Theater of pain: welcome to bodybuilding's real stage, where stars are made and agony is your friend - Pictorial

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to be a champion, to become an IFBB pro, a member of the physique elite? It's a question often asked, but the answer usually dissatisfies those doing the asking. Novice and young bodybuilders want easy fixes; they want to cling to the belief that outrageously developed bodies are the result of secret potions or weird science.

The truth? There are no magic pills. What makes a superstar bodybuilder is found in the grimaces, snarls and superhuman efforts of the nine men in this feature. To these champions, every workout is an experiment in the limits of human potential. Pushing beyond the pain barrier, training the mind to become immune to the physical agony of moving enormous weight with perfect form, that's their mission. Each man must raise his personal standards constantly, fighting against himself, aware that any surrender to the pain will set him back in his goals. They must keep raising the bar, physically and metaphorically.

The sport's top photographer, Chris Lund, has a special talent for catching its superstars at the peak of their inner battle. Whether the image is of a scream, a grunt, a glare or gnarled muscle, the photos here reveal a will to succeed that's distilled and nurtured by each of these top pros. At contests, you see them onstage in oiled glory, but the real work is done in the realm of the gym--the theater of pain.

So enjoy this passion play. These guys are so good, it hurts.

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Kevin Levrone

"You gotta love the pain. When I train, that's what I'm going for. The first few reps are all about stretch and flex. Then you take it up to the next level, going for the pump and burn. By the time you get to that last rep, you've entered a new dimension. The pain gets so intense, you think your target muscle is going to explode. The next thing you know, you're pushing up 150 pounds with one arm. It's cool, man."

Ronnie coleman

"I've been training so long, it's second nature to push myself to the limit. I'm always making sure my movements are done with perfect form, and I've been able to increase my strength gradually. Now, other guys tell me I'm the strongest they've trained with, but strength wasn't a goal of mine--I just kept pushing myself. I don't really think about the pain. I guess I've learned to like it."

Claude Groulx

"Intensity is just another word for pain. You should fell that intensity every time you pick up a weight. If I don't fell the sensation of this intensity down to my bones, then I know I have to increase my focus and my weight. It give me great satisfaction.

Dennis James

"I love training more than anything else I do. You've got to if you want to be a bodybuilder. I love every exercise, you name it. Any exercise you throw at me, I take s a challenge, and I can make it my favorite. That's how you become a pro bodybuilder. You learn to love every rep of every exercise and treat it like it's specials."

Pavol Jablonicky

"Every aspect of bodybuilding comes from hard work. You can't add muscularity without hard work. You can't improve symmetry without hard work. You can't get conditioned without hard work. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you have to devote yourself to hard work."

Mike Matarazzo

"You've got to block out all distraction when you train. Your focus has to be 100% into the rep. You've got to get into a zone. You know you're in the zone when guys in the gym look you in the eye and then quickly turn away 'cause they see the fire. You're got to be all business."

Jay Cutler

"If you want to get big, you gotta learn to feel it. No exercise works if you don't feel it in the muscle that you're targeting. A lot of guys rely on mirrors to tell them whether or not an exercise is working, but that doesn't make sense to me. I think about getting the ultimate contraction in the muscle I'm targeting, and I don't stop until I fell that."

Nasser EI Sonbaty

"Professional bodybuilding is a sport of total dedication. You must dedicate every aspect of every day to the attainment of your goals if you want to succeed. It is not enough to merely go to the gym to 'work out.' You must put all your concentration and focus on each rep, on each set, on each exercise, to have a successful workout."

King Kamali

"The gym is my office. It's where I work. All that other crap about the sport leaves me when I'm training. It's full balls-out brutal intensity. People can talk all they want, but you've got to bust your ass in the gym, put yourself through the pain, to make it in this sport."

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