A few months ago, I was at the MuscleMag offices in Mississauga, Ontario, and ran into publishing legend Bob Kennedy. Of course, it was exciting because Bob Kennedy has been publishing health and fitness magazines for over 25 years. In fact, one of my biggest emotions in my bodybuilding career occurred when I was emailed at Canadian Corner almost 10 years ago, at which point my photo appeared as the overall winner of my provincial championships.

I will always be grateful for Bob’s coverage of the sport that he has given me so much and for helping me realize one of my first big dreams of having my image grace the pages of his magazines.

Amazingly, almost ten years later I am face to face with the man who has been surrounded by the best of the best in bodybuilding.

Bob, a tall, soft-spoken man, looked older than the smiling image I see in the editorial section of his new REPS magazine. He told me that he had started REPS as a way to return bodybuilding to the physiques of the Golden Age of the 60s and 70s, when ideal health and physique were achievable without the massive levels of drugs taken by bodybuilders today.

Of course, this was the era that is often referred to as the Golden Age of bodybuilding. Legends like Arnold, Frank Zane, Franco Columbu, Robby Robinson and the whole gang could be seen sunbathing on Venice Beach or doing fierce workouts at Joe Gold’s gym in Venice.

I listened carefully to Bob, who was still as enthusiastic about pumping iron as he was then, recalling a conversation he had the night before with the legendary Frank Zane.

Bob laughed heartily as he recounted how Frank was on the phone for hours talking about bodybuilding, how it has been and where it is going. I thought to myself, “Wow, imagine Frank Zane calling you to talk about it for hours. Most guys would kill just to talk about it with Frank for 10 minutes and here Frank is calling Bob to talk about bodybuilding. for FREE hours.

Well one thing led to another and before you know it Bob was sharing with me the thoughts Frank had made about Arnold and the rumor that Arnold was told by his doctors that he couldn’t train anymore due to his heart problems .

Well, I am not in a position to comment on whether the report was true or not. Frank relayed some firsthand experiences with Arnold when they used to hang out at Muscle Beach in the ’70s.

Frank told Bob that Arnold was a great eater and ate all kinds of horrible food out of season. Of course, when dieting, he was focused on the laser like only Arnold can, but Frank was clear that Arnold would love to gobble up tons of fried and sweet foods. Other bodybuilders would try to follow Arnold’s plan and end up fat, out of shape, and most of all, confused.

Arnold was blessed with a fast metabolism and was also known for his incredible levels of endurance. He routinely trained 4 more hours per day and could get away with junk food back then when he was young, and it apparently had little to no effect on his physique.

Even after his career as a bodybuilder ended, Arnold continued his lifestyle as a movie star, businessman, and now Governor of California. While no one would consider contesting Arnold’s accomplishments, as he is an inspiration to every bodybuilder who has ever grabbed a barbell, Arnold’s once famous body has degenerated perhaps more than it should for someone of his age and physical capabilities. .

The question is, of course, why? How could something like this happen to the greatest bodybuilder of all time?

Part II Enzymes, metabolic damage: the effects of a poor diet

Frank believes that Arnold’s disregard for healthy eating had a detrimental effect on his metabolism. He told Bob Kennedy that he felt that all the junk food had somehow compromised Arnold’s tremendous physical abilities. Eventually Arnold’s body began to show signs of wear and tear. His genetic heart disease required surgery, forcing Arnold to reduce the intensity of his training and focus more on cardiovascular training.

It seems that life has given the Champion perhaps the cruelest hand of all by not allowing the 7-time Mr. Olympia to train at all, even though he is still a relatively young man at 60.

Frank also confessed to Bob that he was finding it increasingly difficult to get in top shape every year, as his body just wasn’t responding to training like it used to 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. Although Frank is a bit older than Arnold, he still maintains great conditioning for a man at any age, and has always been known to carefully watch everything he eats.

Bob asked me what I thought of the two cases and I quickly pointed out that both Arnold and Frank suffered from the same problem, only at different levels of intensity. Bob quickly agreed and added, yes, it’s called “THE AGING PROCESS”. Which, of course, generated a round of laughter from everyone present, as most of the people during the conversation were able to relate.

I chuckled too, but quickly added … “Well, I think what you’re saying is true, Bob, but have you ever considered what causes aging?”

Bob looked at me with a little more intensity than before and asked, “What exactly did I mean?”

Feeling that this was my moment, I quickly explained to him as quickly and concisely as I could about the research done by Dr. Howell, the enzyme pioneer, and how he had discovered that the rate of aging was directly proportional to the total enzyme potential of any organism.

Part III What are digestive enzymes?

You will see that enzymes are regularly found in food, be it fruits, vegetables, and even meat that is naturally found in nature. Digestive enzymes are necessary for the breakdown and digestion of food and are divided into 4 main digestive enzymes and a host of other enzymes and enzyme precursors. Sucrase and lactase are some that you may be familiar with, mainly because some people cannot digest certain foods due to a lack of these enzymes.

Protease: which digests proteins.

Amylase, which digests carbohydrates.

Lipase, which digests fats.

Cellulase, which digests the cellulose in vegetables (that’s fiber)

There are also many other enzymes like.

Sucrase – which digests sugar (sucrose)

Lactase – which digests lactose (the sugar in milk)

And the list goes on with other enzymes, enzyme precursors, etc.

Research has shown that any food that is heated above 118 degrees loses all of its enzymes. In other words, all cooked foods lack digestive enzymes.

Processed foods, irradiated foods, foods grown with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or in mineral-deficient soils have minimal levels of naturally occurring enzymes.

Our bodies are designed to recognize the taste of nutrient- and enzyme-dense foods by looking for foods that break down easily and taste sweet. Anyone who has eaten a vegetable or fruit in an organic garden or farm will quickly attest to the taste of different organically grown enzyme rich foods.

You see, nature designed our food to break down in our digestive tract, yet modern man has gone against nature’s natural ways and started eating foods that are deficient in enzymes.

Humans are the only species on the planet that cooks their food. Humans are also the only species on the planet that places chemicals in the soil to grow food or sprays pesticides on food, and we are the only species that processes food with chemicals, additives, artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives, or whatever. worse, it creates genetically. modified foods.

The bottom line is that humans are going against more than 4 billion years of evolution. Now that’s serious.

Now what does this have to do with Arnold, you might say? And more importantly, what does that have to do with you?

Everything …