So whats the TLDR of this?
It has several topics. History of female bodybuilding, effects of bodybuilding on body, effects of extreme dieting on mind and behavior, aesthetics.
The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
31–40 of 358 posts
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Truly. I do not think most people are aware of prolific steroid usage is... It mostly boils down to people pumping themselves full of steroids up until a week or so before the competition so they test clean. With almost zero body fat, most drugs are metabolized and removed from the body really quickly. It was pretty depressing to realize that body-building is totally gamed and drug based. Not because I was ever into…
If everyone is gaming the system, then nobody is.
They are gaming the public selling the dream and positioning themselves as fitness authorities, coaches, idols etc.
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will say that strongman is interesting. It eliminates the cutting weight aspect of bodybuilding at least, though admittedly retains the steroid abuse aspect. I think it fundamentally answers an interesting question though in a way that bodybuilding maybe doesn't, namely: What is the absolute limit of strength that the human body is capable of?
While I understand that A LOT of strongman competitors are using steroids, it is entirely possible to compete without them. I know this because I've done it. Not at the international level but at a state level and placed very well. I've never taken a PED in my life. I was also a successful power lifter without PED's (550lbs bench press, 680lbs deadlift, and 725lbs squat at my peak). Those who don't compete don't unde…
I think mobility and staying injury free are probably more important at the level you were at than PEDs and an aspect that many people underestimate. My squat topped out at 300 simply because of old injuries and mobility limitations caused by them.
Clearly strongmen on the international stage are using though.
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#34Every display sport has a consensus aesthetic that is being optimized for. Don’t expect to be judged well if you’re showing parkour steez at a gymnastics competition. It doesn’t mean the sport is wrong, it just maybe means you should pioneer an alternative sport or category to suit your target aesthetic.
Well, in case of bodybuilding you need very hefty dose of hormones to even start looking like low level competitors. The bodybuilding physique isn't good for any particular activity. It's neither useful nor healthy. It's all organized so you need to grow yourself like cattle (bodybuilders even take steroids designed for making cattle killed for meat muscular). This is already terrible enough for men but for women it'…
>I think it is a terrible sport. It's not only terrible for the competitors but also for the culture as a whole as normalizing steroid physique hurts normal people. It's not only bodybuilding by the way. Fitness magazines and Hollywood actors take most of the blame to be sure.
The world is growing fatter by the year so it does not seem as though people are too stressed about those conceptions of the body being thrown around. If anything, the normalization of obesity is a far more pressing threat. Just looking at recent stats is awe-inducing, and not in a good way.[0]
[0]https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and...
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Every display sport has a consensus aesthetic that is being optimized for. If it's not measured in meters or seconds, it's not a real sport.
So Wrestling, Judo, BJJ, MMA, Boxing aren't real sports? Golf isn't a sport? Baseball, Basketball, Football, Volleyball, and Soccer are all won on points not seconds/meters. Power lifting? I can really go on all day. You might not care for the sport but that doesn't make it any less valid as a sport.
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Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, in case of bodybuilding you need very hefty dose of hormones to even start looking like low level competitors. The bodybuilding physique isn't good for any particular activity. It's neither useful nor healthy. It's all organized so you need to grow yourself like cattle (bodybuilders even take steroids designed for making cattle killed for meat muscular). This is already terrible enough for men but for women it'…
>I think it is a terrible sport. It's not only terrible for the competitors but also for the culture as a whole as normalizing steroid physique hurts normal people. It's not only bodybuilding by the way. Fitness magazines and Hollywood actors take most of the blame to be sure. The world is growing fatter by the year so it does not seem as though people are too stressed about those conceptions of the body being thrown…
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Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#37Off topic but do female body builders also use testosterone injections for muscle building?
Yes.
The Ms. Olympia bodybuilding competition just returned last year, after going away for the previous five years.
The large amounts of muscle the woman had to put on had basically fallen out of style with fans, and they e basically replaced it with “fitness” classes for the women competitors.
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
If everyone is gaming the system, then nobody is.
They are gaming the public selling the dream and positioning themselves as fitness authorities, coaches, idols etc.
Everyone's trying to game the public, from clerics to tech workers to politicians. Bodybuilders seem like a relatively insignificant part of that permanent and massive sale.
I can understand the frustration, but I don't think it's a good idea to take a paternalistic approach in this case.
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Truly. I do not think most people are aware of prolific steroid usage is... It mostly boils down to people pumping themselves full of steroids up until a week or so before the competition so they test clean. With almost zero body fat, most drugs are metabolized and removed from the body really quickly. It was pretty depressing to realize that body-building is totally gamed and drug based. Not because I was ever into…
If everyone is gaming the system, then nobody is.
Yep, this is known as a positional arms race. For other examples, see how everyone now goes to college: when 25% of applicants do it, it's a competitive advantage for them, so everyone else moves towards doing it. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/23501/1/DP-54.pdf
Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding
#40Every display sport has a consensus aesthetic that is being optimized for. Don’t expect to be judged well if you’re showing parkour steez at a gymnastics competition. It doesn’t mean the sport is wrong, it just maybe means you should pioneer an alternative sport or category to suit your target aesthetic.
BB is more an art than a sport, Steve Cook articulates this idea very well and is partly why he has moved more toward CrossFit and other activities. BB is primarily a competition with yourself for months and months with an expression of that work at the end that you hope is arbitrarily considered better than everyone else’s on stage by the judges (some of who may be trainers of other competitors on stage so good luck…
> BB is more an art than a sport
Well, the Mr. Olympias were some of the strongest men in history.
Ronnie Coleman was doing leg press reps in the 2,300 pound range, and he admitted after retirement wishing that he had gone heavier. His dumbbell presses over 200 pounds at 10+ reps per set is incredible. He had safety spotters in case the equipment broke bolts, not because he failed lifts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMaI63H9hc
The only person on the Terminator movies sets who could lift the gatling gun was Arnold.