By Rob Youells

You can't turn around these days without hearing something about the book Fifty Shades of Grey. The first time I heard about it, I was getting my hair cut. The women were cutting and buzzing about a book that had them all so worked up! One of them joked, “I should probably hurry my ass out of here before I get attacked.”

Then, a police officer friend of mine tells me his buddy from work’s wife has been sending him dirty pictures of herself while he's on the job, begging him to come home for a nooner! After twenty something years of marriage, his wife had never been like that ever, but she's reading this book!

The stories kept piling up. Now they are saying there is going to be a baby boom because of this book. Of course, I was curious. So, although I have not read it, I have talked to enough people that have, to get the general idea. It sounds hot. If you have read anything by Ann Rice, you can see how extremely descriptive verses can really transport you into the story. Ipso facto, the readers wanna act on all this sexual energy that builds up from such deep, erotic subject matter. I get it. I think it's great. I think anything that gets people screwing more is a good thing!

Every time I talk to people who are in an unhappy relationship, one of the most universal details they all share, is they aren't having sex anymore. If this book is not only stoking the fire, but possibly introducing new and interesting ideas for them to explore, even better. To me, that's the gift that keeps on giving.

I have noticed that this book is starting to get banned in libraries. I guess the general idea is, if they read about it, they will do it. I say, who gives a fuck what consenting, fully grown people do behind closed doors to express their intimacy? Why is that anyone’s business? If they thought it was intriguing enough to try it, it's a safe assumption that we are talking about willing participants here, not victimized sex slaves. I mean, of all the things you could get people to think about doing, and subsequently do, doing the horizontal mambo should be one of the top five best, possibly numero uno!

Expand people’s ideas of sexual gratification? Give them more of a variety besides Monday morning mish? HERESY! HA! If people were more satisfied with their sexual relationships at home, they would not be sneaking around screwing other people. They wouldn't drift apart and eventually lose interest all together. Perhaps, dare I say, the divorce rate would plummet! Which, I would think the religious people would get behind, (pardon the pun) if it wasn't such a nontraditional means to their desired end.

Look, it's a fact; people get jazzed up by the media they consume. Watch a cooking show? You get hungry. Watch Rocky, you wanna fight. Watch Pumping Iron? You wanna go train your ass off, barefoot, wearing short gym shorts...possibly in black and white. Now that I think about it, I would love to train in black and white... I digress.

I know they are always worried horror movies will make people wanna slaughter the innocent, video games like Grand Theft Auto will make people want to car jack folks and run over pedestrians, and, of course, metal music will make you want to kill your parents and yourself in a drug-fueled stupor. So why are there not millions of rapists, murders, and vehicular man slaughterers running amok throughout polite society? It seems obvious: the influence of media can't push you to go outside your normal path of morality.

People eat. So it's not a stretch that they will want to eat more after seeing someone prepare a delicious looking Eggplant Parmesan. (That sounds awesome right about now, 6 weeks out, ugh!) If you don't want to rip people open and eat their brains, a zombie movie is just a zombie movie. If you do want to do that, watching a zombie movie is hardly your biggest problem. This very principal is the reason why people want to look up training videos on MuscularDevelpment.com. Watching the intensity and technique of some of the best competitors in the world gets them motivated to go rip a killer workout in the gym. So, the idea they want Fifty Shades of Grey banned, leads me to believe that some tight-assed conservative coalition wants to make sure no one is having good sex at home, unless of course, it is fueled by the desire to make a baby. Which, in my opinion, is as antiquated, set-up to fail way of looking at intimacy and relationships. Or, should I say to NOT look at intimacy in relationships as an important ingredient that, in many cases, can make or break the ultimate outcome of any union between two people.

Although I have heard that the actual writing of this and the other books in the series is lackluster, it's obviously making an impact on the masses, so who cares? From my vantage point, it seems like a much needed impact. Not that we need a population explosion, but a boost in the collective libido has certainly got to be good for the morale of a population slowly eking its way out of a recession.

So, you're wondering what this has to do with bodybuilding? Why is this on the Muscular Development website? Well, since I am a bodybuilder and this topic interested me enough to write about it, I suppose that's about all the excuse I need. =) I'm thinking you guys should go out and purchase your special lady a copy of this book. I have heard it does wonders!