Ever wonder how two people can be on the same diet, take the same classes at the gym or lift weights together, but one person has positive results and one doesn’t?

While buddy training is a great way to have an encouraging partner, it may work the opposite, one person may succeed and the other fails. At the pool, it is great to come with your friend, but if you are five-foot-two and your friend six feet, you will not be able to stand together in the pool and get the same quality workout.

I’ve always told my clients, “you can blame your parents,” for things you can’t change. That statement may be more true than we think.

Most important in individual responses to changes in exercise and nutrition are genetics. Specific genetic material we inherit from parents and grandparents form the foundation of how our body responds to nutrition and exercise. These are traits that are programmed into genetic code and can’t be changed.

Height, body structure, strength and even our response to some foods are governed by genetics. A mother’s activity and nutrition while pregnant will have strong influences on genetics for some traits. Epigenetic factors are environmental and lifestyle influences that can activate or alter responses of certain genes. Examples of these factors are sleep, nutrition, type of cardiovascular training or strength training done and stress.

Our metabolism, how we make, store and utilize energy, varies widely from person to person, and is heavily influenced by genetics.

Because our arms and legs create movement with a lever system, the bone and joint structure and the muscles and tendons create variables to our physical responses. The size relationship between a muscle and its tendon and the exact point where it is attached on the bone can influence muscular strength.

Science has found that people with long muscle bellies tend to be quite strong. The length of the bones is also a variable, shorter limbs and torsos have a mechanical advantage because the weight lifted has to be moved a shorter distance. Whether your joints are tight or allow more motion will dictate how flexible and mobile you are.

Although studies continue on nutrition, diets and food, some cultures survive on high fat, dairy, grain or carbohydrate diets, vegetarian diet and diets with variety. Genetic programming can influence how people of a culture can remain healthy eating a certain combination of foods while another cultural group will eventually experience poor health. Across the cultures, different genetic influences present different outcomes in nutrition.

Women differ in responses to nutrition and exercise quite a bit from men. In strength training, women are more effective with higher repetition, lower load training. Women tend to be more efficient using fat as a fuel than men.

Cardiorespiratory exercise, that’s intensity is in the “fat burning zone,” will suit women better than the very high intensity workouts popular today. Women can also exercise more often than men because recovery time is shorter and don’t need as much rest between work efforts.

Age is also a variable but can be self-limiting. Exercisers over 50 do have the capacity to work at high levels in strength and conditioning but need longer rest or recovery times than younger exercisers.

The moral of the story is that you are unique. Accepting the unchangeable genetic factors, cultural and familial influences, structural differences, age and sex, the path to wellness is unique as well. The best avenue to follow is the one works for you and your lifestyle. Decide on what you can do to change or enhance the parts that are within reach and strive for the best YOU possible.

— Robin Gaudette is the aquatics wellness coordinator at the Redmond Area Park and Recreation District. Contact her at robin.gaudette@raprd.org.