GENERATION IRON- Film Review- My experience while filming

 

The filming of the Generation Iron Movie and Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

With the anticipated launch of the movie now just days away, people have been asking for me to share my experience of filming the bodybuilding docu-drama, Generation Iron.

 

Growing up a massive Pumping Iron fan like most young aspiring bodybuilders, I have literally watched the movie hundreds of times and can recite most of it on even the worst of days. So when the directors approached me to “star” in what was being coined as the long awaited sequel, I thought I might actually be dreaming.

 

I was such an Arnold fan growing up that the first time I had the honor of competing at the Arnold Classic competition, I decided to pay homage to Arnold/Pumping Iron in my posing routine. Many of his unmistakable quotes were strategically placed  throughout the routine, massively adding to the epicness of the experience for me.

 

The music still gets a play from time to time on my itunes library when I need some of the focus only Arnold can inject into my life.  “I had a dream where I was standing on top of a mountain and there was no room left, for anyone else. Just for me”

 

BOOM! Visualize that for a moment. Its very powerful if you let it become part of your paradigm. This guy was so far ahead of his time.

 

The shooting of the movie began 8 weeks from the Mr Olympia. I had begun my preparation months prior in an attempt to make the necessary improvements to not only be able to be compared to the best in the world, but to beat them.

 

Anyone that knows me knows that I have never and will never simply compete for competitions sake. I compete to win. I insist on making significant improvements from show to show or I see no sense in competing.  This is also why I take such a scientific approach to everything I do. How else can you quantify progress and ensure results?
Sure, adding 5-10lbs of scale weight will certainly quantify progress, but if I cant measure my progress along the way, how do I ensure progress at the final outcome.

 

To kick off the filming, the crew arrived at my house at around 7am the first morning. It was a 10 person crew in total. My neighbors already think im from outer space walking around at 300lbs most of the time, I think this just solidified their impression.  Cameras following me around starting at 5am daily. I shouldve just went with the “im a celebrity” angle, but I don’t even think I could keep a straight face. Well, perhaps with a few of them.  😉

 

Most of the filming was centered on getting to know me as a person. My habits, hobbies, my lifestyle, and my family.  My approach to becoming the best bodybuilder in the world is very different than most of my counterparts, so the director really wanted to get an indepth look at how my mind works and what I do differently.

 

The film really wanted to center on how specific I get with my training and all the resources I call in to ensure im making the most of my preparation.

From such things as meticulously planning out my workouts 3 to 6 months in advance, planning my diet, supplement regime and manipulating those variables as often as every 2-3 days.

 

Quantifying my progress in the human performance lab at the University of Tampa human performance lab by looking at such things like DEXA body density scans, ultrasound scans to assess body measurement progress, and VO2 measurements to ensure im always working the correct fat burning zone for my cardio sessions.

I don’t check these variables daily, but only as often as I see necessary or when my progress stalls for a day or two, then determining which direction to go by using scientific means instead of bro science or a random stab in the dark.

 

My favorite part of filming Generation Iron was definitely our trip to the beach. My son, Benjamin loves the water so anytime we get to visit the beach is a glorious day.

Being a large, rather dense human I tend to sink like a stone in water. So other than laying out and working on my golden hue, im not much of a beach guy. The fun is watching my sons face and hearing his giggles when jump in the wavy water.

 

 

I view myself as someone that has grown into a confident adult. Im seldom one to point out someone’s faults or ignorance….unless prompted.  In a competitive sport like bodybuilding where a large part of our success on stage is based upon our mental state, sometimes take it upon myself to “be prompted”.  Not in such a way that I purposely make people feel bad, but I may be quick to point something out that you know they are already thinking about in the back of their mind.  An example being how Arnold pointed out Franco’s stature by making an allusion to his being a child.

Little subtleties in speech can make people just a little conscious on stage and perhaps take away from their confidence, even if only by 5%.

 

Tony Robbins explains it like this, If I were to tell you to stand as though you were 100% confident and realize how that feels. Hold that position. Now, 98% confident and what does that look and feel like? Different right? That exudes itself on stage and especially in a sport as subjective and subconsciously judged as bodybuilding, that minor adjustment in confidence can be the difference between winning and losing.

As you can probably imagine, people become motivated to pursue bodybuilding for a variety of reasons. Some are simply excellent athletes and excel at it because they build muscle easily. Others may pursue it to overcome some insecurity that developed from something in their subconscious as a youth.  Unfortunately for some, its typically pretty easy to tell these two groups apart. By now you can probably see where im going with this. Bottom line, don’t leave a herd of sheep in a room with a lion.

 

The producers kept pushing for asking for a little controversy. Typically Im a keep to myself kind of guy unless provoked but in this instance I figured bodybuilding needs a little fun.  Check out movie to find out what I mean.

 

 

The inclusion of my family in the movie was a great honor for me. I cant wait to sit down with my son in 20 years and re-watch this film. It will stir up so many emotions for me. The way he changed my life forever and brought a joy I never realized could even exist.

 

For those of you that have seen the movie, thank you for your support. I have some really great ideas for follow up to this film.

I would love to hear from you below, I hope that each and every one of you was

Some how inspired by this film to not only realize you can achieve your goals, but also that we are just people like you.

Thank you for sharing in this experience,

 

Ben Pakulski

 

 

 

PS. By now, many of you have seen the movie or at least the trailer. If you haven’t, definitely check  out the trailer HERE.