The history of marketing weight-resistance exercisers/courses, health foods, and the “bodybuilding/fitness” industry "pitch", has been replete with DELIBERATE DECEPTION to try and fleece $$$ from the gullible general public, who are basically lazy and want instantaneous results without having to put forth the necessary effort! And, this has been going on for over 100 years (at least)…
Here are just a few examples…
(1) The great physique champion/strongman Eugene Sandow (every bit as famous in his day as Arnold was in his prime, according to iron game historian Terry Todd) tried to sell, by mail-order to the public, little light-weight hand-squeeze dumbbells…claiming that he built his impressive muscular physique with just these worthless dumbbells…when actually he did heavy barbell/dumbbell bodybuilding exercises, instead! And, this was in the early 1900’s.
(2) Charles Atlas in the 1930’s-1950’s, trying to market his “dynamic-tension” exercise system of muscle pushing/pulling/strictly-body-resistance exercises, when, in fact, he really built his impressive physique with barbell/dumbbell exercises instead!
(3) Bob Hoffman claiming in the 1960's that the isometric power racks he was trying to sell were the key to the remarkable progress of his Olympic weightlifters, when the real fact was that their progress was due to the advent of steroids (which was kept as a closely-guarded secret)!
(4) Joe Weider claiming he has been “Trainer of Champions since 1936” (duhh…he was only 13 years of age in 1936!??) and merely coining new names for old/existing exercises/exercise-systems, and then claiming that he had ‘invented them”!
(5) All of Hoffman’s and Weider’s false magazine claims regarding the benefits of their Hi-Protein and other bodybuilding “health food/related” product lines. Why, they were even cited by the FDA for false claims on their product labels!
(5) Of course, all of the current bloated pro. BB illegal-drug-using “chemical monsters/freaks” lying and claiming that they built their “mass-monster” physiques with the primary aid of the heavily-advertised food supplements, so vigorously marketed in the BB mags…when the real fact is, that their muscle-size gains are mainly due to the monstrous, dangerous, deadly, BB drug stacks they regularly ingest/inject.
(6) All of the “fitness and bodybuilding industry” CRAP “exercisers” that are hawked on TV that cost big $$$ (e.g. the Bowflex machines costing thousands of dollars) when JUST a simple plate loading barbell, a sturdy bench, and a squat rack (costing only a few hundred dollars, used) along with hard, intelligent, work could accomplish a lot MORE in really building ones’ strength and physique!
(7) All of the dangerous-to-health diet pills, pushed in the media, to help you lose weight while lying on your lazy, fat, ass, instead of using intelligent vigorous exercise and diet as a much healthier, and safer, weight-loss alternative!
Why the “bodybuilding/fitness industry” marketing is no different than the "snake-oil" salesman of the late 1800’s, and is merely a continuation of this CON…i.e. just lies, lies, and more lies, to fleece $$$ from a gullible, ignorant, general public (always looking for a quick and effortless “fix”)!! Wasn’t it P.T. Barnum who said over 100 years ago, “there is a SUCKER born every minute”?!
