I was interested to find out just how important a person's diet is to their overall fitness. I'd often heard that you can't out-train a bad diet and Jack confirmed that this is the case for the vast majority of us. It's not just a soundbite, it's the truth except for a handful of elite athletes and Olympians who have been dedicated to their sport from a young age.

"Diet is of the UPMOST importance," Jack told Bored Panda. "For 99% of people, you cannot out-train a bad diet. Only high-level athletes are able to somewhat do so due to their extremely high activity level. But even then, their performance will be negatively affected."

According to fitness expert Jack, some of the issues that professional bodybuilders face aren't the ones that you'd immediately think of. "In terms of bodybuilding, flexibility and stretching are a very minor issue. The actual issue it tends to come back to when bodybuilders face chronic injuries is overuse and inflammation," he explained to me.

"This is why I highly recommend a lower volume, high-intensity approach along with sufficient deloads and exercise variation to avoid such injuries," Jack said.

According to Dr. Shane Murphy, talent, determination, and a love for what you do are all part of what makes someone an elite athlete.

"Definitely, talent is key. You need to have physical abilities to excel in a sport and speed, strength, endurance and coordination are vital. But determination is also a huge component of success. You have to love what you do in order to put in the roughly 10,000 hours of deliberate practice that Anders Ericsson’s famous research indicates is needed to become an expert. But I think many different types of personalities can become successful Olympians. Certainly, we see a wide variety of personality types on the USA Olympic team," he told the American Psychological Association.

The Olympics isn’t just about competing to see who’s best. Earlier this week, Bored Panda wrote about how the women of the German national gymnastics team chose to wear full-body suits instead of leotards at the Olympics to take a stand against the sexualization of young women in the sport. You can read our article about it right over here.

Meanwhile, let’s talk about health, fitness, and how we can motivate ourselves to become the best we can be. Previously, I spoke about fitness with experts Jack Bly and Paulius Lipskis. In my earlier chat with Jack, he pointed out that having the support of a professional by your side will give you better results. What’s more, it’ll help keep you honest.

“If you’re someone who is SERIOUS about making a permanent body transformation but feels like you’ve tried everything before, don’t want to do another miserable diet, or don’t have much time to commit… you need to invest in a coach,” he told Bored Panda earlier.

“Countless studies show the power of accountability when it comes to achieving any goal. And we know that where we invest our time & money reveal our true priorities. If you want an area to improve you MUST invest your resources there. And, just know that EVERYONE is capable of achieving the body they can be proud of. You can do this!!!”

Meanwhile, personal trainer Paulius shared with me that we should strive to be as honest about our bodies, health, and fitness levels as we can be. Only then can we focus on what matters. Paulius suggested that we accept and embrace ourselves as we are, but avoid looking for excuses for our unhealthy habits.

“It’s also a problem if you view healthy living as something that you’re forced to do. If you’re constantly angry, tired, and you’re low on energy—it’s an issue,” Paulius told Bored Panda in an interview for a previous article.

The personal trainer reiterated that you can’t force a person to change. They’ll change only if that desire for a different lifestyle comes from within.

“Usually, our unhealthy habits are a result of constant stress and our behavior that’s meant to protect us from it. If we would have an honest chat with ourselves, we’d clearly see that we’re dissatisfied with ourselves only when we feel that we’re using our bad habits to cover our emotions,” he said.

“However, if we accept that we’re not perfect, we’re not pressured to change. That’s when you start developing a natural desire and curiosity to find out what the best possible version of you is,” Paulius noted.

This is a point that I believe is crucial. Realistically speaking, even if only a select few can become Olympic athletes, at the end of the day, what truly matters is us striving to be the best that we can be. Perhaps not Olympians. Perhaps not perfect. But powerful, healthy, full of grit, drive, and energy.