Being a life-long fan of bodybuilding up until the last 7-8 years and having attended Mr. Olympia contests as well as other professional contests, I can appreciate the wonder of the modern freak and how far they’ve pushed themselves, though I’m not sure they should be commended although the training and diet and consistency involved is often grueling.

I think bodybuilding started to take a step back in the early 80′s when drug-use and different types of drugs started to be introduced and got really out of hand up until this moment.

My favorite physiques of all-time are 1) Mike Mentzer and 2) Arnold. There is a alpha ruggedness and a beauty to both, especially Arnold, that has been lost in my opinion. It’s just become a freak show.

An the note about athletics and bodybuilding, if you’ve ever read the book Pumping Iron I think somewhere in there (its been a few years) they mention that Mike Katz (who also appeared in the movie and played football) tested very well against other athletes of his time. That also has been lost. If you’ve ever seen many of the modern guys up close they’re often wheezing and sweating profusely while sitting in a chair or standing. Not good.

Agreed. I don’t dislike any particular individual in bodybuilding, professional or amateur. In fact, I’ve known acquaintances here in L.A. who’ve competed as bodybuilders (and luckily they don’t read the Blog.) They probably wouldn’t like it too much.

I just don’t respect the “Sport” or even the endeavor at this point (for the reasons state in the article.)

You can respect a guy without having to like him.

Ben

(I suppose to the 75 guys who buy tickets to show up at these events, it does.)

As for art form, I always thought to be an artist, you’d have to have some artistic talent.

Its not about “grown ass men” toiling in trivial vanity based outlets of interests. its not about lifting alot of weight, its about building a body, the idea that others lift more than they do is irrelevant, they’re not judges on performance they’re judges on aesthetics.

Anybody can take steroids and stack them perfectly, almost nobody can be a bodybuilder- if one were to think the differance between them and bodybuilders is steroids alone, they are misguided at best. Thats like thinking the differance between tiger woods and you is a set of quality clubs- its not the driver and the putter- its you, its not the roids that make them its them.

that blob of muscle is the best bodybuilder in history, some ppl think Arnold but Arnold in his prime would struggle to compete as an amateur these days- really struggle. Ronnie Coleman rules 8x Mr. Olympia- YEA BUDDY

I think wanting to compete is a natural progression. I think very athletic people are born with that nature to want to physically compete. And don’t forget physical endeavors come easier to them just as other things come easier to you, (and just as making jokes or music comes easier to someone who has natural talent for comedy or music.)

You can even see it early on. My friend has a son who is 6 year’s old, and he is clearly a superior athlete to all of his classmates in school.

And if you happen to love playing basketball, you want to be better and the only way to measure yourself is against top competition.

No one said lifting nearly a 1000 pounds is a particularly healthy, just as no one said playing any physical sport 6 days a week is. However, I can respect athletic competition, where as bodybuilding is only a contest to post to see who is more puffed out.

Some sports go a few thousand years back, but then you’ve got to think that even a 100,000 years ago, prehistoric men would have raced each other to see who was faster.

(Btw, I don’t consider golf a sport, so it’s not part of the discussion. lol)

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David,

Agreed. I don’t think you can compare bodybuilders to ANY professional athletes.

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I am also surprised no one has shown any hostility. I figured a few fans of the sport would write me to say what an asshole I am, and how I just don’t get their sport.

Then again, my readership mostly consists of intellectuals, not dudes who talk about how “Bodybuilder X finished 2nd in last year’s Mr. Olympia but added an inch to his biceps to win this year’s contest.”

I started weight training to look better, but now focus on training for martial arts and function over form. Whilst these guys obviously have a massive amount of dedication to their ‘sport’, it’s true you just can’t compare them to olympic lifters or MMA fighters. Not even close.