From: loszewski_im@sage.hnrc.tufts.edu
Newsgroups: misc.fitness
Subject: FITNESS WISDOM?
Date: 15 Sep 92 13:08:50 GMT
Organization: USDA HNRC at Tufts University


                                        PLEA

First of all for those of you out there who don't know who I am, my name is Rob
and I am presently training for my first bodybuilding competition (ANBC) on Oct.
10.  I have been bodybuilding for about 5 years.  When I was in high school, I 
used to be fairly obese and was always the butt of people's jokes.
Who gives a shit you say?  Well, last night at the gym, I was not having a good
night.  My dieting is at a critical stage right now, and I am under an extreme
amount of stress both in work and in my personal life.  In any case this guy 
came up to me who I know of and asked me if I wasn't feeling well.  To give
you an idea of this guy, he looks like a string bean and he competed in a 
competition recently because he made a quick moment decision to do it.  He now
things he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  He feels he know everything
there is to know about bodybuilding.  
He asked me how I was training and he proceeded to tell me what I SHOULD be 
doing, what he did, how he did, bodily measurements and the mechanics of protein
and carb utilization in the body.  Mind you, I did not ask to hear any of this
shit.
To make a long story short, everything he said about training and nutrition
was so wrong it was extremely sad.  What bothers me the most is that there are
people who are listening to him and believe him.
PLEASE...if you have a question about nutrition or training, don't just ask one
person and take that person's word as gold.  Ask around.  Find out people's
credentials and ask people who have been in the field.  People who have 
nutrition degrees and who have competed before.  
Use your best judgement.  If the person you ask starts talking in circles, or 
can't even pronounce some of the vocabulary, don't bother listening.  Chances
are that person is full of shit.
Last but not least, see what works best for you.  What one person might do in 
the gym might not be what is best for you or Harry Lipshits.  Try it out for you
and evaluate the results you get from it.  There is so much bullshit and fraud
in the fitness industry, it is unbelievable.  The only way to see what works 
for you is to try it.  If it doesn't, then move on to something else.  If bench
presses always worked for Joe but they don't work for you, then try inclines or
something else.  
Again, please don't believe everything you here, whether it's in the gym or on
misc.fitness.  Talk to other people.  Go to the library and read.  Knowledge is
your best ally. I'm not trying to "down play" misc.fitness.  I think it is GREAT
But just don't take every word you read as gold.
For those of you out there that are looking for a magic bullet to produce the
goals you want quick.  FORGET IT!!!  It takes hard work and a strong mental
attitude to get what you want when it comes to a healthy body.  Supplements
(some) help you attain that goal, but they will not give it to you.  Do not
rely on them.  Three quarters of them are junk to begin with.  It's taken me
five years to get where I have gotten.  If someone produced a steroid that was
health beneficial, I still wouldn't take it, because it would not be natural
to the body, or my image of a fit and healthy body.  I'm sure that Michelangelo
didn't put calf implants or injections into the statue of David.  He had to get
that image to sculpt the statue from somewhere.  :-)
If anyone has any feedback on this long statement, feel free to contact me via
email or the net.  If anyone has any questions about nutrition or training, 
please feel free to ask me. I can't guarantee I'll get back to you right away,
or that I will give you the "correct" answer, but I can guarantee that I will
look at my own resources and talk to the people here that I work with as well
as the people that are training me, and give you the information that has been
given to me.

-Rob
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*                                                                              *
*Rob Loszewski                       -*|||--*****-----****--|||*-              *
*Loszewski_im@hnrc.tufts.edu                                                   *
*                                                                              *
*                   "Hasta La Vista...Baby."--Arnold Schwarzenegger            *
*                                                                              *
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