bodybuilding.....is there any "sport" less healthy?

J.Brown · #1 05-13-2007, 04:04 AM

i was at the gym tonight and had a long talk with a friend who had just competed in his first natural bodybuilding show.

i hadn't seen him since the show, 2 weeks prior, and i couldn't believe it. he had gained 35lbs and looked terrible and said he felt worse than he looked.

i mean he basically went on a 75lb swing (40 off, then 35 right back on) in a 10 week period of dieting and working out.

the last 2 weeks pre contest are obviously the most unhealthy part with a ton of caloric restriction coupled with cardio and just trying to maintain the muscle you have built, but the bingeing afterwards has to be hard on your system as well.

now i know this isn't 100% the norm for this sport, but from what i have seen it is quite common. diet and do cardio like a madman for a contest then blow up afterward and quit working out for an extended period of time.

is this healthy? is this the way to the perfect physique?
to try and look good for a couple hours in a banana hammock?
[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
anyway this is an all natural show, i can't even think about what all the juice monsters are doing to themselves for preperation in an non tested bodybuilding event.

anyway, just my thoughts from the gym tonight and on something that doesn't seem to really have anything to do with health or fitness, but masquerades as both to some.

later. J.

spyderracing · #2 05-13-2007, 04:31 AM

Bodybuilding is definately not the most healthy thing in the world. It however is like any other sport and has it's inherent health dangers. I know a guy I used to play rugby w/, and when he bumps his head (minor bump) it's a big deal because he's had umpteen million concussions.

Rootabager · #3 05-13-2007, 11:26 AM

I am not 100 percent sure on this but I think that "unnatural" bodybuilding is safer than alot of recreational guys that are on a ton of roids.

The top bodybuilders at least go to doctors and get monitored constantly while they are juicing. Alot of amateur steroid users just shoot whatever they can get ahold of and never get checked out by doctor.

It has to be unhealthy to do things like lee priest and gain 50 pounds of fat in the offseason and then use clenbuteral and stuff to burn all that off before a contest. I dont know how there hearts are still kicking. The top guys use such high amounts of roids it's ridiculous.

I dont have any personal experience on roids but my old lifting partner and one of my best friends from high school is trying to be a bodybuilder now and he tells me alot of the stuff they go through. Bodybuilding is a pretty sick sport.

J.Brown · #4 05-13-2007, 11:40 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Bodybuilding is definately not the most healthy thing in the world. It however is like any other sport and has it's inherent health dangers. I know a guy I used to play rugby w/, and when he bumps his head (minor bump) it's a big deal because he's had umpteen million concussions.

[/ QUOTE ]

good point, i know there are inherent dangers in most sports, especially contact ones, but with bodybuiding it seems to come under the false guise of "health" and having the ideal physique through hard work and diet.

no one has ever tried to convince you that rugby was safe or really good for you have they? just my thoughts.

spyderracing · #5 05-13-2007, 03:02 PM

I don't think anyone that actually competes is under the guise that the chemical cocktails they are taking are super healthy for them. Most I'm sure are pretty ok with the fact that they're bodies will be broken when they get older, if they make it that far. It's just something they do out of passion. If the public is under the guise that it is healthy then they should go out and educate themselves. It's not Ronnie Coleman's job to tell you "Hey, it's not healthy to take 600 I.U.'s of hgh a day!"

Rootabager · #6 05-13-2007, 10:28 PM

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. You really dont hear them claiming to be poster boys for health. They are just trying to be freaks and are happy with that.

I have seen all those bodybuilders in person and really the only person that made me go "DAMN" was this guy named Noah Steer. He was twice as big as ronnie coleman. I have never seen a human so big.

kyleb · #7 05-13-2007, 10:49 PM

Throwing a baseball over and over again isn't exactly healthy, nor is it natural.

J.Brown · #8 05-13-2007, 10:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah that's what I was thinking too. You really dont hear them claiming to be poster boys for health. They are just trying to be freaks and are happy with that.

I have seen all those bodybuilders in person and really the only person that made me go "DAMN" was this guy named Noah Steer. He was twice as big as ronnie coleman. I have never seen a human so big.

[/ QUOTE ]

maybe this is true, but they are part of the health and wellness industry and are featured in how to articles in magazines and share diet and training tips, doesn't that make them a bit accountable??

i could just be misguided a bit though.

and kyle b, quit throwing the gyro and you will be fine. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

kyleb · #9 05-13-2007, 10:58 PM

:P

Thremp · #10 05-13-2007, 11:16 PM

Bodybuilding is the gayest sport by far despite being only as unhealthy as professional football, maybe even healthier actually.