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Reflecting on the Mirror
By Greg Bradley-Popovich, MS, MS
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Scientists have long recognized a need for precise descriptions of observed phenomena. It was the physicist Sir William Thompson (1824-1907), better known by his title Lord Kelvin, who in 1891 professed, " ...when you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind." Body building science is no exception.
The I.A.R.T. has repeatedly and correctly inculcated the importance of maintaining a training journal. It astounds me the number of resistance trainers who still fail to exert the little effort required to document their training progress, or in many instances, their lack thereof. Instead, many body builders rely on the body weight scale to assess their progress, which, of course, is incapable of measuring the small increases in muscle mass that occur daily. Tape measures are a step in the right direction, but again changes may be too small to record over short-term periods. Nor do scales and tape measures tell you what kind of tissue was increased; was it muscle, fat, or both? Perhaps I should have called this article "Flex, Lies, and Measuring Tape." But I would like to direct your attention to those primitive body builders who attempt to use the mirror as their primary means of assessing progress.
But first allow me to remind the reader that we are all familiar with assorted optical illusions. For example, train tracks appear to converge at the horizon, but in reality they do not. An oar appears bent at its point of submersion in water, though it is straight. People may appear tiny in the distance, yet they are not one inch tall. These examples as well as countless magic tricks and even games on the back of breakfast cereal boxes (e.g., "Which rectangle is tallest?") should indicate that the sense of sight does have its limitations. Of course, unless one embraces the mystical belief that knowledge only reveals itself in superrational ecstatic visions, sensory input is man's only means of acquiring knowledge and therefore cannot be completely cast aside. I believe the valuable lesson here is that one must exercise caution when making observations, and describe things numerically when possible. Take for example our need for measuring instruments. You wouldn't want a contractor to attempt to build your dream home without the use of any measuring devices, yet this is precisely what many individuals do when they attempt to build their muscles.
Many individuals embark on a body building journey because they were initially dissatisfied with their appearance. Poor self-esteem, self-image, or insecurity about one's physique can be strong motivators to improve one's physique. I know because this is why I began training a decade ago. Yet, I'm not so sure that such feelings of self-doubt are immediately diminished at the first signs of muscular growth. To the contrary, I believe this self-doubt may linger in one's subconscious. I have personally known a number of individuals who truly believed they looked smaller if they missed a single workout. Of course muscle does not immediately atrophy in the brief absence of a training stimulus (it takes well over a week or two), and muscle most certainly does not atrophy so swiftly that it is visually perceptible. In addition, many resistance enthusiasts become disheartened if they do not look bigger every time they look in the mirror. One must remember that even when using a highly productive exercise protocol, attempting to see muscle growth daily is like trying to watch the grass grow; it is simply too slow to perceive. So many trainees abnormally obsess over their appearance and magnitude of muscular growth that psychologists recently coined the term "muscle dysmorphia" to describe this disorder.
To repeat, most body builders start working out because of a poor self-image. This is exactly why a more precise form of evaluation is needed. Recall that body building is a science and is facilitated by precise description. (If you are one of the dying breed who fails to acknowledge that body building is a science, then I challenge you to try chanting your way to an enhanced physique.) Bottom line: don't rely on the mirror to assess your progress. Record your resistance. Record your repetitions. If one or both increased from your last workout session, then your muscles have hypertrophied (unless the exercise was recently incorporated, in which case coordination must be considered as well). Or for greater precision, monitor your resistance and your time under load (TUL).
Given that a suboptimal self-image may negatively skew your perception of your evolving physique, if you do not utilize a training journal to keep precise records, then you could be attempting to build your dream house, or "temple" as it's referred to Biblically, not merely without a measuring tape, but also on a foundation of subconscious quicksand.
*** ***
About the author: Greg Bradley-Popovich holds an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from the School of Medicine at West Virginia University, and a second M.S. in Human Nutrition, also from WVU. He is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy scholar at the highly acclaimed Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Look for Greg's articles here on this web site, in Exercise Protocol, and in other I.A.R.T. educational resource materials including the new book Rational Strength Training.
By Greg Bradley-Popovich, MS, MS
Return to Article Selections
Scientists have long recognized a need for precise descriptions of observed phenomena. It was the physicist Sir William Thompson (1824-1907), better known by his title Lord Kelvin, who in 1891 professed, " ...when you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind." Body building science is no exception.
The I.A.R.T. has repeatedly and correctly inculcated the importance of maintaining a training journal. It astounds me the number of resistance trainers who still fail to exert the little effort required to document their training progress, or in many instances, their lack thereof. Instead, many body builders rely on the body weight scale to assess their progress, which, of course, is incapable of measuring the small increases in muscle mass that occur daily. Tape measures are a step in the right direction, but again changes may be too small to record over short-term periods. Nor do scales and tape measures tell you what kind of tissue was increased; was it muscle, fat, or both? Perhaps I should have called this article "Flex, Lies, and Measuring Tape." But I would like to direct your attention to those primitive body builders who attempt to use the mirror as their primary means of assessing progress.
But first allow me to remind the reader that we are all familiar with assorted optical illusions. For example, train tracks appear to converge at the horizon, but in reality they do not. An oar appears bent at its point of submersion in water, though it is straight. People may appear tiny in the distance, yet they are not one inch tall. These examples as well as countless magic tricks and even games on the back of breakfast cereal boxes (e.g., "Which rectangle is tallest?") should indicate that the sense of sight does have its limitations. Of course, unless one embraces the mystical belief that knowledge only reveals itself in superrational ecstatic visions, sensory input is man's only means of acquiring knowledge and therefore cannot be completely cast aside. I believe the valuable lesson here is that one must exercise caution when making observations, and describe things numerically when possible. Take for example our need for measuring instruments. You wouldn't want a contractor to attempt to build your dream home without the use of any measuring devices, yet this is precisely what many individuals do when they attempt to build their muscles.
Many individuals embark on a body building journey because they were initially dissatisfied with their appearance. Poor self-esteem, self-image, or insecurity about one's physique can be strong motivators to improve one's physique. I know because this is why I began training a decade ago. Yet, I'm not so sure that such feelings of self-doubt are immediately diminished at the first signs of muscular growth. To the contrary, I believe this self-doubt may linger in one's subconscious. I have personally known a number of individuals who truly believed they looked smaller if they missed a single workout. Of course muscle does not immediately atrophy in the brief absence of a training stimulus (it takes well over a week or two), and muscle most certainly does not atrophy so swiftly that it is visually perceptible. In addition, many resistance enthusiasts become disheartened if they do not look bigger every time they look in the mirror. One must remember that even when using a highly productive exercise protocol, attempting to see muscle growth daily is like trying to watch the grass grow; it is simply too slow to perceive. So many trainees abnormally obsess over their appearance and magnitude of muscular growth that psychologists recently coined the term "muscle dysmorphia" to describe this disorder.
To repeat, most body builders start working out because of a poor self-image. This is exactly why a more precise form of evaluation is needed. Recall that body building is a science and is facilitated by precise description. (If you are one of the dying breed who fails to acknowledge that body building is a science, then I challenge you to try chanting your way to an enhanced physique.) Bottom line: don't rely on the mirror to assess your progress. Record your resistance. Record your repetitions. If one or both increased from your last workout session, then your muscles have hypertrophied (unless the exercise was recently incorporated, in which case coordination must be considered as well). Or for greater precision, monitor your resistance and your time under load (TUL).
Given that a suboptimal self-image may negatively skew your perception of your evolving physique, if you do not utilize a training journal to keep precise records, then you could be attempting to build your dream house, or "temple" as it's referred to Biblically, not merely without a measuring tape, but also on a foundation of subconscious quicksand.
*** ***
About the author: Greg Bradley-Popovich holds an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from the School of Medicine at West Virginia University, and a second M.S. in Human Nutrition, also from WVU. He is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy scholar at the highly acclaimed Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Look for Greg's articles here on this web site, in Exercise Protocol, and in other I.A.R.T. educational resource materials including the new book Rational Strength Training.
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