by Matt Weik

Mainstream media today loves to take things out of context and only give you the information that fits their narrative. Honestly, it’s frickin annoying. Have you watched the news lately? Can you remember any positive things that the news is covering? Majority of it revolves around negative storylines and an attempt to shift our thought process by telling us how we should think and feel. Well, I’m not a sheep, and I’m not buying what they are selling. If they want to change my views, especially on energy drinks, they better come up with more solid facts than what they are presenting currently.

by Matt Weik

I ran into a scenario while my grandmother was in the hospital that sparked the concept of this article. We (I guess I can only speak for myself as I’m not sure your situation) are in the health and fitness industry. Some of us (like myself) are certified to work with individuals who are looking for exercise and nutrition help. Yet, many “professionals” in the industry are holding onto the goods, so to speak, and not educating their clients on how to properly train and set up workouts along with plan out and understand their nutrition.

by Christian Duque

Times have certainly changed when it comes to bulking. Back in the 90’s, guys would put on 50lbs, 75lbs, or more in the off-season! Some guys would tip the scales and look totally different. The mindset was all about gaining muscle, but for many, all this did was put them at a severe disadvantage in terms of shedding the weight each year and dialing it in for the stage. Moreover, the fluffy look has become greatly disfavored for guest posing appearances and photo shoots. Back in the day, the star-power of some greats was so larger than life, that they could take to the stage, without a line in sight, and still bring the house down. Nowadays, most of the popular stars don’t seem to ever come off the creatine, they’re ripped 24/7, and photographers simply won’t work with guys on dirty bulks. No one wants to see that, much less pay for it.

by Christian Duque

I think I put it best in a recent Instagram video I made. Imagine you walk into a GNC, put merchandise into your pocket, and leave without paying? What does that make you? It makes a you a criminal and if apprehended will (1) get you arrested, (2) have you pay a fine [typically 3x the cost of the goods in some states]), and see you banned from ever returning. Stealing is stealing. We all throw the book at shoplifting, stealing from the poor, and just generally being dishonest in day-to-day life; however, there’s a very blatant kind of stealing taking place in the fitness industry, particularly with the work of photographers and videographers.

by Christian Duque

If all emerging movie-stars dream of buying a bus ticket to Hollywood, then all aspiring fitness enthusiasts dream about getting a call or an email, landing a shot as a fitness model. Some will go the competitive route, competing in local contests with the NPC, graduating to regional events, and then trying their hand at the national level for a coveted IFBB Pro League card. There are a great deal of benefits to being a world famous bodybuilder or fitness champion, including lucrative contracts, press, and endorsement deals. Champions can be fitness models, but fitness models need not be champions. For fitness models the trek is a bit different, they must take time to make valuable connections, hone in on their people skills, and be at trade shows where they can get discovered.

by Christian Duque

There’s a very interesting cultural phenomenon taking place before our very eyes. Truthfully, the phenomenon has been happening for, perhaps, the last fifteen years, internationally. As Americans, we’re very much wired to the worldwide web, particularly social media. We’ve all but given up on print media, with entire magazines disappearing. Let’s take a moment to fully digest that last sentence. I’m not talking just any magazine, but rather giants in the world of press publications. Poof! Gone! Just like that. Americans aren’t buying magazines, newspapers, anything print. If they want it badly enough, they’ll go (pretty much) loiter at a Barnes and Noble, read the publication while at the store, and then leave.

by Christian Duque

There was a time, seemingly long ago, when cardio had very little to do with bodybuilding. The bodybuilding legend of the 60’s and 70’s, certainly had little to no use for it. In fact, even in Pumping Iron, the exercise was hardly visible. We know that in movies, documentaries, and even written articles, we all want to show off exactly how things should be done, even if it’s not how they’re really done. That having been said, no one thought cardio had a place in the sport and they certainly weren’t going to pretend as such, either. In the old days, it was all about eating to grow, eating to gain strength, and then manipulating macros and water intake, in order to look one’s best on stage or for photo shoots. As the sport evolved – whether you want to call that progress or not – the condition of the athlete became more and more important.

by Matt Weik

If you train legs and can wake up the next couple of days feeling like a million bucks, then you didn’t train legs. We all know what follows any brutal leg day – the inability to sit down to take a dump, the look of fear when you see multiple flights of stairs, and the all too famous duck walk due to muscle soreness. You’ve paid your dues in order to build massive wheels, and DOMS is the real deal. However, there now appears to be a new extract that can help reduce muscle soreness (and not just from leg day).

by Christian Duque

At a recent competition I covered, I met a woman who was extremely fit, attractive, and who competed actively throughout the circuit. Not only did she compete often, but she was an IFBB Pro League Pro. Now, when I first saw her, she told me she was older, so I was already trying to guess something in line with what she had said. If she hadn’t said anything, I would have thought 35, maybe 37. After she made her remarks, I thought maybe 40, 45 at most, simply because this woman was truthfully didn’t seem older than that. Her whole look was that of someone younger than me. She had great skin, great hair, great balance and really good muscle. You could tell she’d been lifting for quite some time and ate right. When she told me her age, I simply didn’t believe her. Her coach is a good friend of mine and told me the same. I didn’t believe him or her, but then I saw her state-issued driver’s license and that put the matter to rest – I guess! She was 61 and an IFBB Pro League Figure Pro!!!