Joe Weider: His Fitness Legacy

If you have been involved in the bodybuilding or weightlifting world, gone to the local sports store or gym, picked up a fitness, sports or sports nutrition magazine you have undoubtedly heard or seen the name Weider. Joe Weider and his brother Ben have become famous promoting not only bodybuilding and health and nutrition but also a line of Weider fitness equipment for home use. In addition Joe worked with bodybuilders to prepare for competitions, and one of the first that he coached was Arnold Schwarzenegger. They met in 1969 when Arnold traveled to America to compete in the IFBB Mr. Universe competition. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to follow Joe Weider’s training, exercise and diet system while recording his progress in their magazine. The rest, as you know, is history.

In the beginning

Joe Weider was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1922. He grew up in a rough neighborhood where walking home from school was a dangerous activity for a thin young boy. Joe and his brother Ben started to look for ways to build up strength and increase their body size to be able to defend themselves against the neighborhood bullies. They turned to fitness magazines of the time and tried several of the programs to no avail.

One day they happened to be in a scrap yard and noticed some old axles and wheels that they quickly converted into barbells. Joe and Ben Weider decided to start using these weights to train to increase their strength. Joe soon noticed that he did begin to feel physically stronger when working out with the homemade barbells. His arms and legs became larger and more powerful and along with them, his self-confidence.

Weider Publishing Industry

Joe Weider believed that there were others out there like him who wanted to feel good about their bodies and were willing to work to get there. In 1939 the age of seventeen he took his last seven dollars and started a small magazine called "Your Physique". This twelve-page publication discussed weightlifting, bodybuilding and nutritional issues and sold for two dollars for a yearly subscription. It became a hit with fitness enthusiasts and weightlifters alike and was soon sold across Canada. The magazine, and the Weider brothers, never looked back.

In 1968 "Your Physique" was renamed "Muscle Builder" magazine. It again changed names in 1982 to the current "Muscle and Fitness". In addition to this magazine the Weider publishing empire includes several magazines and other periodicals. These include:

• Flex
• Shape
• Men’s Fitness
• Living Fit
• Prime Health and Fitness
• Fit Pregnancy
• Cooks
• Senior Golfer

The Periodical and Book Association in 1983, as tribute to his work in the area of fitness publications, named Joe Weider Publisher of the Year.

Weider Achievements

In 1945 Ben and Joe Weider began a mail order fitness equipment business called Weider Sports Equipment Limited and Weider Health and Fitness in both Canada and the United States. They quickly found that there was genuine interest in weightlifting and bodybuilding although many people did not yet see it as a sport. Joe and Ben Weider began to establish reputable competitions for body builders and other fitness conscious people to compete. They used a panel of judges to decide not only strength but also overall muscle development and conformation. The Weiders continued on with this tradition fostering the following competitions and organizations:

• 1946 – Started the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IBFF). Currently there are 176 member countries.
• 1946 – Organized the first Mr. Canada
• 1949 – Ben Weider travels to Europe to promote bodybuilding
• 1965 – Organized the first Mr. Olympia contest
• 1980 – Facilitated the first Ms. Olympia contest

The Weider’s are some of the first fitness trainers and event promoters to work with females and minorities in competitions. They truly did and still do encourage all people to incorporate fitness and weightlifting as part of an overall approach to a healthy lifestyle.

Weider Exercise Equipment

One of the cornerstones in the Weider empire is their development and promotion of professional quality training equipment for the home. Weider currently makes home training and fitness equipment designed for any type of weight training. The Weider equipment line features the Platinum series that provides over 75 different exercises all in one machine. The Max and the Advantage series are excellent machines that can be used to complete the workout available on more than 60 different club-quality machines.

Weider also makes a series of specialized equipment for the home fitness enthusiast. The Weider Crossbow is designed to allow a maximum range of motion as well as providing maximum levels of resistance. Additional bows can be added to increase resistance and to increase your workout level. The Weidner Crossbar is a great machine for giving a complete body workout. Enthusiasts of either the Weider Crossbow or Crossbar like the range of motion and the multiple gym type exercises that can be achieved on one machine in the comfort of your own home.

In addition to the complete workout machines mentioned above Weider has a product line for many other types of fitness. The Weider fitness equipment includes:

• Weight benches
• Jump ropes
• Bands
• Mats
• Sit-up bars
• Free weights
• Strength training machines
• Boxing gyms
• Weight stations

Weider fitness equipment is rated consistently as some of the best home fitness equipment on the market. The Weider Crossbow and Crossbar are comparable to a Bowflex system and are less costly. Most users report that the Weider products have a greater range of motion and are easier to assemble, an important point to consider when purchasing a home gym.

Joe and Ben Weider did not just stop at promoting the sport and producing equipment, they also worked towards having bodybuilding recognized as a sport. They finally accomplished that in 1998 when the International Olympic Committee officially recognized the IBFF, fifty-two years after it was founded.

The Weider Principles

One of the focal points of the Weider training system is to help people understand the link between athletics and nutrition. As early as the 1930’s Joe Weider was warning of the dangers of smoking and consuming alcohol. The Weider principles were developed to provide "education of the whole person: body, mind and spirit" and to provide a set of training and lifestyle guidelines that were research based and tested. Joe Weider is not only an entrepreneur; he is also an active body builder and fitness enthusiast. He truly does practice the principles that he is credited with developing. Joe himself does not claim to have invented the principles; rather that he honed them into the standards they are now. His greatest accomplishment with the Weider Principles was to bring the research of nutrition in to the realm of bodybuilding and provide scientifically proven guidelines to help others achieve their fitness goals.

There are three large overlaying Weider principles that are then split down even further into sub principles. The three categories, with a very brief example of the subcategories of each are:

• Principles to help plan your training cycle.
• Double or triple split training principle – breaking your workout into two or three shorter but more intense training sessions per day.
• Principles to help arrange the exercises in each workout.
• Descending sets principle – start with the heaviest weights use lighter weights each sets as the muscles tire. This is also called "stripping".
• Principles to help perform each exercise.
• Quality training principle – gradually reducing the rest time between sets while maintaining or increasing the number of reps per set.

Each of the three categories of principles contains between three and thirteen principles designed to provide the best training strategies possible.

Weider Nutrition

Weider produces an extensive line of nutritional supplements for athletes. These supplements focus on healthy nutrition and balancing carbohydrates and protein for optimum performance and development. Weider nutrition focuses on supplementing the body with vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal products designed to maximize lean muscle mass and increase strength and performance. Weider Nutrition also markets protein shakes and a herbal green tea supplement that are extremely beneficial to decreasing body fat and helping the body maximize the effectiveness of exercise to lose weight.

Further Accomplishments

Joe Weider continues to work tirelessly to promote healthy nutrition and fitness. He has received awards from many different groups and agencies.

• In 1992 he received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award form the United States Sports Academy
• 1991 the Boy Scouts of America presented him a Distinguished Citizen Award naming Joe Weider as the "Father of Fitness".
• 1995 the Governor of California, Pete Wilson, presented Joe Weider with the Lifetime Achievement aware for the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Joe Weider has always been and will continue to be a moving force and a strong influence in bodybuilding and sports nutrition. He continues to promote the sport of bodybuilding and to incorporate the principles that he is credited with developing. The Weider name is in the forefront of both the home fitness equipment and sports nutrition markets with new innovations and training equipment help amateur and professional bodybuilders and athletes to achieve their best.

About the Author

John Phung is a certified personal trainer and writer for http://www.homegymsonline.info, your online resource for home exercise equipment, "As Seen On TV" exercise equipment, and more.