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Misconceptions About The Men’s Physique Division

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Originally published on mensphysique.com on Wednesday, 16 July 2014. It was a pretty popular post!

http://www.rxmuscle.com/blogs/the-news-the-newest-in-mp/11258-misconceptions-about-the-men-s-physique-division.html
jeremy b greater gulf states 2013
The Men’s Physique Division has stirred up tremendous interest and a decent amount of controversy within the IFBB and NPC, with a plethora of fans as well as a camp of haters. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the inception of this division was the door of opportunity which opened for men who were interested in competing on a bodybuilding stage but who did not want to sign up for the rigors of a competitive bodybuilder’s regimen. As expected, the floodgates opened and the Men’s Physique Division became wildly popular, not just among competitors within the division, but also among its ever-growing fan base worldwide. Sadly, there have been naysayers who have popped up with scathing criticism of the division which echoes the main misconceptions about the division.

Here is a breakdown of the three main misconceptions which have been circulating since the division was established in 2011.

“The Men’s Physique Division should be renamed Men’s Bikini.”

Ever since the Men’s Physique Division (MPD) was established, insults began flying about how it had no business sharing the stage with Bodybuilding. The ideal Men’s Physique body is supposed to be distinctive from a bodybuilder’s body, balanced with a pronounced v-taper, and without the excessive muscularity that is so celebrated in Bodybuilding. The more abbreviated posing which characterizes the MPD, along with the specific poses, the beach god look, and the model type good looks which many competitors possess have prompted many bodybuilders and fans of old school bodybuilding to compare MPD to a beauty pageant.

I will admit that there have been rare instances in which I have seen MPD competitors exaggerate their posing in such a way that it becomes a bit comical and somewhat pageant-like, but such instances are isolated. I think it’s important to remember that MPD competitors train HARD, and the best in the industry are very well respected athletes. It is outrageously rude to make comparisons of these tremendous athletes to pageant contestants.

“Men’s Physique (MP) guys don’t have wheels.”

The regulation garment which was chosen for the MPD, the board short, was selected primarily to evoke the idea that the competitors were supposed to look like they had just walked off the beach, embodying the ideal buff beach body. However, this particular short style is cut in such a way that it always hides the quads and hams, so it is often impossible to tell whether a competitor has well developed legs or is hiding toothpick legs under all that fabric. My experience has been that I have seen quads on many MP competitors which rival the wheels of seasoned bodybuilders, blowing the idea that MP guys have stick legs completely out of the water.

Many MP guys lift heavy, and they certainly do train legs! Every once in a while you might see an MP guy with spindly legs, but the division certainly does not deserve to be picked on about leg development. It has in fact been suggested by many to implement a shorter cut onstage in order to reveal the quads and hams. Perhaps once that occurs, MP competitors will finally be able to dispel this rumor.

“All Men’s Physique guys are divas or gay.”

First of all, anyone who is narrow-minded enough to make a blanket assessment of the sexual orientation of an entire division of competitors simply because many of them are visually very appealing is completely ignorant. It seems like the haters who make such comments are mostly envious because the MP guys are the ones who usually turn heads and make the ladies swoon. As a matter of fact, many women, including me, were ecstatic when the MPD was established because we as spectators finally had our eye candy. Many MP competitors easily fit the expression “pretty boy” due to their Abercrombie & Fitch boyish good looks. Honestly, I don’t see how that is a bad thing!

Though I have observed a high maintenance and diva-esque attitude in some MP competitors, that type of attitude by no means pervades the division. Let’s face it: the world of competitive bodybuilding can sometimes spark up a picky, persnickety attitude in competitors regardless of gender or division, and that certainly includes competitive male bodybuilders, who can be the biggest pains in the ass because their regimens are so extreme.

It has been exciting to watch the MPD grow from the new kid on the block who got picked on, to now being a well-respected division which has enhanced the sport of competitive bodybuilding. Not only has the MPD brought in massive revenue for the NPC and IFBB, it has brought competitive bodybuilding to the mainstream with its more attainable body silhouette.

Deceptively “Healthy” Granola

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I used to purchase Bear Naked 100% Natural Granola Honey Almond variety to have on hand for rare mini-cheats because it had 10 grams of protein per serving and had ingredients (aside from the soy) which were relatively benign. I had resolved my issues with all the soy in this product by reminding myself that I would only consume this several times a year. However, I had ALCAT Food Intolerance testing done (https://www.alcat.com/) which demonstrated that I had a mild intolerance to soy and honey, a moderate intolerance to malt and canola oil, and a severe intolerance to barley. I guess that would explain the bloating and increased aching in my joints that I would experience the day after eating this granola!

Here are the ingredients in Bear Naked 100% Natural Granola Honey Almond:
whole grain oats, soy protein concentrate, honey, expeller pressed canola oil, soy protein isolate, almonds, soy nuts (roasted soybeans), natural flavor, whole grain crisp rice (whole grain rice, barley malt)

Just because a food product is deemed “natural” doesn’t mean that it is something you should eat. You may be intolerant of specific foods or ingredients which are in many so-called healthy products. How can you tell if you are intolerant without getting an expensive blood test? Simply be aware of how your body reacts when you eat certain foods, and avoid any foods which trigger bloating, abdominal cramps, skin rashes, cough, headaches, runny nose, hives and changes in bowel habits.

Bottom line: read ingredient labels on the foods you buy and avoid any ingredient which is making you sick!

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Do You Have Lower Back Pain? Check Out The VacuPractor

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If you have lower back pain, you should check out the VacuPractor! The VacuPractor is a doctor-recommended and FDA registered device which relieves pain, decompresses vertebrae in the spine, and stretches the muscles naturally. It does so by utilizing an outward pull on the lower back, stretching the muscles in the area, and relieving pressure on disks and nerves. This device is easy and safe to use.

Use of the VacuPractor improves many lower back conditions, including the following:

low back pain
herniated discs
degenerated discs
compressed discs
back injuries
hip injuries
sciatica
spinal stenosis

I enthusiastically endorse the VacuPractor and encourage my patients, clients, friends, and followers to use it. I have been able to arrange a special price for all of you which is almost 50% off the price which is listed on the VacuPractor site! Instead of paying $89.95, you will only pay $50 if you enter my discount code at checkout. This is absolutely the lowest price you will find anywhere for the VacuPractor. There is also a 90 day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

Please make sure to enter the discount code “stacey” at checkout!

VacuPractor.com

Could You Be Undernourished?

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Bodybuilder-FoodOriginally written for and published by sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com

If you are a fitness fanatic or competitor, you may assume that you are adequately nourished because you practice clean eating. However, that might not necessarily be the case. Shockingly, many people who are in the fitness world suffer from under-nutrition as a result of consuming limited types and amounts of foods in an effort to reach a super lean state. Think about it: if you are limiting caloric intake during a contest prep phase, have eliminated foods which become demonized during prep such as fruits and peanut butter, and aren’t supplementing your body with the nutrients it needs, then you are probably undernourished. Such nutrient deficits can have a serious negative impact on your health if practiced for an extended period of time.

Under-nutrition is a nutrient or energy deficiency, while malnutrition can represent either a deficiency or an excess of nutrients. Some individuals (especially women) in the fitness world continually follow meal plans which are unbalanced and extremely low in calories and are thus chronically undernourished. Such a state of deficit can be amplified if certain medical conditions such as leaky gut are present, because whatever nutrients are supplied to the body might not be absorbed properly.

Mild cases of under-nutrition are often symptom-free, while more severe cases are usually symptomatic. Some deficiencies can cause permanent damage to the body, for example, blindness with severe vitamin A deficiency. Typical symptoms of under-nutrition vary based on the specific deficiency, but can include:

Joint and bone pain
Ringing in the ears
Difficulty breathing
Poor night vision
Sores at the corners of the mouth
Muscle weakness
Impaired immunity
Fatigue
Delayed wound healing
Dry skin and hair
Bleeding gums
Skin rashes
Easy bruising
Digestive problems
Dizziness
Irregular or halted menstrual periods
Depression

It can be difficult to determine whether a symptom is reflective of a nutrient deficiency or some other cause, but if your diet is restrictive, there’s a decent chance that a nutrient deficiency is to blame. The following nutrients are being highlighted here because they are most likely to be lacking in a fitness person’s diet.

Vitamin D3: The majority of the U.S. population is deficient in this vitamin, which is not only important for bone health but also reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many types of cancer. Here’s the challenge: very few foods contain vitamin D3 (egg yolks, fatty fish like salmon), and the skin only makes vitamin D3 in response to exposure to sunlight. Common symptoms of vitamin D3 deficiency are muscle aches and joint pain, both of which could mistakenly be brushed off by bodybuilders as the consequence of heavy lifts at the gym. If you want to supplement with vitamin D3, take 5,000 mg per day.

Calcium: Have you ever gotten a mad craving, especially in the middle of contest prep, for fatty foods or soda? Both cravings can be a sign of calcium deficiency. Calcium is essential for formation of healthy bone tissue and plays a vital role in nerve impulse conduction. Because the typical fitness meal plan excludes dairy sources, a calcium deficiency can sneak up on fitness people. Take 500 milligrams twice daily.

Iodine: This element is essential for the production of thyroid hormones. Main dietary sources of iodine include table salt, eggs, seafood, and dairy products. However, table salt is avoided by most fitness people, as are dairy products, increasing the risk of developing an iodine deficiency. Ironically, though sea salt provides many of the minerals which are missing in table salt (such as magnesium and potassium), it also potentially creates iodine deficiency since it is not fortified with iodine.

It may be difficult to tell if an iodine deficiency exists in the early stages because symptoms don’t surface until the thyroid gland reacts to the lower iodine levels. By that time, the symptoms of hypothyroidism have usually kicked in, such as fatigue, constipation, dry skin, depression and weight gain. The good news is that iodine supplements are available. Iodine deficiency can also be remedied by consuming seafood, kelp and meat products.

Magnesium: Have you ever noticed that your cravings for chocolate are intensified as you get closer to a contest date, or right before you ladies hit “that time of the month”? Chocolate cravings are a common signal that the body is deficient in magnesium. Deficiencies of this important mineral are quite common among regular folk and bodybuilders. Magnesium is important for hundreds of bodily functions, has a calming effect, and keeps the digestive tract moving optimally. It also has a protective effect against high blood pressure. If you prefer to supplement magnesium with a tablet, take 400 mg at night. If you prefer food sources of magnesium, almonds are an excellent source, providing 80 milligrams per ounce. Spinach, legumes, seeds, unrefined whole grains, and cashews are also good sources of magnesium.

Potassium: Lack of this mineral can wreak havoc on contest prep since it is excreted during the diuresis phase of most contest prep regimens. Potassium is present in every cell of the body, is essential for energy production, guards against high blood pressure, and maintains fluid balance. Daily needs range about 5,000 milligrams daily, and can be obtained from fit-friendly foods like spinach, sweet potatoes and broccoli, but during final week prep, the loss of potassium during the water-shedding phase must be compensated for in order to avoid cramping, weakness, tingling, numbness, nausea, vomiting or palpitations. Severe potassium deficiency can be life threatening and must be corrected quickly.

Zinc: Some women have intense food cravings right before their periods which can be a sign of zinc deficiency. Zinc plays a vital role in cell division, DNA synthesis, immune system function, and protein synthesis. A deficiency of zinc can result in hair loss, skin rashes, frequent colds and other infections, insomnia, loss of taste or smell and decreased libido. If you prefer to obtain zinc from food sources, turn to red meat, wheat, oats, eggs, nuts, peas, and leafy green vegetables. Otherwise, a 50 milligram daily supplement will suffice for most individuals.

Goldilocks

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IFBB-pro_FitX-2014-FitXproBikini-468 The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (copied from DLTK’s Crafts for Kids)

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

“This porridge is too hot!” she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

“This porridge is too cold,” she said

So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

“Ahhh, this porridge is just right,” she said happily and she ate it all up.

After she’d eaten the three bears’ breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her feet.

“This chair is too big!” she exclaimed.

So she sat in the second chair.

“This chair is too big, too!” she whined.

So she tried the last and smallest chair.

“Ahhh, this chair is just right,” she sighed. But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” growled the Papa bear.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said the Mama bear.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!” cried the Baby bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” growled the Papa bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” said the Mama bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair and they’ve broken it all to pieces,” cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed,”

“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, too” said the Mama bear

“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed and she’s still there!” exclaimed Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, “Help!” And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. And she never returned to the home of the three bears.
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Those of you who have competed in NPC and IFBB bodybuilding events would probably use adjectives such as exhilarating, empowering, fun, nerve-racking, and perhaps terrifying to describe the experience of being onstage. No one in their right mind would sign up for such an experience if there wasn’t some sort of intrinsic reward or benefit to standing onstage and being compared to others down to the last fine details that are only discernible to the trained eye. However, there are instances in which a competitor may feel torn due to hearing one critique from one judge which is then contradicted by another critique from a different judge. Though there are standards within each bodybuilding division which are meant to establish guidelines for the perfect physique, judges are only human and they also have personal preferences or ideals which may color their evaluation of an athlete onstage.

The Goldilocks story is a study in extremes: temperature, size and degree of softness. In stark contrast, NPC and IFBB judges usually don’t have to deal with extremes unless they are judging novice divisions which can have a lot of variability in size, balance and degree of conditioning. Judges deal with porridge which is just about the right temperature, chairs which are just about the right size, and mattresses which have the right degree of firmness, so they have their work cut out for them. Not only must judges scrutinize every detail on competitors, they must do it rather quickly, which is where the human element comes in. I am quite sure that if two competitors with the exact same physiques were to stand in front of a judge, both with the same degree of facial attractiveness, posing skill, sparkle in the eyes, and personality, something as minor as hair color or suit color might be the one variable which tips the scales in one competitor’s favor. By no means am I suggesting that judging is heavily subjective, but unless robots are conducting the evaluations, there may be some degree of subjectivity, especially when a situation such as a tie-breaker must be decided.

I have observed heated discussions at the judges’ table on a couple of occasions which I am sure were due to differences of opinion over which competitor brought the absolute best package onstage. Sometimes it can be a “six of one, half a dozen of the other” predicament in which one competitor might be slightly lacking in the glutes, whereas another competitor might be weak in the hamstring area. If all other variables are equal, do the judges flip a coin to decide who gets the higher rank? What if several judges on the panel prefer a softer physique, while several others prefer a more compact, conditioned silhouette? I certainly don’t envy the judges for what they must deal with when assessing the competitors lined up in front of them!