Michael Jordan is fond of saying that breaking up with his high school basketball team provided him the motivation to become the Hall of Fame player he eventually became.
While West Palm Beach’s Bill Nealon would never compare himself to the living legend who is Air Jordan, it was arguably a similar athletic disdain—Nylon was cut from the New Jersey-area high school football team, when the coach told a 5-foot-tall teenager And 4 feet 125 pounds “was too small to play football” – which set him on the personal and professional path he would follow for the next 50 years.
So how did Nealon – now 68 and in better shape than most men half his age – respond to his coach’s assessment?
“I went into the weight room and built my body.”
By the time he graduated from high school, Nylon was a hockey player who measured 5 feet 6, 145 pounds.
And much more importantly, Nylon became fond of weight training, bodybuilding and personal fitness training.
The next five decades saw him amass so much knowledge of fitness and develop so many relationships through bodybuilding that he recently published his memoir – “My Journey with Iron” – available on Amazon.com.
humble beginnings
In 1974, after Nylon graduated from Georgia State and was living in Atlanta, he remembers falling for a group of “fellow gym rats” who were all thinking of becoming competitive bodybuilders.
Only one problem – at least in Nylon’s mind: To truly reach the pinnacle of the sport, bodybuilders need to take steroids.
At the time, steroids were not illegal in the United States and their long-term negative effects were not as well known as they are today.
But nevertheless, Neelon says, “I’ve seen my friends make massive gains while on steroids, but I’ve never really been in love with starting them. There was just something about it that wasn’t so good. It was an acronym—and potentially dangerous at that—so I didn’t I do it more.”
It’s a decision he never regrets.
Dedicated to fitness
Although not pursuing his dream of becoming a competitive bodybuilder until later in his life, Nealon has always been a disciple of the benefits of weight training.
“There is no faster and more effective way to transform one’s body than by doing weight training,” he says.
Since moving to Palm Beach County in 1986, Neylon has been a staple in the local fitness and bodybuilding scenes.
He trained countless clients at his West Palm Beach gym boutique, The Fitness Edge (thefitnessedgefl.com) and eventually got himself a competitive bodybuilding mistake in the mid-’90s.
“About 30 years ago, I became a regular competitor and judge in bodybuilding masters competitions across the country,” he says.
One thing he was, and still is, stubborn about: “I only deal in the ‘clean’ world of bodybuilding.”
In other words, competitors are promising to phase out performance-enhancing drugs.
Not that Nylon would have needed them at all. He’s won more bodybuilding awards than he has room to display.
For decades, Neylon has also mentored and trained numerous bodybuilders of all levels.
Among his best bodybuilding friends are well-known names like Boyer Coe, Frank Zane, Dave Draper and the late Chris Dickerson.
Nealon—who’s had an adult son by his first marriage and his second wife isn’t as much a fan of exercise as he is (“that’s fine—we balance each other out,” he promises)—usually trains about five times a week for no more than an hour.
He strongly believes in quality over quantity when it comes to exercise: “You have to push yourself enough that you can’t do it any longer than that. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time.”
About the one perk he gave aging is that “sometimes connective tissue takes longer to recover after a hard workout,” so when that happens, he’ll adjust his next workout accordingly.
Time-tested fitness wisdom
In addition to imparting his expertise in the weight room, Neylon also delights in sharing a wide range of fitness and nutrition philosophies with his clients and mentors. among them:
1. Getting fit is a long-term commitment. As Neylon tells his new clients all the time, even if you don’t see results right away, “Trust positive things still happen. When you start a new exercise and nutrition plan, your body first changes from the inside out.”
2. Start slowly and build up gradually. This is about a long-term commitment where you should view your fitness journey as a marathon, not a sprint.
3. Perform a variety of exercises. As long as you don’t go beyond what you can realistically do, it’s best to focus on exercises that increase strength, endurance, balance, and/or flexibility.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others. “As long as you’re challenging yourself and getting better, that’s all that should be important,” says Nealon. In other words, leave your ego at the door.
5. Don’t do the same exercise twice. “You should always try to confuse your muscles,” says Neylan. “The variety of exercises also helps avoid periods of stagnation.”
6. If the movement of the exercise is painful – stop! Forget the old slogan “no pain, no gain”. Instead, use your brain and avoid unnecessary pain.
7. Prepare your healthy meals and snacks in advance. “By actually preparing your food, you won’t be tempted to eat junk food or junk food when you’re hungry,” he says.
8. Eat a “cheat” meal once a week. “A weekly ‘cheat’ meal, when you allow yourself to indulge, will help prevent you from feeling deprived,” he says. “It will also give you something to look forward to.”
9. Eat plenty of protein and drink plenty of water. Try to eat 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight and drink enough water (and other fluids) so that your urine is clear.
10. Be creative and be open-minded – whether in the gym or in the kitchen. Trust that there is always an alternative solution. The exercises can be modified to suit your ability level. You can drink protein instead of eating it. There is always another way – as long as you are willing to adapt.
