Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Singular-Body-Part-Workout Phenomena

Monday: Chest

Tuesday: Arms

Wednesday: Back

Thursday: Legs

Friday: Shoulders

Add a sprinkle of abs and cardio in on various days and you have the same fitness prototype for almost every BODY I know.

Do you know, however, where this generic formula originated?

Shall we commence A History of Bodybuilding, 101? We shall:

Up until the 1950's, most gym bunnies, professional and amateur, did full-body workouts - (I know: GASP!) - three days per week (again: GASP!). Then, enter...(doom, doom doom!)...STEROIDS. Soon, it was discovered that they could push individual muscle groups harder - (GRUNT!) - and further - (ARGHHH!) - because of new found strength and stamina. An added benefit of these performance enhancers was a speedier recovery period...(and back acne)...thereby, allowing these dudes and dude-ettas to hit the gym more frequently - obliterating their bodies with more reps and sets than ever thought possible! As a result, training turned away from total-body workouts and, instead, focused on isolation exercises.

Cue in the innocent by-stander, who observes these figures of gargantuan proportions...

Cue in the original personal trainers, who were usually former bodybuilders...

Cue in the fact that steroid use is a hush-hush social taboo...

And it is no surprise that the singular-body-part-workout phenomena has trickled down to almost everyone who has stepped foot inside a gym...so many people continue to follow the same recipe, yet yield very different results - unless, of course, you are taking steroids. From here on in, you should divide yourself into the appropriate camp and conduct your workouts accordingly...

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