It means what ever you bring to the table, man! There are as many reasons people get into this as there are people!! IMHO, pursueing the ‘body beautiful’ is not a wholly narcissitic pursuit. Some folks like to feel strong, they power lift. Some folks like to get HUGE muscles and follow the ‘BIG’ guys of BB’ing.
There have been eloquent posts to this thread attesting to their own reasons.
There are ways to view it as a purely aesthetic endevour. You want to make yourself as ‘good’ as you can be. It is also possible to make it a financial pursuit, if you wish to make the sacrifices.
If YOU want to look like a ‘Greek God’ and then flaunt it, that would be your business.
If you want it all for yourself… and not show your ‘work’, that is also your decision. Personally, I tend to ‘cover-up’ when not at the gym.
If I may say so, it is also possible to say that we ‘should’ do it, if we can. It does provide an example for others. I find it most gratifying when someone comments on the good ‘form’ of one of my exercises. If this seems to you to be one of the ‘baser’ reasons, I would have to disagree.
IMHO,there is almost a ‘zen’ quality to doing an exercise and feeling the muscles under control. To be able to feel the contraction, to control it, the speed, the blood flowing. It is a purely human, totally emotional thing.
I wish you peace and luck with your decision, hope I have helped in some small way…
[quote]floobadoo wrote:
Doesn’t bodybuilding seem a bit gay?
[/quote]
this…question…make…me…angry…! you…wouldn’t…like…me…when…ANGRY…! i…turn…into…
(effeminate voice)
GAY HULK!
seriously tho, i lift because it’s the best thing for me. sports was and is the one thing that brings me most happiness. when i was thirteen, my athleticism and happiness were stripped from me; and lifting has helped me realize again that which i identified myself with for so long.
I would like to have the time to respond to each of the fine and evidently empassioned responses to my question, each of which has given me more insight into myself, and each of which also has had the pleasant side effect of providing interesting insight into the motives of others.
As has been mentioned before, there is an infinity of possible motivations for the activity of weightlifting, and I would love to hear more.
The discussion following the diary of a steroid user article, indicates that at least many at this forum believe some parts of the bodybuilding lifestyle to be indefensible–to be wrong or bad–whatever those terms may mean.
I would be interested in hearing defenses from some of those involved in such lifestyles which are more likely to be controversial…
(relevant story)
I was looking at another bodybuilding forum earlier this week (doing research, one might say), and I discovered a large number of bodybuilders freely (and proudly)admitting to a neurotic condition, similar in mechanism to anorexia, according to which they lived in deep fear of smallness. These bodybuilders referred to themselves as “sick”, but they loved their sickness–or so they claimed, and, contrary to the behavior of anyone who really believes himself sick, they make no attempt to cure themselves (through deconditioning or whatever other psychological means one might use). Regardless of whether they are able to deal with the symptoms of their sickness and take care of their children adequately, or keep up whatever other moral responsibilities they may have, I would have to condemn such a life as unhealthy even for itself. This is to say that a life in which the primary conscious motivation is fear, is bound to be a miserable and slavish life-one which could hardly be called happy.
I mention this story b/c I believe it presents quite vividly the sort of difficulty I fear–giving into a worse part of myself to pursue my vanity. The last thing I want to do is to suggest that all who engage in weightlifting, or, more particularly, all who may somehow be described as bodybuilders, suffer from this sickness.
Finally, (I am sorry this has been so long–I hope someone besides myself is benefitting from this thread) I want to say that my reflections on several statements from Buckeye Girl (who incidently has awesome fucking legs) and Mowgli, combined to lead to a reflection on another possible virtue for some bodybuilders–they have suggested to me that, while all may gain from the discipline, health etc. of regular exercise, those who have the necessary leisure and the natural aptitude for success, might pursue bodybuilding more intensely, forging oneself into a beacon of beauty-- beauty which most importantly shelters and discloses the greatness possible for the physical human form, but beauty which also thereby provides motivation to others, a reminder of our essentially bodily existence in this technological age, and perhaps a bodily intimation of the more expansive excellence of which man is capable.
Last summer I was playing Capture the Flag with the kids at my camp. All the 10-13 year olds could run circles around me and it was never like that before. I was bent over with hands on my knees and sucking wind as some 11 year old was running away with my flag. That night I took a good long look at myself and realized I was getting fat. That’s why I started working out.
[quote]floobadoo wrote:
Doesn’t bodybuilding seem a bit gay?
[/quote]
Yes. Why do you ask?
I look at it this way.
Whether I build or not, I still have to watch my diet and spend an hour a day in the gym, because my lifestyle alone is simply not cutting it. I can choose between doing a weenie workout that just keeps me from being a fat slob, or a hardcore workout that turns me into a living piece of Florentine statuary.
I just don’t see the point in the weenie workout. That hour of my life is priceless. I’ll never get it back. Why waste it on inferior results? If I don’t turn into Lou Ferrigno, fine, but I’ll take what I can get along the way. I don’t see any good reason to say “if I can’t look like that, I may as well not bother”.
i usually dont answer many posts but as ive read this thread its forced me to ask why i do put a majority of my life into this hobby, its forced me to really consider why its so important to me and at the end of the day what bodybuilding provides me. so here goes, bodybuilding equates to human excellance. Ever since i persuaded my mom to buy me an issue of muscle of fitness when i was at 10 i have marvelled at these men with their massive physiques i knew they were special , different from the general public. Bodybuilders were people that day in and day out would place great physical demands on their bodies. Bodybuilders refuse to be seen as regular, their very existance is geared towards the pursuit of being physically outstanding, thats what drew me to bodybuilding.
I like this topic. I think I fit several reasons. Health is probably number 1 for me. I love knowing that I am doing “good” for my body. Even if I don’t look like a massive body builder I am healthy inside and that matters a lot. I also love the physical challenge, the feeling of attacking something hard and acomplishing it. It is great for the self-esteem. I love the feeling of knowing I am always trying to get a little better.
I also do it to look better, even if you are not interested in finding women it is still nice to know they are looking at you. But honesly I like the way it looks too, so I do it just as much for me. And lastly it is a very fun hobby, I will never be Mr.Olypia, but it is fun to try, and fun to research. I like to read about it and then apply it. That is why this site is so awesome. I get acces to guy that know a ton more than I ever will, and they give me the knowlege for free. I only wish I had started reading earlier.
I was preparing for a bodybuilding contest about 2 years ago when the reality of what I was doing actually hit me. I was going to stand on the stage in my underwear and flex. I didn’t do the show and completely changed my training. I realized that my motivations were vanity and insecurity and I wanted to change.
Even though I don’t compete in any sport, I now train like an athlete. I still eat stictly but the process, rather than the end result (how I look), is my focus.
Know what? I look better now. Not quite as lean, but I feel healthier, perform better, and enjoy life more. It seems that the way to attain what you’re after is to stop seeking it. The tao of training.
Ironically, I think I could compete in bodybuilding now with healthy motivations: challenge, effort, improvement, and focusing on the process.
[quote]browser wrote:
I was preparing for a bodybuilding contest about 2 years ago when the reality of what I was doing actually hit me. I was going to stand on the stage in my underwear and flex. I didn’t do the show and completely changed my training. I realized that my motivations were vanity and insecurity and I wanted to change.
Even though I don’t compete in any sport, I now train like an athlete. I still eat stictly but the process, rather than the end result (how I look), is my focus.
Know what? I look better now. Not quite as lean, but I feel healthier, perform better, and enjoy life more. It seems that the way to attain what you’re after is to stop seeking it. The tao of training.
Ironically, I think I could compete in bodybuilding now with healthy motivations: challenge, effort, improvement, and focusing on the process. [/quote]
Exactly the thoughts I was going to express. There is also a book, “Little Big Man” I believe, that takes a clinical look at the elite of bodybuilding. IMHO, what is in this book is quite relevant to the population at large. There has to be some desire to be different, especially when the culture at large(pun kinda intended) starts to tend towards obesity.
Floobado… as long as you are asking these questions, and critically questioning yourself, I feel you have no fear of starting with the wrong intent. Mind you… there are no gurantees that you would keep that outlook once you start making gains and finding your ‘inner adonis’. That being said, don’t allow fear of what ‘could’ happen prevent you from trying… There are many worse crimes in the world than trying to make yourself healthy, happy and fit… The only person who can make you overbearing, obnoxiously vain or overly narcissistic is yourself.
Many responses have touched on the issue of bodybuilders not wanting to be average or like the ‘normal’ person. I think it can be healthy to want greater things than the average person. Never let anyone make you feel bad because you want to be your best. I workout because it is a challenge that I choose for myself. I love how I feel afterwards. There can be excess to everything, but that’s the challenge of life. Sure, it could be easy to become vain if you become overly obsessed with your apperance. Just remember to be the greatest that you can be - don’t worry if others can’t handle that. Don’t sacrifice your goals to appease others.
A number of people have mentioned health and fitness as reasons for bodybuilding. This seems a bit odd to me. Looking “pretty”, or “ripped”, or whatever you call it has very little to do with being healthy. Indeed, much of what many bodybuilders do is extremely unhealthy, so this seems like a hollow justification to me. If you want to be healthy, and able to run about and not get out of breath, etc. then why not take up running?
To borrow a military term it is a force multiplier. It improves so many areas of ones life, whether it is physical or mental or in some cases spiritual!
Cause when I look good, I feel good. And when I feel good, the world is my oyster.
jaystyles
simply put,for me anyway,I love it.I love the results.I take pride in the fact I don’t look like 99.5% of the people my age(49).I like the challenge of trying to do better every time I go in the gym.Plus it’s one of the few areas of life where the results are based solely on yourself.Not a team,not your boss,not the amount of $$ or education you have,tho,most of the really good bber’s I know are pretty smart anyway.You can steal my car,steal my girlfriend,but,this vessel,called a body,that carries my being,is mine,and mine alone.
basher…
well said.
jaystyles