Bodybuilding can be LifeBuilding

Steer clear of the BS, take a Straight-Forward Approach, Learn to Push Yourself Beyond Perceived Limitations, and You will Succeed!

I got my first job as an exercise coach when I was just 9 years old. I was playing little league football for a team called the ‘Golden Eagles’ (in my hometown of Golden, Colorado of course). 

I enjoyed our weekly games against other teams but oddly, compared to my teammates, I enjoyed practice more — specifically, the push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts and wind sprints (4 decades later, we call that High Intensity Interval Training). I developed a tremendous enthusiasm, even a passion, for the workouts we did at the beginning of practice. I remember discovering back then that I loved the feeling of working the muscles, pumping them up, getting stronger… and building my body. 

I also clearly remember discovering something else about myself back then… I love sharing my passion for muscle and strength building with everyone I can reach. When I’m fired up about something, I just can’t keep it to myself which can make me both an effective and motivating coach as well as a real pain in the ass (and I’ve been both for over 40 years now!=).

 Just 3 weeks after the start of our football season, our team coach promoted me from second-string running back, to first-string exercise instructor. It was my responsibility at each and every team practice to lead the other 9 year olds  through enthusiastic, energized, all-out effort calisthenics, strength exercises, and sprinting. I turned out to be pretty good at it, and today, four decades later, I’m still at it, going strong, and helping people in person at my Transformation Fitness and Research Center.

I’ve taken this one thing — a passion for body building — for strengthening and defining muscles into my calling, my career and to a very significant extent, my life. 

To help spread the word, I started a magazine in 1992 called Muscle Media and later wrote a book about bodybuilding for the everyday person called Body-for-LIFE. 

I’ve helped Olympic athletes get ready for competition. I helped Sylvester Stallone put on more shredded, solid muscle between his Rocky films and a movie called ‘Cliffhanger’ (Google Cliffhanger and see how muscular Sly’s body became). I was hired to help Demi Moore build muscle and transform her body for her famous role in a movie called ‘G.I Jane.’ I was even lucky enough to earn two Super Bowl rings for helping Denver Broncos players increase their strength in preparation for their Super Bowl wins in John Elway’s last years. 

However, what I enjoy more than any of that, is helping ordinary people discover something extraordinary about themselves by teaching them to tap into their true strength and power, both in mind and body. And I’m still pushing myself to do the same! 

I still lift weights and workout 5 days a week — it feels as good to me now as it ever did. At age 54, I’m probably less concerned with packing on muscle mass — I’m more excited about how bodybuilding helps me stay young, strong, energetic, and healthy. And I have every intention of completing at least 10, 400 more kick-ass workouts (40 years x 5 workouts a week) before I turn this body back into its maker.

Over the years, I’ve learned, through personal experience, scientific research, and real-world trial and error, what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately, what becomes clear is that there are as many tons of bullshit and nonsense information out there about how to best build your body as there are iron plates in all the Gold’s gym franchises combined. My best advice for those looking for the right way is to never take instruction from somebody who doesn’t practice what they preach. There are far too many muscle magazine writers and so-called fitness experts online who masquerade as authorities on the subject when in reality, their bodyfat is over 20% and they’ve never even benched pressed 200 pounds (for 1 rep, much less multiple sets!). These scammers really don’t give a damn about their body or helping you achieve your goals. 

To be successful at this in the short and long term, you have to have a passion for it. You have to pay your dues, with hundreds of hardcore blood and guts weightlifting workouts, to really know what it’s all about. And if you love it as much as I do, you will. To reach your full potential for building muscle size, strength, and personal power, connect with and follow the insight of teachers and mentors that walk the talk — those who know what to do and do what they know. 

To be successful, I believe you must personify a true passion for real body building… of applying the proper principles of strengthening the body to strengthen your life; to cultivate discipline, determination and the ability to overcome resistance. These are the qualities it takes to be successful in all areas of life. And regardless of whether you ever compete on stage or not, these are the true rewards that you earn from practicing and living with a passion for strength. 

I’m excited to share my own personal 12 week Transformation as I “Drive to 55” and chronicling it here on this page. In upcoming posts I’ll share exactly what I’ve learned over the years about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to training, nutrition, and supplements. I’ll also pass on my keys to setting and achieving massive goals!   

I’m as fired up now as I was 40 years ago, when I took on my first role as an exercise coach. And my objective is still pretty much the same:  to get you fired up, energized, and inspired to push yourself beyond your perceived limits — beyond what you believe is the best you can do. When you learn how to do that — when you learn how to tap into your true power and strength, you’ll have what it takes to succeed at building both a better body and a better life. 

~Bill Phillips