The Prize Winning Blog Idea!

Here’s the question that prompts today’s blog, the one that wins the 4 CD package from Audtiotimekeeper. (Thanks to everyone for their entry questions. Most were excellent questions, though some were already posted on my blogsite from past days, and in some cases are actually answered directly by the book or by articles on the EAS website.) So, this one is the one I chose: “Do you think it benefits a person who is doing BFL to become knowledgeable about caloric intake, how your body uses different foods, how the body’s muscles work etc? The book really doesn’t go into a lot of detail about this or the need for it, but what I am finding out the last couple months is that really digging into this stuff gives me great incentive to really want to do the right thing with my body…it is making me really appreciate the “fine machine” that I am…LOL! The Hussman site is especially valuable to me.”

Here are my thoughts. The body for life book has much great information on HOW to do the challenge–including perfecting the power mindset, setting excellent goals, preparing for the challenge, what exercises to do, and what to eat and when. Beyond that, it de-emphasizes concentrating on calories, how certain foods work, and the process by which muscles are stressed, fed, and rebuilt.

The lack of detailed information in the original body for life book, which is written entirely from Bill Phillips’ view and personal experience, is intentional and wise.

I think Bill Phillips clearly anticipated that the difficulty factor of an excellent challenge, particularly given the amount of time most trainees have to put into it, was such that putting a whole bunch of information in the book about biochemical processes, nutrition, and  exercise kinesiology would just be too much for someone concentrating on a challenge.

So, is such knowledge ever necessary? Absolutely, if you wish to take this to the next level! The whole idea of the body for life experience is that one person’s success will become another person’s success. Most of you already have had that great experience of having someone ask you how you did this, and why. That’s only the beginning. And when someone wants to talk to you about this they want to know not just how it works but why as well. For people to trust you, and to want to follow you, they need to know three things–that you’re trustworthy, that you care about them, and that you know what you’re doing. The first two are about your integrity and your willingness to use your experience to help others, but the third is about what you know. The more you know, the more you can help others.

That’s why over the years I have recommended several books that give more than the flyover view of exercise and nutrition. One of the best on nutrition from a layman’s view is “The Zone” by Barry Sears. One of the most fantastic websites of all time on the dietary and biochemical reasons that BFL works is the hussmanfitnessdotcom website. The exact link is on my own personal website as well.  The book by Delavier called Strength Training Anatomy is as good as they get for understanding how muscles work, how they are exercised, and what exercises to choose.  A great website on the same topic is exrxdotnet.I also like both of the books written very recently by Lou Schuler, the “New Rules of Lifting,” (for guys) and the “New Rules of Lifting for Women–Lift Like a Man”. Schuler does a nice job of debunking myths, simplifying the complicated, and keeping you laughing while he does it.

There’s going to be another book out soon, that you also need to get. I’ll be telling you all about that as soon as I have permission.

To summarize, during your first challenge, you don’t need all this knowledge. You’ll have your hands full with just keeping up with the basics. Once you get to where you want to be, in order to help others get to where they need to be, you need more knowledge, and these other places are great resources.