ESPN The Body Issue

It comes out every year, and I couldn't wait to get it this year! The ESPN "Body Issue" magazine, which features Olympic athletes nude.

It's not that I just want to see naked bodies, I want to see naked ATHLETE bodies. Bodies the way they should look: muscular, lean, strong, supple.

They have several covers, so you may not be lucky enough to get the pretty pink and purple one I got featuring MMA fighter Ronda Rousey on the cover (and it happened to match what I was wearing that day too!) It may have a football player, a basketball player, maybe even a whole team!

You can go online and watch videos of interviews as the athletes discuss what happened during the photo shoots, how they felt and why they posed. I especially enjoyed watching sprinter Carmelita Jeter, she has an amazing body.

An athlete's body is a work of art, the highest form one can ever dream to achieve. To see them in action is inspiring, but to see their bodies is absolutely amazing! Comparing the vast differences that each sport brings will really open your eyes to your own training.

It allows you to look at the bodies you admire and train accordingly. Now, I understand that none of us (or at least most of us) won't be able to train like an Olympic athlete, but  it is easy enough to consider their sport and what they do to get where they are. What type of conditioning and weight training is needed? They all incorporate both, believe me but it will be different for each. 

It's funny that I do not find male bodybuilders attractive, I am not a fan of the steroid, huge muscle look. I don't care for the fact that the look is achieved solely for that purpose: looks. They don't train for strength, or health or a sport, it's for show only.  Some may think that's what I do, but it's not. If I really wanted to train just for competitions, I wouldn't do half the work I do, or I would perform the work differently. First and foremost I want to look athletic, be strong, be physically fit. The Figure or Physique competitions are a by-product of that pursuit. 

I also enjoyed reading about what each considers their "best" body part or what they consider the best form of training for their sport; what they like to eat or how they eat. And motivation. They are all very highly motivated and it comes from within. These athletes are internally motivated, no one can push another person to be like this, no one but themselves.

Although I am an internally motivated person, I seek out positives that help me realize what I am searching for, and to help me as I become a bit complacent at times. Reading about successful athletes living their dream is the perfect motivation for me.

Pick up a copy soon before they are all gone.