You've no doubt seen the television spokesperson, model or celebrity who comes on and touts a certain product, diet or service as the greatest thing since sliced bread. They tell you, and may even show you before and after pictures about how incredibly revolutionary this product or service is. And it couldn't be easier. You can almost hear the sales pitch. 'Step right up and a few minutes a day of squeezing your legs together can get you great thighs. How about great abs? You don't have to sweat, just flex them a little while and watch your waistline melt away. Want great breasts? No problem. Just a few isometric chest contractions will really bring those breasts out.' Baloney! If it was only that easy. How can people fall for this grand delusion?

The reality is that it takes more than just promises to build great legs, abs and breasts. It takes consistent bodybuilding workouts to build great body parts, but isn't that the fun of it? While only a very small minority of these claims have some merit, far too many of these bodybuilding ads are not only misleading, they are also devastating to the ambition, hope and what's realistically possible to the average reader or viewer who sweats hard and long to gain a pound or two of solid muscle or lose a few pounds of fat. The only revolutionary claims and before and after cases you should trust are those that have stood the scrutiny of expert researches from well respected universities or institutions who have conducted studies under controlled and scientific conditions. Just because someone has a degree or title after his/her name is no reason to accept that person's word as gold. He or she may be in it for the gold. Bodybuilding takes time, consistency and hard work to build muscles.

True Interests

Think about this. Those before and after photos submitted by customers and/or celebrities who claim to use the miraculous bodybuilding products are, more times than not, tested by the product's company itself. And if this is the case, whose true interests do u think are really served, yours or the company selling the product?

These miracle bodybuilding products and claims can be depressing to the bodybuilder. I'll give you an example. A relatively few people are genetically inclined to gain weight and build muscle fast. As raw recruits, they respond quickly to hard training and a proper diet, especially with a weight gain supplement rich in calories, protein, carbs and other important nutrients. Their body weight gains are meteoric for the first few months, but their progress will slow as they reach the threshold of their potential. Their gains will consist of shapely, attractive muscle with a modicum of definition, but the refined, iron hard crystalline muscle mass you see in Mr Olympia competitions is still somewhere in their future. Don't let yourself be fooled by this grand delusion of building championship muscle in only a few short weeks.

And those of you who believe these purported before and after cases, you may feel deprived because you haven't made the same gains with your method of training. So you assume you didn't train right, eat right or buy that company's products. Why should you miss out on gains that others make? After trying various ways to make these gains, you may conclude that only anabolic drugs will do it. Some of you may even give up bodybuilding altogether.

I believe that some before and after pictures in bodybuilding ads or articles are fairly honest and may be partially true, if the subject as mentioned happened to be genetically gifted. However, don't believe that everyone, neither man nor woman, will make these gains using special food supplements with his or her workouts. That rapid transformation from skinny to defined, muscular mass in a few weeks, even months, is pure chimera because that potential, from a dead start, is as rare as hen's teeth.

Here's what I've seen happen. A bodybuilder spends years building muscular size and definition and then for one reason or another quits training entirely. These quitters characteristically drop weight fast, losing up to 25 pounds as their muscle mass and muscular detail diminish over a period of time. When they do start bodybuilding training again, which they usually do, they quickly gain muscular weight and size. The reason is that muscle has its own memory. Stimulated by exercise, the memory informs muscle to return to its former status as quickly as possible.

Quick Fix

With all the hype about muscle and bodybuilding these days, the innocent, expectant reader becomes gullible. Millions of people are regularly suckered in by frauds of all kinds. It's easy to see why our 'shake and bake' society falls for this grand delusion of quick fixes from these ads.

Take a good look at many before and after pictures for liposuction ads. Some show patients or ad models with chest and abdominal development that resembles that of someone doing bodybuilding. Many of the pictures portray such remarkable transformations that you might easily think they're totally due to the liposuction. Baloney! You won't get results like that with liposuction alone. It takes hard training, proper nutrition and supplementation. There are no short cuts. Can you see why people groping desperately for a way to improve existence would deny themselves the possibility of a new and wonderful body if it were as easy as these ads claim? Of course not. That's what makes them easy targets for this grand delusion in bodybuilding.

Bodybuilding was built on proper training, nutrition and supplementation with the desire to reach one's ultimate physical goals. However, in bodybuilding, as in so many other sports, there are those individuals doing whatever it takes to achieve fame and fortune, even if it means taking anabolic drugs. Muscle building drugs have been a wicked encroachment and should have no place in bodybuilding.

You deserve to know what to look for and watch out for - what is hype, and what is help. Any legitimate nutritional product or training method will have the approval of a recognized and well respected professional research group and/or university. An informed consumer is a smart consumer and you should not be an exception. Protect yourself from these grand delusions by those whose motives are more monetary than humanitarian by asking some serious questions.

1. What university or institution studied the product?

2. How many participants were involved in the study?

3. Over what time period was the study conducted?

4. What variables were present, introduced, and/or taken into consideration during the study?

5. Was it properly monitored to ensure that only the product and/or training method were used and nothing else?

6. What were the findings, results and conclusions of the study?

Here's a plain and simple fact. Your body will grow if you're training, eating and supplementing properly. It doesn't take a revolutionary new miracle product or method to accomplish this. Don't get discouraged over seemingly small gains in muscular size. It's all in the name of progress. It takes consistent, hard training, sufficient recuperation and proper diet to make your muscles grow. These are the elements for real bodybuilding success. What about supplements?

Always keep in mind that supplements are just that - supplements to an already good diet. By no means are they the be all and end all of muscle strength and growth. Its how you train, eat and rest that determines your progress. This truth hasn't changed since bodybuilding was practiced in Ancient Greece 3000 years ago. This is the essence of bodybuilding. The true champions know it, and so should you.

Real success in life is found by those who seek the truth. You shouldn't waste precious time and hard earned money on this grand delusion and deception by smoke and mirrors. Be wise and informed, not only inside the gym, but outside as well. Real bodybuilding is pure and simple.

Bodybuilding, like everything else in life, is an ongoing struggle. While there are both growth periods and plateaus, you must remember: You are not only gaining size. You are controlling your weight and building your health, sexuality, energy, strength and self esteem.

The effort to enjoy life must be directed honestly and constructively. The grand delusion of quick fixes can only lead to failure and disillusionment.