[quote]Professor X wrote:
Who fucking cares what people outside of the activity call it? What I do know is I trained chest tonight so hard I nearly screamed. I know I had 4 different people come up to me and either ask me something about training or make a positive comment about my progress. I don’t think Mrs. America is training like that or sweating that hard in the gym.
You can call it what you want but Paddy M’s post sums it up nicely. The stage may be a show, but it took competitiveness, drive, and athletic ability to get big enough to reach that stage in the first place assuming we are talking about significant bodybuilding comps.
The real work is done in the gym for years and there is no way you discount that to only focus on the stage.
It makes no sense at all…yet people keep doing it.
Maybe it makes them feel better to discount 20 years of hard work in the gym to build a Toney Freeman and act like it compared to a fucking Beauty contest alone.[/quote]
I understand that. I started this thread 'cause I was just musing if bodybuilding would ever become an olympic sport. I would like it to be, but I wonder if it’s ever going to happen.
[quote]Ripped Fury wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Who fucking cares what people outside of the activity call it? What I do know is I trained chest tonight so hard I nearly screamed. I know I had 4 different people come up to me and either ask me something about training or make a positive comment about my progress. I don’t think Mrs. America is training like that or sweating that hard in the gym.
You can call it what you want but Paddy M’s post sums it up nicely. The stage may be a show, but it took competitiveness, drive, and athletic ability to get big enough to reach that stage in the first place assuming we are talking about significant bodybuilding comps.
The real work is done in the gym for years and there is no way you discount that to only focus on the stage.
It makes no sense at all…yet people keep doing it.
Maybe it makes them feel better to discount 20 years of hard work in the gym to build a Toney Freeman and act like it compared to a fucking Beauty contest alone.[/quote]
I understand that. I started this thread 'cause I was just musing if bodybuilding would ever become an olympic sport. I would like it to be, but I wonder if it’s ever going to happen.[/quote]
I doubt it. WAY too subjective, IMO. I also do not consider it a sport, but a competition. A sport is a competition, but the inverse is not necessarily true. Nor do I consider TRAINING for anything a sport. That is simply preparation. That does not discount the dedication, drive, perseverance and focus it takes to improve and mold your physique as most people don’t even have the balls to get up off the couch, much less push themselves to be their best.
I was going to point out the same things about old school bodybuilding competitions that Rocky2 pointed out in his post. Back then it was definitely more of a sport but since the only component focused on today is totally subjective, I think that moves it into the realm of a competition.
If fucking NASCAR is a sport then body building sure is. It also depends on your definition of a sport. Is it a competition only of physical skills or something else.
I personally don’t define it as a sport. It’s a fucking 9-5 job and art more than a sport.
Bodybuilding is definitely above sport. It is the greatest form of physical exercise because you train your every muscle, that is it. No bull. It is the purest, most beautiful example of training. In fact, bodybuilding is the definition of training.
Bodybuilding is not a show, not a competition and not â??a male beauty pageantâ??. It is the life style of bettering oneself in every corporal way. It is ultimate self-love.
Bodybuilding is the best.
Gymnastics is judged subjectively, does that make it less of a sport?
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
I’m gonna get flamed for this…
I don’t think modern bodybuilding is a sport. It’s a male beauty pageant. That is not to say that hard work, dedication, willingness to do more drugs than the other guys along with epic genetics isn’t involved… I totally respect the amount of dedication it takes and literally foregoing every other aspect of you life to get there. It’s admirable to have that amount of discipline. But let’s face it - it’s a bunch of guys in squirrel hammocks flexing. NTTATWWT
If body building is a sport, then so is Miss America.[/quote]
I could not say it better myself.
[quote]lewhitehurst wrote:
[quote]Ripped Fury wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Who fucking cares what people outside of the activity call it? What I do know is I trained chest tonight so hard I nearly screamed. I know I had 4 different people come up to me and either ask me something about training or make a positive comment about my progress. I don’t think Mrs. America is training like that or sweating that hard in the gym.
You can call it what you want but Paddy M’s post sums it up nicely. The stage may be a show, but it took competitiveness, drive, and athletic ability to get big enough to reach that stage in the first place assuming we are talking about significant bodybuilding comps.
The real work is done in the gym for years and there is no way you discount that to only focus on the stage.
It makes no sense at all…yet people keep doing it.
Maybe it makes them feel better to discount 20 years of hard work in the gym to build a Toney Freeman and act like it compared to a fucking Beauty contest alone.[/quote]
I understand that. I started this thread 'cause I was just musing if bodybuilding would ever become an olympic sport. I would like it to be, but I wonder if it’s ever going to happen.[/quote]
I doubt it. WAY too subjective, IMO. I also do not consider it a sport, but a competition. A sport is a competition, but the inverse is not necessarily true. Nor do I consider TRAINING for anything a sport. That is simply preparation. That does not discount the dedication, drive, perseverance and focus it takes to improve and mold your physique as most people don’t even have the balls to get up off the couch, much less push themselves to be their best.
I was going to point out the same things about old school bodybuilding competitions that Rocky2 pointed out in his post. Back then it was definitely more of a sport but since the only component focused on today is totally subjective, I think that moves it into the realm of a competition.[/quote]
This. exactly.
Are there any other sports that don’t require a large amount of skill for the actual event? In the other judged sports like Gymnastics and Figure Skating no matter how well you trained for the event, if you miss a landing you pretty much lose your chance at placing. Does bodybuilding have any equivalent to this?
[quote]sufiandy wrote:
Are there any other sports that don’t require a large amount of skill for the actual event? In the other judged sports like Gymnastics and Figure Skating no matter how well you trained for the event, if you miss a landing you pretty much lose your chance at placing. Does bodybuilding have any equivalent to this?[/quote]
If you fuck up your posing you don’t display your muscle mass and proportions optimally…if you fuck up a landing in skating you don’t show your skill level optimally…similar, but different. Who the fuck cares?
[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
If body building is a sport, then so is Miss America.[/quote]
yes because putting on lip-stick is as hard as squatting 500+lbs for reps.[/quote]
The difficulty of a task is completely irrelevant to its classification as a sport. logic fail.
edit
What do you think tom platz would have a harder time doing? My guess is that he’d be better at squatting 500. Just because YOU would find it easier to apply lipstick than to squat 500lbs doesnt have anything to do with this discussion.
[quote]sufiandy wrote:
Are there any other sports that don’t require a large amount of skill for the actual event? In the other judged sports like Gymnastics and Figure Skating no matter how well you trained for the event, if you miss a landing you pretty much lose your chance at placing. Does bodybuilding have any equivalent to this?[/quote]
This is by far the most ignorant post in the thread.
I’ve always thought of a sport as an athletic, physical competition where a winner can be determined objectively. This occasionally puts me at odds against, say, figure skating, because I don’t see it as objective enough, though I do acknowledge the athletic traits necessary to glide on a sheet of ice balanced on a thin strip of metal and jump up and spin around in the air 3 times before landing again. And things like poker being shown on sports channels just piss me off.
I don’t see bodybuilding qualifying under those (my) criteria. I don’t consider walking around stage posing as an athletic activity, regardless of how hard it is to flex for an extended period of time like that and the practice required to get your routine right. And I don’t see the qualifications for victory as being very objective.
Also, as has already been mentioned, training =/= sport. Training falls under the preparation phase, not the competition phase, and it is what happens during the competition that determines whether or not it’s a sport.
[quote]SquatDeepHomie wrote:
Gymnastics is judged subjectively, does that make it less of a sport?[/quote]
This is what is known as an apples and oranges comparison and gymnastics and figure skating are considered a competition by those who compete. People started calling them sports with the advent of Wide World of Sports because most Americans are too dense to think critically and understand the difference between a specific term (sport) and the broader term that includes sport and a variety of other endeavors (competition).
And for the record I think figure skating and gymnastics are too subjective to be considered sports as well. Doesn’t discount the talent and training that goes into it, just too subjective, IMO.
Bodybuilding isnt a sport.
The training in the months before a show is DEFINITELY not a sport. THere is no competitive aspect to traning in that fashion.
Bodybuilding is an extreme aesthetic (beauty) contest. Obviously being the best bodybuilder or being a champion bodybuilder is extremely difficult. But its the exact same thing as a bikini model search or male fitness model show, or a wet t shirt contest; just that bodybuilding requires an unbelievable amount of dedication and preparation. But many things require high levels of dedication and preparation, most of them wouldnt be considered anything remotely close to a sport.
Judges pick who they think looks the best. Essentially, the guys on stage have no control over what the outcome of the show is (no matter what a guy does, in the gym or on the stage, the judge chooses; the bodybuilder has no impact on the results of his work). It cant be a sport if the ‘athletes’ play no role (theoretically) in the outcome of the ‘competition’
[quote]TheJonty wrote:
I’ve always thought of a sport as an athletic, physical competition where a winner can be determined objectively. This occasionally puts me at odds against, say, figure skating, because I don’t see it as objective enough, though I do acknowledge the athletic traits necessary to glide on a sheet of ice balanced on a thin strip of metal and jump up and spin around in the air 3 times before landing again. And things like poker being shown on sports channels just piss me off.
I don’t see bodybuilding qualifying under those (my) criteria. I don’t consider walking around stage posing as an athletic activity, regardless of how hard it is to flex for an extended period of time like that and the practice required to get your routine right. And I don’t see the qualifications for victory as being very objective.
Also, as has already been mentioned, training =/= sport. Training falls under the preparation phase, not the competition phase, and it is what happens during the competition that determines whether or not it’s a sport.[/quote]
Athleticism has 0 to do with determining the merits of a sport. Many sports require amazing levels of athleticism but that doesnt mean that athleticism is a requirement of all sports. There is a logical disconnect in your reasoning.
[quote]lewhitehurst wrote:
[quote]SquatDeepHomie wrote:
Gymnastics is judged subjectively, does that make it less of a sport?[/quote]
This is what is known as an apples and oranges comparison and gymnastics and figure skating are considered a competition by those who compete. People started calling them sports with the advent of Wide World of Sports because most Americans are too dense to think critically and understand the difference between a specific term (sport) and the broader term that includes sport and a variety of other endeavors (competition).
And for the record I think figure skating and gymnastics are too subjective to be considered sports as well. Doesn’t discount the talent and training that goes into it, just too subjective, IMO. [/quote]
I agree.
SPeed skating is a sport. Figure skating (aka Ice Dancing) is not a sport.
[quote]Raw Finn wrote:
Bodybuilding is definitely above sport. It is the greatest form of physical exercise because you train your every muscle, that is it. No bull. It is the purest, most beautiful example of training. In fact, bodybuilding is the definition of training.
Bodybuilding is not a show, not a competition and not â??a male beauty pageantâ??. It is the life style of bettering oneself in every corporal way. It is ultimate self-love.
Bodybuilding is the best.[/quote]
Did you beat off WHILE you wrote this or afterwards? LOL
[quote]lewhitehurst wrote:
[quote]Raw Finn wrote:
Bodybuilding is definitely above sport. It is the greatest form of physical exercise because you train your every muscle, that is it. No bull. It is the purest, most beautiful example of training. In fact, bodybuilding is the definition of training.
Bodybuilding is not a show, not a competition and not �¢??a male beauty pageant�¢??. It is the life style of bettering oneself in every corporal way. It is ultimate self-love.
Bodybuilding is the best.[/quote]
Did you beat off WHILE you wrote this or afterwards? LOL[/quote]
To be honest with you, before, during and after. Ultimate self-love ftw, baby!