Many simply cannot afford to be out of shape or they lose out on roles, sponsorships and risk being pictured on a beach at the worst possible angle with it all hanging out.

But I don’t buy into the argument that it’s easy for them as they have money. Monthly gym memberships cost about the same as a good bottle of wine these days.

If you’re trying to shape up, aim for a better version of you and not something way out of reach.

Motivate yourself and you’ll succeed – you can always try and blame your genetics if you don’t!

Ronny Terry is a Swindon-based personal trainer and fitness writer.
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