Bodybuilding is not a sport.
A deeply unpopular opinion among its Very Straight aficionados who love nothing more than to spend hours arguing over who has “fuller” glutes.
Here is why I think the way I do:
We begin with a history lesson.
From the earliest days, bodybuilding has been the domain of degenerates.
Pictures of “athletes” from the turn of the 20th century with naught but fig leaves covering their genitalia is proof enough of that.
As the years went on, bodybuilding magazines began to spring up. These were also called “beefcake magazines”, and were packed with photographs of young, muscular men posing suggestively in revealing clothing interspersed with token articles about training to get around the censorship of salacious material that was in play at the time.
With the advent of film came bodybuilders flocking to act in illicit movies, and in the social media age you can’t spend more than a minute purusing fitness “content” without some bloke or girl shoving their junk in the camera to gratify their legions of basement-dwelling simps.
Then there are the mental disorders.
Of course, I am not a psychologist. However, you don’t need to be a clinical psychologist to see that the attitudes and behaviours of many bodybuilders are entirely consistent with recognised symptoms of eating disorders, exercise addiction, and body dysmorphia.
And, finally, there is the rampant drug abuse (that is rife even among competitors who claim to be “natural”).
So.
Not a sport and certainly not the sort of people we should hold up as an example of what it is to be disciplined.
None of this is to say that we can’t learn much from *early* bodybuilders on the subject of training. (The mutated turtles of today have nothing whatsoever to teach the man who simply trains for strength, looks, and health due to the aforementioned drug abuse and how it has polluted their thinking).
To wit, Aristotle gave us the metaphysical framework that explains the miracle of transubstantiation, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to start burning incense to Zeus any time soon.
Fact is, the bodybuilders of the first half of the 20th century had everything spot on:
* Base your programme on the “big” movements like squats, deadlifts, and presses,
* Supplement those lifts with arm, ab, calf, and lower back work,
* Add in “extras” to bring up weak points,
* Take regular rest weeks to recharge.
But I wouldn’t look to them for inspiration in any other aspect of life.
Anyway.
Below is a link to the latest episode of my New and Improved Podcast featuring Jess as a special guest.
We don’t talk about bodybuilding.
We do, however, talk much about her outstanding weight loss journey.
Watch here:
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman