Pro Bodybuilder’s…it seems like there is a tendancy to “turn up our noses” at the advice these guys give, usually because of a number of factors (their “silence” on their anabolic use; their (or the mags)use of “ghost writers” in their training and nutrition articles, etc.). I’m not saying that these are not legitimate concerns, but my question is this: is there SOMETHING to be learned from the Pro Bodybuilder, besides what NOT to do? Is their advice more valuble AFTER they stop competition?
Let’s not forget their great genetics. Like that one guy (Ruhl, I think?) who can only train his shoulders once every couple of weeks 'cause they “grow too fast”. Nice problem to have! I don’t think pros have much real advice to offer to the average guy.
Good point, Paul…I THINK it was TC in an “Atomic Dog” (correct me if I’m wrong) talking about the young, cute, doughnut eating hottie of a “personal trainer” who had more clients than she knew what to do with. The problem was two fold 1)she never had to struggle with her weight and she was naturally defined (I’m paraphrasing) and 2) her diet and workout knowledge was mininmal at best. Bottom line? Probably much better to learn from someone who knows the struggle AND has overcome it…not those lucky genetic few…
Taking into account human genetic variability, there have to be both those with near perfect genetics, and those with lesser genetics among the pros. The gifted ones will wake up in the morning with more muscle than they went to bed with, and the less gifted struggle to get to the top and stay there. I’m sure there are those on this board and at T-mag who can identify the “strugglers”. They probably have valuable advice that will help us. I’m willing to hear what they have to say, and try it to see if it works for me.
1 in 100 have ANY CLUE what they are talking about.
I think a lot of the old timers were brilliant…The likes of my boyhood
idol Franco Colombo and his contemporaries: Arnold, Frank Zane, Boyer Coe,
Dave Draper, and going even further back, Larry Scott and Bill Pearl were
truly RENAISSANCE MEN !..But today’s pros leave me scratching my head.
When I pick up a B.B. mag and see some IFBB PRO suggesting 44 sets of
biceps, well, I have to laugh to keep from crying!..I ask myself all the time,
if this PRO had my genetics, and like me was ALL NATURAL, would he look
more impressive than me?.. Nine out of 10 times the answer would
be “NO!” …(Joey Z.)
I think the pros know something about training themselves, but not about training the average human. Think about it: how many professional bodybuilders have gone on to be great trainers after they retired? Vince Gironda, Charles Glass, maybe Frank Zane, uuummmmm… Yep, that’s about it. Larry Scott has his correspondence course, but I’ve never run into anyone who used it. So I think that their knowledge, while good for the occasional tidbit, is basically worthless for most of us out here in the “real world of genetics”.
Maybe the most important thing we can learn from the pros is to keep both feet planted on the ground and don’t believe your own hype. Otherwise, you’ll end up an impotent, bloated joke who can’t tie your shoes in the morning without a shot of Nubain. (Wow, I’m crabby this morning!) With the exceptions of a few, most of these guys fade into well deserved obscurity.
one question; how many times have any of you seen an interview with a bodybuilder where dureing or after you thought “gee, he’s a smart guy”? I think arnold is pretty smart about some things but come on did any of you guys ever watch lee haney’s show when it was on? sure he is a nice guy but WHAT AN IDIOT, he is just plain dumb. alot of them are just not very smart. peace
Now why in the world do you have to stereotype pro bodybuilders as “dumb”. If you have been bodybuilding any length of time, you must have been exposed to that crap regarding yourself. Every time someone who doesn’t know me talks to me they are surprised that I am far from a dumb neanderthal. Arnold is not dumb, Frank Zane is not dumb, Franco Columbo is not dumb. I can’t speak for the present day bbuilders but I will not paint them all with the same brush.
Wow…not a lot of kudo’s for the Pro’s I gather? Just a thought that I’d like to throw out. Like any other professional…is it possible that these guys have been doing things so long and are so in tune to their body and it’s responses that’s it’s hard to relate to things like “beginner’s” or “hardgainers” or “work-out tempo” etc.? Sort of like some of the full professors in College who were knowledgeble about their field,and were sometimes THE expert in their area, but could not teach worth a darn? Just a thought.
Right. There’s a difference between knowing something and being able to communicate it. Also, the pro’s are ALL genetically gifted. I would imagine that it didn’t take a genius level of training knowledge for them to get a fairly impressive physique, and they may have felt that they were tapped out as far as potential when the gains stopped. Then they turn to drugs for that last 10% (or whatever). I would have to agree with one area of stupidity for many of the pro’s – the area of excessive drug use. Those guys either are ignorant, stupid, or just don’t give a rip to do that kind of megadoses of gear.
Of those who I’ve heard speak (on TV or video, not in person), the few (from past or present) who sounded intelligent were: Dorian, Frank Zane, Lee Labrada, Shawn Ray and Arnold (to an extent - let’s face it - if a natural guy followed most of his training advice they’d never get ANYwhere, due to overtraining).
I talked training, diet, and steroids with a couple of the pros at the Arnold and let me tell you, the level of ignorance was astounding. Hard to believe given their size, but that just goes to show how great genetics and buckets of drugs can make up for out-of-date training protocols and limited knowledge. In reality, these guys can’t even write their own articles. There are exceptions to this I’m sure, but I haven’t met any of them yet. I will say this, from what I know most of the pros do keep meticulous food logs while dieting. Off season is another story.
Also, ever take a look at those training tapes many of the pros put out? It makes me sick to think of the young kids watching these tapes and then going to the gym thinking they’re doing it the right way. It’s hard to convince them otherwise too, because after all, the pros are huge, how can they be wrong? I think I tackled the rest of this issue in my “Been There, Done That” Guest Atomic Dog.
One more thing, Ron Harris had a great story about this in one of his past articles (I think it was in a paper issue of T-mag). He witnessed a newbie going up to a pro BB in the gym and gushing about the size of the pro’s arms. “What do you do to get them that big?! How do you train them!?” The pro looks at the newbie, shakes his head and says, “The same way you do, man. The same way you do.”
There’s a lesson there.
Chris: Tough search that was hard to trim down…what Issue is “Been There, Done That…” in? Mufasa
Chris: Now I KNOW I must be going crazy! Not only did I PARAPHRASE this “Guest Atomic Dog” at the beginning of this thread, but I gave TC credit for it! (see above). As always, it had some great insights that really are pertinent to this topic…I remember it well! (The CONTENT that is!)(:)—!smile!!!)