Bodybuilding Aims - Realistic / Natural / Unnatural?

[Guest]

I don't think lifting is much compensation because for the most part we all get to eat what we want when we want. If we were out doing what we were naturally intended to do we probably wouldn't be doing much but walking and picking at whatever we could find...nothing hard on the muscles. Plus lifting weights is a very inefficient way to use the food we take in(not that cycling is efficient).

[Richard]

Yeah, exactly. But I think that basically whatever we would have done in the wild, we certainly don't do it now. I see my own bodybuilding / weightlifting / exercise as a way to try and aim towards what my body should be like, so I am deliberately trying to find ways to be active. Otherwise, I'd be very inactive, since almost all of my other hobbies involve sitting around all day shouting "boom headshot" etc. I won't be able to recreate how a human would live in the wild, but I try to aim for what I assume is the optimum for a human body. Not that I'm anywhere close, but that's my aim!

[Guest]

Honestly I bet part of it is largely based on doing a little possible to survive. Similar to what wild cats do and for males...male gorillas. They eat and do absolutely nothing outside of maybe having sex and occationally fighting.

[Richard]

Maybe I should eat barely anything to try to recreate it!

[Devils Plaything]

They eat and do absolutely nothing outside of maybe having sex and occationally fighting.

 

Aaaah, what a great life

But I think you're forgetting about their activities in the woods, like vaulting from tree to tree, which could be seen as some sort of workout, considering their enormous bodyweight.

[Guest]

It would be a great workout but they only do that maybe once a week...outside of that its sex, sleep, sex, food, sex, sleep, food, sex and sleep, then maybe a little vine slinging but probably having sex at the same time...then sleeping more.

[corbomite]

....

I HOPE to see more natural bodybuilding come into being accepted as being a great way to go and that people don't feel that the "bigger is better" scenario is the only way to go. But, until the people who control the sport decide to promote it, they'll keep giving us the freakshow and that's what you'll see in Flex, MuscleMag and the rest of the publications.

This would be great. However, how do you measure overall health and a "natural" physique. I guess there could be rigorous blood testing at every event, blood pressure checks, testosterone level tests, and then a winner could be chosen. But that doesn't seem very "may the best mad win".

[Guest]

The real kicker is out of competition testing which just won't happen with so many federations out there. Not many people are dumb enough to be taking right before or during a competition. They do most of their drugs in the off season when they would be bulking...then they stop when they diet because they aren't realistically trying to gain muscle anyway.

[VeganEssentials]

....

I HOPE to see more natural bodybuilding come into being accepted as being a great way to go and that people don't feel that the "bigger is better" scenario is the only way to go. But, until the people who control the sport decide to promote it, they'll keep giving us the freakshow and that's what you'll see in Flex, MuscleMag and the rest of the publications.

This would be great. However, how do you measure overall health and a "natural" physique. I guess there could be rigorous blood testing at every event, blood pressure checks, testosterone level tests, and then a winner could be chosen. But that doesn't seem very "may the best mad win".

 

Overall health, there's no real way it could be measured (how do you accurately measure overall health even in non-athletes to give an honest comparison?), and even for a "natural" physique, it's not necessarily any different to judge than one that allows for "anything goes" other than that it would need to be done without the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Yes, many over-the-counter supplements aren't exactly "natural" and are grey-area, but once you get into regulating those for competition, it's going to get REALLY tough as to where to draw the line. As long as it were strictly supplements which were accessible to EVERYONE, the playing field would be level - use them or not, nobody could say that they didn't have the ability to make their own decision on whether or not they chose to take a supplement. I mean, there could be a creation of a *completely natural* federation where even things like creatine were off-limits, but I doubt that would get a whole lot of interest. Not to mention, who wows the general public more, a heavyweight coming in at 220 or one who is 260-300? If you take away the public interest aspect, you take away the money, and then it goes back to being an obscure sport that fewer people have interest in. Not that it's really a good thing for a 12 year old boy to want to do anything to try and look like Ronnie Coleman, but it's the giants that get attention and sell products, making bodybuilding more attactive to the public. Love 'em or hate 'em, the monsters of the sport are what it is known for.

 

You can be clean and unhealty and juiced and healthy, it's all dependant on the person, so using health as a measure in bodybuilding is not likely anything that could ever truly be assesed as judging criteria. However, it's far greater in likelihood that clean people will be in a better position to be healthy than those who are spending thousands per year on steroids, so that's why I'd like to see more clean competition. There are plenty of people who built astronomical physiques and were bull-strong in the pre-steroid era who made their accomplishments through hard work.

 

We need to bring that attitude back instead of people blaming their genetics, their schedule, their lack of a mega-gym with 1000 machines, not being able to afford the right supplements, etc. Just look up info on John Grimek - that's the kind of guy we need back in bodybuilding. Massive physique for his day (and still VERY impressive today), strong in any lift, and a solid work ethic to be the best. Of course, the money still leads the way - there's more cash to be made in supplement endorsements for those who go the freakshow route as well as the cash from big-name contests, which is far more appealing than a trophy or a much smaller purse for victory.

 

It'd pretty well take a complete revolution from the inside out to change the state of BB at this point, so I don't expect much to happen in the way of change any time soon, unfortunately.

[Gyre]

I actually consider bodybuilding competitions to be somewhat like a poetry contest. You can only win or compete if you fit a certain criteria. I mean someone could refine their body to the point where they don't have to eat for years or where they can create an electrical discharge, these people have actually built something from their human state not just eye candy, ear candy for poetry. You are using more resources to fulfill a selfish desire of being more than you think you are. Perfection is not achieved by adding but by taking away. It is kind of one of those things that if all the money put into it went to something that actually helps people we could move forward maybe just another inch. Unless your body building has an actual utility within your actual human existence other than making money to feed your habit you are just playing in a sandbox. You don't hear about these guys going around using the "strength" they have developed to help others in real situations or even the world. They are not to be considered positive role models in any field in my opinion.

[Zack]

I actually consider bodybuilding competitions to be somewhat like a poetry contest. You can only win or compete if you fit a certain criteria. I mean someone could refine their body to the point where they don't have to eat for years or where they can create an electrical discharge, these people have actually built something from their human state not just eye candy, ear candy for poetry. You are using more resources to fulfill a selfish desire of being more than you think you are. Perfection is not achieved by adding but by taking away. It is kind of one of those things that if all the money put into it went to something that actually helps people we could move forward maybe just another inch. Unless your body building has an actual utility within your actual human existence other than making money to feed your habit you are just playing in a sandbox. You don't hear about these guys going around using the "strength" they have developed to help others in real situations or even the world. They are not to be considered positive role models in any field in my opinion.

 

I pretty much agree that it's sad to see pro bodybuilders using so much resources. Other than that this whole post was comical, but I especially enjoyed this:

 

"where they don't have to eat for years or where they can create an electrical discharge."

Edited January 9, 2008 by Zack

[Gyre]

Look it up. Comical in what way? Amusing? or laughable in validity?