How did you get in to bodybuilding?
Training for sports.
And why? Interesting, health?
- It’s a fun hobby.
- Regular exercise reduces all-cause mortality by >30%.
- Helping me reinforce goal setting behaviour and get better at everything else.
- If I’m being honest self loathing played a role at the begining.
How many hours a day/week must you work out?
Must is relative. I choose to workout 4-6 hours. If I wanted better/faster results I’d train more. I have no intention to compete. Just want to look and feel better.
Do you find it is a growing subculture?
Yes. Either that or social media makes it appear larger than it is.
Is diet important when body building?
It’s the most important part.
Is it only weight lifting or do you need to do other forms of exercise to maintain the bodybuilding body?
Wouldn’t know. Haven’t had abs since high school. Only lifted recreationally up until recently. Working on it. Conditioning helps with lifting and can speed fat loss.
Do you think there is a stigma around bodybuilding and steroid use? Do you think it is a problem?
Yes there’s a stigma. Yes it’s a “problem”… albeit a first world problem.
Women can take hormones in order to have unprotected sex with less consequences. That’s considered a societal good.
If men want hormones for more muscle, less fat, confidence, energy, libido, to fight depression etc… that’s considered a societal ill. Never mind that the average man has half the testosterone he would have had a few generations ago. We wouldn’t want confident happy men walking around now would we?
Is there a place in a smaller area like maine where there are bodybuilders that get together to work on fitness or are most working out alone?
Every gym is it’s own subculture. I train in my basement because the commute time is zero and that means I can train early in the AM and not take away family time.
Is there a equal field in gender bodybuilding are there as many women as men and are they treated the same with in the sub culture?
Bodybuilding shows survive on entry fees. That’s why the organizers created the physique classes for men and figure/physique/bikini for women. More people could participate and ideally the shows would draw a more mainstream audience. There are often more female competitors than male at BB shows.
