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Why The Magazines SUCK!
Each one was and is to this day unique unto themselves. To give you an
example, in some of the bodybuilding magazines today there is a "Guess
Who?" page where the head of some top bodybuilder is missing in the
photo and only his or her upper and lower torso is showing.
It seems that the bodybuilders today are so
generic in their physical appearance that you can guess it to be one of
any 5 or 6 bodybuilders. Not so back in the '60s. Put a photo of Sipes
in the magazine minus his head and it only would take a millisecond to
identify him just by seeing those monster-like forearms, or it if was
Larry Scott, his arms and shoulders would be a dead giveaway.
Back in the '60s, there were only a few good
bodybuilding magazines from which to choose from. Today it seems that
going to the bank for a small business loan to start up a magazine is no
problem at all and new bodybuilding magazines flash by us from year to
year. Open up the magazines and you will see all kinds of articles on
the current superstar of the moment and without exception most have
found it cliché to say "I am natural." Bull S_ _ _!
Are we supposed to believe
that when the "natural" superstar doesn't look any different from a
chemically enhanced user?
On top of that, it seems that every superstar
can bench press at least 500+ pounds on a bad day, squat 700 lbs. for 10
deep and easy reps. Oh, and don't forget, each of these guys claim to
have at least 21-inch plus arms cold and a 31-inch waist. Ah, the magic
measuring tape which adds, subtracts and multiplies. I find it laughable
that the guys claiming the huge arms never weigh more than 220 pounds
and the guys with the 31-inch waists always weight at least 240-265 lbs.
Right!
How about a battery of tests in which accurate bodypart measurements are
taken (and with a steel measuring tape) along with contest bodyweight
(fat versus lean muscle mass) and some actual strength performances.
Along with this, tests should
be scheduled which can determine anabolic drug usage, the results of the
usage, etc. Publish these test results and also make them available to
the readers of the bodybuilding magazines.
I seriously doubt that many of the top
bodybuilders would go for this and more than likely when they hear about
it would be out of the door faster than Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson
out of the starting blocks in a 100-meter sprint.
I remember back in the 1970s one top
bodybuilder went so far as to have a notarized statement published in
one of the bodybuilding magazines which stated he had never taken
anabolic steroids to develop his physique. What a crock! Have you ever
seen a notary actually read a statement (in full) presented to them? Not
many do. Usually they just want to sign off the statement and get that
person the heck out of the office. The other side to this story is that
the bodybuilder who went to all the trouble to have his statement
notarized has suffered the negative effects of heavy anabolic steroid
usage during his previous bodybuilding career.
Another thing that really irritates me is
that there is when a top bodybuilder endorses a certain product
supplement line and says that it developed his physique from that of an
untrained bodybuilder to a top superstar in amateur bodybuilding
competition in a little less than a year.
While the photos show him to
be in sensational shape, the truth be known he looked like a
contest-winning bodybuilder previously, and where was that supplement
company then?
Not only that, but I get really steamed when
I see an ad in a muscle magazine or website for a course, book, or audio
or video tape, and order it, and then I get my cancelled check back or
see that my credit card has been charged many weeks previous to
receiving my order. I really go into a silent rage when I do receive my
order and find out that the ad was 10 times better than the course. It
really chaps my ass when I can't find the author's name on the course.
He is either ashamed of his work or he doesn't want the Better Business
Bureau tracking him down.
Back In The Day...
In a lot of the commercial gyms back in the 1960s, there seemed to be an
atmosphere of kinship. There was an unselfish feeling of cooperation and
an easy friendliness to strangers. Now it seems that some of the people
behind the desks in many high-profile gyms give you the once-over and if
you don't meet their subconscious standard of looking like you have
20-inch arms, a 50-inch chest, with a 31-inch waist and 28-inch thighs,
then you are not wanted.
You'll know if you are not accepted by the
deadpan and vacant look (kinda like Jon Arbuckle in the Garfield comics)
on their faces. However, that expression of downright unfriendliness can
change into a big cheesy grin if you say that you have $75-100 to cough
up for a one-to-one training session. Once I overhead one personal
trainer advise a client to eat two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
and a six pack of beer every day to gain additional bodyweight. Whew!
Was this guy for real or not?
"There is a SUCKER born every minute
and two to take him."
Asking a top bodybuilder for some training
advice or a written workout schedule can invite a royal ass-chewing. It
does appear that they jealously guard their routines and you are
regarded with suspicion or hostility. One top physique I came in contact
with years ago wanted 250 dead Washingtons before he would let anyone
measure his arm. There weren't any takers on that particular day, but I
am sure he found one sooner or later for as the saying goes, "there is a
SUCKER born every minute and two to take him." A lot of the physique
shows today are usually a cold and unsuccessful attempt to entertain a
disinterested public.
Many of the contestants who enter these shows
are so narrowly devoted to their respective interests, they seem to have
no time left to enjoy it. Years ago I overheard one top amateur
bodybuilder say that he would give up his marriage and his left nut to
be a Mr. America winner. I suppose he thought if he did win his ego and
his image would live happily ever after. Yet this same type guy upon
questioning couldn't remember the previous 5 Mr. America winners. That
should have show him and anyone else how fleeting fame is if he or
anyone else does happen to win a top title in bodybuilding. Each
bodybuilding show is merely a whistle stop (they think) on the road to
the top.
I remember reading in the gossip section of
one bodybuilding magazines that one top pro had been banned for life
from competing in certain sanctioned bodybuilding shows, and why? For
trying to beat the dog crap out of a contest promoter because he didn't
place as well as he would have liked. The guy should have faced up to
the fact that he looked like a Potato Boy at that particular contest.
 Check
out some of the bodybuilders in the gyms and at the various contests,
especially at the Expo's at the two top pro shows. They walk around like
they have a corn cob stuck up their ass. Plus compared to their
over-inflated (Synthol) arms, the necks on some of these guys look like
sticks stuck in candied apples. These pumped up egotists live blindly in
a narrow little world of muscles that's for sure.
One thing that would get a billy goat to puke
was having to listen to all the hype years ago that one top pro
bodybuilder used to spread around about his age. It seems that this guy
would go to great lengths to tell anyone who will listen that he was 60+
years of age. Horse pucky! This guy was only 52 years old at the time he
was doing all the bantering and posturing about his age, give or take a
year. This same individual obviously wasn't blessed with the best mind
for math. Not only can he not figure out his age, but he used to run ads
in bodybuilding magazines for audio cassette training tapes. He would
state in the ad that the tapes were 60 minutes in length. The simple
fact is that the tapes only had 14 or so minutes of information on them.
I wouldn't have hired this guy as my accountant anytime soon.
Have you noticed that in the last couple of
decades how many self-proclaimed experts have come along with some
supposed new bodybuilding technique or exercise style? One guy will say
"train with volume" another says do "only one set per bodypart." These
are just a couple of examples of what I'm talking about. Each claim that
their way is the most effective way of training ever conceived. Give me
a break! You can be sure of one thing. Nothing but nothing that is
written about in the various muscle magazines in-so-far as exercises and
training principles are concerned are new. The exercises and training
principles were being used 60 to 100 years ago but now they have just
been given new names and presented as startlingly new. I think this is
grossly unfair, and cheating by taking the credit away from those to
whom it rightly belongs.
It's a great disservice to
those new bodybuilders who come into the sport believing that the body
they want can be achieved in 3 months. As the late Vince Gironda, the
"iron guru", used to say, phooey!
It's a proven fact that you can't even get
the body you want in three years. If I train from now 'til Doomsday, I
will never bench 500 lbs. and you can better well believe that I won't
have a 20-inch arm busting out my shirt sleeves.
In conclusion, I am really
disillusioned with some aspects (not all) in the world of bodybuilding,
and it is no longer the inspirational and pleasant hobby that it once
was for me. I Am Fed Up (with bodybuilding)!
Thanks,
Dennis Weis
Natural
Bodybuilding at its Finest - Lift for Life.com |
