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

[J.Brown]

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.