Voice Post

Examining voice is an intricate process, and the blog that I have chosen to use to examine is a blog by Ross Enamait, titled rosstraining.com. This blog is a more serious blog than the previous blogs that I have examined, since Ross is a more experienced strength coach with a background in boxing, with a more advanced physique than most amateurs. His blog posts are more detailed, and are very well put together; therefore his voice is one of a more serious tone.

            
The first blog post that I will examine is titled “Enough is Enough”. The post is essentially about how people assume that strength and aesthetic gains can come quickly as if shortcuts can be taken to achieve these feats. He starts off the blog post with the sentences, “As discussed within, legitimate strength is not developed in weeks or months. A few weeks are literally a blink of the eye when considering what is necessary to develop truly impressive strength”. He begins the blog post immediately with a serious, and almost stern statement, and uses the metaphor “a few weeks are literally a blink of the eye” to demonstrate to the reader than gaining strength is not something that can be done in a few weeks; it takes consistent and constant hard work. He is serious from the start so that the reader understands that this is an important topic that needs to be addressed. In the next paragraph, he talks about how his readers consistently send in photos from marketers in the industry that claim results in an unfathomable amount of time. He calls them “fitness hucksters” who talked the talk without getting their hands dirty. The term huckster in itself is a pejorative term, and the usage of this adjective shows the user that Ross is in fact very educated, which garners the reader’s trust in what he has to say, while also showing his discontent towards people in the industry who promise skinny men a Ronnie Coleman like transformation in a mere 12 months. He talks about how if the pictures are true, that he is genuinely happy for the person, but he is also not naïve. He mentions that he is not here to bash anyone’s choice in using performance-enhancing drugs. “What another person does with his body has no bearing on my life. It is not my decision to make, nor is it my decision to get upset about. I honestly don’t care”. He is more casual in this statement, but the intensity of his statement is very apparent, because he is making it known that while he chooses a certain lifestyle, he does not judge what someone else does. He goes on to mention the only vice he has is if there is deception involved with drug usage; i.e. claiming that a person can achieve the impossible in a short amount of time when in reality the person in pictures is using performance enhancing drugs. He shows a genuine concern for his readers, and does not want people to be misled by false information. He ends the post with “I’d rather be brutally honest about what it takes, rather than misleading you to believe that significant strength lies right around the corner. It is a long and difficult road to travel”. His voice remains consistently serious and tells the reader that being blatantly honest is much better than any deception on what it truly takes to make these difficult gains.

           
The second post I want to examine is titled “Less can be more”. The seriousness in his voice remains, and he is consistent with that fact. In this post, he addresses the fact that some people believe that adding more workouts to a regiment will garner more gains. He states that, “To stack pieces on top of a puzzle that is already full does not add value. Successful additions often require subtractions. If it is not feasible to subtract from your current workload, additions must be made in very small doses. Anything more will likely hinder, not enhance, the existing routine”. He uses the metaphor of stacking more puzzle pieces to illustrate to the reader that just because you continue to add more pieces on top of a complete puzzle does not make the puzzle any better. This metaphor is serious in tone, but adds a casual message to the readers so that even the most novice of readers can understand his sentiment. He immediately dispels the rumor of adding workouts as a good idea by stating that most cases require a subtraction of workouts if anything, and we are immediately given his opinion, which sets a tone for the rest of the blog post. He uses another excellent metaphor to further drive his point across. “To drive home this point, I often relate exercise selection to clothes. Just because you own several nice shirts does not mean it makes sense to wear them all at once. And certain clothes may not match each other. Your favorite pair of pants may not match your favorite shirt. As much as you like both items, it doesn’t make sense to wear them together”. While still trying to maintain a serious tone, this metaphor is a bit more playful that expected from Ross. He explains the idea of workout routines in a way that a person who is confused by the topic can read this metaphor and understand Ross’ standpoint in a crystal clear fashion. It’s a casual metaphor that carries a very strong message. He goes on to finish the post with his own experiences, which helps the reader relate to Ross, a man who’s in obvious good shape and lets the reader identify with him. It helps the reader not feel so hopeless with their journey when they see that Ross has had the same issues as well.

           
Overall, Ross uses a serious, and almost wise tone to write his blog posts. Nothing more can be expected from a man who is serious about his fitness and helping others reach their goals.