By: Darren Rieck
Though I work out most days of the week, I've never been one to follow the sport of bodybuilding. That may be surprising to many considering I have been working out at Muscle Beach in Venice, California a couple times each week from the early 90's on… and this is where the sport began.
To maintain its' historic roots with bodybuilders, each summer Muscle Beach comes alive with three big events that include a bodybuilding and figure models contest. In addition to being one of the sponsors, I help the promoter Joe Wheatley with the video of each of the events. The 2006 Labor Day show proved to be much bigger than anyone would have considered, but that was until the day before the show Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed he would be guest speaker.
I have never been a big fan, but after all I do respect what he has accomplished and he is as well-known as any person on the planet. Not to mention HEALTHandFITNESS.com was a sponsor of the event and my job was to film the show which included the speech he was going to give.
Knowing he is an actor as well as the Governor, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. After he stepped on stage he began talking about how important health & fitness is to him and how he wants to impress his children to be health conscious. In addition, he attributed his success in not just bodybuilding, but acting, as well as becoming Governor of California and being a successful businessman to being healthy and fit.
I don't know if he can really attribute all of his success to health & fitness, but this was certainly the right crowd for that speech and they loved it. He did seem to be sincere about the importance of being healthy & fit though…and I have seen him riding his bike at the beach with his wife (Maria Shriver) and kids. But perhaps because I believe that fitness is an important part of my own successful endeavors and stress the importance of it to others, that part of the speech caught my attention.
Being fit helps a great deal to have a clear mind, allows time for reflection, gives energy, improves your mood, makes physical tasks easier, is positively reflected on by others and has many other benefits for long-term health. Our accomplishments may be more subtle to others than Arnold Schwarzeneggers’, but working out and exercising regularly will benefit each of us and can play a big part in reaching goals.
Fitness is definitely a key to success and this becomes more apparent over a lifetime. Thank you Arnold for attending our show and reminding us of the importance of that.
See Arnolds' Speech
See Joe Weiders' Speech
See the 2006 Labor Day Video
HEALTHandFITNESS.com 
