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Current estimates suggest four million American men are taking doctor-prescribed testosterone replacement therapy and around three million people in the United States use anabolic-androgenic steroids for their effects on body composition. Use has dramatically increased since the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicated that a little more than one million people were using AAS in 1991.

While many quickly point the finger at professional athletes – the “cheaters” – field surveys suggest nearly four-out-of-five users are recreational weightlifters simply trying to improve physical appearance and quality of life through hormone therapy. As a result of the growing number of medical and non-medical users, androgen sales in the United States have been rising 20 to 30 percent each year. Look around your gym. Studies suggest around 15 to 30 percent of the people who routinely report to fitness centers are augmenting their efforts with AAS – that’s as high as three out of every 10 people in some facilities!

The media is a powerful tool, persuading the masses. Reporters write news stories that explain events in a way that highlights newsworthy characters. For example, a man killing two coworkers is news, but a former Force Recon Marine killing two coworkers provides a better headline. Even more interesting: a known steroid-using Force Recon Marine kills two coworkers. But what if a bodybuilder miraculously saved two elderly ladies from becoming trampled by a speeding drunk driver? Would the headline ever read, “Steroid user saves two elderly women from disaster?” Yeah right. Simply mentioning anabolic steroid use causes a sense of uneasiness within the general public.

Ask someone to describe a steroid-using athlete and many people quickly conjure up visions of illicit muscular giants experiencing ludicrous side effects with uncontrollable tempers and sex drives. Media-sponsored urban legends regarding steroid use support numerous scare tactics that serve to do nothing more than discourage drug use. One tall tale is the presumed side effect that anabolic steroids will cause a man’s penis to shrink – threatening harm on the essence of his manliness. Testosterone, the parent hormone for all anabolic steroids, is actually responsible for the development of the male sex organ in the fetus. In addition, heavy androgen use by female athletes can increase the size of their respective sex organ, the clitoris. So, anabolic steroid use is more likely to cause a post-puberty increase in the size of the man’s sex organ. Use can lead to atrophy of the testes (not the penis) due to a shutdown of natural androgen levels, but this is widely known amongst AAS users and medical professionals to be a temporary effect. The testes readily return to normal size after exogenous androgen use is discontinued. The fact is the media often enjoys spreading news to simply raise eyebrows, frequently not based on medical fact but subjective opinions. And this is prevalent in their reports regarding AAS use in athletics.

Many sports authorities say performance-enhancing drugs have no place in competitive games due to creating an unfair advantage. However, defining what is, and is not, unfair is impossible. There are too many circumstances to consider – possibilities that have nothing to do with AAS use but create ergogenic effects. For instance, an athlete’s ability to obtain successful coaches and nutritionists could give him or her an unfair advantage over someone less financially well off. Not to mention, endogenous testosterone levels can vary threefold between two different men and 12-fold in women! Is that fair? Most top-tier athletes have superior genetics, to include naturally high androgen levels or a lack of myostatin function resulting in excessive muscle growth of skeletal. The fairest solution seems to not intervene at all and let each trainee decide what’s best for their own athletic development, regulated only by their available resources.

To avoid the media-driven social stigmas, AAS users generally remain part of a secretive society. They admit their use to nobody, to include close friends and family members, even spouses. The Internet provides an enormous venue to gain decent knowledge via a private and generally anonymous communication channel. It seems many bodybuilders who participate in online message systems have come close to earning honorary internal medicine doctorates, after years of rummaging through the thousands of online medical research abstracts and articles. People getting involved in AAS-focused Internet discussion forums frequently receive and give great advice. The online communities often promote collaborative efforts toward safe advice based on previous experiences. The result of threaded discussions offering various points of view are certainly better than most of the gym talk that gets constantly regurgitated, over and over. Whether online or off the Internet, it’s important to always remain cautious of advice from people providing little evidence to support their credibility. When in doubt, ask for more information and supporting documentation.

An unregulated, black-market for steroid procurement will always cater to a large share of abusers, individuals who practice unsafe tactics and then cry about undesirable effects. A lot of health complications are a result of forced underground practices. When surveyed, most steroid-using athletes admit to concerns about their health and want the guidance of a qualified medical practitioner. Due to legalities and crazed media reports, less than half of today’s users have ever discuss AAS use with their physician – not to mention, many perceive physicians to lack sufficient knowledge about using anabolic steroids as performance-enhancing drugs. Hearing “just say no” from a doctor is likely to be no more effective than hearing it from a police officer.

Biased government reactions are an outrage for many steroid users. Many laws have controlled the production and distribution of anabolic steroids, even though reported deaths and injuries are far less than many over-the-counter substances. Cigarettes are a leading cause of cancer; they further impose a health risks on people exposed to second-hand smoke inhalation. Ephedrine was yanked off the market because of concerns about possible abuse, yet alcoholic-related drunk driving reports continue to prevail. Visits to the hospitable due to AAS use are rare, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network emergency department trends. However, there is an enormous amount of emergency room visits for every day medications, such as acetaminophen and aspirin, as well as prescription medication like Xanax and Prozac. The government chooses to regulate people interested in better human performance via performance-enhancing drugs while largely ignoring medications causing numerous deaths every day.

In 1920, alcohol prohibition in the United States created a major pivot in public respect for Johnny Law. Prohibition proved one major point: despite legalities, suppliers will find a way to meet public demands, even if it means facilitating an unpredictable black market operation. Laws driving purchasers into illicit sales foster a society filled with discontent in local legislature. Many AAS users end up behind bars due to their desire to perform better in athletics… or, for many, to simply look better naked. It seems the money spent on prosecuting successful athletes and recreational bodybuilders would better serve the people by introducing new public health education programs; classes that teach people how to make informed decisions for themselves. Big-brother laws didn’t work in the 1920s and they won’t mystically start working a hundred years later.

Testosterone, the mother of all anabolic steroids, was first synthesized in 1935. Between 1948 and 1955, nearly a thousand testosterone derivatives and analogues were developed. The changes in the parent hormone were primarily attempts to harness anabolic (tissue-building) effects, while producing less androgenic (male-like) reactions to the drugs. Ethylated compounds quickly became popular due to oral availability – no injection necessary. In early research, studies showed that anabolic steroids dramatically increased anabolism as well as maintained or improved bone density. Further studies revealed a substantial effect in treating wasting diseases, offering a possible solution for AIDS patients. AAS has also offered hope for hypogonadal men suffering from depression due to hormonal imbalances. Love handles around the waist, widely accepted as part of the aging process, are not deemed a “medical condition” in older men, even so, countless men have welcomed decreases in abdominal body fat while receiving testosterone replacement therapy. Also, numerous adult men have successfully used testosterone injections as a temporary male contraceptive treatment.

The Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 added anabolic steroids to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of schedule III controlled substances. In doing so, legal penalties increased for persons who manufacture, distribute, or dispense AAS to patients. Furthermore, they are required to register annually with the Attorney General’s office. The added legal layers and restrictions resulted in greater separation between the medical community and people experimenting with AAS for greater quality of life or performance-enhancing effects. Since 1990, users have become exceedingly less likely to admit their use to physicians. Likewise, since federal legislation has targeted physicians, few doctors want anything to do with athletes taking steroids. Physicians recommending or prescribing anabolic steroids to patients must be careful to avoid prosecution as a common drug dealer. Some doctors have been criminally prosecuted.

Surveys in the United States suggest around 90 percent of AAS users obtain their drugs illegally. In countries where possession without a prescription is illegal, more than half of the drugs are developed and sold from underground laboratories, distributed worldwide through illicit trafficking networks. There are different restrictions regarding possession and distribution of anabolic steroids throughout the world. Many pharmacies in Asia legally sell steroids without a prescription. Mexican pharmacies often attract U.S. patrons due to their over-the-counter availability. Before using anything, it’s important to become familiar with state and federal laws regarding the possession of these drugs. “Legal Muscle: Anabolics in America,” by Rick Collins, is the standard reference manual for non-medical AAS use under U.S. laws. This huge manual provides an expert’s knowledge in the handling of controlled substance cases, particularly those involving anabolic steroids.

Illegal acquisitions can disrupt social routines and cause marital or relationship problems. Social perceptions surrounding anabolic steroid use, and the consequences of public knowledge, vary greatly. When it comes to discretion, introverted people are obviously better at maintaining privacy than extroverts. A user may forget about the possible legal ramifications while routinely dealing with illicit drug sources; meanwhile, a person with an outside perspective may be less able to discount the situation’s severity. Less predictably, they could quietly condone it one day, then pull the fire alarm the next. Regardless of perceived acceptability, it’s important to closely evaluate every day contacts. Friends may unpredictably object to AAS use, especially those who eventually turn into intimate relationships.

When using anabolic steroids, the rise in total-body hormone levels has a tendency to amplify self confidence and aggressive tendencies. A person’s perceptions of events can become distorted with the temporary change in brain chemistry – at times, confidence can develop into a narcissistic attitude and common annoyances can migrate into aggravating situations. Personal discipline is required to avoid impulsive actions that may lead to criminal acts, domestic violence and the termination of close friendships. It’s important for a person to remain rationale in all situations – never aggressively temperamental. In a court of law, non-medical steroid use is not a valid cop-out for acting out violently. Using AAS is not an excuse for irrational behavior and does not justify impulsive choices. Immature people are not candidates for anabolic steroid use.

The repercussions of AAS use on employment status will depend on the occupational specialty. Blue-color employers might disregard, or even condone, a rapid increase in body weight and musculature, while more white-collar employers may seemingly take offense to the exhibited transformations. Professional and educational institutions may have strong policies in place to protect their property from being perceived as a host for illicit drug trafficking. Aside from professional liabilities, becoming stronger and leaner can be intimidating to a supervisor with a body composition moving in the opposite direction. People don’t like to feel worse about their own physical condition and are likely to project out of frustration – leading to unwanted attention on the bodybuilder.

Bodybuilders considering anabolic steroids must understand that the general public is uneducated about these anabolic hormones and take care in the image their use portrays. A major problem exists amongst adolescents, especially teenagers partaking in competitive sports under heavy parental and peer pressure – many hoping for a scholarship to a great university. Teenagers who do not have access to good coaches and nutritionist look for anything promising to make them bigger, stronger or faster. They readily absorb and accept ridiculous bodybuilding marketing campaigns, advertisements using sports idols and industry buzzwords full of empty promises. When a teenage trainee finds their magic pills aren’t working as expected, they may look to overcompensate and peak into something more powerful… possibly leading to an impulsive grab for anabolic steroids. Fortunately, surveys suggest teen steroid abuse has declined over the last decade.

Impulsive and reckless use by teens is often gains media attention. Young people should never use anabolic steroids. Their bodies must retain full control of blood hormones for proper physical development and sexual maturation. Natural androgen fluctuations during puberty causes steroid-like effects – a deepening of the voice, increased body and pubic hair, greater sexual interest and increased musculature – without administering any anabolic drugs. Self administering exogenous androgens during puberty puts a teen’s body into an unnatural environment from an exogenous hormone supply of supra physiological amounts. Even somewhat modest steroid cycles may increase blood androgen levels from three to 10 times normal levels and most users stay on for eight to 12 weeks at a time. This exposure can prevent a teen from obtaining their genetically predetermined height, due to an AAS-induced premature closure of growth plates. A less tangible side effect, often less concerning to impulsive teens, is a potential for neural effects from the complicated puberty – possibly leading to adult episodes of panic attacks and depression. No athlete should ever consider anabolic steroids prior to 21 years of age and many endocrinologists suggest full maturity isn’t reach until 25. Hormones are powerful messengers and should be treated as such.

Bodybuilders must reflect on their physical health and medical history before self-prescribing anabolic steroids. It’s vital to understand personal predispositions and ailments that could be negatively impacted by the use of AAS. Cardiovascular health can temporarily decline while administering AAS. Users often report increased levels of low-density lipoproteins, a form of cholesterol that can cause a buildup of plaques in the arteries. LDL is often referred to as bad cholesterol. To make things worse, high-density lipoproteins can decline. HDL is considered good cholesterol; it protects the arteries by transporting cholesterol to the liver for elimination. Furthermore, liver enzymes can become elevated – directly from the use of oral steroids, or indirectly from an increase in muscle damage brought about from greater training volume and intensity. The concurrent use of various hepatoxic drugs, binge drinking alcoholic beverages and exposure to environmental toxins can further degrade liver values during an AAS-assisted training program.

It’s necessary to be under the protection of some sort of medical insurance, in case an unforeseen complication arises from the use of the powerful hormones. Hospital visits not covered by insurance can cost a patient a lot of hard-earned money. Since many users obtain the drugs from underground labs, the risk of administering a contaminated substance is significant. Obtaining and maintaining a prescription from a legitimate testosterone replacement therapy clinic can be costly. Occasionally, blood chemistry reports should be analyzed to determine any growing health risks – without full medical coverage, these tests can present a hefty bill.

To add to financial requirements associated with AAS use, ancillary drugs and dietary supplements are often needed to combat unwanted side effects, such as anti-estrogens and diuretics. A high-protein diet, largely based on animal meat, is required to provide the building blocks for muscle and protein is the most expensive macronutrient to obtain. Frequently consuming high-protein meals is much more pricier than high-carbohydrate or high-fat diets – unless you herd your own cattle or maintain a personal chicken coop.

Many fight the thought of it, but the decision to enhance strength-training efforts with AAS should be discussed with a spouse, or close family member, before using. Strong marriages are likely to fumble if hidden drugs are found in the home. With family support, a bodybuilder can use openly and safely. Be sure to provide credible research and anecdotal evidence to correctly explain associated benefits and risks. Demonstrate knowledge about performance-enhancing drugs and well-planned intention for anabolic steroid use. Support from inside the household could prevent major medical complications some day. If a steroid user is incoherent from a serious accident requiring hospitalization, then a spouse or other close companion should be able to supply a list of administered drugs to emergency medical personnel. It’s important for an operating physician to know everything a patient is taking, prior to performing surgery or recommending medications.

Anabolic steroids are most effectively integrated as respected supplements for enhancing physical fitness, not as a crutch to be used in irrational amounts by a previously inactive person. Bodybuilders should have a full understanding of sound training principles, nutritional manipulations for meeting physique goals and personal limitations. AAS should only be considered as a support for increased muscularity and definition – not as a magic pill. An appropriate training program and dietary structure will optimize the anabolic cycles. Periods of rapid strength gains can cause severe injuries in athletes using improper form, or simply unable to fully recruit a muscle due to lack of familiarity. No amount of anabolic hormones will make up for a lack of research and experience. A trainee must understand more than simple athletic fundamentals and already exhibit a respectable amount of musculature. Advanced diet and training strategies are required to maintain additional slabs of muscle resulting from AAS cycles. Years of training experience will help an athlete better prepare their body and expose known injury risks, prior to introducing periods of increased muscle growth that cause rapid strength gains.

A bodybuilder considering anabolic steroid use must be a mature athlete and person. During a time of quick fixes and fast foods, many are quick to overlook any natural bodybuilding experience and jump right in. They learn injection procedures before proper exercise prescription. Sure, microwaving bagged dinners presents a quick meal, but is it reasonable to expect human beings to make such instant changes in body composition? Humans represent complex organisms that don’t react well when thrown way out of homeostatis. The human body does a wonderful job of protecting itself from environmental changes – even adapting to extremes when possible – but it can only deal with so much before it buckles under pressure. Expecting to jump immediately from untrained to powerfully muscular in a matter of months will cause injury. Aside from health risks, muscle gains quickly diminish once drug use is stopped.

A physical examination by a licensed medical practitioner should be performed before any AAS cycle. An expert’s review can confirm good health or reveal possible medical concerns. Understanding your body, prior to cycling steroids, can help better identify complications stemming from their use later on. At a minimum, blood chemistry reports should be requested from any decent laboratory to reveal any red flags. Anabolic steroids can be used safely, only when administered responsibly.

Evans, N. A. Current concepts in anabolic-androgenic steroids. Am. J. Sports Med. 32:534-542, 2004.

Parkinson, Andrew P., Evans, N.A. Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids: A Survey of 500 Users. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 38 (4): 644-651, 2006.

Dr. Nick Evans Official Web site

It’s hard to refute, greater musculature brings the appearance of physical, emotional and professional health. A bodybuilder represent a fitness lifestyle that survives through exhausting efforts, mental motivation, progressive planning and resourceful time management techniques. Moreover, increasing muscle mass turns up the metabolic furnace in favor of burning stubborn fat stores. A reasonable rate at which muscle can be built is often debated in fitness facilities. The truth of the matter, muscle mass is added in various tempos during a lifetime of bodybuilding, with the fastest progression rates embraced early in training. As a trainee advances, it becomes exceedingly important to inject more program specificity, in which scheduled periods of ramped-up training intensities are introduced for rapid muscle growth. Furthermore, the period prior to intense strength-training efforts should not be taken lightly. Taking the time to properly prime for muscle growth will set the stage for the best results possible, within a bodybuilder’s genetic capabilities.

Advanced lifters are problem solvers; they continuously find ways to change their program and outlook, to break past plateaus and set new personnel records in force production. Increases in muscle mass are never linear. All through puberty, adolescents grow in development spurts. Strength athletes experience the same patterns. Fat mass can be consistently added but muscle mass is achieved in short bursts. Growth rate and frequency are primarily based on training experience. If bodybuilders could continue to grow without ever letting up, many would be well over 300 pounds – and rock hard. The act of resistance training itself does not build muscle. Periods of training above previous fitness thresholds lead to athletic advancement and subsequently more muscle mass. Muscle-building routines must apply progressive overloads, use program variations and set specific goals. Adequate nutrition and caloric intake is also necessary – you can’t build a house without bricks! These concepts become more important as a bodybuilder evolves in size and conditioning.

Beginners respond well to most resistance training programs. They readily experience rapid gains in force production and muscle growth, as well as prominent fat loss. Several adaptations occur after first embarking on a consistent routine. For one, enhanced neural function leads to greater force generation. Resistance training is a motor learning process; eventually more muscle fibers can be recruited with less antagonist and supporting muscle activation.

As one advance, changes in muscle architecture, fiber density and type occur. An increase in the cross-sectional area (hypertrophy) of muscle is the result of persistent and progressive resistance training. Learning to deal with high lactate levels is more motivational than a physical adaptation. Pushing or pulling exceedingly heavier loads requires greater tolerance to the burn associated with resistance training.

Increased daily activity levels readily initiate fat mobilization – how much fat is lost is primarily affected by diet and nutrient timing, genetic and metabolic conditions and beginning body composition. Nonetheless, it’s easy for someone new to resistance training to mobilize stored fat while building muscle. Their biggest hurdle is mustering the motivation to maintain consistency in a healthy and goal-orientated dietary structure.

In 2002, researchers from the American College of Sports Medicine cultivated over 260 studies to outline progression models for resistance training. In the official position stand, they examined progression rates and known adaptations. Research consistently confirms the majority of strength increases take place in the first four to eight weeks of training.

According to the ACSM, literature reveals the following average progression rates in healthy adults during consistent training periods of four-weeks to two-years:

• Untrained individuals no training for several years, accumulate increases in force production of approximately 40 percent and respond favorably to most protocols.
• Moderately-trained individuals routinely add strength gains in the region of 20 percent.
• Trained athletes, typically with at least six months of consistent resistance training, obtain roughly 16 percent increases in strength.
• Advanced trainees with years of experience and a significant amount of development, grow at a 10-percent progression rate.
• Elite athletes, highly-trained competitors, are scraping the progression barrel at a two-percent pace.

Actual growth rates are largely affected by personal constraints; such as genetic limitations, access to strength coaches and nutritionists, adequate training facilities, anabolic steroids and dietary supplements. But soon enough, the honeymoon ends and muscle-gaining tempos diminish. They come to a grinding halt for individuals unable to find proper coaching assistance. It’s no wonder many gym memberships lose their charm, or so many consumers flock to feed money into a gluttonous dietary supplement industry.

Intermediate trainees trying desperately to push into advanced stages of development must start prioritizing training periods toward specific goals. Program specificity must be respected when superior motor skills, exercise execution and motivation start allowing great training intensities. After awhile, a separation must be made between strength and endurance training. Spending hours performing cardio-respiratory work each week, while under a restricted diet to promote fat loss, makes setting new personal records in limit strength futile. Likewise, strength training under heavy resistance with excessive endurance work cause systemic conflicts that hinder muscle repair and growth. In other words, combining the two training goals will not optimize results. Fatigue can become so great that it starts to affect motivation levels inside and outside the gym. At its worse, concurrent training can lead to a serious condition of overtraining syndrome and impaired immunity. An athletes can end up having to spend weeks detraining to fully recover from severe exhaustion.

“Bulking” and “cutting” are bodybuilding terms associated with specific goals during a training year. Bulking phases focus on overfeeding and intense training in an attempt to build the most muscle possible. Cutting contrasts the bulk by structuring diet and training efforts toward shaving off accumulated body fat, using energy deficits obtained through diet or frequent endurance training. When making the decision to bulk or cut – gain or lose weight – it’s important to consider the current stage of development and body composition. These factors determine the degree of specificity a training program should embrace; as well as the body’s potential to properly partition a caloric surplus toward fueling muscle growth.

Since beginners need less specificity, the question whether to bulk or cut, mostly lies with advanced trainees. Current body composition status should be the ultimate deciding factor. If the body’s muscle-to-fat ratio is leading to a soft belly and hanging love handles, it’s time to lean up first. Repeatedly bulking up and yielding to high body fats is not only a cosmetic set back that hides proper visual representation of consistency and dedication to training and nutrition. Less obvious, excess body fat leads to metabolic disruptions within the system that causes improper calorie partitioning.

Gilbert Forbes, from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York, demonstrated changes in body weight induced by nutrition, whether negative or positive, comprise both lean (fat-free) and fat mass. Forbes examined how body fat content influences body composition responses to nutrition and exercise. In experiments of at least three weeks in duration, he found weight gain in lean people comprises 60-70 percent lean tissue, where as obese people gain 30-40 percent. The relative contribution of muscle acquisition during weight gain is related to body fat.

Gaining a modest amount of fat is tolerable after a period of overeating, to support heavy weightlifting for maximum gains in muscle mass. However, before a soft physique turns obese, it’s time to apply a calorie-cutting diet with a fat-loss training routine. To reveal underlying musculature and revert metabolic processes to more favorable conditions; encouraging internal environments that are much more suited for packing on lean muscle weight.

Priming metabolism for muscle growth helps bodybuilders maximize progressive resistance training cycles. Priming opens the window for a great opportunity to obtain phenomenal muscle-building results and end training plateaus. If completed correctly, priming will lead to dramatic results in strength and muscle gains. Proper priming is as much a psychological affair as it is physical; a trainee should feel pent up and ready to move heavy loads after sufficiently primed.

The theory behind priming is readily demonstrated post-contest by competitive bodybuilders who spend a lot of time slowly dieting to exhibit a lean, muscular build. Their body becomes sensitive for a period of growth following the long period of dieting and depletion training. After competition, phenomenal gains in lean body mass are reported with a ramp up in training and calories. Pre-contest routines are often too exhaustive, since extremely low body fat levels are sought, but they are a form of priming nonetheless.

Exercise selections, structures and sequences must change as goals change – never train the same way, over and over again. Dietary and training manipulations in a priming program must allow an athlete to lower body fat while sparing muscle, in an attempt to avoid overtraining. It is essential to diet down slow enough to lose mostly fat – again, no muscle or strength should be lost while priming. Furthermore, a priming routine should be far different than a mass-building program. The trainee must become mentally prepared for an upcoming progressive overload of rapid gains… not burnt out from an exhaustive priming phase. Priming should serve to preserve strength levels while losing excess fat, as well as encourage a great eagerness to train much heavier in the next training phase. Concurrent training won’t negatively affect priming results and the amount of aerobic training (energy output), as well a total caloric intake (energy input), is mostly dependent on current lean body mass and known metabolic efficiency. To sum up: priming focuses on maintaining strength, while losing fat and building motivation for increased intensities.

Cyclic-ketogenic diets work wonders for priming metabolism for muscle growth. The cyclic method of rotating carbohydrate intake preserves lean body mass while making an athlete’s metabolism more sensitive to carbohydrate intake, thus allowing better blood sugar control and calorie partitioning. Carbohydrate loads under increasingly sensitive conditions present opportunities for powerful workouts, sessions fueled by super compensated glycogen storage. Glycogen loading, immediately after completely depleting, presents an opportunity to fight for strength levels and muscle mass. Without scheduled carbohydrate loads, muscle lost is inevitable under long-term ketogenic conditions.

To illustrate how priming can be added to a training year, imagine a 200-pound bodybuilder at 18-percent body fat, holding 35 pounds of fat. He’s a pretty strong but becoming quite soft. Definition in the bodybuilder’s abdominal wall is hidden and he’s nearing the last notch on his belt. He wants to bulk up and attempt to finally reach 315 pounds for 10 repetitions on the flat bench press. However, he has learned how overfeeding his metabolism at high body fat percentages is likely to cause more fat gain than muscle. Instead of bulking, he starts priming. After 12 weeks of steady fat loss, averaging a little over a pound per week, he loses 16 pounds of needless adipose tissue. He is now much harder, weighing 186 pounds with 10 percent body fat. He feels more energetic after meals – no longer tired and lethargic. He also feels less cumbersome and much more motivated by noticeable muscle separations found in his arms and legs. His belt has loosened, which means he’ll be less inclined to skip meals while bulking. Over the next 10 weeks, he grows like a weed – eventually pushing 315 pounds for 11 repetitions and setting a new personal best in the barbell squat. Now at 200 pounds, he is 12 percent body fat and plans to move into a more aggressive cutting phase in preparation for an upcoming Caribbean vacation.

Many bodybuilders prefer to reverse a soft-body trend before the summer – a season where more favorable outdoor temperatures can increase social relations. But can increasing social ties cause a disruption in a fat-burning period?

The Farmingham Heart Study examined how obesity spreads in large social networks – suggesting unhealthy levels of body fat can be a contagious condition. The 32-year study was published on July 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers evaluated a densely interconnected social network of 12,067 people from 1971 to 2003. According to the study, a person is 57 percent more likely to become obese if he or she has friends who become overweight. If one sibling becomes obese, the other’s likelihood increases by 40 percent. If a spouse becomes obese, the probability the other will follow increases 37 percent.

Contact with obese people can change a person’s definition of acceptable body composition. Frequent interactions can influence food choices and activity levels. The Farmingham Heart Study demonstrated that persons in closer, mutual friendships have a powerful influence on each other. Persons of the same sex have relatively greater influence than those of opposite sex. This passing of body fat may rely less on behavioral imitation but a change in general perception of acceptable body fat levels. Behavioral effects may rely more on the frequency of contact.

Successful fat-loss routines must remain focused, especially under social pressures to graze on unhealthy and subsequently unproductive foods. These societal pressures are high in the United States, where over 60 percent of adults are already overweight.

“The Obesity Epidemic: Looking in the Mirror,” an editorial published on Aug.1 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, suggests a rising obesity epidemic in the United States. According to the article, researchers project that 75 percent of adults will be overweight or obese by 2015. Apparently cutting out obese friends isn’t feasible – if one wants friends at all.

Unfortunately, social gatherings are consistently attached to food and alcohol consumption. What do you want to do tonight? Go grab a pizza or drinks at the club (food as entertainment)? Should we get some of Joe’s birthday cake (food as celebration)? Do you want some chocolates my boss sent me for staying late last night (food as a reward)? Daily events are often linked to eating and frequently void of any physical activity. Overweight people are easily led to feel self-conscious about their physical condition and will sometimes act offended when you turn down an alcoholic drink or a piece of cake.

When a bodybuilder chooses to change to a fat-loss routine, it’s important to be aware of the potential influences society can have on motivation and perception. Stay goal driven and ignore destructive influences. If a social contact is becoming extremely negative and progressively persistent, it may be time to cut the relationship short. Let them enjoy themselves as they rise to obesity’s grasp on today’s society – while you ascend to an enjoyment that comes only after physically demanding work and personal restraint.

Bodybuilders must avoid bulking if their body-fat percentage exceeds 12 percent. Bulking while overweight results in improper calorie partitioning during the time of surplus – leading to more fat than muscle gains. Starting a bulking routine at over 15-percent body fat is likely to result in well over 20 upon cessation, which is entirely too much fat for an active, healthy person. Furthermore, when venturing over 20-percent body fat, it becomes exceedingly more difficult to return to a hard physique. Losing excess fat mass becomes less manageable when an athlete’s environmental and behavioral conditions adjust to caloric splurges and an overweight lifestyle. Even when bulking, it important to practice some dietary restraint. Food is for fuel; never enjoyment… even if family and friends suggest otherwise.

Scheduling priming periods into the training year presents opportunities to routinely shave off excess fat and prepare the body for bulking through intense progressive overloads. Along with the body, the mind must also get primed to make the switch to a bulking routine. Bulking and cutting phases are integral parts of living a bodybuilding lifestyle; periods of priming should also be inserted to better prepare for bursting through training plateaus.

Fat mass can be consistently added but muscle mass is achieved in short bursts. Growth rate and frequency are primarily based on training experience. If bodybuilders could continue to grow without ever letting up, many would be well over 300 pounds – and rock hard.

Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults, Am. College of Sports Medicine Position Stand, February 1, 2002.

Gilbert B. Forbes, Body Fat Content Influences the Body Composition Response to Nutrition and Exercise, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 904:359-365 (2000) New York Academy of Sciences

The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years. Nicholas A. Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and James H. Fowler, Ph.D. NEJM, Volume 357:370-379, July 26, 2007.

The Obesity Epidemic: Looking in the Mirror. S. K. Kumanyika, Am. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2007; 166(3): 243-245.

A creative mind is a horrible thing to waste, so long as good judgment supersedes inventive initiatives. Certain lifestyle choices can enhance intellectual creativity in people – by altering environmental perceptions and allowing for more open-minded attitudes. When reaching for the mountainous peak of innovative design, it’s important to know when you just fell off the summit. This concept is important in bodybuilding.

Creative mindsets are most certainly seen in bodybuilders, individuals with a relentless desire to build their muscles to skin-splitting dimensions. Occasionally trainees end up performing some pretty obscure movements in an attempt to shape their bodies into superhero proportions. In all their extreme efforts, underlying principles tend to get lost in the wind – progressive overloads, intensity versus volume, specific adaptations to imposed demands and the law of diminishing returns.

Willie Workout was in the gym yesterday. To train legs, he balanced himself on top of a Swiss ball. He stood in a position that seemed to command the hands of God for support. Nonetheless, he repeatedly attempted full-range squats on the inflatable sphere – while using elastic bands wrapped around an adjacent power rack for resistance. Everyone’s curiosity peaked, staring in awe as if a bull-riding rodeo was unfolding in the gym. Unfortunately for Willie, the only growth stimulated were bruises, from falling on the rack and getting slapped by flying rubber.

Like always, he breezed past the owner’s brand new t-bar row. Willie prefers to pivot a barbell in the corner of the gymnasium walls. After loading one side with two 45-pound plates, he straddled the bar and started pulling. Meanwhile, the bar’s opposing end wiggled against the wood work – each repetition threatened Willie’s manhood. Some sounds are hard to replicate. Willie getting his nuts suddenly slammed by an iron bar is one of them.

Next, Willie stood facing a wall-mounted mirror with a Kettlebell in his hands. Like a demolition wrecking crew, he repeatedly swung the iron ball. He finally stopped once the associated tenderness in his neck seared in like a hot cattle brand.

His final routine on the Smith machine is not easy to explain. In Willie’s case, pain is intelligence leaving his body.

“What about basic compound lifts, like barbell bench presses?” I asked.

“I don’t bench, it hurts my shoulders,” he replied.

If muscles grew from creativity alone, Willie would be an enormous bodybuilding success.

“Resistance” is any mechanical force that tends to retard or oppose motion. Bodybuilders attempt to increase the body’s strength, power and muscular endurance through various resistance training exercises. Take a moment, sit back, and reflect over your last year of training. Are you actually advancing in strength and size… or are you caught up in a hopeless progression plateau? If performance gains have been at a stand still for more than two or three months, the program design is not working. Sorry for that news break! It is surprising how many people continue for over a year without seeing significant change for the better.

People across the world continuously re-enter fitness facilities with the “toned up” mantra echoing between their ears – gotta get toned! The problem here: toned up is a useless goal. The simple act of resistance training itself does not lead to any pronounced benefit, strength or general health. To invoke change, each subsequent training stimulus must continuously push the fitness threshold,otherwise the current condition will be seen as “good enough” for the current demands. This applies to aerobic efforts too; you must train to run progressively faster in order to decrease an interval run time.

Exceeding previous accomplishments during training improves one’s fitness level, while creating favorable changes in body composition and general health. Usually, failure to build bigger muscles is not a lack of genetic potential, but rather a lack of training knowledge… and failure to properly plan. A timeless U.S. Marine Corps saying has been passed on by many sergeants to teach a key life lesson: “prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance,” also known as “the 7 Ps.”

If you do not plan for progressive gains in a training cycle, then you will undoubtedly fail to maximize results. Worse yet, you could take a step or two backwards! You’re probably thinking: everyone engaged in some sort of training routine plans for progress. Right? Unfortunately many – and I do mean ‘many’ – do not. The volume of trainees who fall subject to monotonous routines that produce little or no results is disastrous. This unfortunate occurrence is something dietary supplement companies thrive on; leading the gullible to believe supplement X is required for any substantial muscle gains.

Of utmost importance: beginners should never use advanced resistance-training programs. This creates elevated risk for a serious case of overtraining syndrome, as well as one or many possible exercise-related injuries. At the advanced level, working one muscle group per session, per week, is common practice, since comparatively heavier loads place greater burdens on systemic recovery processes. Farther down the latter, beginners are generally better suited for higher-frequency training splits. Training more often allows a faster progression rate toward an intermediate level of conditioning.

Budding bodybuilders are able to handle much greater frequency due to undergoing far less training-induced stress. In other words, pushing 135 pounds for 10 repetitions puts less stress on the body than pushing 315 pounds for 10 repetitions. Muscle tissue increases in size from progressive resistance training, but internal filtering organs do not. The kidneys and liver don’t hypertrophy; they’re the same no matter how muscular a bodybuilder gets. The central nervous system does not change either – same brain and spinal cord – but an athlete’s ability to cope with intense training can improve. Old Eastern Bloc training circles provide heavy emphasis on an athlete’s CNS. This mental and physiological capacity affects motivation factors, rates of fatigue and recovery times following intense training.

Progressive planning must consider three main training variables at each workout: load, repetitions and time to completion. Every workout during a mass- or strength-building phase should show an improvement in one of those three areas. Relish or agonize over the days written undertakings in your training journal, but always look forward to recording a better score next time. The U.S. Navy Seals have a saying: “The only easy day was yesterday.”

The load is the total amount of weight used for a given movement. Simply adding two more pounds to a bar per session would be an improvement. It may not be a lot, but it adds up in the long run. Some progression plateaus develop by attempting to add too much, too soon. It may be most productive to add two pounds per week to the load, which is a far better plan than not improving at all. Other times, rest may be the best option… either a break from training or a shift toward an active recovery plan.

The other two factors, repetitions and total time to completion, are seldom given there due respect. Instead of increasing the load, attempt to increase the total repetitions performed per workout. Over subsequent workouts, eight reps easily handled under a particular load could change to 12. Otherwise, plan to finish a workout within shorter periods of time by decreasing rest intervals. For instance, a trainee pushes 315 pounds for five repetitions and five sets, using three-minute rest intervals. Then a follow-up workout yields to the same load, reps and sets but trains through two-minute rest intervals – that’s progress!

The body goes through numerous changes amid consistent strength training. Early on, resistance training is a motor learning process, dependent on practicing proper exercise form and activation of individual muscle groups. This preliminary adaptation to exercise usually strengthens in the first two to three months of consistent resistance training. Beginners training like beginners will graduate faster than those who overreach. After this introductory phase is worked through, free-weight movements become more fluid, as the ability to accurately recruit different muscle systems becomes second nature. Advanced trainees can recall the days when free-weight movements were wobbly and somewhat uncontrollable. This nuisance is an example of weak motor control, as well as underdeveloped connective tissue. Further gains are highly dependent on developing an inner motivation to make resistance training a part of life.

As training continues, connective tissue strengthens and a greater tolerance to the associated burn is realized. Focusing on applying constant tension during each set will create a lot of micro trauma as a growth stimulus, as well as further strengthened neural pathways, fostering more permanent strength development. Many trainees assume they are creating continuous tension on the muscle, when in reality, they keep locking out. Frequently, they inadvertently shift the load completely off the muscular systems and onto the bone structure. These pauses are quite common in leg training. The lower body houses the largest muscle groups and subsequently the most demanding training. Sometimes rest-pause sets or brief in-set breaks serve a purpose – such as breaking through psychological barriers – but don’t allow pauses that are due to inadequate training motivation. Stay focused on training and keep the muscle pumping!

Into the advanced stages, muscle size is largely proportionate to strength levels. Promoting additional gains in muscle beyond intermediate proportions requires increased in limit strength levels, which is in direct relationship with an increased muscle-cross sectional area. As muscles become exceedingly stronger, more attention must be moved toward appropriate recovery measures, as well as specificity and variety in overall program design. It’s important to understand your current development stage. Working above or below one’s current fitness levels will lead to training plateaus.

Turn the pages of a bodybuilding magazine and plenty of high-volume training routines pop up in between the advertising fluff. Fitness magazines frequently suggest that a certain professional athlete endorses a specific routine as their key to recent performance gains (with supplement X, of coarse). Ninety-nine times out of 100, its a bunch of bull and the athlete was paid to sponsor the system, or the product listed in the sidebar. Even if a training theory or dietary supplement helped a particular person reach a goal, each person must tailor training advice to compliment their stage of growth and genetic endowment.

The body grows best in unison. Men are notorious for neglecting lower-body musculature while women repeatedly reject upper-body; subsequently, both cut themselves short. Often overlooked, full-body workouts have their place in bodybuilding, such as: increased training frequency, immense energy expenditure, greater glycogen depletion, superior anabolic hormone secretion and more symmetrical growth. Each individual’s genetic predispositions transcribe a certain tolerance for unbalanced proportions – once reached, the trained muscles stop growing. If the human body didn’t require a relative balance, we would see a lot of Popeye- or Johnny Bravo-type physiques stumbling around in the local gyms.

Setting obtainable goals helps keep trainees focused. Without good training goals, it’s easy to fall into a hopeless vertigo of zero results. Professional athletes always have an adequate stimulus to keep them focused on improvements: competition. Noncompetitive, or recreational, athletes can arrange mock competitions. They can be things as simple as looking good for a scheduled summer vacation. A predefined date with a digital camera can supply motivation; progress photos are valuable for realizing if training periods are paying dividends.

The word ‘obtainable’ should be held at high regard. If you are beginning a new training cycle with 17-inch upper arms, netting 20-inch guns by the end of a 12-week cycle is not obtainable… well, not for the genetically-average or drug-free bodybuilder. It only sets the mental stage for disappointment. Realistic goals help trainees stay motivated about future progress. To contradict somewhat, large and obscure short-term goals can be beneficial in the right context; read: very short term, as in goals for a single set. For instance, aiming for 10 repetitions after getting under a five-rep maximum load. This helps keep motivation elevated by thinking past previous fitness thresholds, regardless of the fact that it’s far less than obtainable. This short-term thought process also helps replace the negative voices screaming out “Damn, this is a lot of weight!” with “I got this – easy weight!”

Bodybuilding publications frequently make odd statements suggesting diet is more important than training, or training is more important than diet. Some attention-seeking periodicals even go so far as to pull out percentages; for instance: “diet is 90 percent of success!” – or some other obscure number stating one is more important than the other. In reality, both are equally important. The best nutritional advice means nothing without a progressive overload to stimulate muscle growth. On the flip side, the best training theory will produce nothing the diets fails to provide the right nutrients, the building blocks for additional lean body mass.

For many adults, pulling into the gas station with a brand new car is as full-filling as show-and-tell for school kids. They’re rightfully proud of their new toy and enjoy presenting it. After a few days of joy riding, it’s time to fill it up with gas. However, instead of some high-octane performance fuel, the driver grabs a bottle of stale soda from the back seat and pours it into the gas tank – it’s a cheaper and much faster way to fill the tank. Ultimately, the honeymoon spent showcasing the new wheels come to an end: the engine stutters, knocks… dies. They had a great car but blew it, by not filling it up with the right fuel.

Many people let themselves be persuaded by colorful ads with impressive physiques. Muscular bodybuilders are often bombarded with queries about their dietary supplement protocols. Most of these curious individuals don’t respect the fact that each individual has unique requirements, which vary based on current goals. If an adequate diet is neglected during any training cycle, no pills, powders or magic beans are going to make up the deficit. Always focus on fueling the fundamentals with good whole food selections, then fill in nutritional gaps with dietary supplements based on current objectives.

Properly integrated nutrition and training solutions are paramount to continued success in bodybuilding. With that understanding, following through often requires restraint from life’s numerous diversions… make no mistake about it. Understanding distractions or destructive influences is subjective, but in all cases, avoiding as many speed bumps on the road as possible is a much easier way to travel. Friends qualify as destructive influences if they continue to insist on skipping scheduled training sessions for several sets of 12-ounce curls at the local pub. Having a social life, to include time at social clubs, is absolutely necessary to a rounded off life – getting so sloshed that you wake up under the porch every weekend is not. What you let get in your way will do just that. That cute, fit neighbor doesn’t qualify as a distraction, since you certainly cannot plan future workouts with a blindfold! Success in building a stronger, bigger body relies on learning how to effectively channel some things out, in order to succeed.

Bodybuilding is a journey into increased activity and overall health. The rate of obesity is climbing, leading to increases in metabolic disorders, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and some cancers. This is largely due to decreases in daily energy expenditure and increases in junk food, more palatable foods that are heavily processed, high in fat and loaded with sugar. Successful bodybuilding improves body composition by increasing energy output while promoting healthy food choices. It also requires adequate rest at night and avoidance of otherwise destructive behaviors. Many possessions come and go; your physical self is a one-shot opportunity. The human body wasn’t deigned to be inactive and overweight. Building an athletic body constructs greater overall health, self image, confidence and a generally more pleasant life.

Take time to read through various training theories. See what helps, then see how it can be applied most effectively in a routine. If your current training split includes a few sets of this, followed by a few more of that, then finished off with some of those – then you certainly are in need of some new theories. Great advice from credible coaches is available online and at the local bookstore, to spice up your training routine and instigate new-found growth spurts.

Eight commandments for building a bigger, stronger body

1. Work thy body progressively
2. Record what thou hast accomplished during thy journey
3. Train thy mote, at ye level
4. Commit thine muscles to continuous tension
5. Thou shalt train thyself from head to toe
6. Never pack thine stomach with useless vittles
7. Thou shalt not search for a magic pill
8. Treat thine body as thy valuables

Bodybuilder’s deserve mainstream publicity; however today’s masses are not willing to accept the athletic giants. Even so, they brutally and repeatedly train themselves over years of torture, reaching for greater physical refinement. They stay motivated in the midst of controversy. They make sacrifices to remain mentally and physically consistent. They don’t train within a month or season – they maintain a bodybuilding lifestyle.

Baseball, basketball, and football are all routinely televised and promoted; on the other hand, bodybuilders lack the same widespread support. With little exposure, they earn far less monetary compensation for their efforts. The International Federation of Bodybuilders awards the coveted Mr. and Mrs. Olympia titles each year. This is considered the pinnacle of bodybuilding – if you earn first place at an Olympia, you’re a champion. Nevertheless, the winners take home a bag of peanuts compared to what a successful baseball pitcher earns in one season. Greatly anticipated boxing matches present huge purses to participants.

Professional bodybuilders display hard-earned muscularity with an ability to properly exhibit themselves on stage – years of training down to a single day’s event. They present massive muscles, hanging from a skeletal structure in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. Some people try to compensate for genetic short comings by using various ergogenics – mechanical, nutritional and pharmaceutical – but their years of dedication may never earn them an elite professional title.

Unlike sports requiring agility and intricate skills, bodybuilding is more of a motor-learning and motivational process that is displayed every single day. Success rests on accumulating and applying fitness knowledge, overcoming personal limitations and ignoring destructive influences. Nearly anyone can get into great physical shape – it’s a human birth right. Most folks won’t make the required effort or willingly adhere to any nutritional restrictions. According to worldwide estimates, around 1.1 billion adults are overweight and 320 million are obese – the general population would prefer to display their erroneous “fat is beautiful” bullshit.

Successful bodybuilders – recreational and professional – stand upright and proud of their body composition, something extraordinary in today’s society. People can talk about being a great football player; when it comes to bodybuilding, talk is deeply discounted since quality efforts are quite noticeable.

This extreme fitness subculture is emerging during a lazy and flabby epoch of human existence. Obtaining a fit physique is not mainstream agenda – being a spectator is exceedingly more popular than becoming an athlete. People in poor physical condition painfully lug themselves around, trying to avoid the need to perform any physical activity. Bodybuilders do not make them feel better about themselves – quite the opposite; they only enforce how unfit they have become. People will not watch daytime television if it makes their own existence feel inferior; they want to see people with worse situations than their own. Jerry Springer anyone?

We live in a world engulfed in an obesity epidemic, deeply rooted and complicated by severe behavioral and environmental problems. Bodybuilders are only motivating to other bodybuilders. Displaying extreme and shredded levels of muscularity is contradictory to the lifestyle of mainstream populations.

It’s amazing when you think about it. A culture that once perished in the face of famine, is now ailing amidst overindulgence. Thousands of years ago, humans endured through a strong connection between food procurement and physical exertion. Today, physical activity is often an optional part of daily living. Modern medicine and technology has helped prolong mortality despite growing health concerns and metabolic disorders – but at what cost? Two basic variables have been neglected: balanced energy consumption and frequent physical exertion. We have become too lazy, too over-fed and frequently malnourished.

Obesity and public health

Evaluations of populations continue to establish a major concern about our civilization’s current weight management protocols. Magical diets with empty promises try to survive the consumer’s ultimate request: to over eat and remain inactive – yet still lose weight. Regardless of the fad diets and hyped-up hopes, humans all over the planet are becoming overweight and eventually obese. A global network was established by the International Association for the Study of Obesity, called the International Obesity Task Force, to work closely with the World Health Organization. According to the IOTF worldwide estimates, around 1.1 billion adults are overweight and 320 million are obese. These numbers continue to climb, placing increasing pressure on public health.

Human obesity’s complexity makes it hard to advise mass populations about proper weight management. According to archeologists, thousands years ago we were in good physical shape. Over 10,000 years ago, clans during the Paleolithic Age of man were hunting and gathering to survive. Since then, epidemics have been routinely counter-attacked with medicine and public health care guidance. Our successes in controlling disease led to an increase in world mortality rates. But even with new-found technology and modern medicine, a present epidemic continues to elude us and continues to spread like wildfire: we are getting too fat. Our history as a species can help explain why this is. To learn more about our genetic origins, researchers have performed painstaking evaluations of human skeletal remains. As well as methodical studies to examine current civilizations still leading lives similar to universal habits thousands of years ago.

Geneticists’ opinions

The thrifty-gene hypothesis, proposed in 1962 by geneticist James Neel, explains how mass populations evolved to maximize metabolic efficiency, fat storage and food searching behaviors. These genes protected us from an unpredictable lifestyle. Natural selection weeded out the genetically weak and molded our present human genome. Today, these same genes are interacting with heavily processed foods and excessive nutritional intake.

“We are all heirs of inherited characteristics accrued over millions of years,” stated S. Boyd Eaton, a medical anthropologist and “evolutionary nutrition” expert from Emory University. “The vast majority of our biochemistry and physiology are tuned to life conditions that existed prior to the advent of agriculture some 10,000 years ago. No adaptation to the introduction of new dietary pressures has been possible in such a short time span. Thus, an inevitable discordance exists between our dietary intake and that which our genes are suited to.”

DNA evidence has shown that humans have changed very little since the hunter-gatherer Paleolithic era 50,000 years ago. To be more specific, geneticists have demonstrated that the human genome has changed less than .02 percent in 40,000 years. This means we are modern-day Stone Agers. People become overweight through interactions between genetic, environmental and behavioral factors. Rapidly increasing rates of obesity, in spite of an unchanged gene pool, puts focus on responsible environmental and behavioral factors.

Proper nutrition based on genetics

For our Paleolithic ancestors, life was not always predictable. During their existence as hunters and gatherers, phases of famine were eventually contrasted and rebounded by periods of plenty. A cyclic energy rotation was a way of life. Recent years have replaced this balance with frequent feedings and minimal exercise. The brain-reward relationship may have benefited early man during heavy re-feeds, since they were preparing themselves for inevitable famines. But today, constant calorie consumption – especially loaded in sugar and fat with little fiber – combined with the lack of sufficient energy exertion causes widespread problems within today’s modern Paleolithic system.

The human body continues to seek food, even after it has been replenished, due to non-homeostatic systems. These same systems participate in drug-seeking behavior. Certain foods drive people to eat far beyond their body’s requirements. Sometimes over-eating is the result of social connections; such as eating with family and friends. Husband and wife relationships strongly influence each others food choices. The over consumption of highly-palatable foods compounds health risks. Processed foods – loaded with fat, sugar and salt – were never added to the Stone Ager’s diet. Naturally sweet foods were also highly nutritious and low in fat; such as fruits and honey – no donuts, ice cream or pastries. Starchy foods were not also salty; there were no potato chips. A diet full of natural and unprocessed foods makes it difficult to overeat while providing an abundance of nutrition and properly manages metabolic processes.

The Paleolithic family ate whole foods. They survived off meat, eggs, fish, fowl and the leaves, roots and fruits of many plants. Their diet was typically nutrient dense and low in naturally occurring sugars. They generally survived off undomesticated animals. Dietary fats were healthy monounsaturated, polyunsaturated – low in saturated fat. Dairy farming was still far out from existence. They hardly ate cereal-based items and nobody had alcohol. Nearly all carbohydrate consumption was from fibrous, non-starchy, organic fruits and vegetables. Most recently, advances in farming technology introduced rice, grains, beans and potatoes to generate mass produce to world populations. Packed full of calories, these items require cooking and were never cultivated by our ancestors.

Meeting inherited energy demands

Based on research by well-known geneticists, today’s human genome was molded based on a hunter-and-gatherer lifestyle. A man’s Paleolithic work rhythm required hunting two to four days per week. Women gathered every two or three days. Physical exertion was part of regular life; frequently becoming exhaustive. Anthropologists have found similarities in the bony remains of late-Paleolithic humans to those of contemporary elite athletes; such as Olympic competitors.

These days, food availability is constant but per capita caloric intake is declining. More than ever, the obesity problem is strongly connected to decreasing activity levels – further complicated by improper food selections. This phenomenon of increased body mass coinciding with lowered calorie intake clearly points to the growing avoidance of energy expenditure through physical exertion. The food industry markets low-fat, low-calorie options but consumers generally refuse to become more active. Hunting and gathering has been replaced by convenience stores and fast-food outlets. We don’t walk – we drive. Recreational free time is becoming exceedingly less active with the advent of the Internet and video games. There is greater promotion to become a sports’ spectator versus a participant. Through laziness, the occurrences of diabetes, obesity and other exercise-related conditions have sky rocketed.

An abundance of food acquisition and energy preservation would be seen as a major triumph by our ancestors. However, it’s likely that they would not recognize today’s common pastries as food, or able to comprehend running in place on a treadmill. They once fought for every meal; they hunted large and meaty game to maximize energy expenditure. Pursuing rabbits all day would be pointless. Food procurement was strongly linked to physical activity during the Paleolithic era, long before the domestication of animals and the development of farming technology. There was a direct correlation between caloric acquisition and expenditure.

In contrast, today’s routines require little energy for food acquisition. Financial means are usually the biggest limiter for food in most societies. Men and women once traveled long distances and labored over daily routines; today, technology has simplified life to the point where even stairs to the second floor do the moving for us. Mankind has engineered physical activity out of daily lives, and domesticated animals.

Exercise is required for a quality life. Human and other animal studies demonstrate that exercise targets many aspects of brain function with broad effects on overall brain health. Physical exertion reduces peripheral risk factors; such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which converge to cause brain dysfunction and neurodegeneration. A trained muscle has a greater capacity for blood glucose extraction. Additionally, muscle tissue is a powerful oxidizer of stored body fat. A disproportionate amount of fat to muscle tissue reduces the blood-glucose-lowering effect of pancreatic insulin release; resulting in additional insulin secretion for normal blood glucose levels. The lifestyle and body composition of early humans acted to promote insulin sensitivity, while contemporary lives foster insulin resistance.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health estimates more than 60 percent of American adults are not regularly active; 25 percent are sedentary. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates, at least 70 percent of the U.S. population is undertaking less than 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise per day. Soldiers are performing poorly on the same physical fitness tests administered to their predecessors 50 years ago, according to the U.S. Army Physical Fitness School in Fort Benning, Ga. Affluent Westerners are not only over-fat but also under-muscled; when compared to their ancestors typical body compositions.

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., a world renowned scientist, published a book titled “The Paleo Diet,” with ground-breaking research into the original human diet. According to Cordain, becoming fit like your ancestors is your birth right. “By going backward in time with your diet, you will actually be moving forward. You’ll be combining the ancient dietary wisdom with all of the health advantages that modern medicine has to offer. You will reap the best of both worlds.”

Gaining control of food choices and training like a bodybuilder teaches important life lessons, many of which translate well into personal and professional affairs. People engaged in strenuous exercise achieve more than a stronger body and more positive self image – trainees quickly become more confident and positive while communicating with others; many improve work environments by raising employee standards and productivity. Walking upright and proud is respectable, but more importantly, valuable lessons are learned by achieving the top levels of physical conditioning.

Successful bodybuilders ascend above obstacles and prevail in maximizing their potential. People who buckle under pressure lose competitiveness. Becoming physically stronger is a psychological adventure of recognizing barriers, defeating limitations and rewarding progression. Strength athletes strive to meet development plateaus with innovative ways to get back on track for new found gains. A bodybuilder’s inner motivation to maximize personal potential demonstrates a problem-solving and winning attitude.

Training for peak performance requires proper time-management skills to maintain periods of physical activity in conjunction with a challenging and consuming career. The ability to meet deadlines readily shows the competency of an organization – especially when contractual agreements come with strict timelines. Daily schedules must be organized to keep “I don’t have the time” excuses curbed. Bodybuilders learn to do more, in less time.

Bodybuilders frequently broadcast discipline by ignoring destructive influences. Concerned with input-output energy balances, they readily take the stairs, or shrug off lures to sugary, high-fat foods. Much of today’s society lacks the mindset to stay active and make proper food selections. Laziness with minimal responsibility for personal health often leads to handicapped workloads and increased sick days. Healthy habits and responsible social settings are required for bodybuilders to obtain and maintain a competitive condition. When stepping outside a norm, it takes true intestinal fortitude to avoid peer pressure and stay focused on goals.

Statistically, active people tend to be optimistic and less tense. Life is full of stressful moments and emotional ventilation must keep social environments from boiling over in grudges and disputes. Routine exercise is known to release stress and replace it with a healthy cocktail of feel-good endorphins. In January 2007, Winston-Salem State University published a mental health study demonstrating that increased physical activity can be as productive as anti-depressant drugs. Bodybuilders tend to stay productive during increased pressure, and then let ill feelings slide sooner.

Even personal financial responsibility is a likely attribute among bodybuilders. People overloaded in bills at home are more likely to walk off with office supplies, or sell proprietary information. In August 2008, the University of Minnesota published a study examining stress and key health risk behaviors. The researchers found personal debt was associated with nearly every risk indicator tested, including unhealthy weight control, body dissatisfaction, infrequent breakfast consumption, fast food consumption, insufficient physical activity, excess television viewing, binge drinking and substance abuse.

Successful bodybuilders exhibit commitment through consistency, while facing adversity. They are goal-orientated people with must-win attitudes. Years spent packing on hard-earned muscle and maintaining proper body composition speaks loudly about an individual’s personal character. If the sound of sleeves stretching is heard as an applicant arrives for an interview, take notice, it might be the fresh addition needed to build your business.

Physical fitness is a human birth right that many fail to embrace; yet they frequently appreciate – sometimes demand – it from others. A wheezing overweight polices officer is unacceptable. A skinny construction crew member easily puts fellow workers at risk during physically demanding tasks. Watching a friend slip into harms way without having the physical competence to reach out in response can be disheartening. Parents are often expected to grow old enough to meet their grandchildren, or simply enjoy retirement with their spouse. The list is endless…

In today’s society, mainstream bodybuilding is a contradiction in terms, so remain weary of adversity and stay focused on obtaining peak levels of physical fitness. You may increase your quality of life, as well as positively impact those around you. In the words of Roman poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso, born 43 BC): “Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim“, Latin for “Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you.”

Eaton SB, Konner M, Shostak M., Stone agers in the fast lane: Chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective, The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 84, Issue 4, Pages 739-749

Prentice AM., Early influences on human energy regulation: thrifty genotypes and thrifty phenotypes, Physiol Behav. 2005 Dec 15;86(5):640-5. Epub 2005 Nov 2.

Chakravarthy MV, Booth FW., Eating, exercise, and “thrifty” genotypes: connecting the dots toward an evolutionary understanding of modern chronic diseases, J Appl Physiol. 2004 Jan;96(1):3-10.Click here to read

Clark Spencer Larsen, Animal Source Foods and Human Health during Evolution, The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 133:3893S-3897S, November 2003

Power is the capacity to bring about change. In society, powerful people influence populations through dynamic dialogue and confident communication. In general physics terms, powerful objects have a high capacity to transfer energy, or an average amount of work done per unit of time. Powerlifting is a sport of attempting great feats of limit and relative strength, in order to surpass previous performance records in major lifts. Bodybuilding is the application of training sciences to enhance musculature through tension and improve physical appearance. Although bodybuilders often dismiss any need to train like a powerlifter, the underlying concepts must not be ignored when attempting to maximize muscular proportions. Powerbuilding maximizes muscle size by training the human body to evolve into a more powerful entity. Continue reading

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore,” said Andre Paul Guillaume Gide (1869-1951), a French writer and critic. Many years have passed but Gide’s wisdom is timeless and applies to individuals training for greater levels of physical conditioning. Reaching new levels of performance requires a deep inner desire to exceed current fitness thresholds. Eventually plateaus in progression call for athletes to distance themselves from comfort zones; in order to become leaner, stronger or more muscular. Continue reading