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Every 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 compe

by orasis 6y ago

Every 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.

bluecalm 6y ago
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's way worse as their bodies are even less equipped to cope with huge artificial levels of male sex hormones and their derivatives. 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.
- rubyn00bie 6y ago
  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, I think it's corny, it's just a real disservice to the ideal of healthy living.
  - CydeWeys 6y ago
    I think people are quite aware of how prolific steroid usage in bodybuilding is. It's the movie actor physiques that people aren't as aware of.
    - bluecalm 6y ago
      Movie actors, fitness/underwear models, basically everyone on the cover of Men's Health or on a movie poster. Hell, very significant % of not so impressingly looking guys in your local gym are on steroids. Just Google for stats on steroid usage, estimate how many people go to a gym and think what it means. The mystery of Hollywood diet and training to lose 10kg of fat and to put 5kg of muscle in 60 days starts to make sense as well. In many areas of the world it's completely risk-free as well as you won't get busted for possession of Testosterone or even stuff like Trenbolone.
      - User23 6y ago
        Trenbolone is legal to possess in the USA. It's only illegal when you start putting it in yourself instead of cattle.
        sterlind 6y ago
        Trenbolone is Schedule III. It's illegal to possess unless you have a prescription, you can't legally order some without a vet prescribing it for your cow.
        User23 6y ago
        The actual drug trenbolone is scheduled, but a number of trenbolone preparations are (or at least were) exempted from the CSA because of their agricultural importance[1]. As I said, it instantly becomes a CSA violation the second a nonveterinary use occurs, but simple possession of unaltered Finaplix-H, for example, is or at least was just fine. [1] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-03/html/97-25973.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-03/html/97-25...
      - ameister14 6y ago
        Also age - it's actually possible to lose 10kg of fat and gain 5kg of muscle in 60 days without any testosterone or whatever boosters when you're 22. I have a very, very hard time believing you can do this at age 48-50, like Josh Brolin did to play Thanos.
  - simonbarker87 6y ago
    Pretty much every federation is untested, steroid use isn’t a dark secret in BB (like it is in strongman) it’s the way to compete.
  - jonnyone 6y ago
    >It mostly boils down to people pumping themselves full of steroids up until a week or so before the competition so they test clean. The most common "base" of a steroid cycle is testosterone. If you stopped injecting testosterone a week before a competition, you would still show unusually high levels of testosterone in your blood (even if you were using a shorter ester). But as others have pointed out, they don't test for steroids in most BB competitions. My personal suspicion is that pro BBers who use steroids but deny it do so to protect product endorsements they have.
    - bluecalm 6y ago
      There is also no ester test. You have to inject it daily (or more likely several times a day) but it's detectable for like 4-5 hours. This plus first two no-shows not counting as failed test makes it possible to juice in professional sports which do out of competition testing. Granted I don't think it's popular in BB circles because yeah no testing and injecting as much as frequently would be painful.
  - watwut 6y ago
    After reading the whole article, there is nothing healthy about any of that. Even absent drugs, the whole thing is unhealthy.
  - Bakary 6y ago
    If everyone is gaming the system, then nobody is.
    - bluecalm 6y ago
      They are gaming the public selling the dream and positioning themselves as fitness authorities, coaches, idols etc.
      - Bakary 6y ago
        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.
    - da_big_ghey 6y ago
      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 https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/23501/1/DP-54.pdf
      - brianwawok 6y ago
        Sure. The drawback of too many people going to college is more knowledge in the world. What’s the drawback of people taking roids for years on end?
  - driverdan 6y ago
    > 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.
    - nsajko 6y ago
      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://naturalbodybuilding.com https://www.worldnaturalbb.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.
      - driverdan 6y ago
        There are tested orgs but most, if not all are not considered pro. They do lie detector tests. I don't know if any do actual blood tests. Steroids, especially test, are hard to check for.
  - paulpauper 6y ago
    there would be no bodybuilding without steroids, at least not in the way it is commonly understood. The physical transformation the body undergoes by taking anabolic steroids at high doses is like night and day. Without steroids, all the physiques would appear flat or emaciated, without the 'wow' factor.
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  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?
  - jaegerpicker 6y ago
    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 understand what the human body can be capable of. Don't get me wrong I'm blessed with a lot of natural ability but everyone can be far stronger than they think without the aid of PED's.
    - CydeWeys 6y ago
      Yeah, I was referring to the top-level international competitions, the ones where we find out the absolute limit of no-holds-barred strength. Your numbers are absolutely impressive of course, but wouldn't have qualified you for the highest levels of competition (as you know). Hafthor Bjornsson has deadlifted an unbelievable 1,104 pounds, and you know that he's not natural. But without all the juice, we wouldn't even know that breaking 500 kg is at all possible.
    - simonbarker87 6y ago
      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.
      - eredengrin 6y ago
- Bakary 6y ago
  >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-overweight https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago
    >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. You are assuming that seeing an impressive physique would inspire people to attain it. That doesn't follow. Stress, depression, and low-self esteem can encourage overeating or a sedentary lifestyle. If someone believes they cannot compete with others, they may give up entirely.
    - Jtsummers 6y ago
      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. Perhaps because it occurs in smaller numbers (not sure), or just a different attitude towards how men should be. Admitting that men have similar body image issues and due to similar causes as women is harder for people to consider, let alone accept.
      - WalterBright 6y ago
- steele 6y ago
  I think I understand your perspective. Alternatively, how about truly normalizing steroid physiques out in the open, instead of as an open secret. That might make clear the benefits, risks, and costs. The taboo & black market sourcing of synthetic hormones/PEDs hurt normal people in ways that would happen without bodybuilding, fitness magazines, & Hollywood.
simonbarker87 6y ago
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 overcoming that)
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > 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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMaI63H9hc The only person on the Terminator movies sets who could lift the gatling gun was Arnold.
  - leshow 6y ago
    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.
  - simonbarker87 6y ago
    The strength of a body builder as a result of their training doesn’t disprove my point, that is just another side effect of their training - they become very strong. However world recording holding strength levels are not required to win body building competitions - the look of your figure as subjectively judged by other people is what wins BB comps. If Coleman or Arny competed in powerlifting then they would do very well, but then they would be participating in a different domain, one that is undoubtedly a sport.
  - tyingq 6y ago
alwmder 6y ago
I'm confused as to who your comment is meant to address - the author describes how she pursued that consensus aesthetic, under guidance from various trainers that adhere to it. Her placement in competition isn't the point or the essay - the focus is on introspection about the thoughts that lead her to bodybuilding, the history of the sport that lead to the particular "consensus aesthetic" that she crossed paths with, and reflections on the toll that adherence takes on body and mind. I found the tone remained neutral to admiring despite laying bare its rather gruesome flaws and crass backers, so if it reads as an indictment, I think it says more about the realities of the sport than the author's priorities.
Alex3917 6y ago
> 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.
- jaegerpicker 6y ago
  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.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - Alex3917 6y ago
    Those are all games. Sports are things like running, cycling, rowing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, shot put, etc.
    - samatman 6y ago
      Your definition is etymologically backward. A sport is anything diverting or entertaining which humans do for leisure. Hence, being a good sport, sporting around, and declaring dastardly behaviour to be "not sporting". The International Olympic Committee considers chess to be a sport. And they're correct to do so.
      - Fricken 6y ago
        There is play, which does not have clearly defined rules. Then there are games, which is play but with rules, but need not be competitive. If it's competitive play with rules, then it's a sport.
    - Jtsummers 6y ago
      The distinction between sports and games is less well-defined than you seem to believe it is. Some sports trend towards a more pure physical competition form (running, cycling), others towards a game-like competition (soccer, football). It's not all raw physical ability, which generally shows up in purer athletic competitions like track and field, but also skill (wrestling being a combination of athleticism and skill).
ip26 6y ago
There's a line somewhere where the sport does become wrong IMO. For a different example, dog shows have selected for objectively unhealthy genes (see sloped back & hip dysplasia). It would be neat to see some sort of blend of function and form scoring. Look ripped, but put those muscles to work as well. Bodybuilding & weightlifting meets gymnastics. The need to perform athletically puts on some guardrails- less starving & dehydrating yourself, for example.
- tokai 6y ago
  Dog shows are a great example. Many breeds are actively being destroyed, and breeders going against the norm are being excluded from the community.
- oliv__ 6y ago
  "Bodybuilding & weightlifting meets gymnastics" That's called calisthenics
  - ip26 6y ago
    I was thinking specifically of gymnastics scoring, which has both technical & aesthetic grading.

by orasis 6y ago

bluecalm 6y ago

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's way worse as their bodies are even less equipped to cope with huge artificial levels of male sex hormones and their derivatives. 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.

rubyn00bie 6y ago
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, I think it's corny, it's just a real disservice to the ideal of healthy living.
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  I think people are quite aware of how prolific steroid usage in bodybuilding is. It's the movie actor physiques that people aren't as aware of.
  - bluecalm 6y ago
    Movie actors, fitness/underwear models, basically everyone on the cover of Men's Health or on a movie poster. Hell, very significant % of not so impressingly looking guys in your local gym are on steroids. Just Google for stats on steroid usage, estimate how many people go to a gym and think what it means. The mystery of Hollywood diet and training to lose 10kg of fat and to put 5kg of muscle in 60 days starts to make sense as well. In many areas of the world it's completely risk-free as well as you won't get busted for possession of Testosterone or even stuff like Trenbolone.
    - User23 6y ago
      Trenbolone is legal to possess in the USA. It's only illegal when you start putting it in yourself instead of cattle.
      - sterlind 6y ago
        Trenbolone is Schedule III. It's illegal to possess unless you have a prescription, you can't legally order some without a vet prescribing it for your cow.
        User23 6y ago
        The actual drug trenbolone is scheduled, but a number of trenbolone preparations are (or at least were) exempted from the CSA because of their agricultural importance[1]. As I said, it instantly becomes a CSA violation the second a nonveterinary use occurs, but simple possession of unaltered Finaplix-H, for example, is or at least was just fine. [1] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-03/html/97-25973.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-03/html/97-25...
    - ameister14 6y ago
      Also age - it's actually possible to lose 10kg of fat and gain 5kg of muscle in 60 days without any testosterone or whatever boosters when you're 22. I have a very, very hard time believing you can do this at age 48-50, like Josh Brolin did to play Thanos.
- simonbarker87 6y ago
  Pretty much every federation is untested, steroid use isn’t a dark secret in BB (like it is in strongman) it’s the way to compete.
- jonnyone 6y ago
  >It mostly boils down to people pumping themselves full of steroids up until a week or so before the competition so they test clean. The most common "base" of a steroid cycle is testosterone. If you stopped injecting testosterone a week before a competition, you would still show unusually high levels of testosterone in your blood (even if you were using a shorter ester). But as others have pointed out, they don't test for steroids in most BB competitions. My personal suspicion is that pro BBers who use steroids but deny it do so to protect product endorsements they have.
  - bluecalm 6y ago
    There is also no ester test. You have to inject it daily (or more likely several times a day) but it's detectable for like 4-5 hours. This plus first two no-shows not counting as failed test makes it possible to juice in professional sports which do out of competition testing. Granted I don't think it's popular in BB circles because yeah no testing and injecting as much as frequently would be painful.
- watwut 6y ago
  After reading the whole article, there is nothing healthy about any of that. Even absent drugs, the whole thing is unhealthy.
- Bakary 6y ago
  If everyone is gaming the system, then nobody is.
  - bluecalm 6y ago
    They are gaming the public selling the dream and positioning themselves as fitness authorities, coaches, idols etc.
    - Bakary 6y ago
      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.
  - da_big_ghey 6y ago
    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 https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/23501/1/DP-54.pdf
    - brianwawok 6y ago
      Sure. The drawback of too many people going to college is more knowledge in the world. What’s the drawback of people taking roids for years on end?
- driverdan 6y ago
  > 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.
  - nsajko 6y ago
    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://naturalbodybuilding.com https://www.worldnaturalbb.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.
    - driverdan 6y ago
      There are tested orgs but most, if not all are not considered pro. They do lie detector tests. I don't know if any do actual blood tests. Steroids, especially test, are hard to check for.
- paulpauper 6y ago
  there would be no bodybuilding without steroids, at least not in the way it is commonly understood. The physical transformation the body undergoes by taking anabolic steroids at high doses is like night and day. Without steroids, all the physiques would appear flat or emaciated, without the 'wow' factor.
CydeWeys 6y ago
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?
- jaegerpicker 6y ago
  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 understand what the human body can be capable of. Don't get me wrong I'm blessed with a lot of natural ability but everyone can be far stronger than they think without the aid of PED's.
  - CydeWeys 6y ago
    Yeah, I was referring to the top-level international competitions, the ones where we find out the absolute limit of no-holds-barred strength. Your numbers are absolutely impressive of course, but wouldn't have qualified you for the highest levels of competition (as you know). Hafthor Bjornsson has deadlifted an unbelievable 1,104 pounds, and you know that he's not natural. But without all the juice, we wouldn't even know that breaking 500 kg is at all possible.
  - simonbarker87 6y ago
    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.
    - eredengrin 6y ago
Bakary 6y ago
>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-overweight https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago
  >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. You are assuming that seeing an impressive physique would inspire people to attain it. That doesn't follow. Stress, depression, and low-self esteem can encourage overeating or a sedentary lifestyle. If someone believes they cannot compete with others, they may give up entirely.
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    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. Perhaps because it occurs in smaller numbers (not sure), or just a different attitude towards how men should be. Admitting that men have similar body image issues and due to similar causes as women is harder for people to consider, let alone accept.
    - WalterBright 6y ago
steele 6y ago
I think I understand your perspective. Alternatively, how about truly normalizing steroid physiques out in the open, instead of as an open secret. That might make clear the benefits, risks, and costs. The taboo & black market sourcing of synthetic hormones/PEDs hurt normal people in ways that would happen without bodybuilding, fitness magazines, & Hollywood.

simonbarker87 6y ago

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 overcoming that)

redis_mlc 6y ago
> 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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMaI63H9hc The only person on the Terminator movies sets who could lift the gatling gun was Arnold.
- leshow 6y ago
  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.
- simonbarker87 6y ago
  The strength of a body builder as a result of their training doesn’t disprove my point, that is just another side effect of their training - they become very strong. However world recording holding strength levels are not required to win body building competitions - the look of your figure as subjectively judged by other people is what wins BB comps. If Coleman or Arny competed in powerlifting then they would do very well, but then they would be participating in a different domain, one that is undoubtedly a sport.
- tyingq 6y ago

alwmder 6y ago

I'm confused as to who your comment is meant to address - the author describes how she pursued that consensus aesthetic, under guidance from various trainers that adhere to it. Her placement in competition isn't the point or the essay - the focus is on introspection about the thoughts that lead her to bodybuilding, the history of the sport that lead to the particular "consensus aesthetic" that she crossed paths with, and reflections on the toll that adherence takes on body and mind. I found the tone remained neutral to admiring despite laying bare its rather gruesome flaws and crass backers, so if it reads as an indictment, I think it says more about the realities of the sport than the author's priorities.

Alex3917 6y ago

> 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.

jaegerpicker 6y ago
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.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- Alex3917 6y ago
  Those are all games. Sports are things like running, cycling, rowing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, shot put, etc.
  - samatman 6y ago
    Your definition is etymologically backward. A sport is anything diverting or entertaining which humans do for leisure. Hence, being a good sport, sporting around, and declaring dastardly behaviour to be "not sporting". The International Olympic Committee considers chess to be a sport. And they're correct to do so.
    - Fricken 6y ago
      There is play, which does not have clearly defined rules. Then there are games, which is play but with rules, but need not be competitive. If it's competitive play with rules, then it's a sport.
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    The distinction between sports and games is less well-defined than you seem to believe it is. Some sports trend towards a more pure physical competition form (running, cycling), others towards a game-like competition (soccer, football). It's not all raw physical ability, which generally shows up in purer athletic competitions like track and field, but also skill (wrestling being a combination of athleticism and skill).

ip26 6y ago

There's a line somewhere where the sport does become wrong IMO. For a different example, dog shows have selected for objectively unhealthy genes (see sloped back & hip dysplasia). It would be neat to see some sort of blend of function and form scoring. Look ripped, but put those muscles to work as well. Bodybuilding & weightlifting meets gymnastics. The need to perform athletically puts on some guardrails- less starving & dehydrating yourself, for example.

tokai 6y ago
Dog shows are a great example. Many breeds are actively being destroyed, and breeders going against the norm are being excluded from the community.
oliv__ 6y ago
"Bodybuilding & weightlifting meets gymnastics" That's called calisthenics
- ip26 6y ago
  I was thinking specifically of gymnastics scoring, which has both technical & aesthetic grading.