Bodybuilding - Dead or Alive?

[Vivid04]

Maybe this could be a topic of discussion, but I'm most likely going to piss some people off with what I believe is going on in the "Bodybuilding" Industry.

It's my subjective observation that bodybuilding has changed for the worse!

With things like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. people are able to market themselves from practically anywhere in the world. The days of working a full-time job and then dropping everything to go train in California for the small chance of having a photographer snap your pictures have long since been over! People used to literally sacrifice everything for the possibility of bodybuilding fame. Even when I got into bodybuilding in 2003, then competed in 2 shows as a teenager in 2007 and won, bodybuilding was STILL a sport for the genetically hard working! Hard work regardless of genetics was ALWAYS a limiting factor in the world of bodybuilding prior to now. With no personal attack meant by this, but look at Chris Cormier. His BIGGEST knock was and is still to this day, the simple fact that he relied on his God-given genetics too much, which led him to believe he didn't have to work as hard in and out of the gym. The "Real Deal" was soon given a reality check after taking 2nd place at the Arnold Classic multiple times.

We'll remember the greats no matter how popular these guys and girls may be on social media today.
Ronnie Coleman has admittedly posted on his own social media that his work ethic is idealized by so many, but there isn't anybody out there throwing around 800-pounds squats. His only regret after having double hip replacement and enduring an 11-hour back surgery was that he only did 2 reps when he felt like he could do 4 reps. Now, you can go and watch all the motivational bodybuilding videos on YouTube and hear about hard work this and hard work that, but realistically, who is really working that hard? Videos show hardcore training footage - guys like Johnnie Jackson, Dorian Yates, Branch Warren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, Kai Greene... HARD WORKERS! That's who you see. Who's giving the motivational quotes 50% of the time? Usually it's some guy you don't know or it's someone publicly utilizing medical procedures and cosmetic surgeries to LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER! They simply look like a bodybuilder and that's it! How are you going to tell me that if I do sixty curls, sixty dips, and sixty pushups before I go to bed that my arms will someday be 25-inches too? Meanwhile, the guy telling you to go do this and preaching some "motivational" garbage has 25-inch arms with 12-inch forearms.

I'm not here only to drop pianas on people. I'm here to outright throw the facade of fitness a reality check. It appears that the only people who are able to recognize the fake bodybuilders nowadays are the people who have been doing it for the past 10, 20, 30, even 40 years. Why doesn't anybody say anything? Maybe they can't manion the thought of being whacked or maybe they've heard people bitch & whine[berger] about it too many times...?


Everybody is a damn bodybuilder today! This wouldn't be a proven fact, but it would be my guess that fitness/bodybuilding-related topics are probably on the Top-10 List of Most Popular Hashtags, Posts, & Searches! I don't necessarily even think social media is to blame for the lack of hard work, but it is definitely a synergistic catalyst playing a role in the fitness downfall caused by a need for instant gratification! Pure Bodybuilding was and remains something that takes time, relentless persistence, unwavering determination, and a perfectionist mindset focused on MASTERING THE ART. Nobody is Neo from The Matrix and we can't simply upload everything we need to know about nutrition, training, intensity, cooking, posing, tanning, stage presence, etc. Would you be proud to call yourself a competing bodybuilder if that were the case? Some people would say YES. You see it every year in bikini, men's physique, and we will probably start seeing it in classic physique too. These men and women who receive their IFBB Pro Cards, yet still know nothing about nutrition or training. They had some coach who talked them into joining their team (Fuck all this team shit by the way too!), gave them workouts, told them exactly what supplements/drugs to take, and then outsourced some meal prep company to make all their meals for them. The "athlete" still has trivial knowledge about anything pertaining to the subject, but they came in 2nd-place at a national show that their "coach" sponsors and now they're an IFBB PROFESSIONAL! So, the bullshit trend continues where people see someone turn pro after only a year of training, so they in turn think they can become an IFBB Pro by this time next year. Well, they probably can do it if they pay the right price and choose the right team! On a side note, I know bikini girls who train really fucking hard, have militant-style eating habits, and education in training and nutrition, yet never hired some big name team coach. They have been working insanely hard for that coveted IFBB Pro Card for years and still end up short. Hmmmm.... I wonder why? Could it be the latter?

An IFBB Pro Card has so much prestige behind it, but it's quickly losing it's appeal in my mind.

After the Weiders died, the NPC/IFBB has become a money-generating machine! It's no longer about the athletes or making the sport better. Bodybuilding has become a socially-accepted hobby in today's society as long as you're under 200-pounds, have a full head of hair, and you SnapChat your "INSANE LEG DAY" squatting 2-plates for a few reps followed with some box jumps. Oh! Don't forget to take your shirt off while you're working out so everyone can see how hard you're working on your 165-pound professional physique. It's all this talk about marketing the attainable look that really bothers me. Why would you want to be attainable? That's like saying, "Hey man, would you like to be professionally average?"


To Be Continued...

[Curt James]

To Be Continued...

Maybe not.

[Joe Pietaro]

Maybe not.

Why not? Don't make this place become pussified like MD with WisconsinBB wielding his magic sword.

[Curt James]

Why not? Don't make this place become pussified like MD with WisconsinBB wielding his magic sword.

Funny you should mention MD, Joe.

That post is a copy/paste rant from that forum. And it's old. I mean, what, referencing Cormier's competitive days? Wtf?

[Joe Pietaro]

Funny you should mention MD, Joe.

That post is a copy/paste rant from that forum. And it's old. I mean, what, referencing Cormier's competitive days? Wtf?

I didn't even read the whole post, just the parts about the post-Weider, $ machine.

[Vivid04]

Funny you should mention MD, Joe.

That post is a copy/paste rant from that forum. And it's old. I mean, what, referencing Cormier's competitive days? Wtf?

It is MY copy and paste rant. This is original content. If you read my article here, you'll understand why I bring up Cormier. You really can't be serious. I didn't copy and paste this from anyone else. I spent an hour writing this fucking post. I knew it would create some drama, hence the emoji at the top of the post, but everything besides the pictures are original content.

[Vivid04]

I didn't even read the whole post, just the parts about the post-Weider, $ machine.

I'd really like to know what you think about the article as a whole.

[Joe Pietaro]

I'd really like to know what you think about the article as a whole.

I read it now and think it was very creative and clever; quite the interesting read. But the one thing that I would say is that bodybuilding is not just competitions and the IFBB, but rather it is a lifestyle and attitude, as well. I have become so turned off about the shows and all of the political bullshit involved and that's why my magazine doesn't bother with any of that.

Guys like Rich Piana have become so popular because there are so many people out there that work out just to get jacked for themselves, not the panel of judges that are eating popcorn and texting because they are going to let the guy or girl win or place second that is part of an agency or team.

That's why I think that bodybuilding as a competitive sport is dead, but very much alive as a lifestyle.

[GeorgeForemanRules]

We'll remember the greats no matter how popular these guys and girls may be on social media today.
Ronnie Coleman has admittedly posted on his own social media that his work ethic is idealized by so many, but there isn't anybody out there throwing around 800-pounds squats. His only regret after having double hip replacement and enduring an 11-hour back surgery was that he only did 2 reps when he felt like he could do 4 reps. Now, you can go and watch all the motivational bodybuilding videos on YouTube and hear about hard work this and hard work that, but realistically, who is really working that hard? Videos show hardcore training footage - guys like Johnnie Jackson, Dorian Yates, Branch Warren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, Kai

I agree with this 100%

Social media is fast food, better yet a bad film that was fun because I was on acid at the time.


The greats are the greats and they will live within my mind until the day I die.

[Curt James]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBq838AvbH5/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBU3vIiJLp6/

Social media is the Flex magazine, the Muscle Builder/Power of the day.

Bodybuilding will never die.

[Curt James]

It is MY copy and paste rant. This is original content. If you read my article here, you'll understand why I bring up Cormier. You really can't be serious. I didn't copy and paste this from anyone else. I spent an hour writing this fucking post. I knew it would create some drama, hence the emoji at the top of the post, but everything besides the pictures are original content.

Which you copied and pasted directly from MD, right along with MD's little smiley faces. It took you an hour to copy that to a new thread here? No.

And you can't be serious if you think The Master Blaster wasn't interested in making money. He was the original muscle entrepreneur. He amassed his army of legends and went directly to town.

Yes, he spread the iron gospel but he also printed money with the help of ads for his products in his magazines.

[Poker face Ace]

Social media took the mystique out of bodybuilding, however it's added some with Instagram as you get a better inside look

[weezer]

When I think about the state of bodybuilding I go back to the quote of Frank Zappa talking about jazz when he said jazz (and in this case, bodybuilding) isn't dead ,it just smells funny.

[Joe Pietaro]

I agree with this 100%

Social media is fast food, better yet a bad film that was fun because I was on acid at the time.


The greats are the greats and they will live within my mind until the day I die.

Curious as to what you have to say about Adina's replacement banning you from their cunt site.

[black-elephant]

How are you defining bodybuilding? Some would say anyone who seeks to change their body, from the competitive to the overweight person seeking to lose 100lbs, is a bodybuilder.