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When I look back on my career as a bodybuilder, I have memories of dedication, hard work, sacrifice, and focus. No matter how difficult those years seemed at the time, I put forth my best effort when I felt in total control of my own destiny. For me, the most challenging aspect of being a bodybuilder, especially a drug free one, was blocking out the pessimism and negativity of other people went out of their way to offer me. They wanted always tell me “You can’t do this” and “You’ll never do that.” I discovered that if I was patient and persistent, I could make my dreams a reality – regardless of what others believed. Expanding beyond the perceived limitations of others was a critical step on my way toward success. Ironically, the training and dieting were the easiest parts of the journey. Isn’t this situation similar to other aspects of life? When a rocket is launched skyward, it encounters a tremendous force of gravity that makes leaving the earth’s atmosphere difficult. This gravitational pull is so strong that, as little as 50 years ago, many experts felt getting though the pull would be impossible. Well, needless to say, science has discovered breaking through this force that was once thought impenetrable is indeed possible. Traveling through the heavens becomes significantly easier once the ship has broken through gravity. This same type of situation often occurs at the workplace. Ambitious employees who aim for excellence or a promotion encounter resistance from less motivated workers. The aspiring workers are discouraged, either directly or indirectly, from working hard. Employees who expect less from themselves are determined to tell you why you shouldn’t put forth so much effort. If you have broken through this peer pressure, you’ve discovered that the satisfaction you enjoy by excelling at your job is far more rewarding than pandering to those who have far less drive. If you have a couple of years of experience in the gym, aren’t these scenarios similar to the evolution of your training? In the beginning, didn’t it seem that the endeavor of building your body was extremely difficult or maybe even impossible? You probably had an overwhelming amount of information thrown at you as the “right” way to train and to eat. And to make things even more complicated, everyone seemed to have a different opinion. You more than likely had – or still have -- the more experienced lifters telling you that it is impossible for you to build any significant amount of muscle without drugs. “Everyone with a great body uses them,” they reason. But if you were persistent, you soon found out it was not nearly as difficult as you were led to believe. You now have replaced the “information overload” and negative thinking with knowledge, determination, and passion as you seek to develop your physique. “If you truly expect to realize your dreams, abandon the need for blanket approval. If conforming to everyone else’s expectations is your number one goal, you have sacrificed your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence.” --Don Ward, motivational author I read a Sports Illustrated feature story called “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” implying that building quality drug-free muscle is impossible. The article basically implied that anyone who truly excels at any sport is more than likely using performance enhancing drugs. “Don’t be fooled,” it warns. The article clearly implies that all drug testing is just a “sham” and is very easy to get around. Although I am sure it was not their intention,that article probably makes the “gravitational pull” towards believing a great physique is not possible with drugs a whole lot stronger. This negative opinion hits the world of bodybuilding right in the ol’ breadbasket! If there is any sport that is plagued with the stereotype of drug use, bodybuilding is definitely one of them. This possible stereotype would not only negatively affect our sport’s chemically assisted participants, but established and aspiring natural bodybuilders as well. Besides the obvious tell-tale signs, drugs in our sport have made it difficult to tell who has built their physique with discipline, hard work, sound nutrition, and good genetics – or with performance-enhancing substances. Drug-using bodybuilders will have their years of effort appreciated even less because of the belief that their development is produced solely from drug use. Drug-free bodybuilders, with any muscularity whatsoever, will be accused more frequently than in the past that their development is also aided by illegal substances. Whether you weigh 130 pounds or 230 pounds, no natural bodybuilder will be immune from this skepticism – from within our own bodybuilding community, as well as the general public. And don’t think that saying you compete in drug-tested events will mean anything to the cynics. They might just laugh at you as you offer your proof that you are truly drug-free. When I first saw this article, I thought to myself, “Now the stereotype is going to be perpetuated even further! It’s going to be even harder to have people training in the gyms believe that they can build a decent physique without drugs!” But I then realized that this was nothing new to us in the bodybuilding world – the issue is talked about all the time. Having a mainstream, credible source like SI discuss this issue will simply bring the controversy out in the open sooner and more fully. I firmly believe that bringing the issue out in the open is our best opportunity to resolve the situation. Let’s get done with this issue of drugs already. The way I see it, you as a person training in the gym basically have three choices of how you can react to the negative drug stigma associated with our sport: • You can decide not to attempt to face the challenge. You can take up the sport of bowling or something else instead. • You can settle for a mediocre physique because now you “know for sure” that you should be realistic and not expect anything more. • You can continue strive for your dreams -- regardless of what the conventional way of thinking dictates. Hopefully, you will choose this alternative. Since you are reading this book and doing the exercises, this option suits you best. If so, you will need to tap into the powerful tool of your mind even more efficiently if you plan on reaching your goals Let me ask you a question: When you see a television infomercial in which someone is trying to sell information that could make you financially wealthy, what do you see? Do you see some slick salesman trying to swindle you out of your hard-earned money? Or do you see a passionate person who has found a strategy to enhance your odds of duplicating his financial success? How you answer this question could be a good insight into how you view the world. Many people in the bodybuilding world have adopted new, more empowering beliefs about what they can accomplish with their physiques. Bill Phillips and Muscle Media’s contest for the Lamborghini has demonstrated to many people training drug-free that maybe they’ve been settling for too little from themselves. Many participants, who have never considered entering a bodybuilding contest before, are aiming at a goal for the first time – and have achieved amazing results. Yet there is even a higher level of achievement available to everyone training naturally. Just imagine what you can achieve if you can string together 12 years of intensity rather than the 12 weeks to win the fancy car! I am sure many of guys aiming for the Lamborghini have learned many strategies and “secrets” to getting the job done naturally that they may have not previously put the effort into discovering. The natural stars that you see featured in All Natural Muscular Development and other magazines have worked diligently with that same ambition and have strung together many years with that same intensity – if not greater. You would be foolish not to listen to their strategies and philosophies because you are too jaded by conventional thinking. Like the participants of the contest, many readers of my Thinking Big monthly column in Ironman Magazine have discovered that much more can be achieved than what they originally thought – or what others tried to convince them was not possible. The way I see it, bodybuilding has two different factions: those who are pure fans of the sport and those who love to train in the gym. I can agree with Flex Editorin-Chief Peter McGough’s comments that most of the hard-core bodybuilding fans do not really care how the bodybuilders accomplish their goals. They just want to see the biggest and freakiest physiques. However this is not necessarily true of those training in the gym. Unfortunately when muscle magazines publish the training routines of top professional stars, readers mistakenly assume that if they use these routines, they will get the same results. To be perfectly honest, due to genetic factors, it may be unlikely for many of you to even approach the development of the top natural stars if you use their drug-free routines either. At least when you use the routines of the natural stars, your training conditions are closer to theirs than the drug-assisted bodybuilders. I believe that most natural bodybuilders do not want to do “whatever it takes” to become the best bodybuilders – if being the best means using drugs. Think about it for a moment. To be a professional bodybuilder, the easier route is to use drugs rather than to do so naturally. Most natural bodybuilders do not want to use drugs and, if that means not becoming a professional, so be it. They do, however, want to live a healthy lifestyle and build the best physique possible without drug use. Your quest to build an outstanding physique without drugs is similar to great stories of heroism. Whether it is a story from the Bible or a screenplay from a blockbuster movie like Rocky or Braveheart, the hero’s courage is challenged by a series of enemies. First, he must conquer the doubt that he can actually defeat his foe. Secondly, an unexpected force from within his own camp tests his mettle. If he has the strength to overcome these obstacles, he then must conquer a threatening adversary. Sometimes, after everything that the hero has faced, this last opponent is the easiest of the three to defeat. How is building a good body without drugs similar? First, you will have to believe that doing so is possible. You will then have to deal with people telling you it can’t be done. If you become even the slightest bit successful, you will have to endure the skepticism of others and the attacks on your credibility and character. Finally, and surprisingly probably the easiest part of this procedure, you will have to dedicate yourself, become more knowledgeable, and persist for a considerable amount of time in order to be victorious in your efforts. Are you up for the challenge, hero? Do you have the courage to rocket through the “gravitational pull” that’s limiting you to a mediocre physique? Do you have the fortitude to get to the easier, more enjoyable part of this process? There is a big difference between you and the high-level athletes that Sports Illustrated focused on. Most of you don’t even want to compete – you just want to live a healthy lifestyle and build a muscular physique. Those of you who do want to compete, would like to so naturally. I am passionate about bringing you the strategies to build your body without drugs. Take the challenge and make that “leap of faith.” What have you got to lose?
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