[quote]M.B wrote:
yep bodybuilding does suck!
A very interesting article written by Bob Whelan describes the current sorry state of bodybuilding or as Harry Paschal would call it booby-building AHAHAHAHAHAH.
I really like this article read it and tell me what you think
THE ANATOMY OF STRENGTH
By Bob Whelan
Posted on NaturalStrength.com on August 24, 1999
Reprinted with permission of The Iron Master
The words, “strength” and “muscle” are loosely and falsely used these days. They usually have more to do with cosmetics than anything functional. Some of the worst offenders are the media and the so called “fitness pros.” It is their influence that is unfortunately getting many well intentioned beginners off to a bad start. They have helped to create a generation of toners and underachievers. In the old days, people knew what it meant to be strong. Louis Cyr, George Hackenschmidt, Thomas Inch and Paul Anderson were strong! Most “regular” people back then were not strong, but the point is they did not “pretend” to be! Today, we do have some enormously strong and muscular guys but many (or most) of them are drug users. I am not talking about them or the few natural hard-core types that are left. I am talking about the mass epidemic of toners and the low standards of strength and muscle that they have “learned” and have been “trained” to accept.
The “politically correct” climate of today tends to de-emphasize anything masculine. Since strength and manhood have a close historical connection, the definition of the terms strength and muscle have been cleverly repackaged. People have been brainwashed to associate being “defined,” “cut,” “ripped” (or simply having a low body fat percentage) with being strong and muscular. With this new definition, all sorts of gimmicks can now be targeted to men and women of all ages. The term strength, properly used, could describe a 500 pound squat. Being strong is not to, “look like the latest Hollywood stud on the nightly tabloid show.” Due to the fitness craze, the standard to be called strong is at an all-time low.
The terms “strong” and “muscular” today, are indeed commonly used to define only a certain look or image. Movie and soap stars are called strong when they are nothing but abs, low bodyfat and a tan. These “estrogen men” are described as strong and muscular when it really has more to do with their image than how much weight they can lift! If we could see their training poundages, it could be a new comedy series! If I see another TV commercial for exercise videos that describe aerobic training with 3 pound dumbbells as “strength training,” I am going to vomit! Why do those aerobics instructors with 9 inch arms like to flex so much?
Strength is correctly defined as, “the ability to produce force.” When you acquire this ability, you build strong thick muscles that can’t be missed. You also build thickness of the ligaments, tendons and bones – your tan and bodyfat percentage are irrelevant! No matter what you wear or what angle you are seen, you look strong; it is unmistakable! You look as powerful in a raincoat as in a tanktop. You look as massive from behind as you do from the front. A properly trained strongman is thick from a sideview. Heavy pushing and pulling consistently done over the years has added inches to the front and back of the torso, hips and legs – when toners are seen from a side view, they disappear! Strongmen are unable to hide the fact that they look strong. Because of this confidence, they walk around relaxed and graceful. Not like the stiff insecure “pumpers” who try to look flexed at all times. These are the idiots who give us a bad name. They give the impression to the general public that it is because they train with weights, that they are so stiff and awkward.
Strongmen loathe “toner type training.” We enjoy being labeled radical, crazy, dangerous, and viewed as “outlaws” by the General fitness field who are nothing more than a bureaucracy of toners. We proudly build our muscles the old fashioned way, primarily by the use of heavy multi-joint exercises. These exercises (the basics) are by far the toughest ones to perform. Exercises such as the deadlift, squat, bench press, incline press, overhead presses, pulldowns, chins, various types of rowing and odd object lifting. Most modern “sensitive types” don’t like to perform these movements and will give you every excuse in the world to tell you why they don’t (or won’t) do them. The real reason is that they are wimps! They have surrendered to a powerful sickening trend. It is a growing, media encouraged, psycho/social disease that is hard to explain, but we all can see it; it’s the “feminization” of the American male. Incredibly, these wimps have become the majority and their attitude the “norm!”
You can spot the wimps who avoid the basic multi-joint exercises a mile away. These individuals train almost exclusively on isolation exercises and show it by their uneven muscular development. They usually don’t work their legs and only like to train their arms or chest. Their muscles do not blend or seem to belong together. They usually have one good body part that stands out and appears to have been surgically transplanted to a normal body (Usually big arms connected to a rib-cage.) The two favorite exercises of these toner types are curls and cable crossovers – they can look in the mirror for both. They like to squeeze and feel comfortable poundages – they make long-term commitments and have stable relationships with their poundages! They are dumbfounded when you ask them about progression. They don’t have a clue as to the meaning of strength, Just the thought of squatting frightens them. They don’t want to lift too heavy because they are afraid they might get “TOO BIG!”
Strongmen love to train hard. We love to hear the clanging and rattle of heavy iron when you slap-on big plates. The harder the exercise, the more we like it. We focus on the basic movements because we know they work. When you do the basic movements your muscles work and grow together. You are naturally more symmetrical because you are training your whole body hard. If you take a look at the rugged builds of the old timers, you will notice that they had symmetry. They trained all the major muscle groups hard and heavy with a wide variety of multi-joint exercises, many of which are not commonly done today. Look at the thickness of the traps, glutes, legs, back and forearms of George Jowett! You don’t get this from toning! No matter what Jowett wore, he looked huge and powerful! When muscle and strength are correctly built you can’t hide it!
If you read some of the old muscle classics, you will frequently find mention of the word, “sinews.” We now call them tendons. To build tendon strength, you must lift heavy and pay your dues. Tendons only get thicker from heavy poundages. Toning and pumping won’t cut it. The old classics were not written for sissies like a lot of the “gentlemen’s” and “general fitness” publications of today. I honestly believe that the training information for the development of muscular size and strength was better 50 years ago that it is now. There are a few good magazines today, but they are dwarfed by the bad ones! Today, we have better “overall health” and nutritional information, by far, but for just pure strength, read some of the old books. You will be amazed at how much they knew and how right they were. They were not afraid to do singles. They enjoyed testing their strength doing a wide assortment of odd lifts. They spelled out what to do to get results and made it simple. It really is simple; the more you know, the more you can admit this!
If Hackenschmidt, Jowett, Cyr and the other old-timers could see the sorry examples of what the media and general public of today consider strong and muscular, they would be tolling on the floor laughing! Remember, when you build muscle the old fashioned way, you can’t hide it. You don’t build muscle or strength by getting a tan or going on a diet! The next time you see the latest so called “strong” or “muscular” Hollywood stud, imagine him squatting 500 pounds, and have a good laugh![/quote]
Did Grandpa Simpson write this?
“Back in 19-dickyety-two…we had to say dickety, because the Kaiser stole the word ‘twenty.’ I chased him for dickety-six miles, but–”
Seriusly, though: good stuff mostly, but the anti-steroid thing is a bit over the top.
Serge Nubret and Arnold took steroids, and they didn’t look like todays refrigerators.
