Big Is Inside

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.

"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!

Recenetly, I wasted a LOT of work time responding to a post in the forums.  I did so much work on it, that I thought I would repost it here.  (Might as well get double the bang for my buck, right?)

It was originally in response to a post by a guy who’s handle is "/\/\icheal".  

He wrote:

"As you may have seen, ancient greeks (at least their statues) had thick waists AND 6 pack abs. How is that possible? If they had 6 packs, that means they had low bodyfat. And I thought the lower body fat you have, the smaller your waist becomes. So is there any other way to make your waist smaller besides losing fat?"

Now anyone who has followed my blog (god bless you if you have — and here’s hoping you find therapy now!), you know that this sort of topic is WAY up my alley.

I will most likely write more on diofferent aspects of this stuff in the future.  But for now, here is what I decided to extrapolate upon.  It was a LONG forum post – hence it’s graduation into a Big Is Inside blog post.

In short: interesting topic.

Now, first off, /\/\icheal, ignore the folks who dissed it.  Yes, at first it seems silly, but in fact there is a lot of cool content when you look at this topic.

A lot of people [in the forum] touched on responses already, so forgive me if I repeat a few things already mentioned in other posts.  

The first thing I have to say is how frustrating it is that so many people found this post frivolous.  It’s evidence of how today’s bodybuilders are so very disconnected with what brought them here.  

It is amazing to me how many people say they are avid fans or followers of bodybuilding, yet know so little of what makes up this sport.  Everyone is so focused on the science of bodybuilding that people forget that a solid half of the sport is based in the humanities.  People know so little of the humanities and so much of the sciences, that they are walking around half-informed, yet often claiming they have a solid grasp on thsi sport.  

Quite frankly, it would be like saying knowing how to build a house makes you an architect, or that the simple ability to measure out a football field makes you ready for the gridiron.  Bodybuilding is a truly rounded pursuit – with one part based in the sciences and one part in the humanities.  And a question which hearkens back 2,500 years is just as valid as the latest HST training split.

All to say that your question, /\/\icheal, is VERY relevant indeed, and not hardly frivolous.

You nailed it on the head when you looked at the statues and asked your self a question about waist size.  The aesthetics we still use today are, indeed, very much related to those ancient proportions – more directly than most guys want to think.  Whenever I ask a dude how old he thinks this sport is, I get answers like 30 years, 50 years, 100 years, and sometimes a clever dude might say 150 years.  In reality, there is CLEAR artifactual evidence to prove that bodybuilding was very much alive and kicking even way back then.

Our sport is thousands of years old.

As such, many concepts about the male and female physiques take cues from proportions realized in ancient times.  Yet, many dudes don’t realize this; it’s as if the contemporary bodybuilding aesthetic was something brand new in history.  As if it was thought up in the past 50 years or so.

Everyone knows of the Olympic Games in ancient times.  Yet most people do not realize that, among the games, was often held a final contest.  All the winners from the various sports were lined up, and posed, and judged, and that athlete who had the most superior physique was announced the OVERALL WINNER of many games.  It was not enough that you just mastered your sport.  You had to also have mastered how that sport affects your body.  The winners in ancient times were the bodybuilders.  Indeed, our sport could even be considered, in some respects, the ULTIMATE contest of those games.

My how far we have let ourselves tumble.

And these atheltes were often where the statues took their cues.  People would look towards the MOST heroic of physiques for reference.  Indeed, there were the typical exaggerations.  But in fact, these statues were generally rather accurate to the "best physiques" of the day.

But the principal then was you had to do more than just LOOK like a great athlete.  It was not enough to merely be diesel and shredded.  You had to be WORTHY of physique to be considered great.  Notice how today is so much different.  Today anybody who wants to LOOK the part can BE the part.  One need not have any true deeper calling, only the greedy, burning desire to look jacked and lean.  Not saying that is unto itself bad, but just a very strange side-turn the sport hgas made.  Thousands of years of succesful pursuit and today we have a bunch of imposters.  

These statues tell us that the only "new" thing about bodybuilding is the degree to which it can be "faked."  You need not even BE of an athletic nature to be considered a bodybuilder.  For the past 50 to 70 years, bodybuilding has become — for the first time in it’s austere history — PRIMARILY a cosmetic pursuit, as opposed to secondarily.

And don’t these to which you point statues just remind us of this idea.

But often people try to negate that which they have not integrated.  Because some guys don’t KNOW their bodybuilding inside and out, they want to negate the parts to which they are naive or ignorant.  And laugh at the question.

Look, even as far back as 5,000 years old there were concepts of the "overmuscled physique".  The Egyptians, ever concerned that royalty exceeded the common man, had statues that over time expressed progressively more "jacked physiques".

In other words, the pursuit of the over-muscled, lean and proportioned physique is a phenomena of Western Culture, not just of the contemporary IFBB boys.  Even thousands of years ago they had ideals that were, well, disproportionately huge.

However, we must keep in mind that although the dream of the diesel physique was thousands of years old, influencing us to this day, we have in recent decades a new influence: steroids.

Ancillary bodybuilding practices have created shapes and concepts of the physique that were never predicted in these ancient histories.  Steroids have created a look that in some ways expands the imagination, but in other ways marrs our perception.  Good or bad, it has undoubtedly altered the percepetion of the contemporary viewer.

So, those thick hips you were talking about?  Well, that is acxtually a coincidence rather than a norm.  The Greeks – as well as the Romans – were just like us today.  As I’ve researched it (and by no means am i claiming that I am here the last word) it seems that the Greeks heralded THREE types of ideal male form.  For lack of accurate terms, I will here label them “the Youth”, “the Warrior Athlete”, and “the Herculean Athlete”

I can describe each by comparisons today, for these three ideals still sit with us in our contemporary perceptions:

As far as the Youth ideal, here is where you think of the small waist, and the lean, tone muscles.  Imagin the Abercrombie ideal, or Hollister.  it is the young, hip, tight and toned yet not too shredded ideal.  MANY MANY Greek statues concerned themselves with this male aesthetic, praising the tiny waist and the lean physique.

Next, you have the Warrior Athlete.  Here, you can think of the physiques you see in Men’s Health.  Think of the Brad Pitt or Micheal Jordan ideal, or perhaps the most recent rendition of Hollywood’s Superman.  Better yet, look at the cast of the film 300.  This aesthetic was concerned with the leanness and the visibility of muscle.  Yes, it prized mass, but here was more impressed with WATCHING the musculature.  SOME of these depictions had thin waists, some more chunky.  Yet ALL had admirably visible muscularture — depicting a more mature version of the male aesthetic.

Lastly, you have the Herculean physiques. These statues most often had the chunky waistline that you mentioned.  Here, the Greeks took cues from the most diesel men around.  This form seemed to represent the stabilized and solid adult male aesthetic — accomplished and powerful.  As it was about exaggerated physique, the waistline was likewise shown as powerful, as would have happeened among the most muscular men of the day.  The exercise and military regimes of these people were based profoundly on power and physique stability.  This emphasis is absolutely what builds the midsection’s power.  But the counterpart to this body in today’s reflection is the bodybuilder aesthetic. Now not only shape and visibility, but also DENSITY was key.  The eleganmt lines of the Youth aesthetic were gone, and the sleek sophistication of the Warrior Athlete were likely advanced to create physiques that were, in a word, shockingly developed.

All these shapes are captured in Greek art and statutuary.  Remember, the Judeo-Christians were NOT the originators of "god in man’s image." The Greeks presumed that our own beauty and aesthetic descended DIRECTLY from that of their gods.  Therefore, how we looked at our best was, in their minds, more or less how the Gods looked all the time. This is what we see in those statues.

So, your looking to the Greek ideal aesthetics for information is very accurate. Yet do more research before drawing conclusions.  Not every male aesthetic was thick waisted.  Just as with today, there were  a variety of ways to build a body, and a variety of ways to represent that body.

But at the very least, your question shows a savvy towards the sport that many athletes have either neglected or ignored.  

In short: Smart topic.

It’s not uncommon for us bodybuilders to imagine ourselves as contemporary superheroes.  We imagine ourselves to have physical abilities beyond the scope of mere mortals.

And although it seems more the product of imagination than biology, I can actually attest that it’s true.

I have superpowers.

I am coming out of the superhero closet.  

But it is not super strength (I wish) nor the ability to fly (unless I am thrown).  It is my ears.

Yes, in spite of trying to develop a superhero physique, I actually have superhero ears.  

Bummer.

But it’s still pretty cool.  I don’t have super hearing, though.  No, my power is a little different . . .

My ears can "hear math."  

Like if you played music in a crowded, noisy, my ear can discern rhythm and tempo and pull out the music from the clatter.  My ear communicates with my brain so fast, it can identify music based on the mathematics of sound . . .

And I don’t even have to use a calculator.

And – I know, I know – you all claim to have this same superpower.

But here’s my REAL edge:

I CAN SEE MATH.

That’s right.  Just like my ear can hear music through mathematics, creating balance and form from sound, so too can my eye perceive symmetry through mathematics, and create balance and form from sight.

It’s in my biology.  I was born with it.  My eye is programmed with a mathematical equation built into it.  Whenever I see a form that is balanced and symmetrical, my eye registers it.

How do i know the vision is symmetrical?  Well, it always falls under the same ratio.  Whenever something is symmetrically balanced – and this is what we often call "beauty" – the object somehow fits a ratio of 1.618.

Now, stay with me.

I said I can SEE and HEAR math – never claimed to be great with EXPLAINING it.

So let me pick an example.  let’s see . . . I know: take a dolphin.  Think, in your mind, of the profile of a dolphin.  As if it was swimming by.   Now, notice where his eye is on his body.  Got the image?  Good.

If you divided the length of his body at that point, it would create two sections, a longer half and a shorter half.  Then if you divided the length of the longer by the length of the shorts, it would equal 1.618.

And I SEE this.  Without a calculator.  I don’t even have to measure the damn dolphin to know it’s true.

And i see it all over the place in nature around me.  Wherever I see this math, this ratio of 1.618, it is always with something that is beautiful and balanced.

Obviuously this little ability of mine comes in handy a lot in bodybuilding as well.  Whenever I see a body that is perfectly symmetrical, it is because the bodybuilder is holding himself (posing) in a way that represents the ratio 1.618.  he is holding himself in such a way where his body has a "longer half" and a "Shorter half", and the division between the two equals 1.618.

Now that division point isn’t the eye (like with the dolphin), but it could be the placement of his hands, or the definition of his abds, or the position of his knees . . . Always in a symmetrical form there is that 1.618 . . .

This weird mathematical phenomena has been studied for millenia.  The Greeks called this "The Golden Section", or "The Golden Ratio."  They gave it a name – phi – which is a name like that good old number pi we learned in geometry.

See, the Greeks did not see a difference between the natural world and the scientific.  So, by their thinking, there HAD to be a "formula" to describe beauty, or at least to describe balance.  The joke of the matter is that they were correct.

There is a formula for symmetry in nature: 1.618.

AND THE HUMAN EYE IS PROGRAMMED WITH IT!

Woops – did I let that slip?  Oh well.  Might as well come clean.

EVERY human eye is PROGRAMMED with the ability to perceive the ratio 1.618, or phi.  It is just like our ears.  Our ears are "programmed" to "hear math".  This is how we understand the difference between music (which has audible symmetry) as different from noise (which is audible chaos).  So too our EYES are programmed with the ability to see math . . .

Since the Greeks, countless masters in arts, engineerring and (duh) mathematics have studied this phenomena.  Great works of art are created, and after the fact people take measurements and discover phi all over the sculpture or painting.  Buildings are erected with the ratios of phi imbued into their structure, and we are dran in to their spaces.  Beautiful people are revered and admired, and we find measurements of phi in their face, on their torso, and all over their form.  

And I can SEE this.

Okay okay, EVERYONE can see this.

But is everyone LOOKING?

The term "symmetry" is much pandied about among bodybuilders.  We talk about it as if it were a half-half proposition.  We say "top is balanced to bottom" or "side balanced to side."  When, in reality, the human eye perceives "balance" as something very different . . .

Still don’t buy it?

Well THINK of the HUMAN EYE.  In a "perfect face" the eye is roughly at the "phi point" on the face. That is, if you used the eye as a point of division on the face – just like we did with the dolphin – then you would have two halves; a longer half and a shorter half.  If you divide the longer by the shorter you very often get – ta da! – 1.618.

Now, this means BOTH eyes are placed on the face at the phi points.

This means they are already situated at a point that responds to the number 1.618 . . .

Doesn’t it make sense – biological sense – that our eye would be genetically programmed with this ratio as our estimate of a balanced form?

And if us bodybuilders are SO concerned with symmetry, shouldn’t we become DEEPLY intimate with this equation?  Shouldn’t we be more concerned with how we PERCEIVE symmetry if we are trying to ACHIEVE it?

Now no one (or at least very few of us) is born with a body covered with perfect demarcations of the Phi ratio.  Likewis,e as we get older and our bodies change, what once looked balanced may no longer be so in a few years.  

This fact is where bodybuilding is born.  We are "chasing Phi" as we change the shapes of our physiques.  Where we once were not symmetrical, we grow a muscle or create a vascular line, and suddenly – like music – the mathematics shift into place and we are perceived as balanced.

Our posing likewise follows suit with these mathematical ideals.  We shift and contort our bodies and the new shapes we create somehow register to the human eye as "balanced".  This is why great posing is NOT the process of "hiding flaws" or "fooling the eye."  It is, in fact, the process of PLAYING INTO THE EEYE.

Solid posing works with the natural biology of human perception in a mathematical cooperation.

It is NOT about tricks.  And it is NOT about preference.  

Even thought hat is so often what we are told.

See, when people (or judges) criticize a physique for not being "symmetrical", even though they are often correct, but sadly they do not know the REASONS WHY.  So they try to explain "why" and it gets all jumbled and mixed up.  In reality, it is merely the human eye doing what it does so well: calculating the ratios of what it sees to determine what forms have symmetry, and what does not.  Just like our ear is constantly calculating mathematical shifts in volume, tone, pitch and tempo in order to determine what is music and speech, and what is noice or static.  Judges try to be fancy, and use esteric terms to defend their perception.

All they need is the damn math.  Can’t argue with biology.  No need to eloquent dissertations on what one thinks of balance and artistry.  All you need is an eyeball and a calculator to defend your call.

But, unfortunately, now we have all these "myths" out there about "what is symmetrical" and "what looks right."

Meanwhile, our eyes already know.  We were BORN with the ability to spot it.

But so many bodybuilders are busy buying into what they are TOLD symmetry is.  Their confidence is undermined by those supposed "authorities" on the sport.

Symmetry is a series of mathematically authenticated proportions.  Phi is one element to the term, but even with that it is not the ONLY math involved.  However, ironically, OPINION really has no room in the assessment of symmetry.

But I seem to be one of the only bodybuilders who knows about this . . . I am one of the few who learned his superpower:

My eye can SEE math!

Everyone else’s may be able to as well, but I am AWARE of my superpower . . .

Now, if only I didn’t look so dorky in a spandex bodysuit . . .

I am SUCH a know it all.  I am surprised any of you are even READING these.  What a pompous windbag!  I mean, what am I – "The Official Authority On All Things?!"  I sometimes crack myself up on how I write like I am the law . . . Trust me it ain’t that way IN MY HEAD.  That’s just how I articulate it onto the page.  Er — um — onto the screen.

In fact, I was just telling someone on here today that "articualtion" is probably among the most important qualities a bodybuilder can ever strive to possess.  (So you’d think I’d be more conscientious, right?!)  

It all came up from a great response from a someone who posts under the name "zebrasix" (cool handle – I think I know zebra’s 4 and 13, but am not sure).  She responded:

"i saw [your] thread. i thought you articulated yourself very well and brought out a side of contest prep "gurus" that you really don’t see mentioned that much"

(She was responding to my blog post: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/The_Real_XN/2007/03/20/let-gurus-off-the-hook-the-real-gurus/)

I was SO flattered.  And grateful that she recognized me for ARTICULATION.  

VERY cool zebrasix.

I mean, think about it: aren’t ALL the physique sports about "articulation"?  Isn’t that sort of a foundation of our goals?

In the physique sports we are attempting to articulate ideas through our bodies.  Ideas about image, power, gender, drive, strength determinatioon, sex, intelligence – a whole plethora of ideas expressed through the flesh.  Without an understanding of what it is we are trying to express, how will he know whether we are doing the right job?

But at the VERY minimum — even if you don’t go in for all that deep stuff — we physique athletes are trying to AT LEAST articulate the scope of our work.  We work and work and work, and our given sport is a means for articulation of that work.  Whether it’s powerlifting, fitness, or bodybuilding, we strive to have our work, effort and drive so well "articulated" in our physiques presentations that it can be assessed.

In fact, is this not what the essence of judging is all about?  Judging who is the best at articulating the work with their physique?  Mull that over a little . . .  

Articulation, in fact, is what delineates the physique sports from one another; where the focus of articulation isplaced defines each physique sport:

• In powerlifting, the articulation of the work is in the action itself.  
• In fitness, the articulation of the work is the sequence of actions.  
• In bodybuilding, the articulation of the work is in the presentation of the result of the actions.

But in all cases, it is about how well one can "articulate" the idea behind their work.

When someone recognizes my physique, I get excited for the fact that I have articulated something.  But just as important – and sometimes more vital – is when I am capable of articulating something that someone else can relate to.

I wish more bodybuilders would focus on their articulation – be it verbally, physically or procedurally.  I imagine there’d be a lot FEWER headaches and frustrations out there . . .

Lord knows my know-it-all brand of articulation has no doubt been the source of quite a few . . . !