Why We Shouldn't Write Arnold Off - WO 3.3.1

Do I condone adultery? No.  However, I will not sit by an let the 'holier than thou' crowd sit there and trash a man who has done a lot of good in his life.  While I think over the years Arnie has gotten liberal in his politics on certain issues like environmentalism and others.  From the stand point of fitness and career I can't complain.  Take out the martial issue and Arnie does not do too bad.  But lets take a look at Arnie's record when it comes to relationships.

1. As a bachelor was Arnie a one woman guy?  No.  But nobody said anything back then because he was a bachelor.

2. What was this marriage about in the first place?  If you say anything but money and politics, you are probably wrong.  Throw in the added bonus of producing a few children and you got what this marriage was about; it was a contract marriage like it or not.  Now that the politics are over, what would be its purpose?  Trouble was on the horizon, adultery aside, no matter what.

3. People probably should refresh their knowledge of John 8 and the story of the woman caught in adultery.  The response Jesus has toward adultery is far from the response Arnold is getting from most.  Vultures always like to bring someone down because then they can pretend they are not vultures for a little while.

Probably the most interesting effect this has had is actually on another bodybuilder -- Branch Warren (congrats Branch and Trish on being expecting parents).  Normally the winner of the Arnold Classic would be the front runner to upset the Olympia champ.  Not his year and I can't help but wondering if this is part of the Arnold fall from grace syndrome.  The prestige of a contest should not be affected by the name on it but the nature of the contest itself. and the competitors.  Everyone is talking about how great Kai Greene's win was at the New York Pro a normal pro contest (against a weak field other than Ronnie Rockel) and diminishing Branch's win at the Arnold Classic which is the second most prestigious event in bodybuilding only eclipsed by the the Olympia itself.  Arnold effect?  I think so and it is very unfair to Branch Warren.  Especially since Branch has finished second or third at the Olympia the last two years. 

Knowing Branch though he will just train harder and tell people to wait and see what he brings to Olympia.  He is a solid guy and if the Olympia was decided on actual work ethic he would have won already.

Back to Arnold, the man's influence on bodybuilding and fitness is massive and for the most part positive and we can't write him off for that alone.

For me today was Chest and Biceps Day and I set three personal records: Concentration Curls, Decline Dumbbell Bench and  Preacher Curls.  In addition all my 1RMs went up for all eight exercises.  It was a good day and the DOMS are already started.

Flex: May 2011 - Review

The May 2011 edition of Flex Magazine features Pro Bodybuilder Kai Greene on the cover. Dubbed the Build Old-School Muscle Issue, this issue promises gains in strength, size and focuses on arms. Kai Greene sat the Arnold Classic out this year, but that does not mean he has been idle as he has his sights set on the New York Pro this year. Flex, as always if focused on the sport of Bodybuilding and does its level best at covering as many aspects of training and competition as possible.

Best Quote: "Nobody Trains for Seventh, Eighth or Tenth." - Kai Greene p 168.

Highlight Article: "The O-Men Workouts" - Covers various workouts of Five former Mr. Olympias and analyzes why they worked. Each Mr. O (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman) is featured in one of their best body parts and then dissected as to why the workouts worked. (p 125-141)

Best Regular Feature: This month I want to highlight the NPC Report. Usually Flex has this one the back of every issue and it is a good dose of information hitting the highlights of the NPC Amateur Bodybuilding scene. It is nice to see at least one mag cover the sport's amateur side. (p.275-280)

Notable Articles:
1. A New York State of Mind: A great interview with Kai Greene. You know, I am starting to become a Greene fan, at least until he goes up against Phil Heath or Branch Warren. (p. 166-174)
2. Eat Like a Pro: You have to see this one day of diet that Phil Heath is on during the off season. I don't often say this, OMG! (p.196-205)
3. Power Circuits: A Circuit Training Workout for Bodybuilders. No kidding. (p. 180-190)

Duds:
I am not sure about this one. On the cover, there is the expression "7 Keys to the Perfect Workout". Maybe someone could point it out to me, but I couldn't find it inside the mag.

Graphic Content Review:
Solid and Varied as always from Flex. Lots of pictures and some great shots from the Arnold Classic all the way through. Flex really puts the color into things and I like that. Lots of good photos

Eye Candy:
IFBB Figure Pro Kathleen Tesori in some very good shots. This is how a bodybuilding magazine should do a photo shoot of a woman. Get one of your pros and showcase them. Playboy playmates simply look too soft and with some pros there is still some mystery to some of their parts. Not much, but some. (p. 252-258)

Rating: Four Stars. Solid in every way but nothing really says "wow!" but still good. Graphics are good and varied with tons of good shots from the Arnold Classic. Good one.

Muscular Development: April 2011 - Review

Muscular Development (MD) also has Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover. The main focus is all the prep going on for the Arnold Classic and at the time of writing the contest is over. Congrats to Team MD with the top three finishes and some others who placed well. The central thing about this MD is some insider stuff on the movie Pumping Iron, a film that can be credited not only for promoting bodybuilding success but fitness in general.

Best Quote: "I plan on winning the show, so that's it. I train for first place and nothing else will be acceptable" -- Victor Martinez (p.178)

Highlight Article: "The Story Behind Arnold and Pumping Iron" - This is actually an interview with George Butler who made the film. Many things I already knew from watching the special features from the 25th Anniversary special edition of Pumping Iron but there was some new stuff as well. In addition there are some great photos, not just of Arnold, but of Lou Ferrigno as well. (p.162-170)

Best Regular Feature: The nod goes to former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates' column "Blood and Guts: What you need to know before your first show" It is very nice to see an old pro with lots of experience share this knowledge. It covers a lot of ground and offers sound advice. Thanks Dorian. (p. 290-294)

Notable Articles:
1. Thunder Thighs Throwdown: Branch Warren and Evan Centopani go at it in Legs (p.146-157)
2. Hard as a Rock: This was a very inspiring article about Ronny Rockel. Talk about a guy who had to overcome adversity (p.188-196)
3. Dennis Wolf's 15 Best Lifts: I like articles like these where the pro simply tells you what is best for them and why. (p. 220-235)

Duds:
1. Ramblin' Freak - repeat of last months review
2. Anything involving Anabolics -- I don't use them, so none of these articles are useful to me.

Graphics Content Review:
Someone at MD has either been reading my reviews or a light bulb has gone on because black back grounding has given way to some other colors and the magazine has lost some of its dark feel. More use of color in the rest as well. There is a poster of The Oak to pull out. This months Major Distraction is Nathalia Melo. Melo is a IFBB Bikini Pro and I have only one complaint. I am not expert photographer but isn't putting a girl with nice earth tones to her hair, eyes and skin against a white and metallic setting in black and white outfits kind of harsh. Thank God the girl herself still pulls off the shoot.

Rating: Four and a quarter stars. The changes in graphics are step in the right direction and the vintage photos from Pumping Iron are great. Content is solid with good information for the most part.

Flex: March 2011 - Review

Flex, like a lot of the bodybuilding periodicals this month, has Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover. That also means the focus of the magazine in training like Arnold. Also as a collector's edition it promises classic shots of the man who made fitness and bodybuilding more than a small cult. The reason, of course, for all the Arnold coverage is that the Arnold Classic is the first weekend in March.

Best Quote: "Obviously, I can't train like I used to, but I am still in the gym - my home gym - five days a week, for at least an hour at a time." - Joe Weider "The Master Blaster" Age: 90 (p26) It doesn't get much more inspiring than that.

Highlight Article: Actually there is a set of three articles in a row running from page 120 to 166 which are all Arnold. The first is his eight best moments, the second is on how he trained and the third is some great photos of 'The Oak'. Great collectors stuff here.

Best Regular Feature: In Hard Times this month is a tribute to Jack LaLanne that is very well done. It was good to see all the heartfelt support for Jack and his family. (p. 52)

Notable Articles:
1. 'And The Winner Is...' Great article about the (at the time) upcoming Arnold Classic. (p. 172-188)
2. 'Back Burner' Kai Greene's Back Day. It also showed a little more of Kai's change of attitude. (p226-242)
3. "Stick to It" Good advice for people who are going into contest regarding their diet. For me as a hobby guy right now it also was good stuff about cutting. (p. 246-252)

Duds: "The Flexy Awards" given to the most 'buff' entertainers. Don't get me wrong I understand how the entertainment industry needs buff performers and they should be recognized. But some of the best ones got ignored this time, I simply disagree completely with the results.

Graphic Content Review: Good as always. With the addition of a lot of black and whites of The Oak, it is a plus. Clean and crisp photos this month on everything else. The green and black shoot is Figure Pro Felicia Romero who also happens to be this months only eye candy. Truth be told, this was a great graphics shoot showing a very strong and sexy woman. The best I have seen of the green and black this year.

Rating: I would say four and a half stars. The addition of The Oak makes it so high. Otherwise it would be four. The best graphics this month was the Felicia Romero shoot. I have come to expect this quality of work from Flex and they didn't disappoint.

Mental Preparation and Visualization in Weight Lifting - A Revelation

Arnold again, more in his prime.

This is not a subject I am an expert in at all but rather someone who is learning the importance of this. A little while ago, I wrote a book review on Huge and Freaky and one of the things that stuck with me from reading that book was the actual need and instruction on how to MENTALLY prepare for a lifting session. In response to this I have been conducting a experiment and I wanted to share the results with you.

Over the last month, I have had workouts where I took the time to mentally to prepare and visualize the workout and then others where I skipped it. The difference in results has been both profound and instructional.

When I mentally prepared for at least 15 minutes (sometimes a half hour) where I meditated to calm my mind, visualized the workout from start to finish and then during in the workout visualized each set before I did it, the workouts were both more intense and I had more staying power.

The intensity difference was far more than just nailing every set. It meant I lifted more weight with ease. I often maxed out on every set, but when I didn't do this, with no exceptions, I struggled on last exercises and sets and often had to scrub the last few exercises because I simple did not have to mental focus to keep going.

That leads to staying power. When I mentally prepared, there was not a single workout that I did not complete. When I didn't prepare, I often did not finish a workout and if I did, it was a struggle.

It doesn't take much to mentally prepare: five minutes of meditation to calm the mind and set aside distractions and then ten minutes of going over every exercise, set, rep in my head. Review the goals for that workout then start. Once in it, then the focus shifts to going through each set mentally before actually performing it. You have time between each set or exercise, think about and visualize it.

I'm sold, and that means this is now part of the routine. This one has passed my test of practical experience and I recommend it to everyone who want to get more out of lifting or fitness.

One and a Half Years of Bodybuilding

Maybe in couple years I will feel confident enough to post my own picture, but for now a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to do. New minor goal, post my own pic without embarrassment in two and half years - end of year four.

February 15th marks the halfway point of every year I train. On August 15, 2009 I came home from vacation significantly embarrassed by what shape I was in, and began a search for something I could do that would counter everything wrong with my body. Bodybuilding fit the bill nicely for a lot of reasons:

1. It involves long term commitment. Look at any cover of any bodybuilding magazine (look at one of my reviews) and the chances are the guy on the cover has been doing this for at least five to seven years. Probably longer. You simply do not get those kind of bodies from a gimmick or quick 12 week program. There are goals at every level: short-term, mid-term and long-term.

2. I can do it for the rest of my life. Bodybuilding actually has competitive classes that involve 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+ in all divisions: Novice, Amateur and Pro. No shortage of goals to aim for, no matter how old I get. Jack LaLane who died at age 96 was reportedly still lifting up till age 94-95.

3. It involves total body health. You cannot be successful in bodybuilding without doing all of the following: Lifting weights, cardiovascular work, nutrition and flexing/stretching. Lifting keeps your muscles ligaments and skeletal bones strong. Cardio keeps the heart and lungs in shape. Nutrition involves 'eating clean' which dumps the poisons from your body and improves overall health. Flexing and stretching keeps you limber and free moving.

4. Mental Focus: To really lift requires mental concentration. It involves setting aside distraction to focus on the task at hand. Some of the meditative techniques I use to lift have also branched into other areas like work and my prayer life. You can accomplish more when you learn to focus and bodybuilding is part of the training I need to learn to focus.

5. Variety: Do you know that there are so many exercises and training techniques that if you are guy like me, that likes to change things up, you will never run out of variety in workouts. There is also the fact that Bodybuilding follows a cycle: strength building (10-12 weeks), size building (28-30 weeks) and fat loss (aka. 'cutting': 10-12 weeks), then repeat and each of these phases is different. No workout has to be completely the same.

6. Side Benefits: You know with health, my quality of life of life has improved. My blood pressure is normal or low normal because I stress less. If I feel stressed or depressed, I hit the gym. Just this last week, I went to the dentist and filled the out the medical history section for registration and the only thing I marked 'yes' on was that I wore contacts. I suppose I should mention that lifting increases testosterone production and that means improved libido. I would say I am at the same level I was at with that when I was about 25 to 30. Two years ago, I was probably at was at 50 prematurely.

Right now I am halfway through this year's mass building cycle. My weight has gone up 20 lbs. since August 15th but my body fat percentage is flat lined (6 to 7% based on three site method of calculation). That means some pretty good muscle gain and that my diet is right on. The only thing I do not like is the loose skin around my waist and chest. It still makes me look a little fat, but it is pretty much hollow loose skin. Skin takes more time to change than the rest of our bodies, so the spiritual lesson of bodybuilding becomes patience.