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The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

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Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#121

Post by pacaro »

nsajko wrote: post #114
Blikkentrekker wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leaving all the ridiculous gender politics aside, body building is very comparable to those so-called “ pro-ana ” models in how unhealthy it is, and I believe it should be treated the same, which is, of course: allow a man to do what he wants. However, it strikes me as a particular dual standard that some jurisdictions have tackled models whose body fat percentage is dangerously low, but who do not have steroid-built…

> some jurisdictions have tackled models whose body fat percentage is dangerously low [...] What are you talking about here? > unhealthily large muscles Taking steroids and other activities related to bodybuilding and sports more generally can sure take their toll, but I'm pretty sure nobody has problems because of overly large muscles. > most body builders are unhealthy low in fat Source? > But of course, that is no…

France, Italy, Spain, and Israel all have laws about the weight of fashion models. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39821036

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#122

Post by temporallobe »

rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

Wanting affirmation from and to be attracted by others around you (total strangers included) is basic human nature. It’s why we adorn ourselves with clothing and perfume, not to mention our skin and hair, whatever gender you are. I am a male and always want to seem attractive in physique and in character to the opposite sex, and even in some level to the same sex. My wife insists she doesn’t care what other people think about how she looks but she spends hours doing her hair and makeup when she goes somewhere with me or by herself. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this and it is completely healthy from a psychological standpoint.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#123

Post by TeaDrunk »

cccc4all wrote: post #79
watwut wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article goes to great lengths to explain that. Tldr; competition look is not sustainable and also is not healthy. So they time it for competition. Like with any other sport, peak performance is timed for competition and the rest is time for after.

The competition look is wringing out that last 10%. Women can maintain the 90% look indefinitely with basic maintenance diet and exercise. The basic Instagram model plan. The extremes is what’s interesting, that they only go through the cycle if there’s competition. And, it’s fascinating to see in person how their bodies can balloon up so fast.

> Women can maintain the 90% look indefinitely with basic maintenance diet and exercise. The basic Instagram model plan.

Is this actually true? I was under the impression the Instagram model was only available to women of certain body types and compositions + photoshop and makeup.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#124

Post by Jtsummers »

TeaDrunk wrote: post #119
Jtsummers wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all cardio activities exclude strength components that would discourage/diminish muscle maintenance and development. Rowing and swimming, for example, or lower weight/higher rep strength routines that can maintain a faster tempo leading toward a hybrid strength/cardio workout.

If this is the case why does Michael Phelps not have the same body shape as Brad Pitt?

I'm not sure I get your point. They are two men with very different base body types. But even looking at Phelps, especially at his prime in the Olympics, he has no shortage of muscles but has obviously trained with performance as a goal over presentation.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#125

Post by leshow »

hirundo wrote: post #52
simonbarker87 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

There is another response to this comment that is marked as dead within one minute of posting, and I'm trying to understand why. Here is the entire comment: > 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 p…

While some bodybuilders are incredibly strong, they train differently than strongmen do in a lot of ways. The most obvious thing is that bodybuilders do more reps (further away from a 1 rep max) and do more exercises for smaller bodyparts like biceps/triceps/shoulders/calves/etc.

Sure, there are a few (very few) bodybuilders that can deadlift 700lbs (with straps, belts, and whatever else) but strongmen regularly deadlift much much more than that. I think the record is close to 1100 lbs.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#126

Post by Jtsummers »

WalterBright wrote: post #106
Jtsummers wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if the issue is cultural. We've, mostly, come to understand the impact of the common media representation of (often) hyper thin "perfect" women on women and girls in general, which is a lot of the reason for pushback into various (often ad) campaigns to present more typical female forms. But, like many things, there's a lag in the appreciation that men can experience the same thing and have similar reactions…

Just look at the evolution of male movie stars. A handsome face and slim figure used to be all that was required (Clark Gable, Paul Newman, Peter O'Toole). Today the men have to be jacked (Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, George Clooney). You can bet that to be a male star in Hollywood requires a personal trainer and a lot of work.

I had a similar image (though different individuals) in mind when I wrote my post. Older leading men were also in good shape, notable in a number of roles when they appeared shirtless or in short sleeve shirts, but rarely did they get to the extreme leanness (and muscularity) that modern (2010s in particular) leading men seem to be aiming for.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#127

Post by nsajko »

driverdan wrote: post #49
rubyn00bie wrote: post #8

Earlier 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…

> It mostly boils down to people pumping themselves full of steroids up until a week or so before the competition so they test clean. This is wrong. None of the pro competitions do drug testing and no one stops using a week out. If they did test there wouldn't be any competitors.

There are some competitions with testing. However, seeing the physiques of the competitors on the relevant websites, I'm convinced they do indeed use anabolics or at least something to cut fat:

https://naturalbodybuilding.com

https://www.worldnaturalbb.com

I guess the testing may be somehow fraudulent, or maybe it's just a fundamentally misconcieved procedure: maybe it's not possible to test for use of all or certain substances.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#128

Post by leshow »

redis_mlc wrote: post #40
simonbarker87 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

What does being strong have to do with it? Bodybuilders are judged closer to figure skaters are than powerlifters. Whether you think that makes it an 'art' or not is subjective, but the sport itself is very subjective. It's judged, there is no weight lifting on stage. It doesn't matter at all how much you can lift at the show.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#129

Post by [deleted] »

linspace wrote: post #115
kofejnik wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Steroid ladden/extreme body building one is probably not healthy. Steroids are not necessarily always bad, tho taking your body to the extremes of competitive bodybuilding probably is.

My reasoning is the following, and as someone who likes to do weight lifting I would love to be proved wrong: if steroids are not necessarily bad and we surely know they work wonders how is it possible that, in a world obsessed with looks and moving so much money in all kind of (absurd) products, they have not been legally commercialized somehow.

[deleted]

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#130

Post by TeaDrunk »

Jtsummers wrote: post #124
TeaDrunk wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this is the case why does Michael Phelps not have the same body shape as Brad Pitt?

I'm not sure I get your point. They are two men with very different base body types. But even looking at Phelps, especially at his prime in the Olympics, he has no shortage of muscles but has obviously trained with performance as a goal over presentation .

I'm confused because the parent poster is saying there are ways to maintain Brad Pitt's physique AND slim down by swimming, so I looked at a swimmer and didn't see this.
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