Muscle & Fitness Magazine - Supplement Catalog R US

[MuscleSportMag]

More Than Half the Issue are Advertisements; Fluff Features

When people ask what is the leading publication for bodybuilding and people that work out, most would answer without hesitating, “Muscle & Fitness,” the Joe Weider magazine that has been around (under a few different names) since 1940. How many of us received our first diet and routine from the pages of this title? Through the years, we have kept it by us almost like a security blanket, updating our workout from recommendations taken from pages of ‘The Bible.’ .

But have you seen one lately? Take the June 2008 issue for example. A robust 280 pages makes handling this mag a workout all in itself. But a closer look reveals that only 129 of those pages are completely advertisement-free. That’s only 46 percent editorial. You have yo navigate all the way to page 14 just to reach the ‘Contents.’

Of course, advertising makes the world go ’round. Everyone knows that, but there was a time when M&F only ran ‘house’ ads of the Weider line, which were frequent, but not to the point of ‘ad’ nauseum.

What makes some of these ads annoying is that they appear to be a story, thus doing their job! If you can trick a potential customer into reading what you’re paying for, then half the battle is won. While that may be good for the manufacturers, it becomes a chore identifying and passing over these ‘Special 4-page ad reports,’ which rear their ugly heads too many times to count. Some of these literary masterpieces are entitled ‘Who’s Using Hydroxycut Hardcore,?’ ‘The Pros Testify to the Power of naNO Vapor,’ ‘Clinically Proven Muscle Growth,’ and ‘Torch 35% More Fat in 24 Hours.’ All feature the world’s biggest and best bodybuilders promoting supplements and giving them credit for their success, as if the gains made from anabolic steroids had little or nothing to do with that.

Ad-heavy and all, we still should give our trusty old publication a real chance to change the perception. Perusing over the features, we’re stifled with tips from great bodybuilders such as actor Mario Lopez, two women from ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and a pair of competitors from the new ‘American Gladiators’ series. Almost left out the eight-page article that teaches losing fat from track-inspired sprint programs!

M&F has always featured some of the mainstream names that were not your typical bodybuilder, people such as Sylvester Stallone. I can deal with Rocky, but a 105-pounder doing the fox trot? No problem checking out a little flesh, either. That’s not where they have gone wrong, but there also has to be a solid foundation before adding the fluff.

At nearly $7 a pop, this leaves a lot to be desired. Over the years, FLEX has become the magazine for bodybuilders, and M&F has kind of morphed into the ‘fitness’ category. Judging by this issue, that is blatantly obvious.

[bmg]

10 years ago that was a good magazine. today they all suck.

[Amorphic]

10 years ago that was a good magazine. today they all suck.

agreed.

muscle magazines are useless imo.

what more information do you need than the wealth that is available here or on the other bbing sites on the net?