10 Most Influential People In Fitness the Last 10 Years

[Jean-Paul]

Originally Posted by FishrCutB8

How about JP, who helped transform Mike Huckabee, who is now transforming the entire state of Arkansas...and there are even talks of him thinking about a higher office...

I would hardly rate myself as a major influence. Now if someone were to write about "nice guys" in the industry I may make a top 100 list.

I am very proud of my work with Gov. Huckabee, but I really can't take any credit. He was on that path and there was no stopping him. I was just lucky enough to be someone he trusted to come to for information, and I gave him a really good base training program.

[Alcoholiday]

Louie Simmons deserves to be at the top of the list, simply for the fact that some of the strongest people have come out of westside, and it has become the most well known gym in PLing circles for the atmosphere it creates, and for the lifters it produces.

Sebastian Burns deserves to be mentioned for the fact that more and more lifters are going towards the metal militia style of benching, and finding it works well.

Tate doesn't deserve to be in the top 10, simply for the fact that he uses everything Louie has taught him from WS. He was an excellent PLer, but when it comes to influential people, i don't think so. The only thing has has done is turned elitefts into a place more focused on business than totals.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by Alan Aragon

On the contrary, I think people will endlessly bitch about the order, let alone who's left out. I wish John the best of luck with this, bring the bullet proof e-vest just in case

Ego is more deadly that a thousand silver bullets.

[julianne]

I have to throw Charles Staley's name into the ring here-sure I work for him but..his association with the training aspect for the ISSA,more than 1000 published articles worldwide...and EDT ? Besides, I've got a good Christmas bonus coming so I figured I better earn it (lol)

Also, TC LUOMA-one of the most influential and controversial writers out there.Period.-Jules

[gregl515]

I started this and lost my opinions into the ether somewhere. I'll try again. I decided to list the 10 most influential folks to an outsider who is not an expert, say someone like, . . . me. I will also make a list of the 10 most influential to me.

1. Arnold. The fact that everyone knows who I am talking about from that one name says it all. Who hasn't seen Pumping Iron ? How many folks first strenghth training books were The Education of a Bodybuilder and Arnold's Bodybuilding Encyclopedia? How many folks first program was an Arnold workout from a Weider Magazine.

2. Richard Simmons. Got a lot of obese people moving and dieting. Sweating to the Oldies anyone? Actually probably the most influential person on this list unless it is . . .

3. Bob Greene. Trained Oprah. Trainer to the housewives of America.

4. Bill Phillips. Stick T C Luoma on this too since Lou says he wrote a lot of Bill's stuff. Did T C write Body for Life? First strength training program for a lot of people.

5. Bill Starr. This is a strange one. I don't think he was used when I was wrestling or the disastrous experiment as a 158 lb guard my coach who was also the line coach convinced me to try. However, 5 x 5 and his strength training program for football seems to be used a lot. If coaches have their high school atheletes using this, then it is influential.

6. Ian King/Lou Schuler. Get Back in Shape went all over the world. It was the first serious strength training program for a lot of folks. Think of all those people doing King Deadlifts in commercial gyms. lol

7. The folks that developed The Firm and Power 90 taped workouts. These are the first strength training workouts for many folks.

8. Arthur Jones/Ellington Darden. One invented Nautilus and one popularized it and Bowflex. How many folks used Nautilus equipment for their first strength workout. What about HIT?

9. Jim Fixx. Popularized running with The Complete Book of Running. He's been dead for years but the book is still read and running was the workout before people discovered they could change their bodies more efficiently through strength training.

10. Tony Little. Love him or hate him he got a lot of people to exercise.

My most influential folks:

1. Gunnery Sergeant Roller. Leg lifts. Pushups. Mountain Climbers. Pullups. Run until I puke. Foot up my ass if I fail. Good times. My main workout for years was running. Thanks wherever you are.

2. Mike Mejia/ Lou Schuler. My first organized workout. TAP. TAP gave me a way to eat that was healthier than the diabetic diet and was better than Atkins. Should have stuck with it, but I did for several years and it kept me healthy. Home Workout Bible. When I get better and strong enough HGM. Lou has been especially accessible since I got sick. Mejia described the squat in Scrawny to Brawny in such a way that I could correct a flaw that prevented me from doing heavier squats.

3. Alwyn Cosgrove/Lou Schuler. NROL. Alwyn is knowledgeable and funny and inspired me to find dumbbell complexes which I can do now until I am capable of more. I want to do the Barbell Complex he said would make me cry like a little girl in a frilly dress. Alwyn also convinced me that full body exercises are the way to go for me. Alwyn has continued to perform his job at a high level while battling illness. This has been an inspiration to me.

4. Craig Ballantine. TT. Craig is super accessible and helpful. His workouts are quick full body workouts that are brutal.

5. Tom Incledon. On the old MH site gave me nutrition advice that probably kept me healthier for a long time.

6. Adam Campbell. His latest article and the information he has given to me has helped me to plan my new diet to once again improve my health beyond the Diabetic Diet.

7. Dave Draper. He is 61 and still doing it. He has a great website with lots of interesting information. But mostly he is vital and healthy and still doing it at 61. He encourages people to work around their weaknesses and make adjustments for age and infirmity but keep training. I need to hear that right now.

8. Clarence Bass. This is only because that is the first place I heard about HIIT which I find way better than steady state training.

9. Jimm Fixx. The only running book I could ever read. The Marine Corps got me to begin running to stay in shape. Jim Fixx kept me with it for years after the Marine Corps.

10. Bill Hartman. In Muscle Prescription he talked about corrective exercises. He and Mike Mejia both discuss corrective exercises. I was performing some of these exercises before I got sick and they were very helpful. I will do the same when I am ready for full body workouts again.

[Jean-Paul]

Oh yeah, Staley definitely belongs on that list. I can't believe his name didn't come up earlier.

[Misfit]

Originally Posted by Chris Correia

Some others:

Jake (the Body By guy)
Tony Little
Chuck Norris
Christy Brinkley
Bill Phillips
That hot 50 year Bowflex chick

LOL

[Chris Correia]

Greg: Regardless of people's opinions of some on your lists, those are great lists. Very thoughtful. I'd curious to hear some folks impressions or reasons for some of the names that have been mentioned thus far, so that I can know or understand their contributions.

[Terry Monk]

Originally Posted by gregl515

1. Arnold. The fact that everyone knows who I am talking about from that one name says it all. Who hasn't seen Pumping Iron ? How many folks first strenghth training books were The Education of a Bodybuilder and Arnold's Bodybuilding Encyclopedia? How many folks first program was an Arnold workout from a Weider Magazine.

2. Richard Simmons. Got a lot of obese people moving and dieting. Sweating to the Oldies anyone? Actually probably the most influential person on this list unless it is . . .

But of the last ten years ? They were more 80's icons of fitness.

[Jean-Paul]

Originally Posted by cowellfit

Love him or hate him, I don't think Paul Chek should be kept from this list.

I certainly went through my "Paul Chek" phase. Yeah, he should be on the [big] list. I don't know about the top 10... Maybe. John didn't necessarily state that they had to be positive or negative for his article. Paul certainly had good intentions, but I think he got trapped in his own ideas.

[Chiron]

God, that's such a tough question. There are so many names one could argue to be on the list. If we're going by the most "influential" (talking about fitness enthusiasts in general) then I'd probably go with:

- Bill Phillips/TC Luoma - You can't deny the influence of Body-For-Life. Lou put it best, Bill played a big part in bringing strength training to the main stream. TC deserves part of the credit for that so I have to put them together.

- Charles Poliquin - Some of what he says is pretty out there but we can't deny the influence he's had through Muscle Media and T-Nation on so many people, not to mention his successs with professional/Olympic athletes.

- Louie Simmons - Come on, who's had more of an impact on powerlifting in the past decade? And who can argue with the effectiveness of Westside?

- Mel Siff - This is kinda a tough one to put on a most influential list because he hasn't really reached a wide population but through experts his methods have. He's one of the people I've respected most in the industry.

- William Kraemer - Like Mel Siff, his writings dont hit the population directly but through experts. I can't think of another American scientist that has done more for strength training research.

- Tony Little - The guy is annoying and I don't care for his products but he's definitely had some impact on the industry and his personal story is pretty damn inspirational too.

- Billy Blanks - Two words: Tae Bo. I remember back in TKD in like 1994 doing this for conditioning because my instructor took some of Billy Blanks classes and it wasn't a year or two before BOOM it exlpoded into one of the largest fitness crazes of the decade.

- Mark Verstegen - A lot of people have used his books and videos, not to mention pro athletes.

- Denise Austin - I don't think she's a pioneer by any stretch but she certainly has a lot of material and a lot of women must be buying it because I can't think of anyone I see more videos and books from.

- Lou Schuler - At the risk of sounding like I'm kissing butt, Lou did have a position in widely circulated magazines that gave him influence over which fitness professionals would be heard. Plus co-writing books with Michael Mejia, Alwyn Cosgrove and Kurt Brungardt among others has reached quite a few people.

I think that'd be my list of the most influential. As far as "the best" I'd take some (esp. Tony Little and Denise Austin) off the list. There are a bunch of people that could be switched in/out of lists like these though and there are so many people I respect that I couldn't fit them all into a top 10 list.

[diamondpete]

As a relative newcomer to ressistance training (two years regularly) I do not think I have enough experience to rate: the top 10, but that being said, I think my perspective will be different from that of "experts" in the field and may be of some use to you.

I have to say far above and beyond all the others must be:

Arnold Schwrazzennegger

He is simply put the most visible, influencial person related to ressistance training, and for beginners, often the first "look" at the fitness industry. He has probably attracted more people to ressistance training than all the others put together.

Then as a beginner, the next most:

Lou Schuler

He has made "fitness" accessible to the normal reader. Without having started with some of Lou's books, most of the articles that I have read would have been far too daunting as initial reading for a novice who was "just trying too get in shape".

Lou has been the "bridge" for many newcomers, by writing in an accessible style.


Peter
BTW I am have no professional affiliation with Lou nor with Arnold. LOL.

[Alcoholiday]

how is arnold on people's list? his prime was in the 75-77. by 96' he was just a D grade movie actor.

[Irishdazza]

A D grade movie actor who made people think "doing weights would pump them up!"...witness Hans and Franz.

[Lou Schuler]

I don't have access to anyone's circulation numbers, but I'd guess that all the muscle mags sell more copies with Arnold on the cover than with any other type of image or celebrity.

That's why it's so hard to downgrade Arnold, or minimize his contributions. I think his influence has been continuous since the 1970s. Today's bodybuilders are an acquired taste, aesthetically. I don't think anyone goes into a gym with the dream of someday looking like Ronnie Coleman. But millions probably started with a vision of an Arnold-like physique.

The bodybuilders that came immediately before Arnold -- Dave Draper, Larry Scott, guys like that -- had physiques that seem attainable by today's standards. Lots of athletes and some gym rats have that kind of muscle size, if not the aesthetic proportions.

But what Arnold had is both desireable and still unattainable,which is why it remains an ideal for so many.

Plus, Arnold was the first guy of my lifetime who made big muscles seem cool, and by extension made serious training look like a gateway to better things. It wasn't muscles for the sake of having muscles; he made it look like one of the first steps toward achievement of the American dream.

You can't say that about many professional bodybuilders.

[rwmct]

Arnold is the Bruce Lee of resistance training. Lee has been dead for a gazillion years, and half the stuff you read about him is probably bs, but the martial arts mags regularly put him on the cover or mention his name on the cover, because it sells.