|
Home::Sports
Before and After Photos in the Fitness Magazines
Author : Brian D. Johnston
You may publish this article in your newsletter, on your web site, or other publications, so long as the article’s content is not altered and the resource box is included. Add byline and active link. Notification of the use of this article is appreciated, but not required. Total word count included resource box is 930.
*** ***
Some supplement companies will go to any lengths to prove their products’ effectiveness. But sometimes the evidence isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be. Before and after photos are the most compelling means by which to convince a person of steroid-like gains.
Often the before photos show the bodybuilder in off-season condition; fat, bloated, with pale skin. Hardly inspirational, but true to life. And photos are sometimes reversed. In one instance a supplement company presented a photo of a fitness model in top condition, declaring it the ‘after’ photo. Beside it, the apparent ‘before’ photo showed the model in her last trimester of pregnancy. Anyone who is familiar with the model’s history is aware that the before photo was, in fact, the after photo.
The same trick was used by an ex-professional bodybuilder from the 1960s. Interestingly, his jowls sagged more and his face looked older in the before photo. Apparently his supplement line not only increases muscle, it may be the proverbial fountain of youth!
Before and after photos from every day individuals sell a product best. They represent people like you and me... average weight trainees hoping to make dramatic changes in short order. But these photos are also highly dubious. In order to look as bad and as good as possible, the models employ several tricks.
The before photos nearly always have the subject slouching, frowning, pale skin, dull lighting, gut extended, and with no muscle pump. The after photos use harsh lighting with good shadow contrast, tanned skin, upright posture with lats and shoulders spread wide, muscles tensed, smiling with well-groomed facial and head hair, and a muscle pump. It also is known that duct tape has been used to pull back obliques/love handles in order to make waists appear even smaller and shoulders even wider. The same trick works under their arm pits, to make the pec line more pronounced and sharp.
And so, are you truly seeing what the person has accomplished and while on supplement ‘x’? Hardly; what you are witnessing is an illusion of posing and photography skills of the model.
One winning competitor in the EAS Physique Transformation contest in 1999 did look good if contrasting his before and after photos, losing twelve pounds of fat. He also, however, lost six pounds of lean tissue! Ignoring the fact that he won, it could be said that his program was a failure and that he did the opposite of what exercise was originally intended to do, e.g., increase lean tissue/function.
But it is to these unhealthy extremes that one sometimes experiences in order to make a dramatic difference in a contest that allows only 12 weeks. After all, 12 weeks is not a long time, particularly for advanced trainees more so than novices. For the advanced, there is not much muscle to gain and to produce good before and after photos requires extreme loss of fat - besides slouching, frowning, and no pump or tan in the before photos.
Unfortunately, many people (particularly novices) who are unaware of the benefits and application of long-term planning will burn out on such an endeavor, perhaps quitting exercise all together. After a 12-week stint of near overtraining (if they haven’t done so by the contest’s end and if not understanding how to train), they conclude they cannot tolerate another 12-weeks of further self-inflicted torture, let alone another three years.
Not everyone entering these contests understand that it is a short-term solution... to see how far the body can be pushed as quickly as possible. After that point, training must take on a more cyclic structure. This means maintaining most of what was accomplished during the physique transformation followed by ‘easier’ off-season training and peaking infrequently thereafter. Fat loss may continue after the contest, or prior to another peak, but 100% mental effort and extreme demands may only account for 8-12 weeks total throughout the year once reaching an advanced stage. Training throughout the remainder of the year can still be tough, yet tolerable and never as demanding.
I don’t believe most beginner trainees realize the importance of cycling or what needs to be done after a physique transformation challenge. Most magazines don’t talk about it, nor do bodybuilding books. They present general ideas and expect you to lift happily ever after. It is for this reason that physique transformation contests and magazines as a whole produce greater failure than success in. The thoughts of maintaining or bettering one’s physique after 12-weeks of grueling effort is enough to shatter anyone’s motivation. Believing that you must continue training in a similar manner (something to which we have all fallen victim) is the best guarantee to exercise termination.
Interestingly, can you imagine the loss in profits that supplement manufacturers (magazine owners) are encountering due to frustration of their readers and the thousands dropping out of exercise - or perhaps no longer purchasing that magazine and the supplements it endorses. If sound training information were provided, particularly long-term application, there would be more successes and supplement purchases from advanced trainees. Rather, supplement companies are hoping and expecting a new generation of customers to make up for those recently lost – short-term solutions for a quick buck.
About the Author
Brian D. Johnston is the Director of Education and President of the I.A.R.T. fitness certification and education institute. He has written over 12 books and is a contributor author to the Merck Medical Manual. An international lecturer, Mr. Johnston wears many hats in the fitness and health industries, and can be reached at info@ExerciseCertification.com. Visit his site at www.ExerciseCertification.com for more free articles. Spam emails More free articles Related articles
|
More related feeds |
Smitten Photo Time: Your and Your Siblings: Smitten: Sex, Love ...
Last week, I invited you to sent me photos of you and your siblings. See the cute photos after the jump (including two sets of twins!), and tell me, when's the next time you're going to see your siblings? .... more Health & Fitness ...Kudos For Balanced Fitness & Lifestyle: Nourish Interactive ...
An athlete in hard training and competition can use several approaches to assure optimal carbohydrate stores before, during and after competition and training. Knowing how and when to consume carbohydrates will lead to improved ... True Dating Confession: "We Decided to Get Married After Dating ...
Glamour magazine: fashion, beauty, health, sex advice, news: glamour.com. ... True Dating Confession: "We Decided to Get Married After Dating for One Week". 2. Sex, Love & Life | Smitten · Choose Britney Spears' Next Boyfriend ... Bainbridge Conversation » Blog Archive » Police blotter: Drinking ...
The victim deflected about a dozen blows from his wife before she twisted a beer can in his hand, causing the metal to rip and cut his hand. He told police he consumed about four beers. The suspect was booked at the county jail. ... Cloud Hopping with Fadia Kader: Entry #004 : Two in One | Clutch ...
We were the second group to make it to the end [ the first being a group that has done the hike before]. The rest of the people got stuck in the Wadi after dark and had to go get a bus to pick them up. A lady had to be carried halfway ... Dave Jones the happier boss after derby draw - WalesOnline
And, whatever the truth surrounding his actual fitness, it didn’t take long for the diminutive dynamo to start showing just why there was such a fuss over his availability. Swansea’s set-up can cope without some of the flair aspects of ... Dense fog clogs air traffic, shrouds freeways | accident, lanes ...
A SigAlert was called on the westbound 91 freeway at Lakeview Avenue in Anaheim Hills after an accident early Monday. Michael Goulding, The Orange County Register. MORE PHOTOS. MAP. Loading... More traffic news. What is this? ... Star Magazine | News | Travis Barker, DJ AM, New Year's Eve, New ...
It is the first time the fellas will team up since they performed at a free concert in Columbia, South Carolina, before boarding a private plane Sept. 19 that crashed and killed four people, including Travis' best friend. ... Rice Headed to India After Attack | wowOwow
Another Sarah - The Woman Who Helped Create Thanksgiving, by Myrna Blyth. Before Sarah Palin, there was Sarah Hale, who spent 40 years and wrote thousands of letters to make Thanksgiving a national holiday ... Catching a drink and a flick – no screaming kids | theater, lounge ...
Its hip retro styling invites movie-goers to hang out before and after movie screenings and tends to be busiest on weekend nights, and especially around 9:30 p.m. – Disney fireworks time. "I wanted to take the idea of a bar next to a ...
|
|
|
