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Ben Weider, a Man of Vision
Ben Weider created and nurtured competitive bodybuilding on a worldwide stage. Before he entered the picture, the sport had no one...
John BalikJanuary 9, 2009 -
Homemade Results
During the so-called golden age of lifting—the 1940s and ’50s – there were just a handful of commercial gyms across the...
John BalikDecember 4, 2008 -
Cultivating Physical Culture
IRON MAN ’s purpose is to be a facilitator. We are enablers by design. “We know training” is our mantra—training meaning...
John BalikOctober 15, 2008 -
Muscle Beach
Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, California, was the birthplace of the worldwide fitness revolution. Just a few names of those who made...
John BalikSeptember 19, 2008 -
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
This past weekend my son Justin graduated from high school. I heard many parents, faculty and graduates describe the event as...
John BalikAugust 16, 2008 -
Unexpected Pleasures
Lonnie Teper’s NPC Junior California Bodybuilding and Figure Championships is grassroots bodybuilding at its best. It’s the kind of contest where...
John BalikJuly 22, 2008 -
Past, Present, Future
“We Know Training.” That’s our mantra, our focus, our mission statement. This issue is a perfect example of how we use...
John BalikJune 1, 2008 -
How to Be Happy
Early this week I was listening to National Public Radio as I drove to work, and there was a feature about...
John BalikApril 22, 2008 -
The Five-Minute Workout
My friend Bob Gajda, a Mr. America and Mr. Universe in the mid-’60s, started out as a three-letter athlete in high...
John BalikMarch 14, 2008 -
What a Weekend!
I started producing bodybuilding events in the late ’60s as a volunteer with the AAU, which was then the dominant sanctioning...
John BalikFebruary 22, 2008 -
The Legacy of a Legend
The legacy of Reg Park is worldwide, and it’s a living legacy, manifest in the bodies and lives he changed by...
John BalikJanuary 4, 2008 -
Separating the Men From the Boys
No pain, no gain. That’s the bodybuilding mantra because the key factor in making a workout productive is intensity, and intensity...
John BalikDecember 16, 2007 -
Selfishness: Another View
The dictionary definition of selfish goes something like this: lacking in consideration for others; putting yourself at the center. Then there...
John BalikNovember 20, 2007 -
Arthur Jones: The Passing of a Giant
Arthur Jones was a man of extremes: charismatic, brash, brilliant, driven, relentless, bigoted— and above all fearless. I first met him...
John BalikOctober 30, 2007 -
Transformation, Part 2
Last month in this space I discussed Dynamic Longevity™, and I want to expand on some of those thoughts—as well as...
John BalikSeptember 21, 2007