The Forming of Realistic Goals (partial) - Anthony Ditillo

 

Note: This article is likely already on this blog somewhere. No matter at all . . . it's a good one, one that  warrants re-reading especially after those Steve Reeves posts. 

THE FORMING OF REALISTIC GOALS

Don't know/care about your view but

personally I find the poorly constructed door jambs

and peeling wallpaper quite nice. 

We got shit to do, not

worry about all that crap! 

By using the information which is being brought to you in this brief yet, I feel fairly complete dissertation, you will be able to, in time, of course, completely change your mental outlook, physical ability, and to a certain extent your basic physical construction. 

Here, however, many an otherwise promising trainee makes one fatal mistake. He feels that for him "the sky is the limit" . . . and all he has to do is train correctly, eat correctly and obtain enough rest, coupled with the proper mental outlook and in a few years, at most, he too will reach the pinnacle of physical development or the lifting throne of achievement. 

I must admit that, at first glance, such an assumption appears to be quite logical. I mean, what else is necessary in order to succeed? Haven't all the so-called trainers of champions told us to expect such a future if we trained as they told us to in their varied and sometimes questionable publications? 

And the answer is yes. Yes, they have told us this very thing and, yes, most of us have at one time or another fallen for that very same line of malarkey. 

What then can the average trainee expect if he tries to follow all the laws of healthful living and training? Well, for one thing, he can definitely look forward to a more healthful life than the kind he would probably have if he never trained. 

Also, he can expect to more than double his initial strength on almost any exercise movement if he works at it long enough. And as far as muscular development goes, although only very few can develop themselves into physical giants such as Dave Draper or Bill Pearl, almost everyone who trains conscientiously can expect a great increase in the size, shape, and massive density of his entire physique. 

But the whole truth of the matter is somewhat complicated; quite a bit more complicated than most of the "experts" and trainers-of-the-champions would like us to believe.

 

Let us imagine, for a moment, that you are the average beginner who is interested in developing more bulk and power. Chances are you are somewhat underweight and physically weak. You have had the usual childhood diseases, and even though they have not had too great a dire effect upon you, they have left their mark. 

For one thing, you suffer every once in a while from gas and heartburn, these being due to a combination of things, among them an improper diet. Also, in times of stress, you suffer from occasional headaches. You are susceptible to colds in the winter and many times you miss days in school or at work due to being laid up with the flu. So you see, as far as your general health is concerned, you are quite a normal fellow, compared to other "slightly unhealthy" people. 

Now, on the other hand, let us compare you to a different sort of individual, the kind that could reach the top in almost any athletic field of endeavor. This is the "natural gainer." He can eat anything he wants; he never becomes ill; he is neither underweight nor overweight. Actually, he possesses quite a healthy physique even before he begins to train seriously. Now, his is the type of body that can jump to the top of the ladder, so to speak, with very little sweat, blood and tears on his part. 

Don't try to rationalize yourself into either a negative or positive point of view as to the justice of it all, for this shall most assuredly leave your mind in a state of constant flux. Better to merely accept such an occasional occurrence as being the "scheme of things," and after hashing and rehashing such pertinent facts in your mind you will sooner or later come to the conclusion that YOU ARE YOU, I am me, and "never the twain shall meet." 

One of the most important things any trainee can learn is that we must work with what we have, not what we imagine ourselves to own or that which we feel we shall indeed possess at some later time. In other words, if your body structure has great possibilities in the field of strength, and if your tendency is to constantly and easily put on weight, although fairly solid it is however fleshy and a bit unattractive, then you can come to a pretty valid conclusion that an attempt to develop yourself into a Steve Reeves will more than likely end in bitter disappointment and downheartedness. 

Such a condition will be greatly your own fault, however, because you failed to recognize the messages your body and intellect were trying to send, in preference to filling your own ego with dreams of conquest in a field which realistically speaking has no place for you, however noble your intentions. 

And what happens to such a disillusioned fellow when the truth finally hits him as to the finality and indiscretion of his great mistake? Well, in most cases he will stop training altogether, blaming his inability to gain as he would like, not on himself, the culprit, but the whole physical culture "scheme of things," so to speak, as being satisfying to only a "god chosen" few. 

Would it not be better for such a fellow to use his natural abilities rather than to pine and weep in his beer as it were? In the long run he would definitely be much better off. And he would also save himself a lot of heartache.

Just what is the point of torturing yourself? Is there some kind of secret pleasure involved subconsciously in our failures? Are there some people who try to knowingly attempt a feat which they know for a fact is way too high above their reach so they can give themselves a great big pat on the back when they fail? 

Don't you agree that there is a great possibility of many of these people being the bodybuilders who have the hips of Paul Anderson, the weightlifters who hate squats and presses, and most of all, underweight, scrawny power trainers who are afraid to gain a few pounds for fear of losing their definition? These men must definitely know all along the fact that they are kidding no one but themselves. Surely they could never truly be interested in vague goals they tell you they have set for themselves. 

I, myself, when I was a bit younger, deceived myself for quite some time as to the value in my basic physique. All my life I had been overweight. At the age of fourteen I weighed well over two hundred pounds. The sad thing was that most of this was just plain fat and I had about as much strength in my gross frame as a snail trying to move a pebble. And what was my initial training goal? 

Why, of course, being so opposite in disposition and natural ability, I told myself that I would train down my fleshy body and someday become Mr. America! 

And did I give a second thought as to just how it was going to be possible for me, a fat pudgy kid, to develop himself into a sterling example of physical power and beauty? The answer is, I did not! No, I was too "smart" for that. Why, all I'd have to do is copy Mr. America's program and in no time flat, coupled with a weight loss diet, I, too, would become one of bodybuilding's immortals.

At a height of 5'6" with a 42" waist and 47" hips, you can see I was truly wishing upon a star. And did I give up after a brief but rather useless struggle? Why, no, of course I didn't. Moreover, I became even more determined to succeed with every one of my defeats. And what did all this lead up to, you may ask? 

Well, after three to four years of this aimless struggle, I was left at a bodyweight of 185 pounds, with hips still very large, a chest that had hanging fat instead of pectorals, and arms of only 15-1/2 inches. 

And what did my friends, family and associates think of my tremendous transformation? Why, my mother was very glad; it meant she could begin buying me clothes of a more normal size. My friends at school thought that I had been going to a doctor to lose the weight; none of them ever guessed that I was knocking myself out lifting weights, trying to get someone to notice that muscular-wise, something was beginning to happen.

So you see, I, too, at one time in my life, tried to lie to myself as to the value or ability my natural frame granted me, and in my case, it took an accident most severe to finally bring me to reason. 

Even the power lifts themselves favor certain types of physiques more than others. Let us take the full squat for instance. Now here is a movement which in itself is not too difficult or involved to perform, for a man with rather
short legs, or legs which are in direct proportion to the rest of his body. But just let some poor soul with extremely long legs try this same movement, and for him it becomes a nightmare. 

For one thing, his legs must really "fold up" under him, as it were, before he could even begin to reach parallel position. This would cause his back to nearly double up with the strain and upon attempting to rise once again to erect, he would have the tendency to round his back, almost to the point of either the bar rolling over his head, of he himself falling flat upon his face. 

The man with shorter legs does not have these problems. He can remain almost in an upright position all through this difficult movement and for him the full squat is a movement which he fully enjoys. 

The deadlift is another lift which favors one type of body over another. For one thing, a man with an unusually strong grip has a lot on his side. Also, the fellow who has a pair of extremely long arms can really gain on the deadlift if he has a mind to. This is because of the lack of distance he has to actually lift the bar compared to the fellow with short arms. Also, a fellow with a weak grip cannot even begin to hold onto the bar, let alone stand up with it. 

And what about the fellow with short arms? Well for one thing, he must pull the bar up to the height of the crotch instead of the usual height of the bottom of the training trunks. Also, his short arms cause him to have to squat down into quite a cramped position when in the initial stages of this most important lift. This cramped feeling at the beginning of this lift can cause many a good man to feel that he is risking a hernia or slipped disc every time he bends over to pick up the bar. 

Last but not least, we come to the champion bench presser. More than likely he is a short, stocky individual  who is very broad and also very thick (see Mel Hennessey on yer right). His chest is also very broad and spacious. A good deadlifter is very rarely a good bencher. The two lifts require different physical attributes and very few men can indeed satisfy fully both lifts at the same time. 

The poor squatter with overly long legs can sometimes excel at this lift since his extra-long legs can give him additional "boost" when he rams the bar off his chest while on the bench. But more likely, such men also have extra-long arms and this is a great detriment to successful bench pressing. 

So you see, not only are we governed  by our natural abilities as to the kind of physique we will eventually obtain, but also we are governed by such physiological laws as to what lift of lifts we are more suited to and will someday, with the proper training, really excel in. 

This more than amply shows just how important it is to really ponder over (Lord of War II), in your mind, just where you STAND, just what you can realistically expect in the way of natural results due to these "natural abilities" you possess. 

Can you become another Paul Anderson? 

In all probability, no. 

The laws of averages are against it. But you can, if properly suited for it train along similar lines, and in all probability will become quite a strong man.

On the other hand let's continue this later . . . 

Enjoy Your Lifting! 

   

     

Jesus Fuck, is this put together nicely or what! 

And this . . . 

                                                   

                                                      When we're not busy fuckin' each other over, 

                                                        we humans do some real beautiful stuff.