Carl Lanore's Review of Muscle Smoke & Mirrors

Poliquin's Bookshelf: Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors

A definitive and objective reference on the history of bodybuilding

by Charles Poliquin

Many of the articles and books written about the history of bodybuilding are sponsored by organizations or supplement companies that ave political agendas. If I wanted to read about Ben and Joe Weider, for example, the last source I would consult would be Muscle and Fitness. And if I wanted to know what the late Nautilus inventor Arthur Jones was really like, I would avoid any books written by Ellington Darden. But the sad truth is that often these were the only sources available on these people, and you just had to take what they said with a grain of salt.until now.

A self-published book that is available through Amazon.com and BarnesandNobel.com, Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors: Volume 1 is unquestionably one of the best books ever written about the history of bodybuilding. Randy Roach, a heavily muscled, 49-year-old personal trainer, completed this masterful book despite the challenge of being visually impaired.

Much more than a photo essay of bodybuilding stars, Roach's book examines the major players in the game, including Dan Lurie, Vince Gironda, Joe Gold, Bob Hoffman, Irvin Johnson, Arthur Jones, Peary Rader, Eugen Sandow, Arthur Saxon and Joe and Ben Weider. And of course the champions are here, with Roach's insights into the impact of Dave Draper, Bill Pearl and all those other heavily muscled pioneers we have come to know by their first names: Arnold, Franco and Sergio.

What also makes this book unique is that it provides an objective perspective of the evolution of bodybuilding nutrition and the supplement industry. From the simple beef-milk-and-eggs diets of the physical-culture era to the various low-carb and low-fat diets that followed, the insight into the development of protein powders is worth the price of the book alone.

Of course, the topic of steroids is discussed, but more to determine the true origins of steroid use and not so much the ethical or physical consequences. In this regard, Roach distinguishes between the two ages of bodybuilding separated by the "Classic Era" of the 1960s. This decade saw the transition of the sport that produced an entirely new breed of athlete.

A 562-page bodybuilding treatise that took Roach five years to write, Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors: Volume I is divided into four major sections: Physical Culture, The Iron Game, The 1950s, and The 1960s. The second volume will continue the history into the modern era, with a special emphasis on the women of bodybuilding.

In light of all the nonsense that has been written about bodybuilding, I especially enjoyed Roach's book because all his information has been extensively researched, with specific references detailed in a lengthy bibliography. And Roach is not one to take anything at face value, even when it comes to discussing the accomplishments of one of the legendary ambassadors of the sport, Bill Pearl.

Roach notes that in Bill Pearl's book Getting Stronger, Pearl admitted to taking steroids to prepare for the 1958 and 1961 NABBA Mr. Universe. Although many people would be satisfied with such a confession, Roach did his research and found that in a 1980 seminar Pearl said, "I've only taken them for a short period of time back in 1967, a 6-8 week period under a doctor's supervision. I got off of it after that, and I have never touched them since.." Roach then points out that such a statement should be looked upon with suspicion, as four years later Pearl, at age 41, won the 1971 NABBA Pro Mr. Universe - Pearl being in the best shape of his life in defeating such bodybuilding superstars as the legendary Reg Park, former Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva and future Mr. Olympia Frank Zane.

A Look Inside
Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors is chock full of fascinating stories from the dawn of physical culture. To give you a taste of what's inside, I'd like to share a few.

The Squat Controversy. Many in the field of strength and conditioning blame Karl Klein for discouraging athletes and the general public from performing the squat, but bodybuilding had its own critics.

In the '50s popular bodybuilding writer Harry Paschall claimed that the deep squat with high reps and heavy weights, in Roach's words, "morphed the body in an unattractive manner" by enlarging the abdominal cavity. Just as outrageous were the claims of Irwin Johnson (aka Rheo H. Blair), who made the following comments in the June 1952 issue of Iron Man magazine:

"Too many squats, especially with heavy weight, produce big fannies, broaden the hips, and develop an upper thigh like that of a woman. I believe too, that squats work against, rather than for stimulating glandular function. Here in Chicago we have proved that it is possible to build the chest bigger and faster by doing our Hi-Chest pull than it is by doing hundreds of squats. The squat, as you can see, is not one of our favorite exercises. It's vastly over-rated in our opinion."

The Weider Research Clinic. One aspect of training that has always bugged me is the Weider Principles, developed in the famous Weider Research Clinic. It was not so much that these training principles (with such names as "Weider Flushing Principle" and the "Weider Priority Principle") lacked value, or the fact that Weider tried to take credit for their development, but that he promoted the idea that he was personally responsible for making weightlifting and weight training safe and effective. As proof, Roach offers for our consideration the following comments by Dr. E. M. Orlick that appeared in the March 1959 issue of Muscle Builder:

"In those pre-Weider days, young men were straining themselves, tearing muscles and ligaments, developing grotesque bodies, becoming muscle bound, and so forth. They had no scientific system to guide them. They just loaded as much weight as possible on the barbell and tried to force them overhead..There were no warm-ups, no sets or reps, no progressive training, just all out efforts."

As for addressing the validity of the Weider Research Clinic, Roach reveals that when 1966 Mr. America Bob Gajda visited the Weider offices, "he opened the door marked "Weider Research Clinic" only to find a broom closet. Continues Roach, "How many youngsters over the years, the author included, dreamed of being part of that 'Research Clinic?' Bob Gajda has in fact verified that had we been part of Weider's clinic, we'd have simply been cleaning Joe's broom closet.. Good business or deception, it worked very well. Bodybuilding was continuing to build its "smoke and mirror" industry."

Protein Supplements. Protein powders were the first major supplements used by bodybuilders, and Roach does a great job of discussing their origins and development. Of all the countless protein powders that have been produced over the past several decades, none has had quite the mystique surrounding it as Blair's Protein. Developed by Irvin Johnson (who was allegedly told to change his name to Rheo H. Blair on the advice of an astrologer), Blair's Protein was reportedly used by all the top bodybuilders in the '70s, including six Mr. Olympias. Blair's Protein was a high-protein, high-fat powder made of milk and eggs that Blair/Johnson - inaccurately - promoted as identical in omposition to human breast milk. Blair's protein was delicious, with users often describing it as having the taste of soft ice cream. Roach notes that although many bodybuilders swore that Blair's was the best protein on the market and gave them great results, because it contained approximately 25 percent lactose, it often caused gastrointestinal distress. Roach promises to delve more into the mysteries of Blair's popular protein in volume II. Bodybuilding training methods. Prior to the days when the major bodybuilding promoters came along, bodybuilding competitions were held after weightlifting competitions in the same venue. As many bodybuilders in the early era used competitive weightlifting exercises such as the clean and press, this pairing made sense. Later, Roach explains, the major magazine publishers, such as Hoffman and Rader, eventually acknowledged that to reach the highest levels, the training methods of bodybuilders and weightlifters had to go in different directions.

The Supplement Wars. Although there was good money to be made in selling bodybuilding equipment, it didn't take long for the major players in this industry to discover that there was much, much more money to be made in selling supplements. In this section of his book, Roach explains that most bodybuilding supplements were acquired from a small number of suppliers, a situation that led to accusations of stonewalling. Such was the case with Dan Lurie: Roach shows evidence that Joe Weider told Max Gold, the owner of one of Lurie's major suppliers, Gold Leaf Pharmaceutical Company, Inc., that Weider would stop doing business with him if Gold's company continued to supply Lurie with products. As Weider was Gold's major customer, Gold had no choice but to cut off Lurie.

Bodybuilding judging. The most prestigious competition in the early days of physique competition was the AAU Mr. America, but Roach points out that the judging for this event was much different that what is seen today.

Writing in the May 1957 issue of Strength and Health, Bob Hoffman explained some of the intangibles that went along with selecting the winner of the Mr. America: "Morality must be given consideration, for we must select a wholesome type of man. Education is important.. He must be a live, alert, friendly man, must possess a combination of human qualities, which will make us proud to call him Mr. America."

Even if you're not a bodybuilder, Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors is a must-read for anyone interested in strength training and nutrition. I have no doubt that it will go down as one of the most objective histories of the fascinating world of physical culture and competitive bodybuilding. I can't wait for volume II and III!

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors