Bodybuilding is not an easy sport for athletes to keep up with. Getting into fitness as a newbie could be challenging. But fitness icon Derek from More Plates More Dates has been real about his journey through the sport, guiding those who are inspired to pursue it further.
In a conversation with Jordan Peterson, the star talked about a lot of nuances of bodybuilding, including supplements, exercises, PEDs, and more. Amidst this, he mentioned what drove him to continue on his fitness journey against all odds.
Derek began as a basketball athlete in college, albeit at a younger age. He would watch his friends work out at the gym and decided to give it a go. Sheepishly admitting that he wasn’t as strong initially, the icon recalled how he had to work hard towards his goals.
While his athletic experience was handy, what got him going was the fruit of his hard work. Derek pointed out how he began noticing results even before the mirror in his gym reflected visible changes.
“It’s when you have virgin muscle as you work it out, and it feels like you’ve been destroyed, but after a while, you start to adapt.”
His theory was that mirrors, although not completely deceptive, would take significant amounts of time to show changes. Comparatively, metrics not only offer accurate results but also show immediate progress in terms of numbers.
“Even if in the mirror, I’m not perceiving insane amounts of progress. I can see metrics of change on a numbers basis too, that are representing progress, and clearly, the strength numbers are changing.”
Derek is one of the few bodybuilders who believes in mediums other than the good old mirror to show progress. This theory, although resonated in various versions by bodybuilding veterans like Frank Zane, went against the philosophy of icons like Jay Cutler.
Unlike bodybuilding icon Derek, Jay Cutler swore by mirrors
While Derek raved about how metrics were more useful in measuring progress compared to mirrors, bodybuilding icon Jay Cutler once had an opposing view. In an interaction on Instagram, the 50-year-old shared his two cents on the debate.
For Cutler, the mirror was his best friend. It helped him understand what parts needed maintenance and which ones needed more work on aesthetics. The scales could be a good medium to measure, but since he already knew what they said, they were rendered useless.
An important thing to note would be the intent of measuring the progress of the two bodybuilders. Differing opinions often arise from the ultimate goal of an individual. While Derek’s reason for measuring progress could be to increase strength, for Cutler, it was working on aesthetics. Therefore, different mediums served different purposes.
