found this article on another site . interesting .what do you think of this guys thinking.Should I just give up on bodybuilding?
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This is not meant as a flame, just my serious thoughts concerning bodybuiling as a whole. Please don't take offense to this, as it is not meant to attack anyone.
If you find errors in my logic, feel free to point them out. I just feel very depressed "bodybuilding", because the reward doesnt seem to justify the effort for someone like myself.
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It has been apparent to me that bodybuilding, even at my "recreational" level, pretty much consumes your life if you want to take it seriously.
If you examine the lives of top level competitors, bodybuilding is really all they are allowed to do, if they want to be competitive. What does this preparation involve?
Mainly... Either not having a job at all, or having a job that fully allows you to be a bodybuilder (see following requirements).
Requirements:
1) Take vast amounts of illegal drugs & steroids. (I've heard expenses can range upto 50k a year for top pros?)
2) Eat obscene quantities of food (not pleasurable food), upto 10 meals a day.
3) Devote at least 2-3 hours a day to the gym itself, including travel and workout time.
4) Maintain a year round tan, and keep your entire body hairless.
5) Additionally, preform low intensity fat burning cardio, upto an hour a day.
If you truly understand bodybuilding though, you will realize that many "bodybuilders" are not as strong as other pro athletes (some football players) or strength-athletes (olympic & power lifters), mainly because most of the bodybuiling weight training is geared towards building muscle mass, rather than strength or explosiveness. In other words, the muscle is still there, but not as functional as it seems.
Another disappointing quality is.... "Mr Olympia", supposedly a fitness champ, would be hard pressed to run a few miles. Why? Because the cardio they do is purely for aesthetics as well.... to shed bodyfat. High intensity cardio would probably increase cardiovascular fitness.... but more realistically for them, it cuts down on recovery time from weight workouts, and more techincally, burns more carbohydrates/glycogen for fuel than bodyfat.
So while all this working out makes you big & lean, and pretty strong, you are still basically a facade.
Consider for example, the current Mr Olympias bench press: roughly-500lbs. Max squat- 800lbs.
These numbers sound impressive, until you consider that olympic lifters half their bodyweight match and/or exceed them. Or that these numbers are not even competitive if you wanted to compete in powerlifting or WSM contests on ESPN. Hell, even some guys in NCAA football are stronger.
A professional bodybuider's body would be very hard pressed to compete at ny sport on a high level, or be in a physically demanding job like military or fire-fighter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is not meant as a flame, just my serious thoughts concerning bodybuiling as a whole. Please don't take offense to this, as it is not meant to attack anyone.
If you find errors in my logic, feel free to point them out. I just feel very depressed "bodybuilding", because the reward doesnt seem to justify the effort for someone like myself.
--------------------
It has been apparent to me that bodybuilding, even at my "recreational" level, pretty much consumes your life if you want to take it seriously.
If you examine the lives of top level competitors, bodybuilding is really all they are allowed to do, if they want to be competitive. What does this preparation involve?
Mainly... Either not having a job at all, or having a job that fully allows you to be a bodybuilder (see following requirements).
Requirements:
1) Take vast amounts of illegal drugs & steroids. (I've heard expenses can range upto 50k a year for top pros?)
2) Eat obscene quantities of food (not pleasurable food), upto 10 meals a day.
3) Devote at least 2-3 hours a day to the gym itself, including travel and workout time.
4) Maintain a year round tan, and keep your entire body hairless.
5) Additionally, preform low intensity fat burning cardio, upto an hour a day.
If you truly understand bodybuilding though, you will realize that many "bodybuilders" are not as strong as other pro athletes (some football players) or strength-athletes (olympic & power lifters), mainly because most of the bodybuiling weight training is geared towards building muscle mass, rather than strength or explosiveness. In other words, the muscle is still there, but not as functional as it seems.
Another disappointing quality is.... "Mr Olympia", supposedly a fitness champ, would be hard pressed to run a few miles. Why? Because the cardio they do is purely for aesthetics as well.... to shed bodyfat. High intensity cardio would probably increase cardiovascular fitness.... but more realistically for them, it cuts down on recovery time from weight workouts, and more techincally, burns more carbohydrates/glycogen for fuel than bodyfat.
So while all this working out makes you big & lean, and pretty strong, you are still basically a facade.
Consider for example, the current Mr Olympias bench press: roughly-500lbs. Max squat- 800lbs.
These numbers sound impressive, until you consider that olympic lifters half their bodyweight match and/or exceed them. Or that these numbers are not even competitive if you wanted to compete in powerlifting or WSM contests on ESPN. Hell, even some guys in NCAA football are stronger.
A professional bodybuider's body would be very hard pressed to compete at ny sport on a high level, or be in a physically demanding job like military or fire-fighter.
