The Year in Bodybuilding Magazines: 2006
(22 January, 2007)
by Mike Emery
This feature discusses the leading BB mags available in the US for the year 2006. To be considered, a mag must do three things: be generally available on a newsstand or by subscription, be a monthly, and be willing to cover both the IFBB and NPC. The four mags meeting these criteria are (in alphabetical order) FLEX, IRON MAN, MUSCLEMAG INTERNATIONAL, and MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT. I subscribe to all, so I saw all issues. These judgments are strictly my own, although I discussed these mags with friends who saw them.
Bodybuilding Reviews announces its 1st annual Bodybuilding Magazine Awards, as follows:
MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FOR 2006: Muscular Development (for overall achievement, and willingness to state its convictions)
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN COVERAGE OF THE IFBB IN 2006: Flex
AWARD FOR CONCERN FOR THE BODYBUILDING COMMUNITY IN 2006: Musclemag International
AWARD FOR BODYBUILDING REPORTAGE IN 2006: Iron Man (Ruth Silverman)
I based my judgments on the three ways an NPC bodybuilder is judged onstage: muscularity, symmetry, and posing/presentation. Translating those categories into the magazines' terms, I examined the mags for competitive bodybuilding content (adjusted to include fitness and figure for female competitors), balance, and style. I broke down the categories as follows:
BB CONTENT
* Contest reports
* Profiles of competitors (based on interviews)
* Current events or matters of concern to bodybuilders and fansBALANCE
* BB content balanced with other content (training, nutrition, etc.)
* Evenness of tone
* Women's issues covered (not just cheesecake photos)
* Varied approaches to BB content
* Competitive content throughout issue, not segregatedSTYLE
* Cover well done
* Layout well done
* Pictures well taken and presented
* Copyediting well done
* Humor and pathos (both amusing and emotionally compelling material used)
* Writing (flair for language, with individual voices of some writers retained)I prorated each category at 33%, then added 1% to achieve the 100% rating. Then I transferred the percentage to a letter grade (e.g., 88 = B+).
Here are the results. Although I read the mags all year, I examined one representative issue to rate the mag according to the categories.
FLEX (overall rating: A-)
Peter McGough is the "group editorial director." He also editorially directs MUSCLE & FITNESS, which is a training mag with minimal competitive content. McGough has little presence in the mag, but has an "editor's page" column in each issue. The issue I rated was July 2006.
BB Content: 33 of 33 possible points
Most issues have reports on competitions; this one had Shawn Perine's report on the IFBB Masters Pro World Championships. Perine did a short but clear article that covered the controversies of the show, with all competitors, placings, and winnings listed. I am big on masters competitions, and appreciated the article. Masters coverage is hard to come by in the mags.
Profiles included those on Dave Henry (also on the cover), Markus Ruhl, Eryk Bui, Jay Cutler, and Garrett Downing. Some were "by" these men, and were probably ghost-written by staff. Most dealt with training, but often added info about the competitors' lives and careers.
As for current events and matters of concern, the issue was thorough. McGough's editorial recalled a zany event he witnessed after a British show in 1971. "Hard Times" (a gossip feature) noted Kenny Jones's disgust with the IFBB, had a "where is he now?" page on Tom Terwilliger, and mentioned Capriese Murray's retirement. A feature on "strongman secrets" covered "world's strongest man" training. An article appeared on Leroy Colbert's debt to Joe Weider in the 1950s (Joe is always the patron saint of this mag). Joe Roark's "factoids" retro-profiled Ron Love. The IFBB Report did a brief on the Malta Nationals. The NPC Report schmoozed through recent and upcoming contests. FLEX got full credit for its BB content, with a score of 100 or A+.
Balance: 30 of 33 possible points
The BB content was balanced with other kinds, mainly training and nutrition. BB content appeared throughout the issue. It was varied, going in several directions. The tone was direct and plain, but with a touch of condescension ("We own bodybuilding" is the unwritten message I get from this mag). Coverage of women was limited, but some did appear by name (personal trainer Annette Michelle, competitor Brenda Raganot, and ex-Ms. Olympia Kim Chizevsky appeared briefly; I didn't count Annik Nayler's cheescake profile). Some 2006 issues covered women better. I marked FLEX down for for its tone and women's coverage, with a score of 90 or A-.
Style: 28 of 33 possible points
The Dave Henry cover was strong, although its captioning was cluttered. Layout was fine. I dislike the way pix are run. They are often ruined by poor cropping, airbrushing, or labelling (text run over bodyparts). The copyediting could sharpen (in sentence style), but was good overall. There was humor, sometimes sarcastic; there's pathos at times (military trainers sent to Iraq, Annette Michelle's auto accident). Much of FLEX's writing is generic; there's no voice in most articles, and Julian Schmidt has a write-by-thesaurus style I never liked. I marked FLEX down for its pix and writing, with a score of 84 or B.
The result is 33 + 30 + 28 +1 = 92 total or A-. The problem I have with FLEX is its pix. FLEX's strength is its coverage of the IFBB and its competitors.
IRON MAN (overall rating: B)
John Balik is the publisher and editorial director. Other than his "publisher's letter" (an opening editorial setting the tone of the issue), his presence is mainly felt in his pix, and his willingness to run material about BBs from days of yore. Steve Holman is editor-in-chief, and I have never seen him make a single statement about competitive bodybuilding -- which may explain why the mag gives it limited coverage. The issue I rated was January 2006.
BB Content: 27 of 33 possible points
A photo report of the 2006 Mr. Olympia appeared, with pix by Bill Comstock and Balik. A listing of results for all nineteen competitors appeared, with rankings and earnings. Pix appeared for the top fourteen, with a full page for the top eleven. Lonnie Teper did a postmortem on the Mr. O in his "News & Views" column; Ruth Silverman did an "Olympia blowout"on the women's shows in her "Pump & Circumstance" column. Silverman is, to my mind, the best working journalist for a BB mag right now. I wish she reported more on the men, but the women are lucky to have her. She misses nothing on- or offstage.
The mag does run competitor's profiles, but this issue had none. The closest to it was a retro-profile (a monthly feature) on Mike Mentzer, trumpeting his heavy-duty training program.
As for current events and matters of concern, the issue was solid. Balik's editorial covered BB mags in the '60s, when he was active in the California AAU. It was fascinating to read. Teper schmoozed about the '05 Mr. O challenge round (which thankfully is no more), and the wildcard challenge qualifying Dave Henry for the O. Branch Warren was feted for his back-to-back wins at the Europa and Charlotte pro shows. A short on Steve Reeves' classic physique appeared, and Ron Harris did a piece on tattoos (and elsewhere warned BBs about "Internet trolls" on discussion boards; his advice was to "ignore them"). I marked the BB content down for a lack of profiles, giving it an 81 or B-.
Balance: 28 of 33 possible points
IRON MAN is basically a "train harder and smarter" mag, with limited coverage of competitive issues, which are mostly shoved to the end of each issue. The mag had a balanced tone, and its writers are allowed to have distinct voices and views. Women's issues did appear, with women's training vs. men's compared (by Jerry Brainum). Teper features a few women in his column, while Silverman writes specifically about them. Jerry Fredrick did a training pictorial feature on Jennifer DeJoya. IRON MAN often runs raunchy cheesecake pictorials designed, I assume, to stimulate newsstand sales. There was limited variation of material, with the heart of the mag devoted to training features embedded in supplement ads. More BB history pops up in this mag than some others, though. I marked balance down for inconsistent BB content, and a need for more variety and currency, giving it an 85 or B.
Style: 29 of possible 33 points
The cover, a close-up of Tamer Elshahat's abs, was cluttered with captions and unappealing. The layout is a bit cluttered, but easy to read. The pix were sometimes ruined by ugly photo-shopping, with an excessive use of file photos, but some pix were very good. Copyediting was solid. Not much humor appeared (there's no regular humor feature), but there's some pathos (each issue mourns the passing of the Mentzers, and lifetime achievement awards get covered). As for writing, the style is plain and clear, and columnists are idiosyncratic. Ruth Silverman is always tops. I faulted the mag for its clutter and its pix, and its need for humor, giving it an 87 or B+ for style.
The result is 27 + 28 + 29 + 1 = 85 or B. The problem I have with IRON MAN is its lack of focus on current competitors. IRON MAN's strength is Ruth Silverman's reportage.
MUSCLEMAG INTERNATIONAL (overall rating: A-)
MUSCLEMAG's publisher, executive editor, and creative director is Robert Kennedy. While Johnny Fitness is editor-in-chief, it's Kennedy's mag through and through. Kennedy pictures himself in issues, and several features or columns are attributed to him. If something's on his mind, readers know it. Thirteen issues of MUSCLEMAG came out in 2006, since it was publishing two months ahead and dropped back to one month ahead with an additional "spring" issue. The one I rated was June 2006 (# 289).
BB Content: 31 of 33 possible points
There's usually some contest reportage; this issue had Garry Bartlett's thorough take on the men's Arnold Classic. MUSCLEMAG used to run a lot of profiles and interviews, but cut down on them in a 2005 redesign. This issue had profiles of King Kamali (by Larry Pepe) and Armin Scholz (by Ron Harris). As for current events and issues of interest, there were too many to list here. The mag is loaded with them, coming from all directions -- columns, features, listings, you name it. I faulted it only for its limited profiles, giving it a 93 or A.
Balance: 31 of 33 possible points
BB content is completely integrated with other material, including training and nutrition, with a dash of sex advice to men. The tone is even, with a strong concern about the welfare of the bodybuilding community. While a lot of cheesecake appears, women are treated seriously at times. Pepe had figure pros in his column; Bartlett had Canadian women in his "Canadian corner" column. Variety is the spice of MUSCLEMAG; the going-in-all-directions format used to be bothersome, but it appeals to me now -- you never know what's coming next. The mag could do better on women's issues, but Kennedy's sister mag OXYGEN devotes itself to them. For balance I gave it a 93 or A.
Style: 29 of 33 possible points
The cover is cluttered with captions, but at least a clear copy of the pic is run in miniature on the table of contents. The redesign improved the layout, but it remains a bit cluttered. Except for poster pix, cheesecake pix get top billing in the mag. The rest were often small, cropped badly, and many are file photos the mag has used many times (sometimes back to the '70s). Graphic illustrations for articles received better layouts. Copyediting has been a problem for this mag, but this issue's was good. Humor was excellent, with several comic features (including the hysterical "Musclehedz" cartoons); pathos appeared in this issue with the tribute to Mike Mentzer (on the anniversary month of his passing). The writing was clear and direct, but not distinctive except in Guy Grundy's sharp-tongued column. I faulted the mag for clutter, with a need for somewhat better use of pix and stylish writing, giving it an 87 or B+.
The result is 31 + 31 + 29 +1 = 92 or A-. The problem I have with MUSCLEMAG is its clutter. MUSCLEMAG's strength is Robert Kennedy's concern for the bodybuilding community.
MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT (overall rating: A)
Steve Blechman is MD's publisher and editor-in-chief. The governing presence in the mag is senior editor John Romano. MD attempts to relate to bodybuilders on their own turf. It's the only mag to assert that anabolic steroids should be legal for bodybuilders to use. In this and other ways, the mag is a lone wolf in the BB world. The issue I rated was December 2006.
BB Content: 33 of 33 possible points
MD's contest reviewer is Flex Wheeler. He gets to a lot of shows, and in this issue covered the '06 Mr. Olympia, the men's open North American (an amateur show), the Atlantic City pro, the Santa Susanna pro (in Spain), and the Montreal pro shows. Although Wheeler didn't cover the masters North American, training guru Hany Rambod ran down his work with Gus Malliarodakis, who won it and went pro with the IFBB. Wheeler is doing superb work as a contest reviewer; I look forward to what he has to say. Profiles in this issue included those for Branch Warren, Joel Stubbs, Johnnie Jackson, and Flex Lewis (a Welsh top amateur), all with great pix. Vince Taylor and Vinnie Galanti were interviewed about their decision not to go with PDI. Romano did a postmortem on the Olympia (and the mag's training gurus often do extensive postmortems on major shows in their columns).
As for current issues and matters of concern, MD is tops. It had the best reportage in 2006 on the BALCO scandal, and always discusses steroid concerns in depth (including a legal advice column). This issue dealt with steroid testing. The MD contract pros all have training columns, but each ends with a "lifestyle and competition journal" that either looks back at the last show or reveals plans for the next one. Controversy, thy name is Romano: there isn't a can of worms in the BB world that Romano isn't at the center of, slugging at anyone within reach. He can be sarcastic, exaggerated, or embarrassing -- but he's never boring. I read everything he writes. Here he was angry over MD's press card being pulled for the Olympia (mainly due to his attack on AMI's David Pecker in an earlier issue), and speculated in his "last word" column on Jay Cutler's potential for an Olympia reign. I wonder why other BB mags ignore the potential to set a tone on the last page -- only MD uses it for that. MD got full credit from me for its BB content, with a score of 100 or A+.
Balance: 30 of 33 possible points
MD has a lot of training and research info, but it's well-integrated with the BB content, which appears early and late -- and dominates the middle of the mag. The tone is hurt at times by Romano's anger, and the slangy summary in the research shorts can be distracting. Blechman maintains a positive tone in his "editor's letter," and the columnists set whatever tone they want. MD is the only mag that writes about bodybuilding like people's lives depend on it, not just their lifestyles.
After clearing cheesecake features out of the mag a few years ago, MD hasn't done much with women until recently. This issue pictured Betty Weider at a Lifetime Achievement ceremony for her husband Joe. Dave Palumbo's column profiled IFBB pro bodybuilder Heather Foster, and Rambod did a piece on figure pro Kristal Rost. Palumbo has reportedly pushed for more coverage of women's competitors in the mag.
As for variety, there's a lot. Palumbo covered prison trainers, Ron Harris interviewed Ronnie Coleman on training, and Rambod covered Darren Toma. Lee Priest did a tribute to the late Steve Irwin (given the Australian connection). Romano discussed the Mr. Getbig online competition. I faulted MD for imbalanced tone, giving it 90 or A-.
Style: 31 of 33 possible points
MD's cover was an incredible Per Bernal pic of Branch Warren training legs. The mag put Warren on the cover three times in '06. Layout was a bit cluttered, true of just about all the mags. No one has MD's pix. Now that Bill Comstock is onboard with Per Bernal, no one can touch this mag's visual presentation of bodybuilding. The copyediting is all right, but could sharpen (some sentences get congested). As for humor, it depends on what you think of Gregg Valentino's column. It's run for comedy, but the repetitive vulgarity wears thin. The comic drawings used to punch up the research shorts are a matter of taste; I don't mind them, but the easily offended might. As for pathos, this issue had Palumbo's prisoners, PDI's problems, and Irwin's death. As for writing, Romano's gonzo style dominates the mag. When he's firing on all cylinders, no one's wilder to read. I faulted MD's style a bit for clutter and flat copyediting, giving it a 93 or A.
The result is 33 + 30 + 31 +1 = 95 or A. I have no real problem with MD -- it's my favorite mag of any sort. MD's strength is stating its convictions, come what may.
Mike Emery
January 22, 2007
