Building Bodies
Weight training is often associated with the kinds of body building featured in
the muscle magazines. Extremes of muscle growth are depicted and there is an assumption that we all desire (or should desire) to pack on mass. Consequently, there is a dearth of helpful information for those who want to improve their physiques without necessarily transforming into a mass monster.
Body building was traditionally concerned with physical health, strength, and the sort of aesthetics that one associates with classical scuplture.
My belief is that physical training should be integrated with our lives, rather than becoming an obsessive pursuit of size or competitive success.
The body building lifestyle is a discipline that, along with other healthy disciplines (such as nutrition, relaxation, meditation, virtuous living) can contribute to what Aristotle calls "the good life" (eudaimonia). Essentially it is about fostering the "good" of being human.
There is, according to Plato, an ideal of being human. Like so many things, our humanity can become disordered, the effects of which can be seen in poor physical health, obesity, type II diabetes, many mental health conditions, the way we relate to others.
A helpful approach to living can be to see life as a process in which we weed out disorder/vices and foster virtue/health. It is a process that involves the whole being, physical, emotional, intellectual, relational, spiritual.
In this context, the hard work of training is not simply for the achievement of cosmetic results, but is an integrated part of the process of self-transformation; becoming more fully human.
The muscle magazines are aimed predominantly at adolescent and young men. Their message is of power and virility. One publication that stands apart from the typical muscle magazine is Frank Zane's (3 times Mr Olympia) "Building the Body", a quarterly magazine with no paid advertising that explores the health, and anti-ageing, benefits of training, nutrition, and associated lifestyle practices. Follow the link below to Frank Zane's website: