|
The 1997 Physique-Transformation Challenge, which was a bodybuilding contest with 54,000 contestants,
attempted to answer an important question. Could any ordianary person starting from scratch end up with a bodybuilding
championship level body, at the end of just 12 weeks (or 3 months)? The video attempted to answer this question
by profiling the life of the 10 finalists.
Highlights of Growing Big Muscles:
- Your abs-of-steel will disappear every time you eat a meal.
- In order to grow a lot of muscle mass you will have to consume a lot of calories.
- The finalists were able to push themselves so hard that they were able to increase the amount of weights that
they were using a lot more rapidly than the typical contestant did.
- Given enough time, most people can safely build up to an high-exercise intensity level.
- Not ending up looking like Mr. or Ms. Olympia does NOT make you a failure.
- Bodybuilding is NOT a time for cutting calories.
- A slow and steady exercise program is the most realistic approach to health.
- Losing 50 pounds of fat by bodybuilding does a great job of reshaping the body, even if you do not develop
a set of championship level muscles.
The Natural Health Perspective is a health
and wellness rather than a medical web site. A natural health site should naturally offer a more commonsense approach
to exercise. Therefore, no attempt will be made to offer medical approaches to growing big muscles. This web page
is based mostly on a commonsense review of the Body of Work documentary video which profiled the 1997
Physique-Transformation Challenge and its 10 finalists.
There is also a book called Body for Life (see ordering information, below), written by Bill Phillips,
which does a good job of providing a plan of attack, or a suggested bodybuilding program. Each of the profiled
bodybuilding contestants had a beginning and ending photograph taken. The Body for Life book profiles additional
contestants. And, the Body for Life Success Journal (see ordering information, below) profiles even more
contestants. These addititional inspirational contestant profiles come complete with beginning and ending photographs
and a paragraph or two denoting their real life experiences.
The public may not be aware, however, that professional bodybuilders use tricks while posing, such as fasting
for 12 hours. In other words, all that muscular definition that you see in photographs often does not reflect reality.
The Natural Health Perspective site recommends
against developing what is variously called good muscular definition, cutting muscles, or that abs-of-steel look
because it requires obtaining dangerously low levels of body fat. Exercisers should always avoid the extremes of
both a deficiency and an excess of body fat. Please be aware of the fact that abs-of-steel will disappear every
time you eat a meal. The people with the most impressive abs-of-steel suffer from dangerously low levels of body
fat.
In order to grow a lot of muscle mass, both skinny and overweight individuals have to consume a lot of calories.
In addition, the overweight person while they grow their new muscle mass will also have to burn off the calories
that are currently stored as body fat. While it will appear that an overweight individual can transparently turn
all their body fat into muscle, it is actually a two step process. That is why the suggested exercise program also
includes 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 days a week.
The 10 finalists consisted of one female and 9 men. The men, at least, all looked like they could win a championship
bodybuilding contest. The female winner really did not show any evidence of big muscles, but did lose a lot of
fat and looked shapely and well toned. One of the men started out skinny, while eight were overweight. Two were
in their 50's with gray hair. Steps were taken to make sure that none of the finalists cheated by taking steroids
or other illegal bodybuilding drugs. The video did a pretty good job of selling the dream of succeeding, but I
found very little hard information as to how these particular individuals actually managed to succeed. The Body
for Life book (see ordering information, below) provides this missing information in the form of a suggested
bodybuilding program.
A number of Hollywood movie stars are on the record for developing an impressive set of muscles with the aid
of a personal trainer so that they could play a particular movie role in a relatively short period of time. One
trait of the finalists which most of the other contestants probably lacked was the ability to push themselves to
extremes during each exercise. This is known as high-intensity bodybuilding. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Pumping
Iron documentary film stated that he would often throw up during his workouts. The finalists were able to push
themselves so hard that they were able to increase the amount of weights that they were using a lot more rapidly
than the typical contestant did. The Natural Health
Perspective site recommends against straining excessively on the last few repetitions of each exercise since
taking training-to-failure too seriously could possibly raise your blood pressure and/or pulse rate to dangerously
high levels that might lead to an adverse health event, such as a heart attack.
In addition, the Natural Health Perspective
site must caution the public against starting any exercise program at a high-intensity level. People new to exercise
should always start at the beginning with a low-level of exercise intensity and then gradually build up to a higher
level of intensity during their workouts. People new to exercise usually can safely start a walking exercise program.
The idea is that you body has to be given enough time to adjust to any exercise program. Given enough time, most
people can safely build up to an high-exercise intensity level. Hence, anyone new to exercise should take Bill
Phillips's high-intensity exercise advice with caution until they can safely perform high-intensity aerobics without
raising either their pulse rate or blood pressure to dangerously high levels.
While the video was all about these 10 finalists, I found the fate of the other 50,000 contestants more interesting.
Were they all lazy, unmotivated, or morally bankrupt individuals? Didn't they work hard at exercising? Why didn't
they succeed, while the 10 finalists did? Surely a large number of these other 50,000 contestants put a great deal
of effort into winning the contest, but failed none the less. A better question should have been asked. If 54,000
real people started out following the exact same bodybuilding program, would at least 50,000 of them end up with
impressive muscle gains in 12 weeks? The correct answer would have been NO. Nevertheless, the end result would
NOT have been negative. Not ending up looking like Mr. or Ms. Olympia does NOT make you a failure. Everyone who
exercises regularly will eventually end up with a great physique, even if it is not at the championship level.
People around you will take note of your new body. Your lost of excess body fat and improved posture with bigger
firmer muscles will impress those around you who still have beer bellies or big butts. However, most would probably
require more than 3 months to succeed. Planning to succeed in 6 months would be a more realistic goal. Some men
will grow really big muscles, but most wont.
It is pretty well recognized that there are 3 basic elements in any bodybuilding exercise program: the workout
itself, nutrition, and a recovery period. If these 10 finalists actually worked out 7 seven days a week, pushing
themselves to the max on each workout of several hours than that would tend to contradict the well accepted concept
of the importance of rest and recovery from each workout. Perhaps, the secret lies in their workout routines? How
long did each workout last? What time of day is best? The actual routines used by these finalists were never mentioned
in the video. While it was never stressed in the video, the men obviously had to eat a lot of calories in order
to grow their big muscles. That probably accounts for why more overweight individuals than skinny people succeeded.
They were simply used to eating more food. What exactly did these finalists eat? How much was protein? What about
vitamin pills and other bodybuilding drinks and supplements? The video was silent on these issues, although we
did see one group meal at the end of a workout day that included a big steak for everyone. Perhaps, the real secret
was in the nutrition of these finalists? The Body for Life book (See ordering information, below) provides
this missing information in the form of a suggested bodybuilding program and nutritional information that recommends
eating six meals a day. Bodybuilding is NOT a time for cutting calories.
Another question left unanswered was whether these 10 finalists lived a real life during those 12 weeks of training.
I expect not. In other words, I expect that the life of these 10 finalists during their 12 weeks of training was
exercise and little else. Is such a lifestyle realistic, healthy or even desirable over the long run? I would rather
doubt it. Did any of these people, have a real family to contend with? I would say that these finalists took their
exercising to the extreme, which is unhealthy because it violates the ancient principle of moderation. Most do
not have the luxury of putting their life on hold for 12 weeks. And, do not forget that these finalists were motivated
to go to extremes precisely because they were trying to win $60,000 USA cash money and a Lamborghini automobile
as prizes. The average person has no chance of winning a $250,000 automobile for turning 50 pounds of fat into
muscle in just 12 weeks.
Then there is the reality of the statistical bell curve of population demographics. A person's genetics governs
how easy it is for them to gain muscle mass with exercise. The extremes of the bell curve on bodybuilding are the
hard-gainers and the easy-gainers. The easy-gainers often end up going into professional bodybuilding because they
find growing big muscles rather easy to do. While hard-gainers always will have a hard time gaining significant
amounts of muscle mass. The majority of us fall in the middle of the bell curve on gaining muscle mass.
Another question left unanswered is where are these 10 finalists today? Having won the contest, life none the
less goes on for these individuals. Were they able to maintain their new physical bodies, while living a real life?
The video was silent on that issue. Yo-yo muscle mass gaining and losing is probably as bad for your health as
yo-yo dieting is. A slow and steady exercise program is the most realistic approach to health. Winning a bodybuilding
contest wont guarantee that you will live longer. Health and wellness is not a destination. It is a journey.
Ending on a positive note, the 1997 Physique-Transformation Challenge did document that at least some people
in their 50s are able to gain significant muscle mass in only 12 weeks of exercise despite their advanced age.
Bill has documented in the form of beginning and ending photographs real people who have turned up to 50 pounds
of body fat into lean muscle mass by bodybuilding in just 12 weeks, without resorting to plastic surgery. In other
words, losing 50 pounds of fat by bodybuilding does a great job of reshaping the body, even if you do not develop
a set of championship level muscles. These photographs will motivate anyone who is interested in building a stronger
body.
| Help support our website by purchasing products from Amazon.com at great prices. |
|
 |
The Body of Work documentary film profiled the 1997 Physique-Transformation Challenge and its 10
finalists. The first half of it makes a great motivational video. The second half drags and could have been edited
a lot better. The bit about the lie detector tests was totally unnecessary. And, all the controversy about picking
the finalist could have been a lot shorter. Just don't expect to get any training tips from this video. It isll
about selling the dream of achieving a championship body. |
|
|
|
|
This is a very basic book that originally was built around the 1997 Physique-Transformation Challenge and
its 10 finalists. It is targeted at individuals interested in turning up to 50 pounds of body fat into muscle,
by engaging in bodybuilding . It makes a great motivational book. The book provides nutritional information along
with a suggested high-intensity bodybuilding program designed to last at least 12 weeks. Participants are expected
to workout 6 days a week. Three days of bodybuilding for 46 minutes are alternated with three days of aerobics
for 20 minutes. This book is all about selling the dream of achieving a championship body to rank beginners. It,
also, does a very good job of selling the value of bodybuilding to anyone who is overweight. |
|
VHS
|
|
|
The companion  Body for Life Success Journal is for those interested
in recording their progress on paper. It also profiles many real life stories complete with before and after photographs
of women in bikinis and men in trunks. |
|
|
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
Physical exercise will improve your natural health and fitness. Physical exercise is part of healthy living.
Anybody interested in natural health should regularly participate in moderate forms of physical exercise like fitness
walking. An active lifestyle, is even better than physical exercise, in improving your natural health and fitness.
References
- Body of Work, Film by Bill Phillips, Director: Edward Asiano, Peter Jaysen, Studio: Seventh Dream Pictures,
Video Release Date: 1998 .
- Bill Phillips, Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength, Collins, 1999.
|
