Iron Man USA – July 2021
English | 114 pages | pdf | 20.17 MB
Welcome at Iron Man USA Magazine July 2021 Issue
I was having an e-mail “conversation” with a reader about his goals and what he considers progress. Goals and the definition of progress have an A-to-Z range of expression based on my correspondence with readers over the years.
What sometimes gets lost is the pleasure of doing as its own measure of progress.
If you had asked Vince Gironda, one of the all-time-greatest trainers of champion bodybuilders, about progress, you would have entered into a deep and emotional conversation about the workout as a near mystical experience that he called physical culture. If you’d asked Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus machines and the father of machine training and high intensity, he would have been no less emotional Vince would always talk about the “feel” of the movement and the mental aspects of the gym as a “womb” for growth. Arthur was all about strength and size gains as the measure of success. Arthur loved absolute and precise measurement and believed that science was the answer. Both men were seminal characters in bodybuilding and brilliant in their knowledge and creativity. Besides the Nautilus machines themselves, Arthur added negative resistance, systemic recovery and intensity to the bodybuilding vocabulary. Vince had a global view of bodybuilding as a physical lifestyle, while Arthur attacked the process from a completely different side. Vince hailed the coming of the Nautilus machines.
He had a deep knowledge of kinesiology and so instantly understood the Nautilus vision, but he saw them as another tool in the arsenal rather than the only tool.
The measure of progress today borrows from both concepts. We’ve all learned that, if we’re honest about training, it’s not either/or. While intensity is important, so is feel. Yes, it’s great to gain or lose a pound or gain a half inch on your arms, but also important is how the workout feels and how it makes you feel. Sometimes progress is just getting to the gym— maintaining momentum is paramount to progress. “Growth” is due not to a single workout but to full recovery from the accumulation of work. Without getting the pleasure of accomplishment from the workout itself, you will never realize your goals. As Arnold has said, “If you don’t enjoy the process, you can’t be truly successful.” Making progress starts with making the workout process a part of your life; the goals are up to you. IM
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