From the same article
From Bodybuilding Fact and Fiction by Stuart McRobert, in Iron Man May 1982 issue.
I think we are still being confused, misled and exploited. It is even worse now than it was 31 years ago. There are now even more supplements, exercises and pieces of exercise equipment and the internet feeds our desire for novelty and facilitates our distraction from the basics. It is the great distraction.
You read about some exotic exercise or exercise system; some 'wonder' vitamin, mineral or protein supplement; secret attitude etc...etc...Though all of these factors may play a role in successful bodybuilding, they are so secondary that they become almost trivial compared with the essence of bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding fact is that if you would ensure that your training is progressive then you will gain muscle without hardly giving a thought to diet, attitude, specialist equipment etc. People are continually looking for new easy ways in bodybuilding by considering those factors outside hard heavy training. The cause of this misdirected attention probably lies with those individuals who have commercial interests in bodybuilding The essence of successul bodybuilding is so plain and simple that it cannot allow many people to make gain from it. What these profit mongers do is to try to make bodybuilding much more complicated and involved than it really is so that they can find something 'new' to write about, some secret to make training finally work, miracle supplements etc etc. They have developed a bodybuilding fiction so as to be able to exploit the bodybuilding public.
Stop being confused, misled and exploited.
From Bodybuilding Fact and Fiction by Stuart McRobert, in Iron Man May 1982 issue.
I think we are still being confused, misled and exploited. It is even worse now than it was 31 years ago. There are now even more supplements, exercises and pieces of exercise equipment and the internet feeds our desire for novelty and facilitates our distraction from the basics. It is the great distraction.
Comments
This is from an article he wrote before any of his books and even before Hardgainer magazine (which I still miss).
Matt
Thanks for the comment. Just to be clear I have no doubt that McRobert who wrote the article was totally natural. The photo with the article was of Bill Pearl who I think it is safe to say might have been using gear.
I've been working in the fitness trenches for many years now, and I can tell you that the solution of healthy eating/regular exercise/lifestyle change are not an easy sell.
Many, if not most people, really want a quick fix - it is this demand that probably drives the supply, rather than the other way around.
I also think that in most cases, the manufacturers are probably as deluded by their own biases as the customers buying their products, rather than any kind of machivalian masterminds.
http://gawker.com/5931205/you-dont-need-that-fancy-shit?tag=i-of-the-tig
Yes Stuart McRobert, did adapt his approach over the years, bu I think he was ultimately too attached to the old school methods to adapt fully. The squat and deadlift were always the first port of call in his programs, other ideas weren't considered, unless the trainee had physical problems and / or equipment issues. That's why I like the writings of people such as yourself, Richard Winnett and ( in his fitness segments ) Critical MAS. People who have a solid anchor of simplicity, but who aren't scared to peek out of the box to snatch and use anything new that could be seen as working in your common sense view points.
This is NOT an attack on Stuart McRobert by the way. I owe the guy SO much. If I hadn't discovered that first copy of Hardgainer at the gym I was at, all those years ago, who knows where I would have been now. I doubt I'd have still been training. Due to Stuart I set off on an exciting journey, which, despite some dead ends and set backs, I'm still on today.
Keep on with the critical thinking Chris. People like you are the future for people like me....