Big Is Inside

Have I ever mentioned to you that you are ready to begin prepping for a contest?

Seriously, you are ready.  In spite of what you may believe, you are ready.  If I have mentioned it to you, then TRUST MY JUDGEMENT; it’s time to step up.  

See, I have a "good eye" for recruitment.  I am a coach, so some of what I do is separating out the posers from the players.  If I couldn’t spot that early, then every team of bodybuilders I’ve coached would have floundered and gone belly up.  

(DISCLAIMER ON THE PICS IN THIS POST: These are all bodybuilding.com/bodyspace.com members whom i have had conversations with about this very topic.  Including them in this post is to signify they are among the MANY guys who I feel are ready . . . if anyone is uncomfortable being mentioned this way let me know and I’ll gladly pull you off.  Meanwhile, it is intended in the spirit of recognizing your efforts for the positive.)

Now, I can usually spot readiness when it comes to an athlete’s attitude, physique and methodology.  That’s why, if I mentioned it to you, I was serious.  It was not a compliment, but a fact; I “spotted” you.  You are ready; no matter what YOU think ready is, as the guy with the experience I can tell you that you are ready to begin NOW.

But “ready is willing” I always say.  Although I can spot readiness, willingness has to be told to me.  If an athlete is not willing to believe he has what it takes, then he is not ready.  Not by a long shot.

And then my suggestion to begin just seems like flattery.  If an athlete does not believe that he has it, and you won’t listen to the “old dog” who has spotted your talent, then you’re is not ready.  Ready is willing.  If you hear my suggestion as only a compliment, then you ain’t ready.

But that doesn’t change I have spotted you, and that you got what it takes RIGHT NOW.  I have found the qualities in hundreds of guys who at first didn’t think they were ready.  Most of them stayed stuck in their belief.  Eventually some stepped up to compete, long past the point  when it would have made sense to begin competing, and then had a crappy experience and became embittered.  Yet most just took the suggestion as an idle compliment, and never acted on their readiness at all . . .

The few who did step up went far, made huge gains, and were glad they listened to me.  Even if i did not directly coach them, they trusted that I was not flattering them.  They put faith in the fact that, as a coach (and thus as sort of a “recruiter), that I could spot the qualities better than they could.

Often, I can find these qualities fast, without even much interaction with an athlete.  That’s why I may have suggested it to you.  Usually, these qualities become evident in just a few, little, seemingly subtle details which I pick up on.  ]To list whatthese cues might be would take a long time; besides, much of it is just an intuition I have built up from years of coaching and recruiting.  I have seen the jokers, and learned what they look like.  And I have seen the true athletes, and know how they are spotted.  

And, like I said, I may have spotted YOU.  If I did, it wasn’t a compliment . . . .  It was a fact.

You are ready to become an athlete.

Take that not as a compliment. Take that as assessment.

As a coach, one of the greatest obstacles I have to push athletes past is their own perceptions.  In bodybuilding, 95-95% of the popular media and popular image is based around “body manipulation”, and not based around the competitive field. You see tons of anecdotal imagery and writing about this guy and that who got his weight up to so many pounds or got leaned down to such-and-such body fat percentage. But these are all manipulations of the body’s properties. They are not assessments of a guy’s competitive abilities.

So, what happens is decent athletes like you evaluate their competitive ability based on a comparison of their physique with their ideal. But this comparison — between what you got and what you “think is awesome” — is not anywhere near an assessment of how you would fare in competition. It is only an assessment of your “social cred.” Know what I mean?

Bodybuilding is not about “who has the best body.” Bodybuilding is about “who PRESENTS the best AESTHETIC.” And there are OCEANS of difference between those two concepts.

Popular media makes a LOT more money off the “get the best body” message. So, that is mostly what gets snagged in people’s consciousness. But this leaves the competitive arena out in the cold. usually guys have no idea how “close” they are to being competent in this sport. Instead, they just listen to the anecdotes out there, and compare themselves to these ideals.

Likewise, in bodybuilding all athletes make progression. Which means NO ONE in ANY SPORT starts out being Mr. Win-It-All. There is NO ATHLETE or team that started out winning. In fact, MOST start out losing. And for good benefit. How else could you improve if you do not first compare yourself to other athletes?

Most guys do not want to go near competition based on the foolish and lofty idea that “I am not ready until i can go in and WIN.” But think about that: go in and win at a sport you’ve never played, much less experienced in any other way than anecdotally? That would be like saying “I am going to copy what i see in EVERY FOOTBALL MOVIE EVER MADE, and then I’ll be ready to win a football game.” Sacked.

You have to remember that no amount of web-surfing will communicate the competitive arena to you. Now will it give you the perspective on your abilities.

This sport is about a set of skills rarely talked about in all these forums. The skills of presentation have, ironically, little to do with training and dieting. Training and dieting merely “get the equipment ready for the job.” But massive size and cuts are NOT a guarantee for success. They are merely “better equipment.” The worst athlete in the world can have the best equipment in the world, and still only play a mediocre game . . .

I face this SO OFTEN in my coaching. The kid with the killer body who is basically a competitive botard.

For what YOU would need in terms of equipment, you are ready. Remember, you would go in first to learn. Learn the sport, learn how to be competitive, learn ways to master your game, and learn ways to improve your equipment. The first three or four shows a “winning strategy” is to forego the idea of winning. That may SOUND counter-intuitive, but you need to learn how to play.

So, your EQUIPMENT is ready to begin to play. Ironically, most athletes find they make more mass gains and get leaner by regularly competing instead of by constantly training. Faster “personal improvements” get made when one approaches their physique work like “training for a sport” as opposed to just like “body manipulation tactics.”

So, in short, saying you’re ready for a contest is, in fact, NOT a compliment. It is an ASSESSMENT.

I am saying, in short, you are ready to begin playing, and to personally begin reaping the benefits of the pursuit — far more benefits, and far more PERSONAL GAINS benefits, than you may at first imagine.

Do not be flattered. Be informed.

Like I said before, I am always telling athletes the same thing: “Ready is Willing.”

To be “ready” merely means to be “willing” to take on the task. Do not assess “readiness” based on the equipment you DON’T yet have; base “readiness” on your willingness to USE the equipment that you DO have.

Your equipment is more than ready.  I spotted you.  I pulled you out – maybe even CALLED you out.  You’re ready to begin if you so choose.

So, all that’s left is: are you WILLING?

No compliment necessary!

THERE’S A NEW SPORT OUT THERE!  IT IS BEING CALLED BODYBUILDING, BUT IT IS WAY MORE POPULAR!

it looks JUST LIKE bodybuilding, but it is about getting huge freaky mass . . . I suppose THAt is why they call it "bodybuilding".

Bodybuilding does NOT equal "get the flesh bigger no matter what." There’s bodybuilding the sport of creating an aesthetically competent physique, then there’s this new game that’s been around for 10-15 years. It’s called "manipulate my flesh".

Now I do not discount the HARD HARD work of the "flesh manipulators." But their standards of success are simple: did I manipulate my flesh? Did I continue to a new level of manipulation? How far can I manipulate my shape? Etc., etc.

Again, if guys want to do that, I actually give them a LOT of credit. it is a CRAZY commitment. it even over-rides "normal life" at times.

These guys are the ones who think that there is no upper limit defined by aesthetics. Theirs is a purely numbers game: how many inches around can my legs measure? How many pounds can I weigh? Chasing endlessly bigger proportions is DEFINITELY hard work and a BRUTAL level of commitment . . . but it ain’t bodybuilding.

So, to claim that by sheer merit of being a bodybuilder the presumption is that getting all dimensions bigger is bullsh1t.

The "flesh manipulation game" is defined by "dimensions." Bodybuilding is defined by "proportions."

"Dimensions" are exactly what they sound like: numbers and measurements. They are perceivable by everyone. They are what they are. They go up and down in absolute terms.

Yet "proportions" are about RELATIONAL dimensions. How do dimensions RELATE to one another, relate to the perceiver, and relate to their context. This is what bodybuilders are as athletes: they build the body’s RELATIONAL dimensions, not just the absolute dimensions.

This is where we enter the concept of "aesthetics" versus "appearances." "Appearance" is the description of a physique in terms of it’s dimensions: how much it weighs, how big it measures, etc. But "aesthetics" is a description of HOW THE PHYSIQUE RELATES.

Aesthetics deal with INTRA-relations, like how legs match the arms, how cuts describe balance, etc., as well as INTER-relations, like how the physique is perceived in terms of density, vascularity, symmetry, etc.

So, of you are a bodybuilder, then you are NOT automatically obliged to chase dimensions. THAT IS NOT THE DEFINITION OF A BODYBUILDER. Sure, you may yourself have that mojo to chase bigger size, and that’s cool. But that interest is NOT what DEFINES you as a bodybuilder.

if the intent to maximize and manipulate dimensions was a defining factor to "what makes a bodybuilder", well then a LOT of athletes heralded as "great bodybuilders’ would have to be removed from the list because these athletes did not chase endless dimensional increase.

in fact, if you look CAREFULLY, even through current days there are probably MORE bodybuilders who LIMIT their dimensions for the sake of aesthetic proportionality. Sure, they may continue to "grow" per se, but the best of the best are careful, and do not demand endless growth at the expense of proportional aesthetics.

A true bodybuilder athlete is ALWAYS aesthetics FIRST, dimensional manipulation second.

And to add some perspective, let me qualify this by saying that in my MIND I absolutely fantasize about absurdist dimensions. That bug has NEVER left me. I would LOVE to be able to become that 320 lb 4% bodyfat impossibly built uber-bodybuilder. However, I also know that, in the end I prefer the chase of the aesthetics over just the dimensions. However, I, too, share the mojo for dimensions; I just temper that interest with my sport: bodybuilding. I don’t so much think that "bigger is better," but just simply that "bigger is more fun."

But in the end, what is "better" is bodybuilding.

And bodybuilding is about relational aesthetics, NOT about absolute dimensions.

A "simple plan" is not always the same thing as an "easy plan."  ESPECIALLY in bodybuilding . . .

This was the crux of posting I had made in the forums.  It was addressing the idea of how many meals bodybuilders eat — and how some people struggle with it.  

It ended up being a sort of "mini-primer on food theory".  Sure, there was practical advice, but sort of "anecdotal" stuff.  In the end, though, no matter what you call it, I got a TON of positive feedback about the piece, so decided to blog-o-cize it.

Now, enjoy your meal . . .

First off, understand what is meant by the term "meal" . . .

People hear "eat six, seven, eight meals per day", and then assume that means sitting down with a fork an knife and eating all that food. They believe that every "meal" is about "chewing food."

In some cases, this is CLOSE to accurate, but in reality the term "meal" in physique development has a VERY SPECIFIC MEANING.

Here’s the equations . . . FIRST:

"eating" = "consumption of ANY kind"
which means even protein drinks, snacks — anything outside of a glass of water is considered "eating" in the physique development game. A glass of milk? That’s eating. Anything WITH CALORIC VALUE is to be considered "eating".

SECOND:

"MEAL" = "eating" / "time"
Basically, a "meal" is when you CONSUME according to a TIME component. Nothing radical here — heck "normal" meals also are regulated by time, right? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. . . .

But now HERE IS THE TRICK:

When a bodybuilder or athlete says "I eat SIX MEALS A DAY", they are simply saying "I CONSUME CALORIES AND NUTRIENTS AT SIX TIME-POINTS DURING THE DAY."

Emphasis: CONSUME CALORIES.

Too many people get hung up on the idea that a "meal" MUST be an elaborate affair. Often, there are means of consuming calories that are far less taxing than complex large meals.

One trick is to MEASURE CALORIES. Often, guys will eat what they have always considered a "satisfying meal", and then try to eat that much food six, seven, eight times. Well, when eating more frequently, the strategy is to SPREAD OUT THE CALORIES. Often the meals you consume will NOT be PHYSICALLY satisfying. In fact, they will often leave a little room in your stomach. So, the earlier advice of making the meals smaller makes a LOT of sense. But do not do this randomly. Figure out what your CALORIC BEST INTERESTS are first, THEN divide up your meals.

Now, most people roll their eyes at this point. "Math?" they think. "I don’t want a whole complex deal. I just want to look awesome." Well, bear with it. First of all, you only need use the measuring to get a "basic standard" down. If you are not competing, the math only need last a number of weeks to teach you portion sizing skills. You will NOT be chained to a caloric obligation forever. Man up and do the extra work — it’s YOUR goal you’d be copping out on if you don’t.

Likewise, remember that many bodybuilders will use PRE-WORKOUT, POST WORKOUT, and WAKE-UP drinks, and count them as "meals". I will not here go into the strategies employed by pre, post and waking nutrition, but will say that many bodybuilders use FAST DIGESTING nutrients at these points of the day. If you were to consider these quick-absorbing protein/carb drinks as "consumption which happens at a moment in time," well then you technically have three "meals"; specifically a "pre workout" meal, a "post workout" meal and a "waking" meal. Even though these meals are liquid and easily digested, they still "count" as "meals’ by the definition I provided above.

So a guy who is jacked who says "I eat 7 meals a day" may, in fact, only be "chewing food" four times.

Now, let me say that I am, personally, a STRONG advocate of WHOLE FOOD MAJORITY. I DO NOT LIKE diet schemes that are heavy on the powders and shakes. But I did want to point out that this is often how the "six meals" strategy is accomplished without discomfort; by considering drinks as "meals" because they are "nutrients consumed as a product of time."

So, don’t get mislead. Don’t just take the "eat six, seven, eight meals" advice at face value. ANALYZE CLOSER. So many guys are so horny for a "quick solution" that they don’t bother to deconstruct a suggestion, and then get saddled following a piece of advice that is not only uncomfortable, but ultimately counter-productive.

Yes, being "stuffed’ can work AGAINST you. It is a stresser on the body. And guess what the #1 catabolic (destructive) force is on a physique’s musculature? That’s right, stress. So being stuffed is NOT a good thing for a dude trying to grow. You may get an "A" for effort in eating the meals, but a flat-out "D" for doing what is wise for growth. We’re not trying to BE all about hardcore determination, here; the goal is just simply to grow, be it through hardcore determination or not. And most often, forceful methods cause the body more destructive stress than they do constructive benefit.

And on that note, I have to say that a "being stuffed" problem seems bio-physical, so to speak. One true thing is that the stomach is a remarkably elastic organ. It can grow several times it’s original size. Imagine it like a regular old balloon. If you pick up a balloon and try to blow it up, it will be a little difficult; the rubber is stiff and it needs to "loosen up" before it can stretch maximally with little effort. This is why people often tug and pre-stretch a balloon before blowing it up. It "warms up" the rubber and allows the balloon to expand maximally. Then, if you deflate the balloon, it does not return to it’s ORIGINAL deflated size. It is just a little bit bigger; a little more stretched out than it was originally. If you were to keep blowing up the balloon and deflating it, eventually it’s "resting" size would be quite larger than it was originally.

The stomach behaves similarly to that balloon. You can stretch it until it begins to "loosen up". So, the LONGER you eat several meals, the more your stomach becomes "stretched" to accommodate that level of food. Comfort GRADUALLY sets in. This process takes at least a month or two; therefore, as with ALL THINGS in bodybuilding, A LOT OF PATIENCE IS REQUIRED.

One not-too-cool trick people occasionally use is to stretch the stomach is to drink lots of water at one moment. I mean a LOT. I do NOT mean all day, but maybe just every few mornings, guzzle down a lot of water. This is an "okay" trick (and one I use the day after a contest so I can enjoy my inevitable end-of-diet celebratory pig-out), but it is NOT the best solution., Your healthiest option is a gradual method, allowing your stomach to slowly get used to it.

Don’t evaluate the method on just one day’s experience, or even a couple days experience. This eating habit is NOT an overnight adjustment, in spite of how people often regard it. Sure, your MIND doesn’t think it will be difficult; it is, after all, such a SIMPLE solution. But when put in practice, the advice takes on a number of elements you never would have foreseen without prior experience. Often the simplest things are the most challenging.

In the end LOOK CLOSER at the suggestions and advice which you choose to follow. NEVER take a quick solution as the best solution. if a plan SEEMS super-straightforward and simple, then that should almost an INSTANT red-flag for you to anticipate unforeseen snags. Like all of life, but seemingly ESPECIALLY in bodybuilding, a "simple plan" is rarely the same thing as an "easy plan".

How many pebbles would you need to throw to knock down the Great Wall?  Heck — how many pebbles would you need to throw to even make a dent?

I need to know.  Why?  Well, you see, that guy down there — the one chucking pebbles at the wall?  Yeah, that’s me.

I believe that the SPORT of bodybuilding is a powerful and brilliant endeavor.  Yet I am also convinced that the sport is lost and buried behind the Great Wall of the industry, the media, and the competitive “powers that be.”  In short, we have a sport with NO RULE BOOK being practiced by people who claim expertise.  If there are no rules, then how can one be an expert?  Fling — there goes one of those pebbles . . .

Now, there ARE base rules and practices to the sport.  They have just not yet been academically delineated and published under peer review and approval.  The only thing CLOSE to standards that we currently have are based on PRIVATELY OWNED regulations.  They are not impartial, and thus not fair.  Each league has it’s own “version” of the sport.  No one has the same rules.  How can this sport be regulated without a standard set of rules for practice?  

The answer: it can’t.  it would be like McDonald’s owning the police force.  If McDonald’s was the police, well, just imagine what would happen if a Burger King got held up . . .

Fling . . . another pebble.

Ironically, if you ask for rules and criteria for judging, you rarely get clear, academic standards.  Most often, all leagues will offer is some arbitrary verbal explanation that is not only convoluted, but often self-contradicting.  it’s like they’re making it up off the top of their head.  The few that can offer a written document (and VERY FEW CAN offer one), it is equally vague, and often uses terms that are not defined within the document itself, making it essentially ineffective as an explanation.

So, here I sit, on the OTHER side of that wall, flinging pebbles.  Given enough time, i’ll make SOME sort of dent.

In the meantime, I am trying to incorporate voices from the OTHER side of the wall in my radio show and podcast.  (If you’ve been asleep at the wheel, I have a podcast called The big Inside — listen to episodes art thebiginside.com, or subscribe for free on iTunes.)  I figure that relevant voices might add some power, and turn pebbles into rocks.

One of the first notable voices will be Eddie Robinson.  Eddie wiill be on The Big Inside on the Monday January 7th broadcast (the podcast version will be uploaded to the site a day or two after the airing).

Eddie is no stranger to the “game” of the bodybuilding world.  He has been awash in the arena for nearly two decades.  Sure, it’s obvious he was not among the most “integral” (a.k.a., “non-drug-using”) bodybuilders when he was at his height.  But much of his decision to pull back from the IFBB heights was based on the insanity of the demands.  

On the program, I do not intend to herald him as some sort of unsung hero of bodybuilding reform.  Yet I also do not intend to roast him alive, either.  Those who know my “style” know I am pretty sharp at “pulling responses” from people (which is a polite way of saying I am a brilliant conversational saboteur when I am getting fed a line of crap).  My pebbles may not harm the Great Wall of the IFBB, but once I separate a warrior, a single pebble can easily take down a mighty Goliath.

Yet that is not my aim.  My bag of pebbles are saved for that massive wall of bullsh1t, behind which is hidden the authentic sport of bodybuilding.  So, I have no intention of beaning Eddie square between the eyes.  

No no.  It is much more useful to hand him his OWN bag of pebbles . . .

I find that, when allowed to toss, most people also take aim at the Great Walls of nonsense in their lives.  Eddie and I may not share similar paths, or even similar goals.  But on The Big Inside, we’re all about the HUMAN journey.  And since the Great Wall of the IFBB is about anything EXCEPT for human compassion, well, Eddie need not even have a contrary opinion to be of use in the war to set bodybuilding upright.

In short, I am excited to talk to him.  Indeed, on a total side note, I remember Eddie from my teenage years from the old mags.  He was — among others — notorious for over-the-top, in-your-face photo shoots — the kind that romanticize bodybuilding as uber-heroic and where SOMEHOW guys who wore daisy-duke cut-offs, stripe spandex hot shorts and string Y-back tanktops all looked, well, TOUGH instead of cheesy.  

Eddie Robinson’s image was profoundly controlled.  He was always represented as both over-the-top as well as almost a goofball.  (But MOSTLY as over-the-top.)  He was part of a media generation that made bodybuilding a bigger-then-life series of mythological characters.  

In the media, Eddie’s generation (with Matarazzo, DeMay, Quinn, DeMayo, Baker, etc.) was about the imagery of the bodybuilding MYTH that got built up from the Schwarzenegger/Zane/Ferrigno/Columbo media that focused on the LEGENDS surrounding the sport.  

Legends (the attainable destination) became transformed into myths (the unattainable goal) during the era Robinson was big in the IFBB.  What is it like to be part of THAT media machine?  And wasn’t this same sort of media skewing a large part of the problem we now have today — that there is a lack off standard in the sport?  Did not the myth-touting larger-than-life boys of the late 80’s and early-to-mid 90’s set a stage for a sloppier competitive field?  Were they just obeying a mandate, or are they culpable for perhaps having laid some bricks into the Great Wall itself, thus helping hide away the "authentic version" of the sport for the next generations?

Fling.

You see, people like Eddie become important to interview because they will shed light on these questions, if not perhaps offer viable answers.

Although it may at first, on the surface, seem like I am "fraternizing with the enemy," when you take a closer look and understand the focus it is actually about building an ally.  Regardless of whether Eddie Robinson — or Lee priest or ANY of the upcoming "bodybuilding and training insiders" — agree with my standpoint, their willingness to share and speak and talk frankly is where their value comes in.

Each word from their lips becomes another pebble for my hands.

And lord knows it’s gonna take a lot more before that damn wall finally starts to crack.

REMEMBER: LISTEN TO XN’S INTERVIEW WITH IFBB PRO EDDIE ROBINSON ON THE BIG INSIDE PODCAST, FOUND AT THEBIGINSIDE.COM.  (Episode # TBI-009, available after 1/8/08.)

He’s 5′10".  Maybe 5′11".  Juiced to the gills, his traps start at his ears.  He’s got a skull cap pulled low, or maybe some buzzed spiky hair number going; $30 in product, easy.  Either way, those eyebrows are a little TOO waxed . . .

He’s got a tribal tattoo . . . that SAME tribal tattoo worn by every guy worried that people might mistake them for not being "one of the cool guys."  

He’s 242 pounds, all shoulders.  he claims to like MMA/ultimate fighting.  His stomach looks like a galapagos turtle.  No matter where he sits, he slouches.

And he leans into the mike and growls in a tone of voice which he practiced in his bathroom mirror for months . . .

"I’m gonna win.  I know it.  I’m confident.  I don’t compete to lose.  I don’t see how I am gonna lose.’"

Then there’s a pause.  A silence where no one QUITE knows what to say.  Should we agree?  Should we let him know that he is a little lost?  Or do we just praise him, pretending this personality-less ball of beef is supposedly a true bodybuilding hero . . . ?

Well it doesn’t matter how we regard him.  Lord knows another one will be in front of the microphone next week.  We can figure it out then.

Or the next week after that.

Or the next.

Ahh yes . . . the endless chain of videos, podcasts and "shows" that are supposedly catching the "essence" of physique sports.  We know them well . . boring, poorly edited, endlessly repetitive, and the same old schtick over and over.

Of course, in between these bipedal moose who interview like crap we also occasionally get the inane supplement review (N-O supplements have been around since 1982 . . . are they REALLY a "new" pump?!), or maybe a feature from an embittered, opinionated, science-horny hard-ass who can say without a doubt that "everyone else does it wrong."

Imagine if that know-it-all told the "I don’t see how I can lose" juicebag he was doing it wrong?!  THAT would be an interesting show!  That kind of mayhem would be a show FINALLY worth tuning in for!

And good news, kiddies!  THAT SHOW IS FINALLY HERE!

Bodybuilding podcasts are usually either absurdist, boring or dry — or worse: a comination of absurdist, boring AND dry!  

How the HECK are we supposed to sit through them?  THIS is meant to motivate?  

Wake me when they turn off.

Or better yet, tune into MY new podcast, THE BIG INSIDE!

What the . . . ?  “XN IS IT TRUE?!” you are asking.  “You took your sarcastic bodybuilding blog schtick and put it to the airwaves?”

Yes, my loyal readers (all three of you), it’s true.  Now, not only can you READ my mispelled ramblings, you can also LISTEN to my mispronounced ramblings!

It’s The Big Inside . . . and it is the biggest physique challenge you can experience while using ONLY your ears.  

AND I NEED YOUR SUPPORT!  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE CAST, OR CALL IN TO THE SHOW!  (I will explain how to do THAT a bit later . . . read on . . . )

Now, so you can rest assured, I WON’T EVER be having “that guy” on the program . . . you know, that dude I described earlier: the boring, steroid-busted bodybuilder who is deluded with his own Flex magazine fantasies . . . well, not unless we can poke fun at him.  Then he’s welcome.

Meanwhile, we WILL be having interviews with VERY cool people doing VERY cool things in the physique world.  People like you.  

And we won’t throw crazy science out there and expect you to follow along.  Who wants to have to take notes while listening?  No, we want to get you motivated and informed — but not try to cram a physiology degree into 12 minutes!  In other words, we’ll talk to you NORMAL.

You know, like you were not only an athlete, but like you were also A HUMAN BEING.

THIS IS YOUR SHOW MY FRIENDS!  And I want it guided by YOU!!!  (So email me SOON with ideas: info@thebiginside.com)

And we will laugh, my friends.  Oh yes.  And if there is nothing to laugh at, well, we’ll laugh at ourselves.  I find learning new stuff is SO much easier when you’re having a good time.  Tell THAT to dry Mr. Embittered “Pro Trainer” Smarty-Pants Man.

In short, The Big Inside will be turning the physique world inside out.  Sort of like what I do in this blog.  

So, if you are one of the nine human beings on the planet who actually LIKE what I do here on “Big is Inside”, you’ll LOVE when my weird insights and snide remarks come at you in REAL TIME!  (Ahh, yes . . let the law suits begin!)

The coolest part is that you can CALL IN AND GET INTO THE SHOW!  I’ll explain that later . . . but first you might need to how how to even listen to the darn thing.

There are lots of ways to listen . . .

Go to www.thebiginside.com.  There you can click “show notes’, and you’ll get a list of all the episodes.  Click on the episode you want to hear and — voila! — you are whisked away in a cloud of protein powder to the episode of your choice.  Free for the taking!

If you have actually made it into the new millenia with the rest of us, you have iTunes.  In the iTunes Store, you can do a search for “The Big inside” and the show is under podcasts.  Download away!  Or better yet, SUBSCRIBE TO IT!  Then you get each new episode as it airs . . . cool . . .  And be sure to LEAVE A REVIEW! (Meanwhile, if you don’t yet even HAVE iTunes, well, get with it — my show is reason enough to finally break down and download it for yourself.)

The show airs LIVE on 1510 The Zone, Boston’s Sports Station — the Boston area’s “alternative” sports radio (meaning they have cool shows).  Every Monday night at 5:00pm (eastern time).  So if you want the beauty of LIVE radio, you can just go to the website, www.1510thezone.com, and turn on the live feed.

IF YOU LISTEN LIVE ON MONDAYS, YOU CAN EVEN CALL IN!  Seriously.  ANYONE CAN CALL IN AT ANY TIME.  Questions, opinions, thoughts — or just to harass us live.  

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To deadlift or not to deadlift?  DOES a bodybuilder REALLY need to deadliftingt?  Deadlifting is for powerlifters, isn’t it?  You know those guys; the slightly nerdy mountain men with barrel chests and disregard for "ab definition."  

So MUST a bodybuilder deadlift?  

And for that matter, do I ABSOLUTELY need to squat to get big wheels?  Is there ANOTHER way, or are squats a MUST?

And what about snatches, jerks, cleans, good mornings, roman chairs, decline press, dips, preacher curls, cable cross, hamstring curls . . . and on . . . and on . . .

Do I NEED to do certain exercises?

Well, this week, I pulled something in his back — NO not from lifting.  Just s minor pull, just due to my usual being a clown.  But this little temporary boo-boo prompted some smart-ass kid to ask, “do you think it’s because you do deadlifts?”

Short answer: “No.”

But then they came back with: “Well, does a bodybuilder even NEED to do deadlifts?”  And THIS question reminded me of a thread in the forums — and a topic that REALLY gets my wheels turning.    

I so often see this doubt from people about the power movements.  There is always this lingering line of questions . . . all revolving around “whether it’s necessary to do power exercises.”

When asking “should I do such-and-such exercise?” it is kind of like you are at 100 feet up in the air, looking down at the problem.  From this height, you are able to look at one particular exercise.  And this vantage point is useful; it may help you figure out the efficacy of THAT ONE exercise.

But even if an exercise is “effective”, does it mean EVERY lifter MUST incorporate that lift in their program?  And how does one know whether squats or deads or any power exercise is “really necessary” . . . ?

Well, instead of looking at the specific exercise (whether it’s right to squat, or clean, or do deads), try to look at a bigger version of things. Y ou need to get up to 1,000 or 10,000 feet up to really see the lay of the land . . .

From up there you can not only get the facts, you can BUILD A THEORY . . . Which is a better process in general.

ALL BODYBUILDING METHODOLOGY IS BASED IN THEORY.

Let me repeat . . .

Now, a LOT of people are probably not gonna buy that.  All bodybuilding is THEORY?  "No way DUDE!  ALL the top guys are ALWAYS on abotu science!  It ain’t THEORY, man!"  

Many folks are convinced; they want to believe that solid bodybuilding is based on fact, not theory.

Well, by saying bodybuilding is based in theory, we are nOT throwing our scientific fact.  Indeed, we NEED scientific fact to even have solid theories.  All the most solid THEORIES of bodybuilding are, in fact, based in scientific facts.  One must USE science to SUPPORT a theory.

But in the end, your bodybuilding –from the 10,000 feet view — is only ever just theory.  

To see how this is so, let’s be clear on what a theory IS.  A theory (simply put) is anything:

- you can SHOW TO BE CONSISTANTLY TRUE
- you can NOT 100% PROVE TO BE TRUE
- you can NOT 100% PROVE IS WRONG.

For example, one very popular theory applied in bodybuilding doesn’t even SOUND like a theory:

"Individuals will best progress by determining unique specifics of to do their individual work."  Or, in short, This is what people are referencing when they say "do what works for you."

This "do whjat works for you" concept is actually just a theory.  Think about it . . . we have TONS of proof to show it is accurate and consistant.  Meanwhile, we can also see how there is NO final way to prove this theory is 100% true 100% of the time.  However, you also can’t totally PROVE that this theory might be untrue.  Some may disagree with the theory, but that alone does not prove that it is false.

Now, like I mentioned before, good bodybuilding theory can be supported by FACT — typically science.  Two different bodybuilders may take a fact and build two different theories based on that fact, but the fact itself remain the same.  

For example, let’s look at a couple theories behind deadlifting . . .

Some bodybuilders emply deadlifts because "deadlifting builds core strength, which you need for stability in OTHER lifts."  This is based on the FACTS of which muscles get worked in the deadlift movement.  And logically, to get bigger, you need to have ALL your lifts be powerful, so the deadlift is a means to encouraging this advancement of other lifts.  According to this theory, a bodybuilder would use deadlifts almost as a means of "cross training," sort of similar to how a football player might employ deadlifts.

Yet other bodybuilders theorize that "heavyt deadlifts build mass."  This theory is based on the FACT that deadlifts cause a HUGE neurological impact on the body — an impact that triggers adaptation and growth.  So, here, a bodybuilder might treeat deadlifts similar to a powerlifter, shooting for a maximal lift.  Deadlifts become their own focus in the training.

Two different theories, both based in fact, and both are valid.  Both provide an athlete with a "template" for how to use the exercise in question — in this case, deadlifts.  They result in two different approaches, and although the two are not in perfect agreement, both bring results and both can be defended by fact and logic.  

When you see people arguing on "which method is better" and "which exercise is a must," they are NOT discussing facts, they are discussing THEORIES.  This is also true in dieting issues, and even in discussions of steroid ethics.  people can USE facts to SUPPORT theories, but in the end, all we have is our theory.

This is why there has yet to be one "master plan" in bodybuilding.  The broader your vision — the higher up you go to 10,000 feet, 20,000 feet or even higher — the more you see how the landscape is theories.  It’s sort of like the borders between countries or states.  The "line" between Nevada and New Mexico is imaginary; it was drawn on a map.  The LAND is a fact — it exists.  But the LINE drawn across the land, well, that is just a theory . . .

Now, you can not determine the borders on the ground when you are only 100 feet up.  That is not enough of a view; how do I know if I am in Canada or Greenland?  Is this Brazil or Lima?  Am I standing in France or Spain?  To know where you are, or where you want to be — you need a view that is REALLY HIGH up.  

Bodybuilding is like the land, and our theories are like the borders we draw on the map.  And, like any borders drawn, there will ALWAYS be arguments and border skirmishes . . .

Some people think that their theories on lifting are the BEST ones.  They are tired and frustrated with how the other theories work.  They run campaigns of attack, thinking their borders should be expanded . . . their land should be bigger.  They try to conquer neighboring lands — trying to push their theory forward towards becoming a "bodybuilding theory empire."  They use facts upon facts to attack other theories . . . sometimes ruthlessly.  And sometimes needlessly.  Because just like the real world, some borders are just fine left alone.  Some theories work fine all by themself.

However, when you get high up you can also see theories that are just plain wrong.  Bad theories use innacurate facts as support, use poor logic int heir construction, or can be PROVEN wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt. Yet some people still stick with these theories anyway, and even defend them . . .

and then, sometimes, a GOOD theory can BECOME BAD!  A lot of guys base their lifting on what other people tell them.  They just take plans and suggestions from other people and trust that they are "good."  The people who they got the plans from may have themselves been using solid, sound theories, but often lifters don’t bother learning that.  They just want a lifting plan.  "Tell me what to do," they say. "But I don’t have time to learn WHY . . . "

If you just lift without knowing the THEORY behind WHY you are doing what you are doing, then that is just as bad as  a BAD THEORY.   A good lifting theory that you do not understand is automatically a bad theory.  If your theory is based on "copying what I saw," then that is also BAD theory.

You wouldn’t live in Moscow without owning winter clothes.  You wouldn’t live in New Mexico without having a water supply.  You wouldn’t live in Paris without learning French.  When you live in a country, there are certain things you need to do to live there . . .

And bodybuilding is the same way.  You should not adopt a lifting method unless you knwo the theory BEHIND it . . . you should not use a lift unless you have a theory which addresses that lift.  

I find a lot of new lifters do not have ANY solid theories working for them. Instead, they try to mimic and copy what they see around them. Then they see something nthat is new to them (like you with deadlifts) and try to incoporate it. They take everything in the gym on a case-by-case basis.

This will get you only so far. Eventually, you need to develop (or at least align with) solid theories. These theories will help you determine what exercises to use, how to use them, and why.

So, for example, I hold to the theory that "anything which builds the body’s strength can be useful for mass gain." This theory is not radical — MANY people most likely hold similar "master theories" in their workout methodologies. it is pretty basic — but pretty useful.

But think about what this theory now allows me to determine. When it comes to ANY exercise, all I have to assess is if it can be used to build my strength. My theory can take me the rest of the way there.

Deadlifts can be shown — through fact AND anecdotal evidence — to build strength. If my training methodology employs the above theory that "anything that builds strength can be useful for mass gain", then I know to use deadlifts.

I do not need to ask "if" I should use them. My master theory — which is solid and based in fact — tells me whether or not I should.

I am NOT addressing the usefulness of deadlifts in this blog. Nor am I trying to address the relationship between strength and mass gain. Nor am I explaining HOW to use deadlifts. I am just trying to address how to answer those "should I or shouldn’t I" types of questions.

All bodybuilding is based in theory. KNOW WHAT THEORIES YOU ARE WORKING WITH. This mode of thinking will not only answer many questions, it will likewise take you much further in your bodybuilding than trying to work everything on a case by case basis.

Not to mention that operating under solid theory will save you a LOT of time.  It is like seeing the landscape from 10,000 feet.

You FEEL small.  And you know how THAT goes.  That low feeling like you’ve shrunk, or like you’re suddenly not quite so jacked any more . . . or like you just aren’t gaining the BIG size you want . . .

You know how it is to "feel small" . . .

But there’s a funny thing to remember about feelings.  Feelings come to pass, they don’t come to stay.  (Even when how they “feel” is the ONLY thing a bodybuilder wants to talk about: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/The_Real_XN/2007/03/23/bodybuilders-are-the-most-sensitive-dudes-i-
know/)

So if you keep having a sense that you’re small, you have to remember that sense is NOT actually a feeling.  That sense of “small” is actually coming from your HEAD.  It is a THOUGHT that you are stuck in — THINKING you are small.  And those thoughts bring up feelings, sure.  And like I said, feelings pass — usually relatively quickly.  But thoughts?  Well, THOUGHTS are what stick around.

Keep nurturing a thought, and it gets stronger.  Starve it and neglect a thoght, and it eventually dies out.

You USED to feed thoughts of confidence.  You used to do things and dress in ways that fed your strongest, most heroic thoughts.  

But right now, you’re choosing to feed the thoughts of smallness.  You think those thoughts so intensely that you beging to BELIEVE your small — thoughts so strong you swear you can “feel” it.

Soon, you believe it: “CRAP!” you think.  “I AM SO SMALL THESE DAYS . . . !”

And then you start to compensate.

You start wearing baggy clothes.  You start debating heavy drugs.  You spend tons of money oon supplements — WAY past your budget.  You lift poundages that not only leave you open to get hurt, they aren’t putting you ahead . . .

But all through all these things you just KEEP FEELING SMALL.  All these compansations are just feeding those thoughts.  You think you are small, you choose loose clothes, and this REMINDS YOUR BRAIN ALL DAY that you think you are small . . . like, how can you abandon a thought if you are WEARING a constant reminder of it?

Changing thoughts SEEMS hard, but it is actually as easy as changing clothes . . . which in THIS case may be the start ot the process.

This is a thought plaguing you, though.  It is NOT a “feeling”.  

YOU CAN NOT CONTROL FEELINGS.  But you CAN CONTROL THOUGHTS.

You ave a choice where you put your energies . . . you have a choice what you focus on, and where you put your attention.

Put your attention on all the things that remind you of being small, and sure enough, you will think small thoughts most of your day.  

Put your attention on things that make you think BIG, and soon you will be back to believing you are of INCREDIBLE size and quality.

No one can TELL you you are big.  Big is INSIDE.  Big is not a set of feelings . . . it is a set of thoughts and beliefs.  Big is something bodybuilders DO, not necessarily always something we ARE.  It is something you think, not always something you see.  Big is something you BELIEVE.

And, via bodybuilding, your body is a way of EXPRESSING those big beliefs.  

What was it that made you think big in the past?  What brings your big OUT to the world to witness?

Was it the pump in your pecs after a heavy bench?

Was it when you wear that one killer tank that fits just oh-so-right?

Is it when you advance in strength at the gym, and write down a BIGGER number in your log?

Is it when you dream, about your big future?  Dreams are just big thoughts about the big stuff that hasn’t yet happened . . . do dreams of mass and powerful strength in the future bring your big out?

WHAT BRINGS YOUR BIG OUT?  What thoughts are big for you?

And then, once you recall those big thoughts, now go relocate the BEHAVIORS that encourage those thoughts.

Bodybuilding is not a sport of thinking.  Bodybuilding is also not a sport of “feeling”.  Bodybuilding is a sport of DOING.  it is not just enought o have big thoughts . . . you also have to ENCOURAGE those big thoughts in your behavior . . .

Wearing baggy clothes encourages SMALL thoughts.  Those thoughts bum you out.  That low feeling is a FEELING.  And it would go away . . . except you keep getting reminded of small thoughts because of what you’re wearing . . . . those reminders then keep you THINKING about small . . . and then you get that low feeling . . . and it would pass EXCEPT for the fact that you’re still in those clothes . . .

And on and on.

See the vicious cycle?

It is NOT your feelings that are the problem.  Those feelings would just as easily go away quickly.    VERY QUICKLY.  Then be gone . . .

The problem is your THOUGHTS.  You are NOT doing enough to REMIND YOURSELF TO THINK BIG.  And you are doing TOO MUCH THAT MAKES YOU THINK SMALL.  Your thoughts are trapping you the maze . . .

Start picking things to do that bring back those big thoughts.

But it is ABOUT THE DOING.  Like even now — DON’T JUST SIT HERE READING AND THINKIN!  Get your butt up!  GO DO THINGS THAT MAKE YOU THINK BIG!

Go lift something!

Go change clothes!

Go hit poses!

GO DO THE STUFF THAT REMINDS YOU OF THE BIG INSIDE!

And then that big on the inside will come outside . . .

And you’ll feel definitely feel that.

"Natural bodybuilding" is done for.  It’s FINISHED folks.  Over.  Pack it up.

"Natural bodybuilding" doesn’t stand a chance.   Neither does "drug free" bodybuilding for that matter.

And I for one am RIGHT THERE to see it go, tossing out the bon voyage confetti and HAPPY to see it set sail.  LATER!  Good-bye!  Asta asta asta, baby!  No more "natural bodybuilding"!  HOORAY!

And while we’re at it, let’s toss "enhanced", "juiced" and "Clean" on the bonfire as well, shall we?

Time to face reality, people: the SPORT ain’t going anywhere, but the TERMS we use are old, clunky relics from a by-gone agenda that, quiote frankly is meaningless.  This  CLASSIFICATION system we currently use is broken, meaningless and FOOLISH to continue employing.  It is a farce of reasoning, a denial of logic, and the FURTHEST THING from academically substantiated.

Bodybuilders so OFTEN toss out their science-horny reasoning, and claim that solid research and logical study is our backbone.  We are SO proud of our smarter-than-thou science, and are VERY quick to demand back-up references and PROOF of every new idea out there.  

Yet meanwhile, in spite of being SO profoundly horny for science, science, SCIENCE! we are still meanwhile using a classification system for defining “natural” that is about as flawed as they come.  It is the LEAST scientific thing we have — yet we use it VERY AGGRESSIVELY!

No academic authority worth their salt would take the term “natural bodybuilding” as a SERIOUS classification.  It would mush like play-doh under scrutiny of definition.  

Like I said, “natural bodybuilding” on the endangered species list.

And I say: GOOD RIDDANCE!

When you look at classification systems, the BEST and most accurate systems are usually ones are not judgemental.  The BEST systems of classification to not IMPLY anything beyond category.

An alphabetical classification does not favor the letter "M" as more "ideal" than the letter "V".  

The word "heterosexual" does not by itself imply a "correctness" over the word "homosexual."  

The scientific classification of "feline" does not claim to be "anti-canine."

So, understand that the term "natural" is impotent and useless.  It is a relic from a time frame and an attitude that does not always apply to today’s athletes.  It is based more int political righteousness than in clear, concise reasoning.

It saddens me to see the term "natural" used so aggresively by those who simultaneously put themselves out there as leaders in the sport.  I myself slip up and use the word "natural" from time to time — not because I believe in it, but out of force of habit.  Meaning that it is HARD to change our language.  New terminology ALWAYS causes static.  Yet it is the LEADERS who will make the most profound impact in correcting this miscatagroization.  Or rather, I should call it a NON categorization . . . if "natural" can mean almost anything to anyone, based solely on the whims of what they WANT it to mean, then therefore "natural" actually means nothing.

"Natural" often ONLY means they "passed a drug test."  Not that that test was accurate, or that it was even conducted perfectly.

"Drug free" does not address a lot of the "steroid like supplements" currently out there on the market.

"Clean" . . . well that is just a flat out UGLY way to describe something.  

And besides, sometimes of these bodybuilders who use these terms — "natural", "drug free", "clean" (ugh!), etc. — are athletes who can not actually be considered to have done it "ONLY by the means integral to their innate human ability."  

When you classify it THAT way, things shift a little . . .

"Integral" bodybuilding is pursuing practices that are within the realm of your human capacities, or which reasonably mimic those capacities.  In other words, if you could (in theory) kill it, pick it, cook it and eat it, then it falls within the realm of INTEGRAL bodybuilding.

All the -drol supplements, and the andros and other similar hormone products are NOT things you could INGEST by YOUR OWN HUMAN CAPACITIES.  there is nothing you could pick, kill or eat that would supply these substances.  It is ANCILLARY to your abilities.

"Ancillary" bodybuilding is pursuing practices that fall OUTSIDE of your human capacities.  This not only includes supplements described above, but also steroids and growth and all the other thinggs you could not technically "find, kill and eat" all by yourself.

Things like SYNTHETIC vitamin C are still considered integral.  Even though it is manufactured in a factory, the substance "vitamin C" is still within your INTEGRAL abilities to consume.  So the source does NOT dictate whether it is integral or ancillary.

This therefore covers things like the aminos (glutamine, taurine, creatine, etc.) that people supplement.  Although the "powder form" is made by a factory, the "ability to consume" these substances is still within your human ability.  Likewise with other substances such as caffeine, tryptophan and even the improperly maligned ephedra.  If it can be consumed as a food source then it falls within the bounds of "integral" to your innate ability.

All told, the whole idea that "natural is how you define it" is finally going extinct.  SLOWLY.  The "natural" bodybuilder is is becoming a relic — the terminology is an endangered species.  Too mired in morality, politics and personal preference, it no longer means anything substantial.

Hence newer, more understandable criteria like "integral" versus "ancillary."  

The leagues, however, will take time to catch up and catch on.  Leagues move slow, and are operating on a judicial and business model established a few decades ago.  In short, leagues can NOT be reasonably seen as the definers — or DEFENDERS — of these terms.  Do NOT look to leagues for any clear understanding of what it means to be natural . . . because the term "natural" is itself undecipherable.

As a bodybuilder, we all make the choice of whether to use ancillary methods, or stick with our integral methods.  The ethical dilemma can be compared to taking Viagara.  If a man takes Viagara to have sex, iis the sex now considered "unnatural"?  Of course not.  However, the man DID use an ancillary method to HAVE that sex.  This was his choice.  

Whatever morality or authenticity one prescribes to these methos remains their own.  The fact of the matter is that there are two CLEAR categories.  All these sub-terms — "Natural", "Clean", "Drug Free", "Juiced," "Augmented", etc. — they all imply IMBALANCE.  They imply heirarchy (upper, lower), morality (good, bad), ethics (better, worse), politics (ours, theirs), and a number of other perspectives that are NOT based on clear classification.  

"Natural" is often politicized, and IMPLIES one is "anti-steroids."

"Enhanced" implies that these users of pharmeceuticals are "better" than others.

"Clean" implies others are "dirty."

The terms we currently use IMPLY a lot, but SAY very little.  Which is why a departure from these terms is necessary ON THE GRASS ROOTS LEVEL.  Just by YOURSELF you must be more selective in how you categorize your bodybuilding.  Use a NEUTRAL term, yet a DESCRIPTIVE one.

The  terms "integral" and "ancillary" can be used OUT of context, and their MEANING remains understandable.  Of course these meanings are not yet COMMON — all new language takes time to catch on — but they are at least EASY to understand, and therefore QUICKLY usable.  

Perhaps we can all "begin being leaders" and begin changing our own language.  Just you — as an individual.  Start speaking and classifying things CLEARLY.  Start making your OWN choice to clear up confusion.  It won’t cost you anything.  We use the same amount of breath to say these words.  Within a few weeks you may even become completely accustomed to saying these new terms.  Sure, we may have to stop and occasionally EXPLAIN these terms to people, but that need to stop and explain will fade sooner than you think.

Change language and you change understanding.  Change understanding and you change people.  Change people and you change society.  Change society and you can change the world.

Even if it is only the world of bodybuilding.

Be it ancillary OR the integral.

I intend to be 270 lbs at about, oh, 8% body fat in no time.  I figure my chest will measure around 62 inches, my arms clock in at 22, and my quads?  Well no less than 34 inches.  All the while, my waist will remain no more than 32 inches.  Maybe 33.

That’s the ultimate goal.

Seriously.

Now if you’ve read this blog’s past articles you’ll know that I have never used steroids, nor ever intend to.  I am what is called an "integral athlete", as opposed to the "ancillary athlete", which is a dude who uses drugs or other enhancements to reach their goal.  (Check out the Big Is Inside entry "Don’t call me natural any more" from May 2, 2007 at http://blog.bodybuilding.com/The_Real_XN/2007/05/02/do-not-call-me-natural-anymore/)

So, if I am not gonna use drugs, this goal is WAY out of my reach right?

Nope.

Gonna make it.

In fact, let’s up the ante to a weight of 285.  See, I forgot to mention my calves will be 21 inches and my neck will be EASILY 23.

THAT I think I can hit.

No problem.

Or at least THAT is what I HOLD IN MY HEAD.  That is an image I cling to as I progress.  FREAKISH size.  OUTRAGEOUS proportion.  INCREDIBLE shape!

It is all stored neatly in my head.  

Now, for people to get a glimpse inside my head can typically be, well, a little disturbing.  But once you move aside the stacks of newspaper get past the file ccabinets cluttering up my skull, on the back of my mind wall posted next to some artwork are the images of my dream body.  

Yes, hanging in snapshots inside my brain are pictures of my physique at 307 pounds.  My chest is a bulging 64 inches, and my arms are 24 inch vice grips.  And yes — that is MY face pasted on top of the neck.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE WHAT I ALREADY GOT!  And love what I am doing with it.  Wouldn’t trade it for the world.  So understand that these visions in my are FANTASY goals.  They are not being held because I am trying to get AWAY from what I have.  They are held so that I can to keep a DIRECTION to where I will go.

I recently got a provocative email EXACTLY on this topic from a user shose handle is “tryingto”.  He wrote:

“Christian,
I wanted to ask you a question between the difference a natural bodybuilder like yourself and the more “chemically enhanced” bodybuilders. It seems, from the profiles I’ve seen on here, that the natural bodybuilder isn’t so much concerned with size as they are with being ripped and cut. I’ve read some stats where some natural bodybuilders have 45 or even 46 inch chest and some biceps that measure under 18 inches. Is this typical? I’m sure bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman and Lee Priest HAVE to be something un-natural to their bodies–I even wonder how safe it is for them!”

In other words, even observers know that I would need to hop on steroids in order to get the dimensions I dream about.  

But, yeah I understands that.  I get it.  I won’t reach my goal of 317 pounds at 7.2% bodyfat unless I use steroids.  

But bid deal?  So what?  Does it mean I shoudl therefore NOT keep my dream of 27 inch arms and 39 inch quads?  Of course not.

You must understand: THESE GOALS I HOLD ARE NOT BASED ON THE IMMEDIATE MOMENT.  They are not “MUST HAVE” goals.  To even call them “goals” is a little misleading . . . they are more like GUIDES.  And they are ONLY held inside my head.  These visions are there to shape the DIRECTION of my goals.  

And yes, they are based on my fantasies . . . they represent where I want to go if I HAD NO OBSTACLES.  And when I train and diet, I want to behave as if my power was UNLIMITED.  To go into bodybuilding assumine “I’ll never get 23 inch calves” or “my chest will NEVER measure 67 inches” would keep me too tame.  I want to REACH BIG!  So I hold onto these fantasies, and let them INFORM my goals.

This might be news to tryingto — that a guy who isn’t huge might cling to huge images.  But I think it does happen.  Even with us guys who never get freakish proportions and stay integral (aka “natural”); we too hold WILD proportions in our fantasies.

Yet I think what happens is a lot of guys HIDE their fantasies.  A lot of integrals take the moral label “integral,” and then maybe feel some sort of social pressure to polarize themself with a certain mindset.  A lot of integral athletes even hide the fact that they want the kind of muscle typically possessed by guys on steroids.  NOT ALL NATURALS DO THIS (so PLEASE spare me the argument emails!).  But I certainly see a LOT of guys cupboard away their visions of freakish proportions in the name of upholding some sort of pseudo-political “natural stance”.  I think THIS is what tryingto was noticing in his letter to me.

I think many bodybuilders often misuse their fantasies by IGNORING THEM.  That’s right.  They literally MISUSE their ability to fantasize, to imagine and to hope.  

Look, just because you are not going to go on steroids does NOT mean you are not allowed to fantasize about proportions that are usually the domain of steroids — or beyond for that matter!  

In fact, the dream of the 337 pound physique PRE DATES steroids.  For millenia (literally) men would dream of EXCESSIVE proportions as a representative of their prowess, power and drive.  Even sculpture in ancient Egypt that are over 4,000 years old often depict body proportions that are EXAGGERATED.  Dreaming of the freakish physique ain’t nothing new.  And it is fair-game for EVERY athlete.

A problem lies in how a lot of people silently think that in order to be a “true natural” (oh, how my stomach curdles at THAT political term) they must downplay their desire for these exagerated forms.  It seems a lot of bodybuilders imply (either accidentally or intentionally) that to try to be freakish in size you are “almost “betraying” the “natural cause”.  (Ewww . . . a “cause”?!  What a bunch of pseudo righteous GARBAGE, huh?)

So, I WONDER how many guys who are NOT on steroids are LIMITING THEIR PROGRESS by abandoning their WILD fantasies.  In the name of being a “good, sensible, natural athlete” are a lot of guys not letting their MINDS run wild?  

Big bodies, huge muscles and freakish proportions are NOT THE SOLE DOMAIN OF THOSE WHO USE STEROIDS!  Excitement for freakish proportions is NOT the same as steroid-friendly mentality.  And just because sometimes our fantasies might slightly resemble guys who use steroids does NOT mean we should abandon those fantasies.

Yet a lot of integral athletes do abandon their fantasies.  They start claiming they never dreamed big.  They often wiull even equate the desire for ultra big muscle with the “weak mindsets” of steroid users (an UNFAIR description to say the least).

And so, yes tryingto, we get a breed of natural bodybuilders who don’s always shoot for as far as they COULD.  

Instead of natural bodybuilders, many of these guys should be called “tame” bodybuilders.

Or “obedient” bodybuilders.

Or “bland” bodybuilders.  Or how about just “bodyblanders” — guys whose bodeis are always just shy of exciting and inspiring, but instead remain BLAND and without signs of ever having contained an imagination.

Meanwhile, I occasionally see bodybuilderswho built VERY impressive mass BECAUSE they follow the lead of their fantasies.  You see this a lot in younger bodybuiders, whose heads have not yet been pumped full of doubt.  Young guys have not yet been exposed to the false belief: “Sorry kid, freakish fantasies are ONLY for dudes who are using steroids.  Keep SENSIBLE.  Do NOT try for anything outlandish.  A TRUE natural bodybuilder ignores wild proportions . . . ”

And slowly, the young natural athletes fantasies get dampened, diminished, and even sometimes snuffed.  SOME fellow competitors whom I have asked if they want to be freakish look at me like I just asked them if they had ever held a desire to murder their own mother!  They are nearly OFFENDED by the idea of holding such fantasies.

Meanwhile, our fantasies are are actually very useful tools.  ESPECIALLY if for those of us who wish to remain natural/integral in our methods.  

Our fantasies create direction.

Our fantasies provide motivation.

Our fantasies help us understand our desires.

Our fantasies keep us excited.

And, very importnatly, our fantasies KEEP US CONNECTED TO OTHERS.

Not every one shares the same goals.  Yet many people’s fantasies are very similar.  This helps us bond as bodybuilders — or in ANY community.  Why would I hide that I dream of 28 inch arms, and a 69 inch chest?  Why would I ever hide that I want to be 364 pounds at 6.4% body fat with a 33 inch waist?  If I did not put THIS out there — right along side all my NATURAL WORK — how else would I find fellow athletes who SHARE my passion?

These visions are not in my mind because I think i can get them.  No — they are there because they keep me excited, and dreaming BIG!  

It’s kind of like Superman, or the Incredible Hulk, or Hercules, or Mighty Mouse (hey — to each their own, right?)  A lot of us cling to fantasies of being LIKE these characters — either in strength, size or ability or all of their characteristics.

Yet at the same time that we idolize these figures, we KNOW that we will never TRULY be as strong as superman, or as massive as the Hulk, or, um, a . . . um . . . rodent . . . like Mighty Mouse . . . okay, but you GET what I am saying here.

These visions are both informed by mythology, as well as are the basis of new mythology.  (And YES — bodybuilding DOES have it’s own spin on mythology.)  We hold these impossible-to-achieve fantasies and myths as a way of keeping our bearings.  These fantasies help us always point in a specific direction.  They keep us on track should wefalter.  And they make us get excited for our work. Even thought hey are impossible to achieve, they are CRUCIAL for progress.

Bears repeating:

FANTASIES IN BODYBUILDING ARE CRUCIAL FOR PROGRESS, ESSENTIAL FOR SETTING GOALS, AND VITAL FOR KEEPING US ON TRACK WITH OUR GOALS.  

We must not try to BECOME our fantasy any more than we should put on a cape an leap off a skyscraper, turn green and lose our temper, or, um, be a mouse.

So, you can understand why I am aiming for 389 pounds at 5.8% body fat.  And you can see why when I train I try to get 29 inch arms or a 72 inch chest.  

I do NOT hold these fantasies because I am trying to make them REALITY.  I do not hold these fantasies because I want to BECOME them.  I do not hold these fantasies because I think they will all become true.

I hold these fantasies because they help me set lofty goals.

I hold these wild fantasies because they make me excited for the process.

I hold these crazy fantasies because they help maintain fun and play in my bodybuilding — keeping it fresh and even silly.

I hold these intense fantasies because they contain a BIG vision of just how powerful I am capable of FEELING.

Regardless of whether I will ever actually BE them.

These fantasies are PART of the Big that is INSIDE of me.  

And if I want to bring that big to the OUTSIDE, well, I better not abandon any big that is INSIDE.  

Otherwise, how else will I ever achieve my 32 inch guns?

How to get an impressive "teardrop" shape to the quads . . . how to make that happen . . . ?

I have mulled this one over for over a week now.  I am trying to wrap my brain around it, actually.  It’s like ANY "spot development."  I have been asked for specific arm routines, specific adb routines, specific jaw muscle routines (see, I can talk a lot, so people want to know just HOW I developed a yapper that just NEVER seems to fatique . . . I tell ‘em "that’s nuthin’ — you should see my BLOGS go on and on . . . )

See, I HAVE to admit something: I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO FOR A SPECIFIC BODY PART.  

Routine?  

You want a really hard hamstring ROUTINE?  

A killer calf routine

A monstrous bicep blitz ROUTINE?

Heck — the only routines I know involve 60 to 90 second of cued music and posing . . .

But I want to GET you guys SOMETHING.  I want to ANSER all your questions about lat width routines and rear delt routines and left shin routines and . . . well you get it.  I WANT TO BE USEFUL.

And it all came to a head with ONE SPECIFIC REQUEST FOR A TEARDROP SHAPED QUAD.  It came from a mamber whose handle is iBswole:
“hey man - do you have any tips on developing the tear drop muscle? I know the quads grow as a whole but mine are severely lacking. I’ve recenlty encorporated vince goronda frog squats on the hack squat machine - on my toes heels together etc. Would appreciate the advice thanx. ”

Wait — Vinnie Gondola who?  Toes in ballerina position numer six?  Wait — DID I MISS SOMETHING?  Clearly iBswole has done his homework — and done it well.  But I PANICKED!  Here I am with something he wants help with, and he is running circles around me!  

JUST WHO THE HELL IS THE COMEPTITIVE BODYBUILDER SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, ANYWAY?!  I have no ADVICE?  I have no pre-written ROUTINE for the mighty teardrop quad?  WHAT GIVES?  WHO THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO BE?!?!?  

And my world comes crashing in around me . . . I am a sham . . . I am a farce . . . I am a charletain . . .

No — wait a sec.  I am an athlete.  That’s all.  

Not a fake.  

Not a goon.

Not a quack.

Just an athlete.  A plain old bodybuilding athlete.

See, I am not just a bodybuilder, I am a SPECIFIC KIND of bodybuilder: one who COMPETES.  As such, my “sport” of bodybuilding is NOT about how my body looks.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you must be thinking, “Now just HOLD ON A SECOND!  XN, are you trying to tell us that BODYBUILDING IS NOT ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK?!  Are you freakin’ NUTS?”

Well, yes of COURSE I am nuts.  But that is NOT why I am saying what I am saying.  

The SPORT of competitive bodybuilding is about PRESENTING A PHYSIQUE AESTHETIC.  As far as the competition is concerned, it is NOT about how big you are — it is about HOW WELL YOU PRESENT A CONCEPT OF DENSITY.  It is NOT about how lean you are — it is about HOW WELL YOU PRESENT A CONCEPT of VASCULARITY.  It is NOT about how you “look.”  It is about how you PRESENT an aesthetic.

So, a GOOD bodybuilding athlete is really a good PRESENTER of a physique NO MATTER WHAT THAT PHYSIQUE IS ALL ABOUT.

Now, CERTAINLY if you have a lot of mass and sharp cuts, this enhances your job of presentation.  But in the end, the skills I focus on are the skills of solid presentation.  And so THIS becomes my focus in the gym, out of the gym, and with ALL my training.  

For me, this is not about image.  This is about athletics.  And as such there is a mandate I follow with my training.  I approach all my work with ONE MAJOR DIRECTIVE:

“HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY PRESENTATION?”

I do NOT focus on “how does this or that part of me look right now.”  I TRAIN FOR A SPORT, and not for a “look”.  

Then, my body develops accordingly.

Kind of like how gymnasts often have incredible shoulders.

Or how swimmers have great backs.

Or how sprinters will have thick quads.

Or how wrestlers will have sturdy abs.

If an athlete focuses their training on overall ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE in their sport, the BODY WILL FOLLOW SUIT and assume a shape appropriate to that sport.

So, my training is focused on “game day.”  It is focused on presenting.  So, therefore, my training “routines” are perhaps very different from what a guy or gal might do to “get a look.”  I have to worry about performance and ability and skill — not just mass and cuts.  I have to focus all my training tactics on whatever will help me excel in the sport of physique presentation . . .

What this all means is, in order to train as a bodybuilding ATHLETE, I am obliged to incporporate MANY tactics beyond weights rooutines . . .

For example, to present well, a bodybuilder needs to be limber and flexible.  So, I include training sessions that are ENTIRELY STRETCHING.  Long, methodical, focused sessions — 30 to 45 minutes 4 to 7 times a week — where ALL I DO IS STRETCH MY MUSCLES.

I stretch like this because flexibility is a skill I need in my contests.

But there is a BONUS BENEFIT.  Muscles that are stretched properly can expand and contract more thoroughly.  This avails them to more atrophy — and thus “better” growth.  Now, I DO NOT stretch for the benefit of mass building.  But the stretching ENHANCES my mass building.

See what I mean?  I train FOR MY SPORT, and that sport causes my body to assume a shape.

What else . . . what else . . .

Ah yes — Stability.  To present well, you need stability and balance — control.  One of the ways I tyrain stability is to incorporate Pilates.  I will go 2 to 6 weeks of reformer Pilates, 1 or 2 times per week.  Meanwhile, year-round I willdo core-centric floor Pilates work INSTEAD of traditional “abs training”.

Now, I am doing this work FOR STABILITY — I am doing this for my CONTEST.  But there is an added benefit of a tight abdominal structure.  Likewise, my core stability allows me TO SQUAT MORE SAFELY, AND HEAVIER, thus producing BIGGER LEGS.

That’s right — CORE STRENGTH IS CRUCIAL FOR MY LEG DEVELOPMENT.  STRONG CORE, BIG LEGS.  It is very simple.  BUT I DO THIS PILATES WORK FOR OVERALL STABILITY, not because I want a specific “look” to my legs.  

Likewise, this core stability enhances my bench, my overhead delt presses, my back training (DEADLIFTS!!!)

ALL KINDS OF GROWTH GETS ENCOURAGED THROUGH PILATES!  But by doing Pilatees I am NOT focusing on this growth benefit — I AM FOCUSED ON MY “GAME” — I am focused on what it takes to PRESENT well.

And presenting well in the sport of bodybuilding also relies on FOCUS and MIND-BODY-BREATHING SYNCHRONIZATION.  For this I incorporate Kripalu Yoga.  NOT power yoga.  NOT this westernized “do this like this”, and “here si the RIGHT WAY and WRONG way” style of yoga.  But yoga that is more meditative, and focused on the synergy of breathe and body.  It is challenging my body in a different way — to become more synchronous in it;s movement.  To be more focused, yet less “clenched”.  To “FEEL” my way through movement as opposed to “WILL” my way through movement.

ALL of these aspects help my posing.  So I do yoga for the posing.

YET, I also gain a better sense of balance.  And also a keener awareness of how to “mentally locate” a muscle or movement.  This helps TREMENDOUSLY with form in the gym.  My mind is sharper towards concentrating a specific muscle in a lift.  This lets me HIT THOSE SPECIFIC and SMALLER muscles with more accuracy.

Now although I get a HUGE gym benefit, and my smaller muscles benefit, I nonetheless DO NOT DO YOGA FOR THE MASS BUILDING AND SCULPTING BENEFIT.  SDure, I GET that benefit, but my focus was the skills of presentation.

I focus on my game.

And on and aon.

I develop ALL my training BASED ON MY SPORT.  Not based on causing a look.  

By focusing training on my sport — on bodybuilding — on the ATHLETIC aspects of physique presentation — I engage practices that transform my body.  I do not focus on the transformation, but on the SPORT.  I am an ATHLETE, not an IMAGE.  

And there are MANY OTHER practices I need in my sport.  All sorts of things BEYOND the weight room.  Some of these training practices you’d expect, yet others at first seem almost WEIRD for a bodybuilder to consider part of their “training” . . .  

Running stairs (I mean outdoors in an ACTUAL stadium — which for me locally means Boston University or Harvard).  

Frisbee (you’d be surprised what this does for grip control).  

Riding my bicycle on ERRANDS (not riding for long distances, but the stop-and-go aspect is VERY akin to the stop and go of a contest, and develops leg control and stability).  

Meditation (practicing letting go does wonders for the competitive focus).  

Posing (although it LOOKS like practice, it helps bring more muscle control awareness in the gym — and is a bit of a cardio workout).  

On and on.

My training is ALWAYS focused on game day.  There are LOTS of things I need to worry about.  But by letting the sport guide me, my body ironically “falls into shape.”

This is a VERY different mentality to the “image” building version of bodybuilding.  The mroe popular version of the sport asks us to focus efforts on specific muscles — emphasizing language like “targeting” and “isolating”.  And although this is CLEARLY the more popular way bodybuilding is pursued — as a means of building a specific image — it is very different from competitive bodybuilding.

Kind of like a football player in the gym.  They will be building their power and burst strength with the weights, and NOT be sconcerned DIRECTLY with the look or appearance.  BUT they might grow a thick back, or wide delts, or meaty arms . . . BUT BUILDING SPECIFIC MUSCLES IS NOT THE FOCUS OF THE TRAINING.

So too for me.

Now,  to be FRANK here, yes of COURSE I DO techincally emphasize specific bodyparts in my weight training.  I am NOT saying that I do not.  I will maybe switch out exercises for my arms, or adjust rest times with my back, or play around with jont stength on my chest . . . but nothing too too innovative or unique.  There are no miracle tactics I employ that you can’t already read about in a million places.  

In short, i have no specialized “routines.”  What makes my training look different is not what I do in the gym, but rather the OVERALL RESUME OF MY TRAINING.  What makes my body assume specific shapes is the result of EVERYTHING I DO IN COMBINATION, rather than about the weights.

That bears repeating and reiteration:

Developing and enhancing specific parts of my body CAN NOT BE DONE VIA WEIGHTS ALONE.  Specific enhancements of muscles relies on the WHOLE COMPLEX SYSTEM of veried training practices.  

And ALL these training practices are focused and derived from the needs I have in my SPORT OF BODYBULDING; needs I have in PRESENTING A PHYSIQUE.

Not needs I have for “how I want to look.”

And all this is said in terms of MY BODY.  ME.  Others might have found different.  This is just how I have progressed.  Lots of variety, and ALWAYS a training focus on the sport I play, not on the look I want.

Now, maybe I am doing this ALL WRONG.

Maybe I should develop specific, intensive routines; TACTICS for each specific body part.

But in truth, I have none.  No back training.  No foraerm blitz.  No upper pec onslaught.

No teardrop theory . . .

So, sorry iBswole.  And apologies to all you awesome folks who have asked me for specific bodybpart routines.  I got no magic.  My weight training looks like YOUR weight training.  The only thing that is different is the OVERALL CONTENT of my training.  It is focused on a sport, not on a look.

And THAT is another reason I so often encourage people to take up bodybuilding as a COMPETITIVE sport.  What you need to do to train for "the game" ends up developing aspects of your body for which you might have previously stagnated.  Being an athlete gets you more development than being an image.

As such, looks like the only specific routine I have is for my typing fingers . . .

And, of course, for my tireless jaw muscles.  Which THANKFULLY were just given a rest.

Want to be a leader in the sport of bodybuilding?  Here’s the secret.

My last post prior to this one was about the new guys (and gals — remember, I’m from Boston where both men AND women are called "you guys").  So I guess this one is about the old guys.  Well, not OLD, but the ones who are in the game.  

And also the ones who want to get into the game . . . which might be you . . .

This is about all you BIG dreamers.  All you guys (there it is again) who want to be the next BIG bodybuilding and physique AUTHORITY.  You just KNOW in your BONES you got what it takes to ROCK the #1 game . . . And now you think you’re ready (and willing).  You want to ascend to becoming the next #1, video-having, article-spouting, fan-base-building, benchmark-creating, hero-worshiped ultra authority.  You might even think you deserve such authority.  And, in fact, you might even be correct.

So how do I GET THERE?

Well, let’s face it: there are LOTS of those who claim authority in bodybuilding.  Authorities in physiology.  Authorities on diet.  Authorities on training.  Authorities on competing . . .

And the Authorities will ALL tell you — the way authorities ALWAYS do — that THEIR way is THE way to get the authority.  Any authority in  bodybuilding will claim that THEIR OWN method of practice, their education, and their experience is THE BEST way to go . . . otherwise, they wouldn’t even BE the authority.  

Right?

And if you were an authority in the sport, that would imply that you are ALSO a leader in the sport.

Right . . . ?  

Well, maybe not . . .

See, authority relies on being #1 in some way.  And there is only so many #1’s.  (In fact, pulling out my calculator here, there is only one #1 in each category, last I did the math.)  So there’s only a FINITE amount of authority.  Not everyone gets some.  If YOU have authority, the other guy doesn’t.

When it comes to authority, some will end up having too much, others just enough, and still others won’t be given quite enough.  There will be inevitable scarsity.  We will run out of authority before we make more to accomodate those who deserve or take it.  There’s only a limited amount of “authority” to go around.  Only so many “#1 bodybuilding So-And-So’s”  

To focus on becoming an authority, you also have to compete and compete and compete with those trying to get some of that limited amount.  SO MUCH energy is spent trying to get a name for yourself.  

Meanwhile, leadership is limitless. Leadership is infinite.  There is no scarcity.  LOTS to go around with leadership.  If you want to be a leader, you can just dig right in, and get more than your fair share.  No need to compete — only the desire to lead.

Authority requires you play THEIR game.  LOTS of learning and work involved.  

Leadership only requires an understanding of your own game, and how it relates to the games of those you lead.  You already HAVE all your learning there.

Leadership is intimate.  It is personal.  It is based on what you already know and do.  

Yet, authority remains distant, avoiding intimacy.  Authority is removed.  Authority is foreign to those it commands.

Leadership does not require approval, only agreement.  Authority does not require agreement, only approval.  

Authority tells.  Leaders teach.

Authority most defend itself, closing off.  Leadership must open itself, defending others.

Authorities are focused on their own power.  Leaders are focused on the power of others.

Authority is claimed by placing demand.  Leadership is claimed by offering example.

Authorities defend their thoughts.  Leaders explain their ideas.

Authority seeks to limit the boundaries of other’s power.  Leadership requires the expansion of other’s power.

Authority has built into it a sense of scarcity.  Yet Leadership has built into it a sense of abundance.

More is found for you if you focus on being a great leader, than if you focus on being a #1 authority.  

The two need not be seperate.  Authorities can be great leaders.  And many great leaders end up having much authority.  

The balance between the two — and how that balance is achieved — is the JOB of every bodybuilder or physique competitor shooting for the top.  

You WANT the authority of the #1 slot.  But are you also a LEADER?

If you want MORE from your work, look into how your example, your ideas, and your strengths might lead others.  Continue to lead, and you will get more and more.  Authority might come — or it might not.

But you will never be without abundance.  And then you guys (there it is AGAIN!) will ALWAYS be in the game . . .

Ready is willing.  Willing is ready.  They are one and the same.

I always remind young (and young-at-heart) athletes of this fact.  To be READY to compete in bodybuilding actually merely means you have becoime WILLING to do the work necessary to prepare and enter a contest.  It does NOT mean anything other than a decisive commitment you make to yourself.  That is, ironically, the ONLY qualification to begin the process.  

(Yes — that’s me coaching like a goon . . . )

But WHY should you even BE willing?  Why BOTHER competing?  Why bother making that decisve commitment and “becoming willing”?

Well, let’s look at it another way . . . (buckle up — here comes one of XN’s analogies . . .)

Let’s say you went to a basketball court four to six times a week.  Let’s just say for 2 or 3 hours a day you were dribbling up and down the court, practicing lay-ups and free throws and dunking, driliing yourself on footwork and sp[eed burst . . . basically PRACTICING all the skills of basketball playing.  And let’s just say you LOVED it — you had a BLAST with all this practice.  So much fun you had been doing it for a year; two years; four, five, seven years.  Years and years of practice . . .

Then one day a bunch of guys come to the court and say: “Hey we were gonna play a few games.  You want to join us?”

And you look at them, somehow SURPRISED they would ask LITTLE OLD YOU.  And you say:

“Naw, that’s okay.  I am NOT READY TO PLAY BASKETBALL.  I just need to keep PRACTICING.”

Well, for starters they would see you as CRAZY.  What had you been DOING all those years if it was NOT playing basketball???  HOW MANY YEARS ARE YOU PLANNING ON PRACTICING BEFORE YOU ARE WILLING TO PLAY THE GAME?

GET THE HELL IN THERE AND TEST YOUR SKILLS!!!

Now SOME guys have a clever response.  They say: “Yeah, but I ENJOY What i am doing.  I GET something from it.  And if I am enjoying my life, and GETTING something from all this dribbling and shooting — then WHY SHOULD I CARE TO PLAY A GAME OF BASKETBALL?”

Well, on the ONE hand, live and let live comes into play.  So, of course, do what you want, there, big guy . . .

BUT, if you give a little thought, PLAYING the game might INCREASE your return — and EXPAND your joy.  When you practice, you are in a controlled setting.  There is less pressure so there is more room for a casual pace.  yet within the game you are thrust into a realm of unpredictability.  In practice, you KNOW what’s next, but in a game you DON’T know whatr’s coming.  THIS builds a degree of skill that can’t be duplicated through mere practice.  While in practice, you know AHEAD OF TIME what skills you will need.  In a game situation, your decision making skills are challenged . . . and you IMPROVE yourself exponentially . . .

So let’s bring this back around to bodybuilding.

Take a look at your training history.  COMPARE YOURSELF NOW TO WHEN YOU FIRST BEGAN BODYBUILDING.

I am sure right now you are bigger, leaner, and stronger than when you started.  

I am sure your workouts are more structured than when you started.

I am sure your dietary plans have improved from where you started.

I am sure you are more disciplined, determined and focused than when you started.

Overall — YOU HAVE MADE INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENTS.  Sure, you can beat yourself down by looking up to the top of the mountain you want to climb and saying “I am SO far from the ULTIMATE goal.”  But it is WISE to occasionally turn around and look DOWN the mountain and see how far up you have climbed.

Likewise, a way to CONTINUE your climb towards your ultimate dreams is to GET IN THE GAME.  To begin competing will sharpen qualities in you that will help you climb FASTER AND BETTER.

But MOST of you are saying: “Yeah, I agree, and that’s GREAT and all — sure I want to “get in the game” and “look down the mountain” — but THOSE GUYS WILL TEAR ME UP! I DON’T LOOK LIKE THEM!!!”

Sigh.

Look, what I am HERE talking about is AMATEUR, NOVICE, NATURAL, SMALL-TIME, LOCAL contests.  I am NOT talking IFBB Olympia, or Natural Worlds, or ANYTHING LIKE THAT.  

EVERYONE HAS TO START SOMEWHERE.  So I am here talking abotu STARTING SMALL.

I am here ONLY talking about STARTING TO COMPETE, not about WIN WIN WIN.  Thsi is about gaining experience — the experience you would need if you WANTED to eventually win.  But even if you are like me and don’t ultimately CARE about winning (I’ll blog on THAT topic another time), and you want to merely build great tools to buld a great physique, then STARTING TO COMPETE IS A SURE-FIRE WAY TO IMPROVE!!!

So QUIT LOOKING AT THE WINNERS!  Quit looking at the TOP guys onlione, and see, instead, if you can find pictures of, well, the guys who did not place top five.  Look at the LOW END of a competitive class.  BEFORE saying you do not fit in, see if you are potentially equal — or better — than the guys on the LOW END of the field.

To STARTY competing is VERY DIFFERENT than to START WINNING.  If you want to WIN a game, you need to know the BEST WAY TO PLAY.

Well, if you are busy prwacticing all the time, and never play, THEN HOW THE HECK ARE YOU GONNA KNOW HOW TO WIN.

That point bears repeating: HOW CAN YOU KNOW HOW TO WIN A GAME THAT YOU STUBORNLY REFUSE TO PLAY?

Can’t learn to win from the sidelines.  No matter how much “practice” you put in, the fact of the matter is that winning games is learned through PLAYING games.

Even if that game is a judged contest, like bodybuilding.

But as I mentioned earlier, being WILLING, and tehre fore, READY to compete has NOTHING to do with winning.  It has everything to do with a decisive change in your outlook on things.  You have to know WHY you should be willing in order to get that willingness in place.  You need answers to the question: why, if I am ALREADY having a blast with my bodybuilding, then bother to “jump in the game” of competitive bodybuilding — even as a low-level, beginning amateur?  Why compete?

A-hem . . .

• Competing will bring awareness to specific parts of the system that need DIRECT improvement.

• Competing “compresses” your timeline, making you take more focus to dot he work.

• Competing helps you asses yourself as compared to other players in your field, who hold similar dreams as yourself.  This helps you observe how OTHER PEOPLE did things right — and what to see what other people did WRONG in order that you might AVOID those things yourself.

• Competing brings a sense of community to an otherwise private endeavor.  Community can help us motivate when we’re losing steam, and likewise can pull us back when we’re in too close and obsessed.  Communtiy is a HUGE tool for climbing that mountain.

• Competing  creates a “check point” in your process.  It gives you a place to stop, evaluate your “current best” WITHOUT DISTRACTION so you know where you are at.

• Competing helps you set new, achievable short-term goals.  Because you can break up your work into smaller time periods — the time-spans between contests — you can set more SPECIFIC goals, and be more focused in achieving them one by one, instead of trying to achieve everything at onec.

• COMPETING TEACHES PATIENCE.

• Competing brings an element of fun to your game.  (Or more fun, if you’re already having ablast.)

There are tons of OTHER reasons as well.  But these are some main themes.  

Yet even still, I am betting a lot of you are still hung up on the whole “I am not ready” thing.  You talk about “readiness” as if it were some specific point in the future . . . Meanwhile, you look like you just stepped out of a supplement ad; all abs and mountainous pecs and broad shoulders . . .

And I bet you are very similar.  Here you are ASSUMING you are not ready to be a competitive athlete, and meanwhile you are probably — again from a coach’s perspective — maybe 3 to 6 months from “ready” to enter a BEGINNER, AMATEUR contest.

But you want to be stubborn and DOUBT you are ready to begin the process. You are CONVINCED.  Well, let me throw another curve ball at you . .

IF YOU HAVE NEVER DONE IT, THEN HOW CAN YOU BE CERTAIN YOU DO NOT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IN THE GAME?!  I am not talking about having what it takes to always WIN the game, but just talking about what it will take to PLAY THE GAME WELL?  How can you be SO sure you don’t have it when you have NEVER TRIED YOUR SKILLS?

Still stuck in practice . . . never getting in the game . . .

Not ready simply means you’re not willing to believe your ready.

But then I get the laundry list of GRAND EXCUSES . . .

“XN, I need to put on like 10, 15, 20 pounds.”
And how do you know?  Bodybuilding is about CONTROLLING A SHAPE, not EXPANDING A SIZE.  Once you learned the skills of the sport, you may find that you only need 5 pounds.  Or you may find you need 30, but that you can get by with 3 pounds a year for ten years and cointinually place well as an athlete.  In other words, this sport is NEVER assesed through poundages.  Some amount of magical weight you want to gain has NOTHING to do with readiness.

“XN, my legs are like twigs!  I can’t go up there like THIS.”
Really?  Do you know how to POSE yet?  I mean, OF COURSE we want to grow our legs (I am a little TOO zealous about it, maybe, but even I love my big wheels).  But the game of bodybuilding is played through PRESENTATION, not played through girth comparison.  OFTEN the smaller legged guy will beat the bigger legged guy because fo good posing and solid conditioning.  Big legs are NOT what makes a great bodybuilder.  Besides — start now to find out REALISTICALLY how deficit your legs may or may NOT actually be . . .

“XN, I am WAY too fat to compete.”
Umm, that is what diets were designed for.  When I suggest starting to compete, I do NOT mean TOMORROW.  I mean set up a plan.  Some guys are close to conditioned, and can enter their first contest in 8 to 10 weeks.  Other guys might take 3 to 5 moths.  Bottom line, though, if you don’t pick the contest date, you will STAY fat.

“XN, I love pigging out and crappy eating too much.”

Nine times out of ten, when a dude hits me with this it is NOT because he has some inordinate love of junk food.  It is usually a cover story for not KNOWING HOW TO MANAGE EATING.  I am not just talking about diet, but a lack of basic food management skills.  (There is another blog in this topic.)  If you KNEW how to eat in a way in which you were SATISFIED, maybe you would presume it’s that you have a dysfunctional love of junk food . . . in other words, let’s not play junior psychologists.  Let’s just figure out a plan for eating that works in your life — and which you ACTUALLY ENJOY for more than just the benefits.  That might take 4 or 5 months, but it is ALWAYS doable.

“XN, my life is WAY to busy to prep for a copntest.”
Oh, so you have done this before, then?  No?  THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE TOO BUSY?  Time management is not about the art of “getting rid of things.”  Time management is about the art of, well, MANAGING THINGS.  Most often, people find that it takes merely 2 to 4 weeks of a little added stress to incorporate and reorganize their lives to accomodate contest prep.  After that, it comes pretty easily, apart from the occasional random snag.  It is VERY RARE that I meet someone who has actually made such a chaotic mess of their life as to be unable to accomodate something that will make them happy.  If you think you have made such a mess of time that you have no room for somethign that will make you happy, well, there might be a bigger problem afoot . . .

“XN, I know how to basically train, and understand the diet stuff (although i need to improve it), and although I am WILLING to begin, I actually have NO IDEA where to begin that process.”
Hi, I’m XN.  A bodybuilding coach.

I will actually blog on a list of “things to look at” to get started later.  Thsi blog is just for you unwilling types.  You already-willing types — I haven’t forgotten ya!

The point of THIS blog (I actually have a POINT?  Wow.) is simple: being ready to compete is NOT some god given right, some moment of heavenly-bestowed perfection that occurs when you wake up one morning many years from now.  There are no numbers you need which will “qualify” you as ready.  There is no shape you need to mimic to be ready.  

All you need is the willingness to GET IN THE DAMN GAME.

So drop all this “I need to first do such-and-such” nonsense.  That’s just you stalling.  YOU ARE READY IF YOU ARE WILLING.

Get the willingness to begin, and you are off and running.

Or you can just go back to practicing.  Never playing.

Writing this blog feels like trying to poop out an entire library.

But I love it.

The problem is, sometimes I get a little constipated.  There are SEVERAL subjects that folks have asked me to hit on in Big Is Inside — AND I REALLY WANT TO HIT THEM!  But I just don;t have the time.  Now they are stuck in the — ahem — tube awaiting, um, er . . . "release" . . .

(Yeah — my stomach is a little turned by his whole analogy, too.)

Anyway I wanted to try something new.  I will be jamming my head into a toy winnebago and wearing a cape . . . oh wait . . . wrong to do list.

Sorry, let’s try that again.

I want to try something new.  I want to provide a quick list of the topics upcoming for Big is Inside, in hopes that you’ll check back from time to time.  

Some of these are already being drafted.  Some have even written, just haven’t been posted.  But most are inspired by — as always — you guys.  

So, check back often if any of these topics hits you:

• Another from the “Joining In The Chorus” series

• My first post about “diet” (don’t worry — almost NO SCIENCE, hydrogenated oils or added sugar — yet twice the crunh of normal diet blogs!)

• Editorial on “friends who don’t come to contests.”

• My spin on Steroid euphemisms.

• Editorial on what it “means” to be a “pro” — versus what it COULD mean

• More Physique Culture History

• Sexual sublimation in bodybuilding — basically, some chit chat on the whole sex thing.

• spell checking.  (that isn’t a topic, just something I will eventually TRY to do.)

• Some sage suggestions on “setting up contest plans”; basically an overview.

• How to GET STARTED in competing.

• Picking a contest

• Understanding leagues and their quirks

• Explanation of what bodybuilding coaching is (or at least OUGHT to be)

• Write up of the whole Team Bodybuilding project of my organization.

• how to “spot grow” (teardrop of the quad, forarms, calf, upper mid pec, left buttock, jaw muscles, etc.)

• Pleasure versus Joy.

• Ready for a contest versus willing/wanting to compete.

• review of the last contest I went to.

• punditry on independent leagues and promoters

Plus, the usual busting on pros, leagues, muscle goons, power bosses and other folks who probably don’t read Big Is Inside anyway.

Not to mention poking fun at you.

And of course, putting myself down at EVERY possible turn.  Man I am a dick.  (See?  Like THAT!)

Hopefully some of these topics ineterst you or might be useful.

Incidentally, if you have a topic, a bit of humor, a video or website, or some personage who you want me to put my spin on, just let me know.  If I got the time, and get my head out from being wedged in that Winnebago, then I might hit on your suggestion.

Thanks AS ALWAYS for stopping by.  You guys rock.  In fact, I feel relieved!  You guys are like a big bunch of diuretics!  

So, for now (and you just HAD to see THIS portion of the poo poo analogy coming) that’s enough of my B.S. . . .

Ever get the SAME answers to questions?  

Ever try to HELP people, but get half-ass input?  

The SAME responses.  Over and over.  Like people have been working together to put these together or something.  Like I am talking the SAME WORDS sometimes.

People ask me over and over for diet advice.  And I HATE offering to people advice arbitrartily.  It;s unfair, and usually makes a mess of things.  Hey if we’re gonna work on diet, well then let’s REALLY WORK, right?  None of this 8-second sound-bite crap, which watses MY time — and sets YOU up for failure.

What is one of the main reasons people are compelled to ask for advice?  They want their body to look AWESOME.  Just like you.  You hold in your mind even now a VERY SPECIFIC picture of what you want your physique to become.

A VERY SPECIFIC PICTURE.  

You know details and measurements and everything.  Heck — you prbably even know the shade of TAN you want!  You can practically TOUCH it the picture is so clear and PRECISE in your head.

And of course you want to GET THERE.  DEPERATELY.  So you begin asking people who have done solid work.  Or people like me — jokers with big mouths.  I’m usually towards the bottom of the list, sure, but eventually you come to me and ask for diet advice.  

And asking advice is a VERY IMPORTANT TOOL.  But a tool is only useful if it is used correctly.  I mean, you can use a hammer to build a house, or crack open a skull.

And all too often people use the tool of advice asking to absolutely pommel my poor cranium until it practically splits like a cantaloupe.

I mean, it is sensible to ask "What can I do?"   I actually LOVE that . . .

But it’s the WAY people ask . . . that’s where the trouble and skull bashing often begins . . .

So, let me try to help you USE the tool of requesting advice a LITTLE better.  

In order for me or anyone like me (god FORBID anyone is actually LIKE me, right?) to give you USEFUL advice, I (or we) need to first know WHERE YOU ARE AT in the grand scheme of things.  

You want output?

Well, I need input to give output.  

So, when stopped and asked for advice I will typically, logically ask you somethign like: "So what is your eating like right now?"

Then, BOOM — the trigger is pulled.  The switch is flipped.  The machine begins.  My poor melon gets whacked.

Yes, at the dropping of my innocent question, make way, ladies and gents — here comes the PARADE OF GENERIC ANSWERS!

I swear I get these generic answers ninety-nine out of one-hundred times.  Answers phrased as descriptions but are not really all that descriptive.  Answers to my question that leave me MORE in the dark than if the conversation never occurred at all.

That is what this blog is about.  Those infamous, pre-canned responses.

I ask, in plain english: "So tell me what your diet is like."

And what I MOST often get is:

> "It’s pretty clean right now."
Like with soap?  You disinfect your chicken?  What the?

> "I don’t eat bread or pasta."
Oh THAT’S useful.  Now that we have cleared TWO items from the OTHER list of 137,256,004 food options, this should move along MUCH quicker.

> "My breakfast consists of…"
Wait a second — how did you know I had a voice recorder on, and was therefore capable of MEMORIZING YOUR DIET AS YOU VERBALLY DICTATE IT TO ME.

> "It’s pretty good."
Do you mean morally?

> "It’s all wrong."
Really.  So you’re eating tar and iron shavings?  I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS RIGHT?  If you don’t know what’s correct how can you know that your diet is INCORRECT?!  And if you DO already know what’s correct, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU INTERRUPTING MY DELT WORKOUT?

> "I eat a lot of chicken."
In one sitting?  And to what are you comparing "a lot"?  The national average?  A wolf?  The size of an "average" chicken?  

> "I drink a lot of water."
Ah yes — the elixer of ALL LIFE.  Funny, I presumed you were the one human being you didn’t drink ANY water.  Thanks for clearing THAT one up.

> "Sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, chicken, and tuna."
So, then, safe to say everything in the "shades of brown" category?

> "I am pretty strict."
So what does TAHT mean?!  You makes sure your salad is home by 10:30, and can’t date strange boys?

> "Not good."
Again with the morals.  What is this — the evangelical diet program?

> "Well I am more curious to have you tell me yours."
Oh right, no problem.  Putting together that little compendium would only be, what, maybe three, four hundred pages, and were it all ready made to go I could publish it and become very wealthy.  But naw — forget all that.  Let me instead just spew it out to you while standing here next to the cable crossover.  

> "I’m not very happy with it."
Did you want nutrition, or therapy?

> "What do you mean?"
Umm, I got to go now, and find a board to repetitively whack myself in the skull.

And there’s that skull crushing again.  Funny how a simple tool for gaining knowledge can be SO dangerous!

Now, please keep in mind that in spite of the repetitive head trauma I receive, I DO still offer LOTS of suggestions to people who ask — and yes for free.  I DO try my HARDEST to be supportive and encouraging — and of course PATIENT.  

But when I’m hurled against such a solid wall of vaguery, I really need a helmet.  My regular readers know my head ain’t all that stable as it is!

So, people, in the name of all that’s sensible and good, PLEASE help me — help US — help you!

A) DO NOT PRESUME IT WILL BE A SHORT CONVERSATION.  In other words, ask us FIRST if we have any time available, then SECOND ask your diet question.

B) HAVE YOUR DATA PREPARED!  Be able to offer SPECIFIC data about YOUR OWN diet — times, numbers, quantities, EVERYTHING.  Don’t make US go digging for YOUR data!  If you’ve been putting it into your own mouth you must know SOMETHING about it . . .

C) ACCEPT THAT IT WILL BE MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOU AT FIRST IMAGINED.  Help us clear away the clutter from early on by NOT presuming it will be quick, it can be done "on the fly", or that a two minute tidbit of advice will make it all work out.

Now, I only offer these suggestions to help you.  

Actually, I also offer this to help prevent any further skull bashing.  But MAINLY to help you.

And I am sure it must be a little useful for you.  Right?  Doesn’t it?  I mean, let me ask you:

"Is this a useful tip for getting diet advice?"

No wait — on second thought, DON’T answer that . . . I want to keep my skull in tact . . .

I have never been the type to get all impressed with celebrities.  I am not taken to bursts of "fandom" when a big name enters the room.  When a famous so-and-so appears on the scene I never understood why people get all goo-goo-ga-ga, tongue-tied, two-left-feet, and other hyphenated-nervous-behaviors.  It’s just not me.  

I guess it’s because I don’t pick my heroes from the "pre-fabricated herd."  I don’t automatically look for the most VISIBLE example of accomplishment as my personal role model for success.  Visibility can mean great success, sure.  But more often than not it just means that the visible person is made into a celebrity merely because they are, well, the LOUDEST about their accomplishments.  Not always that they are the best — nor worth "following" in their footsteps.

So I don’t get the mooney-faced awe i see among my fellow bodybuilders when it comes to big names.  Many of these big names are rightfully accredited.  But until I know a person personally, I find it a little porecarious to just PRESUME they are "hero worthy."

For example, I have had the fortune to play host to several bodybuilding IFBB pros over the years.  Nothing glamorous — usually just helping coordinate an event or entertaining during "the gaps" between celebrity obligations.  Some i get along with, others I find atrocious.  After one such afternoon, I must have had a look of utter disgust on my face.  Several people were confused.  

"That dude just spent the afternoon with Mr. Big Huge Supersrtar Body builder Dude!  He should be ECSTATIC."

In response, a close friend of mine quipped:

"Yeah, that’s probably ture for most of us.  But XN doesn’t have much patience for the royalty."  

Which is true.  Human beings are human beings in my eyes.  I do not assess a person’s quality based on their popular accomplishments.  I certainly don’t value a person based on their popular reputations.  No, for me I take each person as they come.  When I meet any sort of celebrity, I keep in mind that there is a person BEYOND the reputation . . . and THAT is the person whom I am curious to meet.  Not the "public face".  Heck — I can READ about the public face.

So then, who are my heroes in bodybuilding?  Who do I look to for my example of what a consumate "bodybuilding athlete" is all about?  

Good question.

I mean, I myeslf have accomplished a few things here and there (of course I have a LOT more to go).  So it’s a pretty fair assumption that i have had SOME role models over the years, right?  

Well, it ain’t the superstars.  I can’t think of too many big names who I would model my bodybuilding journey after.  

Now, that’s not to say I don’t appreciate SOME big names for SOME things.  Sure I do.  For example, I always got a kick out of how Mike Matarrazzo has a sense of humor about his image — he doesn’t take his image TOO seriously.  This one aspect I respect, and give him credit for.  Likewise, I always appreciated the grinning, goofy, self-effacing humility of Franco Columbo.  it was refreshing to see a humble man who has accomplished similar goals as his much more self-masturbatory peers.  I can even give a nod to Frank McGrath — NOT for his bodybuilding (I know NOTHING about who he REALLY is as a person).  But I do appreciate how he is dedicated to the MYTHOLOGY of our sport, literally putting hsi own personality on a second tier in the media, and instead portraying a idealized "character" of bodybuilding’s mythology.  Although much of his public work has it’s roots in consumerist, mass-marketing slant (which I typically find ugly), I can appreciate his willingness to portray an ideal over his need to self-promote.

But these are just ELEMENTS.  I am not taken to swooning and fawining over these — or other — bodybuilding personalities, even if i can find appreciation in elements of their work.

So, then, who is left for heroes?

Who can I say I look to in modeling my OWN work?

Well, here is a PARTIAL list of SOME of those bodybuilders who have made "XN’S PERSONAL PANTHEON".

• JOHN McCARTHY

• DAROLD HUBBARD

• NATE FILIPIAK

• JAMIE BARRETT

• MIKE DiSANO

Good luck in FINDING anything about these guys.

Yes, they are down here.  With us.  In the trenches.  But each of these men has shown me example of what bodybuilding greatness can be about.  I would NOT say I would model MY LIFE after any of them.  We’re ALL flawed, and i wouldn’t swap my flaws for anyone else’s.  But as far as their “take” on the sport, what i have watched it “do” in their lives, how they “represent” the sport, and their personal PASSION, well, they all blow me away.

There are others.  (I am sure I will get to them in future blogs).  But these are a few that start the list.  (I KNOW I will get some half-joking emails from buddies and contemporaries who feel snubbed that they’re not on the list.  DON’T WORRY GUYS!  I WILL GET AROUND TO YOU!)

These guys were (are) just “normal folks” who engaged with the sport in a BIG way.  TThe sport motivated great movement and pwoer in their personal lives — helping them overcome obstacles, motivating them to keep going, and even teaching them invaluable wisdom about their world.  

Bodybuilding changed thge very FIBER of their personalities, yet THEY NEVER GOT LOST IN THE SPORT.  This is, without question, of the key criteria for my personal pantheon of bodybuilding heroes.  A hero in bodybuilding (among MANY other things) is someone who can ALWAYS RELOCATE HIMSELF  and RECONNECT WITH THOSE WHOM HE LOVES at ANY POINT in their process — not merely “after the contest.”  Putting aside the normal personal errors people make in judgement (I know ALL of them to have occasionally had some pretty big “woops moments”), they all nonetheless always had the uncanny knack for keeping their life and their sport well integrated.  

That is probably another aspect of what makes someone heroic in my eyes: how we’ll they INTEGRATE the sport.  All these men put bodybuilding as a CLEAR SECOND in their list of priorities.  Yet, at the same time, they all manage to utilize bodybuilding to help maintain their #1 priorities.  In other words, without bodybuilding, they would not be as good, as passionate or even as attentive to that which they loved.  They can’t live on bodybuilding alone, but they can definitely not go as far without it.  This CAREFUL, METICULOUS balance — to stay DEEPLY INTIMATE without getting OVER-IMMERSED — is truly heroic.

And they all keep going.  Regardless of how they are buffeted, they all JUST KEEP GOING FORWARD.  They do not get daunted — they merely CHANGE.  And here is another remarkably heroic quality: their ability to ADAPT.  None of them gets hung up on finding “one best method.”  None of them is blind-sided by “competitive politics.”  “Not a one of them worries too profoundly on “the absolute science.”  Instead, as adversity appears THEY ADAPT; without suffering, without whining, and with FULL INTENTION.  They are all of them VERY DIFFERENT now than when they first came into the sport.  NONE of them have just repeated the same trick over and over.  What they do NOW in (and WITH) the sport is very different than when they set out.  And this amazing, almost casual ability to adapt and grow is HUGE in my eyes.

John McCarthy first taught me the importance of loyalty and that you need a team in the sport — but moreso, you need a FAMILY if you expect to excel.  And he was just a BIG, shredded freak.

Darold Hubbard showed an example of how bodybuilding should always and ONLY ever be a joy.  If EVER it is work, then you are in too close.  He also showed me that it’s okay to “play the star” from time to time, so long as you keep your dignity and do not confuse “beefcake” with “cheesecake.”

Nate Filipiak showed (and continues to show) how FUN IS VITAL FOR SUCCESS.  Bigness comes from goofing around in the gym.  Cuts come from camping it up in the kitchen.  Trophies come from horsing around on stage.  PLAY PLAY PLAY.  NEVER let it become work.  If it ain’t play, go home.

Jamie Barrett showed me that dreaming is perhaps the most important thing.  If you fail, make mistakes, and royally blow it on occasion, let the reason be big dreams, not big fears.  Believe your own way, even if it seems like a complete disaster in the eyes of those around you.  So long as you are led by your dreams, you will perservere your own blunders.

Mike DiSano shows me how to keep it my own game.  Bodybuilding is here FOR HIM.  It’s here FOR YOU, FOR ME, for EACH OF US.  It is OUR GAME — play NO ONE ELSE’S.  It moves at OUR PACE, not vice versa.  An easy, relaxed regard is what builds freakish proportion, and an acceptance — without prejudice — of our own flaws is what will make us excel.  To try to conquer flaws is pointless.  We MUST embrace them, and use them to build NEW SUCCESSES.  We must NEVER mark our success by how far we are from our flaws, but rather by how much we knew our flaws as we achived more, and how much we did not let our flaws slow us.

So, yes, my heroes are down here in the mud and muck with me.  They are not the shiney, glamorous icons spewed forth across glossy pages and countless web forums.  I DON’T KNOW THOSE GUYS!

Why would I admire and model myself after COMPLETE STRANGERS?  I can appreciate little aspects of their work — but that’s because I ONLY KNOW LITTLE ASPECTS OF THEIR WORK.  Nothing more.  I do not take strangers as my heroes.

The "big names" do not make the cut into my personal pantheon.

Celebrity doesn’t, by itself, impress me.

Like my buddy said about me: I have little patience with "the royalty."

"It’s not who wins, it’s who they remember."
                                      - XN

I always hear bodybuilders whining at contests.  These big, bad bruisers turn into crybaby Sallies because they hate being required to do a posing routine.

"Why do they even HAVE it?" they lament.  "It’s not judged — so why BOTHER?’

Sadly, these days even many of those bodybuilders who claim the title of "pro" could not describe to you just where the night routine actually came from.  Or how it emerged in the sport for that matter.  They are even less likely to offer substantial reason as to why it is now no longer essential or relevant to the judging.

Early in the contemporary sport (the contemporary period being from 1850 through the present, while the contemporary sport draws origins as early as the 1910’s and 20’s) the format was stiull developing.  Early on, the concept was to have the competitors present their physiques in a manner akin to what we see in gymnastics.  More descriptively, each athlete would be required to know the skills of physique presentation, and know the mandatory poses.  Likewise, each athlete would have to independently present their physique, similarly to how divers, ice skaters or gymnasts present their sklills today — without cues.  The overlap of the two processes no doubt stems from the heritage gymnastics & acrobatics shared with bodybuilding in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s, made popular along Venice Beach.  (Check out my other blog on this topic: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/The_Real_XN/2007/03/21/but-you-cant-look-cool-in-gymnast-leggings-o
n-the-beach/ )

At any rate, in addition to a line up, athletes had to not only present their physique, but also present their ability to DISPLAY their physique. So, in addition to a group line up, each competitor was responsible for coming out individually and presenting the mandatory poses.

Like gymnastics, this "individual routine" originally consisted of the mandatories presented in any order the athlete chose, and could also incorporate additional poses as the bodybuilder saw fit. The (now nearly lost) skill of the transition was also assessed in this routine.

Eventually, this was seen as the far more entertaining portion of the contest. Soon, music was played in the background to fill up the blank silences. The more savvy bodybuilders would syncronize their posing to the music. Soon, the athletes would also begin requesting music to which they had pre-choreographed their mandatories. And — voila! — the routine was born.

Soon, the routines were presented seperate from the pre-judging. Yet, the routines were STILL COMPONENT TO THE FINAL SCORE. (Hence why the line-up portion got the nickname "PRE-JUDGING" — a nickname that still sticks around today, even though thwere is no "other" judging. originally the routine was considered the that secondary aspect, but the term "pre-judging" has not yet been dropped.)

Remember, authentic bodybuilding is NOT about the singular aspect of physique quality, but rather about how a physique’s quality is presented across basic criteria. Thus, the skill and physique awareness requires to properly execute the routine became an essential skill for the athletes, demanding more flexibility, agility and control of the musculature than is required by mere static execution of mandatory poses.

Yet slowly, since the routines became more and more seen as a money-maker and less as an uathentic part of the sport, the very important skills these routines embodied were slowly forgotten, and reserved as merely "playful tricks." One by one contests begane weighing their score less and less, eventually dropping the score all togather.

Ironically, this has caused a glut of lousy presentation in the sport today. As the emphasis has slolwy swung around to merely the physique’s conditioning, the SPORT of physique PRESENTATION has been sorely reduced to a bland, boring and endeavor that requires more memorization than physical skill.

When I coach athletes, I remind them of this history, and also remind them of one simple philosphy of mine:

"BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP IS NOT ABOUT WHO WINS, IT’S ABOUT WHO THEY REMEMBER."

If you think of ANY sport, so often the hero’s are not necessarily the #1 guys. Instead, the heroes in sport are often those who best exemplify the game. And bodybuilding is no different.

Countless times I have seen athletes approached with gratitude and thanks from a spectator for the fact that the athlete chose to present in a way that made sense to the spectator. I have even seen people enter the sport merely based on how inspried they had been by an athlete’s presentation skills.

Just because the routine is currently NOT the emphasis, PLEASE do not neglect it’s importance to your program.

Although the WINNER these days is made or broken by the pre-judging, the heroes are seen and found via their skills in presentation.

Do not take your routine flippantly.

Be a stand out, regardless of placing.

Show them that you know the SPORT, not just the sport PREP!

It was INEVITABLE that eventually I would end up writing a SEQUEL to one of my own blogs . . .

So, here it is.  A follow up to the whole "natty" blog I posted a few months back.  

But before you here me go off again, you might want to brush up on the ORIGINAL blog post:

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/The_Real_XN/2007/03/21/the-sport-of-natty-bobing-or-when-did-i-beco
me-natty/

(Go read that post befoe continuing, or this one won’t make ANY sense!)

Well, recently, someone had speculated about the origins of the term.  They had this to tell me:

"[The term "natty"] comes partially from the widespread usage of the word "natty" for peanut butter…"

Okay . . . wait a sec — WHAT?!

NOW THIS IS NEWS.

So, to summarize what I am being told:

Apparently there was some random social consciousness held at some point.  A meeting of the minds, as it were, focused on bringing  — a-hem — PEANUT BUTTER into the realm of uber-cool, suburban-white-boy, post-marketing neo-gangsta-rap lingo!

AND THEN THIS NEW TERM SOMEHOW BECAME CROSS-POLINATED WITH THOSE SKIPPY-LOVIN’ BODYBUILDERS?!

Well, this REALLY IS crucial news for a "regular guy" like me to learn.

See, I had NO IDEA that SUCH an image deterioration problem was occuring among us bodybuilders!  After all, aren’t we usually known to be the epitomies of self-security and confidence?  And yet, in spite of this image, here we are thrown into fits of insecurity by the mere monikers for sandwich spreads!

Wow, I must look REALLY out of it.

And this explains a LOT about how people react to me.  I mean, Ican only imagine how much my popularity has been negatively affected because I dare to use the full word — gasp! - "MAYONNAISE"!

Meanwhile, I am NOT sure which part is MORE disturbing:

The fact that there were actually guys who felt their coolness was LESSENED based on what they called peanut butter . . .

OR

The implication that I may now be classified under the same heirarchy which includes "creamy" and "chunky".  (Or are the terms now reduced simply to "cree" and "n-kay"?!)

Sigh . . . and they wonder why I so often fear the future . . .

Ever want to find out what’s on the mind of these NPC judges?

Most of the time it’s a pretty obvious guess.  But recently, while coaching a Team of competitors at a local NPC event, I had the good luck to pick the brain (what there was of a brain anyway) of the head judge.  

Of course, I didn’t get my chance until the END of the contest.  Not until I took the trip — the WHOLE trip — offered up by this one, oddball show clunked down in Derry, New Hampshire.  It was rough waters as usual.  (But not surprisingly so, as such seas is typical of every other NPC event I have attended…)

But, I got on the boat all the same.  It was the way all these showboats for the NPC are: big and sprawling events, and as it so often is, grossly under-attended.  I really didn’t want to GO on this cruise . . . I was only there to make sure a few of the passengers makwe it to their destinations safely . . .  call it fatal curiosity, but even though I HATE getting on board with these things, I just can’t help myself: I ALWAYS WANT TO SEE WHERE THE FLOATING SUPER VESSELS OF THE NPC FLEET ARE HEADING.

I hung back from the fanfare and confetti as we leave the dock; the morning meeting and check-ins and weigh-ins,etc.  Then we headed out at full tilt from our moorings; soon no real land is in sight, just a bunch of bodybuilders floating along at the fate of the mighty ocean.

Eventually, I look down at the side of this ship and FREAK OUT:

"U.S.S. TITANIC."

Oh crap.  We’re ALL sunk.

This particular voyage was the recent NPC New Hampshire, aka, the "MaggieFit" show.  (I nearly HAD a MaggieFit after what I learned.)

After the ship had already sank, and after so many worthwhile athletes had been taken under by that freezing ocean called bodybuiding competition a few of us pulled aside the head judge.  The boat had sank, the captain had gone down with the ship . . . but the head judge?  Yeah — he’s more like the NAVIGATOR.  In other words, it’s the head judge who should have spotted that damn iceburg while it was still miles away!

How could we RESIST not picking his brain.  (What there was of a brain, anyway.)

In the end, I got an impromptu interview with this guy.  He claimed to have been a judge for over 15 years, and is more or less the head judge for all the New England area shows.  I have seen him judge shows MANY times, and have been frustrated by his judging MANY times.

But now I am REALLY coloring this guy prior to revealing what went down.  SO, without further adieu, here is a sampling of what I asked, and the responses I got.

He mentioned that every athlete HE’S ever judged NEEDS to come back bigger.  EVERY YEAR, bigger.  In his OWN words: "To be a success, ALL of you guys –" (yes he was telling us DIRECTLY, now) "– must come back at least 20 to 30 pounds HEAVIER every year."

TWENTY TO THIRTY POUNDS HEAVIER.

EVERY YEAR.

And cut.

"Even the Bantam guy?"

"ESPECIALLY the bantam guy," he told us.  Then in  SHOCKINGLY unprofessional move he added: "After all, who wants to see BANTAMWEIGHTS?  I mean, who wants to be a bantam — or even a lightweight — for the rest of their life."

So, now, this guy is talking to seven competitive bodybuyilders.  SEVEN.  And chucks out there the most disparaging comment he possibly could. Not only is this HORRENDOUSLY bad marketing, it is just unprofessional.  Here hje is, carelessly running the risk of LOSING athletes from the sport . . . and they wonder why ticket sales continue to decline . . .

Anyway, after we collected ourselves from the initial blow of this I added, sarcastically:

"Yes, I see.  Hopefully we can eliminate that damn undesirable bantam weight problem once and for all.  It’s so frustrating how those little guys just ruin it for everyone."

He laughed.  Nearly in agreement.  But now the genie was out of the bottle.   We smelled an agenda.  So I asked him — point blank:

"Do you ncessarily see steroids as inseperable from the sport of bodybuilding?  As a judge, do you think the two MUST be linked?"

His answer?  Although not a direct, flat "yes," was clear nonetheless:

"I think that in order to ‘make it’ a bodybuilder has to be willing to do whatever it takes.  And he needs to be wiling to do what the other guy is doing, only better and more intensely."

So, yes, he HONESTLY means 20 to 30 pounds.  No bantams.

"After all," he says, spitting out one of the most rickety myths on bodybuilding.  "That’s what the crowds want to see.  People want to pay their ticket and see a freak show.  So that is how we judge."

So I chase him:

"So, are you saying that judges just obey what the ticket holder tell you to do?"

"No," he tells me. "I want to see big freaks too.  And that is the standard being upheld by all the judges in the NPC."

"So — wait a sec," I ask him.  "So who is REALLY controlling this agenda?  Is it that the audiences want to see freaks, and you guys are obeying in order to turn a buck, and just MAKING it seem like a judged event?  Or is it that you judges truly ARE in control of the outcome, and the reason we keep seeing freaks has NOTHING TO DO with the audience?  Is the audience just your ‘cover story’ for pushing your steroid agenda?"

His answer was fuzzy.  But not a denial:

"Guys need to come back 20 to 30 pounds heavier every year to advance."  He repeated.

Then went ON and ON about how this is the way it is, and this is how they judge . . . and more or less ANY head judge in the NPC sees it this way . . .

Which does NOT deny the fact that there is an agenda here.

Meanwhie, he also threw out some statistics that were tedious and WAY incorrect.  For example, how Jay Cutler is 6′ tall and weighed 305 pounds the week before at the NPC New Englands.  (Umm, I personally WORKED alongside Mr. Cutler at that contest . . . and although he may be not a petite flower, he sure wasn’t no 6′, 300 pounder that day!)

After a while of his pablum I got impatient and asked him plainly:

"Look — have you EVER been INDEPENDANTLY CERTIFIED?  Have you ever been INDEPENDENTLY trained, educated and peer reviewed by an organization SEPERATE from the NPC?"

No.  He was trained by the NPC.  (This company hires and trains it’s own judges.  And there’s no agenda?  Whose interests would the judges serve first?  The athletes?  Or the NPC who trained and hired them?)

But I give him a fai shot at redemption . . . maybe he knows something he rest of us don’t:

"Okay, you’ve been at this over 15 years," I reiterate back to him.  "Now, in that WHOLE time has anyone EVER shown you a BOOK OF STANDARDS for judging/  HAve you ever seen or come across ANY document that is universally recognized?  A peer-revoewed, basic rules and procedures for the sport you are supposedly judging?  In short; DO WE EVEN HAVE A RULE BOOK TO CHECK A JUDGE’S DECISION?!"

He said he had never seen one.  He was taught the criteria for the NPC.

"But even THOSE criteria have huge vague points," I said.  "Not to mention they are a little elusive to find in totality.  Likewise, the NPC never seems to provide any academic background or research for their criteria.  They just toss them outt here as arbtirary and vaguely-formed law . . . IF YOU CAN EVEN FIND THEM.  So, again, where’s the rule book?"

He just smiled and smugly said:

"There is none.  But I CAN tell you this . . ."

We know, we know.

Come back 20 to 30 pounds heavier next year.

And cut.

And no bantamweights.

He closed the conversation informing us to contact a gentleman who could "guarantee" that we put that kind of weight on in a year — or more.  

Yes, our head judge was playing connection to the dealer.  He was a glorified mule to the kingpin.

Pathetic.

No wonder the ship had sank.

No one could figure out the best way to steer the damn thing.

Maybe this bodybuilding thing wouldn’t be sinking so fast if we LOST 20 to 30 pounds per year for a change . . .

Bon voyage.

Dear NPC/IFBB,

It has become a point of consternation among many athletes that bodybuilding is held down under a "glass ceiling" in relation to other recognized sports.  We are not seen as "legitimate" in every sense of the word.  Much of this has centered on the controversy of the excessive and profound use of drugging in the NPC and IFBB.

One of the biggest problems has been that there has been no way to check for drugs, and yet still attain the athletes whom you deem "marketable.  We understand and are compassionate to the fact that you are businesses, and businesses MUST first and foremost maintain a financial bottom line.  You have been very generous in showing that this bottom line is based on the men whose drug use is excessive.  Therefore, to check for drugs seems to be cutting into your very survival.  Quite a problem.

So how can we move past this glass ceiling, and gain legitimacy when the current state of drug testing would cut off the source of funding?

Well, I think I have your solution.  I have found a way to check for durgs in EVERY PRO ATHLETE, and yet STILL ENSURE THAT THEY CAN COMPETE.

The procedure is simple.  First, gather all competitors for a contest in any private area.  You will need an administrator and a tabulatory.

Now you can begin checking EVERY athlete for drug use.  The procedure follows:

ADMINISTRATOR: "Hey buddy, you use drugs?"

COMPETITOR #1: "Yeah."

ADMINISTRATOR: "Good.  This guy checks out."  

[move to next competitor]

ADMINISTRATOR: "Hey buddy, you use drugs?"

COMPETITOR #2: "Yup."

ADMINISTRATOR: "Good.  This guy checks out."  

And so on down through every athlete.

With THIS new method you can at last publicly show those nay-sayers that, yes indeed, EVERY athlete is authentically checked for drug use in the NPC or IFBB!  Let them try to dispute THIS!  There’ll be no ignoring bodybuilding’s brilliance NOW!

At last we can be free of the controversy and prove without a doubt that all our athletes are indeed checked for drugs! Feel free to contact me, as I am available to conduct paid seminars on conducting this innovative new test.

I know this new test is up to the same stringent standard you have heretofore been diligently trying to uphold.  I am excited that we can at last publicly acknowledge the legitimacy that every athelte checks out for drug use.  I look forward to the new era of prosperity this will undoubtedly bring.

Sincerely,
-XN

"Things overheard at various bodybuilding contests over the years." = "What most often is really being said."

Now, let the euphemisms begin . . .

"I figured I’d concentrate on the light-heavyweights this year." = "I still don’t train my legs."

"I have one dude helping me who really knows his shit." = "I finally got a dealer who is SERIOUSLY hooked up."

"I compete for me, and for no one else." = "Still trying to hit that elusive first place . . . "

"The only hard part was the diet." = "I’m secretly a total alcoholic but want to blame the lack of calories."

"I think some of these women are a little too "muscular" to be figure competitors." = "I thought all I had to do was look like f**k-bait to win first place.  DAMN IT!"

"I’m NPC all the way from now on." = "I used to compete and even place well in the so-called "natural" contests, but now I have switched to using steroids."

"Money’s tight this season." = "I can’t afford the cycle I want to do."

"I injured myself, so have to wait to compete again." = "I psyched myself out too much and then sank into a crazy, suicidal depression after my last contest."

"I injured myself, so have to wait to compete again." (runner-up version) = "I JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST CYCLE OF GROWTH!  HOORAY!  Now leave me alone."

"I figured I’d take a year or two to bulk up some more, then cut down." = "I have no CLUE how to manage a diet."

"I hate having to a do a routine at the evening show." = "I’m a frustrated powerlifter too weak and whiney to compete in the sport where I belong."

"Good luck, and don’t go broke." = "Hey buddy, don’t blow all your money on gear while obsessively (and pathetically) trying to become the next Mr. O."

"You must be psyched [for how well you placed]." = "You’re a dirt-bag who seriously has nothing else going for you.  Enjoy your plastic trophy."

"The weigh-in scale is off." = "I perpetually lie about my TRUE weight."

"It’s like Jay says in his book . . . " = "I’d rather be watching pro wrestling and drinking beer. . . "

"I’m gonna start concentrating on ultimate fighting after this." = "My contest prep was designed by a one-armed, blind marmot in a coma."

"How do you like the sequin design on my suit?" = "I am DESPERATE to have men drool over my tits because I have NO CLUE what true love is all about."

"I can’t WAIT to eat a whole box of Oreos after this." (women’s version) = "Hi!  I’m a closet bulimic!"

"I can’t WAIT to eat a whole pizza after this." (men’s version) = "Hi!  I’ve never eaten a whole pizza in my life!"

"My boyfriend got me into competing." = "I just KNOW that violent, abusive bastard is also cheating on me, but I am too self-loathing to dump him but too weak to set him straight, so instead I am pathetically deteriorating my sense of pride by trying to be somehow become MORE appealing to him . . . "

"I think my shape came in awesome." = "I was shocked to learn I weighed into the bantamweight class."

"hey wait a sec – didn’t I see you compete in the [insert name of any natural contest] a couple weeks ago?" = "You lying, douche-bag piece of shit."

"This isn’t really my show." = "I have all the intelligence of that one-armed, blind marmot in a coma who put that other guy’s program together."

"All I think about all day and all night is bodybuilding." = "I never quite made it out of the closet."

"This is my off season." = "I bought my first kit that includes groth."

"I think my shape is WAY better for figure than bodybuilding." = "My abusive, controlling boyfriend just shucked out the $4,000 to get me a new boob job."

"My trainer told me to…" = "Shine a bright light in my eyes and I will go into paralysis like a racoon crossing a street at night."

"That guy who came in first is a tool." (non-steroid version) = "That guy has bigger gyno tits than Pamela Anderson."

"That guy who came in first is a tool." (steroid version) = "I’ve never felt so strangely sexually attracted to a man before."

"EVERY CANDIDATE will be drug tested today." = "People have been slipping by our testing for years."

"That guy over there has sick proportions." = "I wish my arms didn’t look so damn small."

"His posing is WICKED funny." = "He looks like he’s having a seizure."

"His posing is a little stiff." = "He looks like a stick figure out there."

"His posing is very . . . ARTISTIC." = "I think that dude might be gay."

"That guy’s unstoppable." = "That guy is this league’s latest darling poster-boy."

"Wow, look at her WALK!" = "I know that there is technically no such thing as ASKING to be raped, but . . . "

"I needed to take a break for a few years before getting back into it." = "My wife/husband divorced me HARD."

"I do it mainly to look good." = "Hi.  I’m a chronic masturbator."

"I only jumped in because my buddies told me I should." = "Usually you find me cracked out and rolling my tits off at 4:00am in some Long Island Guido style nightclub, then stumbling home smelling like bad cologne and a bathroom floor."

"Figure girls." (versus "Figure women.") = "All women secretly scare me."

"How’d I look out there?" = "Look at my cool new contest-day haircut I got!"

"I swear they only scored me poorly because I have tattoos." = "This tribal-design, meaningless, peer-pressure piece of crap is going to look like shit in about 5 years, but I just can’t bring myself to admit that I’m a total tool."

"Maybe I screwed up my water." = "Maybe i am just too pussy to admit I’m a fat ass block tard who can’t run a diet to save my life."

"I’m doing this for my son/daughter." = "I’m that pinhead who got his girlfriend pregnant three years ago, but still haven’t discovered the joy of fatherhood."

"The judges are blind." = "I am the only TRULY natural guy in the line up.  Too bad I’m a prick with a shitty attitude."

"Make sure you put color everywhere." = "Secretly, my favorite part of competition is having another man rub my body all over.

"I’m here to win." = "All my life people have never really, well, LIKED me, let alone LOVED . . . "

"I need to bring up my calves." = "I train arms twice per week."

"How was my lat spread?" = "Just don’t talk about my legs.  I’m top heavy."

"I can’t wait for this to be over." = "I can’t wait for this to be over."

"This was awesome." = "This was awesome."

"Anyone will tell you I’m a down-to-earth guy/gal." = "If I had to actually TELL you that I am a down to earth guy/gal, then it probably ain’t true."

"What did he/she mean when they said . . . ?" = "I wish we could all just TALK to one another.  Can’t we just pose with our bodies instead of always posing with our words?"