Page 38 - Fire Your Personal Trainer and Kick Your Own Damn Ass

Fire Your Personal Trainer 35
And Kick Your Own Damn Ass

The quality of the plates was better than the Milo plates we got from
York, but that was a minor matter. Plates were plates. I only mention it
because this was the period where York’s demise was accelerating, and
Weider’s empire was rising. For those of you who enjoy talking about
business you might ask the obvious question: did Joe and Ben Weider
succeed because they were so smart, or did York fade because the
company had lost touch with its customers and their changing tastes
and priorities?

The Weider courses that accompanied the weights were very well done.
The content, the photos, and the wall charts were current, well written,
and professionally laid out. The course booklet had magnificent, full
page black and white photos of top bodybuilders Sergio Oliva, Larry
Scott, Harold Poole and Dave Draper. The wall charts had pics of Poole,
Scott, Hugo Labra and Chuck Sipes. I set aside the York courses and
followed the advice in the Weider courses.

The shortage of well-written material and books created an opportunity
for enterprising bodybuilders. The magazines advertised written
courses by Larry Scott, Schwarzenegger, and Bill Pearl among others. I
bought their courses, which were 5.5 x 8 inch booklets, and found them
all inspiring and helpful.

Larry Scott was incredibly sincere. It may sound corny, but there was

something about his writing style that conveyed a heartfelt desire to
help that you could feel. Pearl’s booklets were professional, business-
like and straight to the point. And Arnold’s were Arnold’s. Each of them
reflected the personality of their creator.

I had plates and bars and plenty of instructional material. Now I needed
a bench, and I chose one from York. It was cleverly designed and gave