taking off the lid . . .

[hawkmoon]

Thanks for the new contribution Alfresco.
I can clearly imagine the people as you describe them. What great times you were able to experience. Truly the "Golden Age"...

 

[JETHRO TULL]

I would like to have seen that, Alfresco.

I wrote this about a year ago in the form of a PM to a well respected
member on this forum. Just ran across it and thought it might be worth
sharing with other members . . .

It was a long time ago so I'm fuzzy on all the details. A lot of bridge
under the water since them.

What I do remember is that I took my cousin down to Gold's / World
Gym in LA when she got interested in bodybuilding. I used to go
drive down from Nor Cal all the time in the summer, just to hang out
in the gym, at the beach, to train and and watch the monsters train.
Somehow, she quickly made friends with a manager at Venice Gold's
we soon found ourselves invited to this sneak preview, a posing "
exhibition" with Tom Platz. (It's amazing what doors open when you
have warm, friendly, attractive woman at your side. This would have
never happed to me if I was solo. Trust me.

We arrived back at the gym late that evening (Chris Dickerson was the
only guy training at the gym that evening, I think he had a key or some-
thing) for a ride to the "show". We all piled into his car, but first we had
to stop by Ken Waller's house for something or another. After that, we
drove to this small, intimate outdoor, half circle theater somewhere
(Hollywood?) where Tom did his posing routine. I really don't know
what the occasion was other than obvious. Don't recall any tickets or
money changing hands, I know I had nothing to do with either one. It
was a balmy LA summer evening. Just delightful.It was a small turnout,
not many people, probably just friends and relatives.

He was in terrific condition, his torso remarkably improved. I had seen
Tom train before, not legs, which I would have loved to have witnessed;
it was shoulders. I remember him using a "Smith Machine" in particular
(not seated is what I remember) and the insane intensity he applied to
each and every exercise. When he was training, the entire gym would
ratchet it up a notch. You could not help but want to train hard or you
would be embarrassed being there, breathing the same oxygen.

Was sorry to find out down the road that he got injured, but remembering
how hard he trained, it's no small wonder, sooner or later, something
has got to give.

Tom as usual gave a stunning performance, his signature move where
he slicks back his hair and all. He really knew how to free pose, how
to display his strengths, and hide his weaknesses.

I remember standing around talking (mostly listening) with him after the
demo and I could not get over how huge his legs were. I swear I could
see the cuts in legs through the sweat pants he had on.

And no, I did not ask him about "dosages". It never occurred to me and if it
had, I probably would have, my naiveté such as it was at the time. And his
training was something I had witnessed, so him answering questions about
it, describing it, would have been pointless for him. After all, how could one
convey the intensity with which he trained. All I remember is how nice he
was and his remarkable condition. I was in awe.

Like many things in life, it's all about access. And a truly nice woman
by your side (cousin or otherwise) can get you places. I took a photo of her
with Tom that night. She was a huge Platz fan. I've been hounding her for the
foto's I took of her with many of the big dogs at the time, Mike Mentzer,
Roy Callender, "Rocky" Deferro (RIP, heart disease?), etc . . . Now that her
daughter is off to college, she has promised to dig for them.

I hope she finds those photos. I mentioned this in another post but a kid down the hall had a huge poster of Tom Platz on his wall school. We'd just stare at that and crank up the Judas Priest- Turbo Lover and then go train. It would have been cool to see that in person.

 

[alfresco]

Roy Pinney, Man of Snakes, Baby Photos and Adventure, Is Dead at 98

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/nyregion/22pinney.html?_r=1

I read this with great sadness today, in the New York Times, the
passing of an acquaintance of mine.

I met Roy many years ago through Arthur Jones. I was working
on a "project" that was authorized by Arthur, and he thought Roy
might be worth talking to since Roy had worked for Arthur many
years before and we had many shared interests: I had caught and
raised rattlesnakes, had traveled to many of the same places, and
my budding interest in photography.

Roy and I exchanged emails and talked many times on the phone
(during the day because he was always on the internet at night when
traffic was slow . . .the olden days, dial-up connections). And when
my wife would go back east on business,I would join her and visit
Roy in NYC. He was a real character. Eventually when our conver-
sations moved away from the project I was working on, he gave me
much valuable advice on my then new career in photography.

I had not talked to Roy in some time, knew he was getting up there
in years, did not know his exact age so his passing at 98, like I said
in my opening post here, surprised no one. He lived a very full and
exciting life and I feel honored to have known him in some small way.

Below is a photo Roy took of a younger Arthur Jones, in Mexico,
holding up a Gila monster, a venomous lizard in one hand, a motion
picture camera in the other, and a rifle over his shoulder . . . pure
Arthur. (From the book Animals, Inc. by Roy Pinney, 1964.)

 

[alfresco]

my thoughts on cardio . . . and a long walk

Iabadman has been encouraging me to keep this thread
alive with some of my experiences, which I plan on doing,
and will do a better job of once I get some film back that I
sent out to get scanned so I can post up some fotos. And
mountaindog1, I'm working on a post about the Africa, the
Maasai, etc . . . not to worry, have not forgotten about you.

The recent rash of posts about cardio (how long, how many
times a day, this machine or that . . .) got me to thinking
about my experiences. There seems to two schools of
thought on this subject of cardio in regards to contest
preparation, simply stated; some believe in it, some don't.
Many have gotten in incredible shape without it and some
credit and rely on it to achieve their best condition and there
are plenty of examples to illustrate each school of thought.

While I have never trained or dieted for a contest, I did train
a young man many years ago (his first contest which he
won) and he got into remarkable condition eating exactly
the exact same diet he always ate, just reduced the portion
size, and he did zero cardio except for the very brief, fast
paced workouts I put him through, 3X per week. Yes, I have
fotos to prove it.

It has always been my contention that maximum muscular
size and cardio, weight bearing in particular, are mutually
exclusive activities. Am not saying that cardio is bad . . . on
the contrary. I think a certain amount is a necessity for a
healthy existence. (You get to pick how much.) I just think
it sends conflicting "signals" to your body and this can be
at the expense of muscle.

I have always though that the best time, the appropriate
time for cardio is when you are not in preparation for a contest,
when you are cruising, when your body is recovering, trying
to get healthy again following the stress and strains of
competition. While one could argue that every serious body-
builder is always training for a contest, I am referring to serious
contest preparation; you have a contest in mind, a date set
and you are growing into the show as you should be. This is
not the time for endless hours of cardio, trying to burn calories,
rev up your metabolism to get lean. Get lean through the
addition of the muscle mass you are adding and through the
appropriate diet and supplementation and save the cardio for
the off season.

If you look at the animal kingdom, mammals in particular,
big cats to be specific, the biggest and the strongest ones
are also the laziest ones. Take the male lion for instance.
They very rarely hunt, they sleep all day and let others do
the killing for them, prefer to steal food or let the females
do the running and killing (I have witnessed this many times)
Now compare the lion to a cheetah. A cheetah is nowhere
near the size of a lion (I have had a full grown male literally in
my lap) and they are more active, faster, not as sedentary.

The biggest animals, like elephants or rhinos, are very lethargic,
slow moving grazers by nature, but they are capable of incredible
bursts of speed and power. I know I been charged by both of
them, fortunately not at the same time.

My experience tells me that I cannot attain my maximum
muscular development while, for instance, doing 50 mile rides
on my road bike or 20 mile hikes on my off days. But this is
what I like to do, and do not do so to lose fat and am positive
if I knocked back the cardio I would gain some appreciable
muscle. Sure this may be an extreme example . . . I'm just
sayin' . . . you can have anything you want, you just can't
have everything.

Now . . . the fly in the ointment . . .

As some of you may recall, my wife recently spent the better
part of summer, backpacking, pretty much nonstop and solo,
through the mountains and deserts of California, along the
Pacific Crest Trail.

Before she left, we did a blood test and some careful recording
of her body composition. (You know me, I'm almost fanatical
about keeping accurate records). And when she recently
returned, we did the same. FYI . . . experience tell me that
if I had done what she did, I would have lost 10-15 lbs . . .
of muscle all over.

Here are the results: lost 4 lbs of bodyweight and gained some
muscle.

Lost zero arm size.

Lost 2 3/4 inches from her chest.
Lost 3 3/4 inches from her waist.
Lost 1 inch from her hips.

Added 3/4 inch to her thighs
Added 1/4 inch to her calves

Her shoe size remained the same. I expected her feet
to grow one full size, but they did not.

And her blood tests came back perfect . . . same as
before she left.

No bad for walking all day long, 1,330 total miles in about 3 months,
sleeping on ground, eating only what you carry and that never
being able to meet your daily choleric needs, having very little
protein (by most standards) and being a over 50 year old vegetarian.

A few people on this board have been privy to a particular foto I
took of her while she was literally "on the trail" and they can attest
to how she looks. Enough said.

 

[Elvia1023]

Great posts. I always enjoy reading your stories. The animal kingdom comment shows an outstanding mind. Common sense but most minds wouldn't even venture to such thoughts.

 

[Wonton]

Unreal - You my friend have a gift.

 

[hawkmoon]

Another great post Alfresco. Thanks.

 

[reebokrunner456]

Sticky material!!!

 

[b-boy]

classic thread right here!!! :headbang:

 

[mountaindog1]

awesome

Thank you! Any Tom Platz stories are a treasure to me...he was the only bodybuilder I ever really looked up to...in an idolize sort of way. Can't wait to hear about the Masai.

Truly appreciate your time on this thread...

JM

 

[alfresco]

training videos . . .

First a thank you to Wynn for all the work he does posting the videos. If I may speak
for the many, they are appreciated.

**broken link removed**

My opinion . . . Easily the best, most enjoyable
video of the lot (not the training part). I got a
sense that he is a real person, not just a eating,
training, drug taking machine that so many like
to portray bodybuilders as although I'm sure at
times in his life he has felt that way. Sure his
life revolves around training, but he makes time
and is sensitive to his family, his mom, and to see
him talk about her and be with her was very heart-
warming.

I also remember a video that was posted with Roelly
returning home for a short rest with friends and
family meeting him at the airport. They were literally
standing in line to give the big guy a hugs and kisses,
men and women alike. All this went on for the longest
time, you could really see and feel the emotion.

I always thought it would be great to follow a pro-
fessional bodybuilder around New York City with a
camera. And they did such a thing with Roelly. He
had his short off in Times Square and people again
were standing in line touch him, be photographed with
him, old and young alike. The looks on their faces
was priceless

It's called life, people, love, caring about others,
interaction, smiling, laughing, having fun; not being
caught up in your own persona or what others may or
may not think of you.

Now . . . excuse me while I go off on a tangent . . .

In my simple mind, training videos are incredibly boring
to watch. Sure there are some exceptions; videos that
perhaps demonstrate a new way(?) or a variation on a
particular exercise. For that they are worthwhile as many
times the written word is insufficient, you can lean from
tem.

This is not a knock on the videographers (though most do
a horrible job . . . lighting, editing, etc . . .) there are some
well produced training videos out there. But come on now,
what do you really learn by watching them? Do you really
think that by doing a curl, or a pull down, or a press
like Mr. So-and-so you are going to somehow change
how you are going to look?

And who here can actually say that their physique has
improved, benefited by watching them? Be honest.
And how motivating can it be to watch somebody who
you will never look like, do something you will never
be able to do, no matter how long you trained, or what
you "took", or what you ate. That is not motivating to
me, that is depressing.

So why watch?

It is a momentary satisfaction at best, akin to masturbation
if you ask me. Sure it does no harm, but it's preventing
you from doing, and that is not beneficial in my book.

Do you honestly think that Ronnie, Jay, or Dorian sat
around watching videos to get motivated? Or to learn
something? I think not.

Look for your motivation from within, or from art, from
literature, or from people who have overcome incredible
odds, adversity and apply that to your particular passion.

I clearly remember years ago when I started rock climbing,
climbing videos were just coming into fashion and were
becoming more widely available. I bought my share of
them, spent a small fortune, and would watch them end-
lessly, thinking if I could move like them, was as strong
as them, I could climb like them. I fantasized about
doing all the routes I saw (and some I eventually did do)
these guys and gals were doing but I really learned nothing.
Once I was one the "rock" all that motivation faded away,
was forgotten, the moment I started my vertical ascent.

It took me a long time I'm afraid to say to realize that
climbing is mostly mental, not as physical I though it
to be despite having built a climbing gym in my garage
and training like a mad man. Eventually I learned it's
all about being calm, relaxing, and overcoming fear
and being confident, then I really start to enjoy
myself and become better. I'm not saying I was succes-
sful in all those aspects, I wasn't, but eventually I
learned that it all comes from within. Looking, watching,
hoping and praying has very little to do with the outcome.

Another example . . . when I made a career change to
photography years ago, I subscribed to an almost endless
number "how-to" magazines, read all the books, looked
at all the pretty pictures, visited all the websites, read
all the related blogs, bla bla bla. Eventually I realized
that the time I was spending looking at the work of others,
I was not "doing". No amount of reading, looking, and
talking about it will substitute. It was only through doing
and evaluating the results that one gets better. I'm thank-
ful that I have a few good editors that let me know what
has commercial value, but I still shoot for myself, shoot
what I like, and am fortunate to have enough agents that
accept and see value in my work.

Getting back to training videos . . . there is nothing "wrong"
with them. I personally just find them boring, watching
somebody do set after of the same exercise, with a weight
I will never be able to handle, using a style of movement
I might add, that is largely responsible for the way
many people perform exercises in the gym I belong to. Sad
but true, but that is the very real negative aspect of most
training videos . . . if I do it like he does, I will look like him.
Sure you will . . .

 

[airspirit]

I find it interesting that people say that you looked shorter as you got bigger. I get told the opposite by people that seem to think that I'm getting taller due to shoulder proportions (I have an extremely narrow chest cage and shoulder breadth, so even small changes seem dramatic).

 

[alfresco]

Duma and I in Africa.

Story?

 

[BigChef]

Story?

What's the story behind this picture Alfresco? Can you enlighten us? Thanks

 

[alfresco]

just for fun . . .

A few fotos of me in Bora Bora, many many moons ago.
Young, dumb, and full of . . . Would post more of them
but all the other are topless . . . gotta respect others.

 

[swervedriver]

Thanks for sharing your stories... Your insight is both amazing and motivational... This is absolutely one of the best threads I've ever had the pleasure of reading.... Thank you!

 

[alfresco]

Tanzania

fotos . . .

My first trip to Africa, after a long day on the road.
Brutal days, camping where we could, building
fires to cook over, digging latrines, being run out
of town, natives digging through our garbage,
visits by Maasai, lion kills, charged by a rhino,
could go on and on . . . The other on the top of
Kilimanjaro, windblown and exhausted while our
"guides" were smoking cigarettes.

After that, I traveled to Seychelles where I came
very close to being shot and killed . . . but other
than that, it was the closest I have ever come to
a true paradise on earth. Many great adventures
on this trip and as always, took too few fotos . . .

 

[alfresco]

Darien Gap, Central America

A few shots from a trip I did a long time ago crossing the
Darien Gap, a roadless jungle and swamp which lies
between Panama and Columbia. It is the the missing link
of the Pan-American Highway. We half packpacked /
bushwacked and half canoed it, those being our only
modes of transpo. A crazy place. Would not advise doing
it now, not very safe. Was not that bad when I was there,
but now, no way Jose.

The foto below is of us at the border in the jungle and
the other along the banks at the headwaters of the Rio
Atrato, many days away from the first town we saw in
weeks, a town called Turbo on the Gulf of Columbia.

Probably the most dangerous, wildest place I have ever
been. Just trying to expain to the border "official" how
we got there (gives me nightmares to this day) they
refused to believe. Could not wait to get out of town.

 

[slyder]

Alfresco, it's a rare occasion that I'm truly enthralled by anything people write on forum boards....mildly interested as I skim through, and if I'm learning something from what they've written, all the better....but I'd probably sit here all night reading your posts if you continued to narrate! Please update this thread often....your life seems full of intriguing people, places, and events, and the candor with which you write makes it worthwhile to read every word. Thanks for a great thread - please keep it up!

 

[alfresco]

Venezuela

Mount Roraima is the fabled "Tepui" made famous by
Arthur Conan Doyle in his book The Lost World. On top
of plateau, dinosaurs were supposed to dwell, trapped
by the sheer vertical 400M tall cliffs. Unfortunately we
found no such beasts. Instead we found streams filled
with crystals, plant and animal life that exist nowhere
else in the world. "Discovered" in 1596, it resides on the
border of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. I spent
Thanksgiving on top of this mountain many years ago.
It can be reached by climbing up the notch, directly
above my left shoulder.

A 3,212 ft free fall, Angel Falls is the highest waterfall
in the world. Unknown to the "outside world" until 1933,
an aviator named Jimmie Angel spotted it while on a
reconnaissance flight while working for a mining company.
The base is reached by a several day canoe trip up the
Churun River, and then by a days walk. I took that foto
along the way on a hike to it's base, was the best view
I had.

Both places are only accessible during a brief period
of time, when the rivers are low, during the "dry season."