When I was in college I really paid close attention to bodybuilding. It had nothing to do with being turned on by the male bodybuilders (or female) but I really enjoyed the artistry of it. I enjoyed the look of guys like Bob Paris (an outspoken gay bodybuilder), Lee Labrada and Francis Benfatto. These were lighter bodybuilders with perfect symmetry and smaller joints to really show off their muscle mass.
Despite working out hard and putting on sizable muscle, I could never come close to achieving even an amateur level physique because I remained entirely natural. I had some advantages in that I have small joints and an excellent shoulder to waist ratio but without drugs I just look like a guy in decent shape. I really lost interest in bodybuilding as the aesthetic bodybuilders were more and more pushed out by the mass monsters. I also saw the long term effects on pros and amateurs including many deaths. At this point, bodybuilding is such a dangerous sport that it would be hardly different from putting on an anorexia competition. The bodybuilders may look like the epitome of health but the damage to the heart and liver, as well as the effects of dehydration generally take decades off the athlete, It used to be that bodybuilders were dying in their 50s (obviously not always). Now, more and more bodybuilders are dying while still active in the sport. Some as young as their early 20s. It's insane.
This may seem controversial but I think of competitive level bodybuilding as a mental illness. These guys and women spend unreal amounts of money on drugs with very little compensation. Only the highest elite bodybuilders make money and you have a massive number spending money to feed an addiction. When you read candid interviews with bodybuilders, it's shocking how difficult it is to live with and maintain that level of muscle mass. They will get tremors and sweats, It's uncomfortable end many are addicted to pain killers. I know a lot of members are really into the look but these beefy folks are killing themselves. They need to eat massive quantities to maintain even an amateur level body and need to regulatr every aspect of their life. Bodybuilders themselves have referred to it as the most selfish sport in the world.
Nowadays, we have even crazier people who have no competitive aspirations but simply want to pack on as much mass as possible. They will ingest and pump into their bodies anything to achieve more mass. This includes what I consider the current craziest mass gaining method, synthol. The term for this is bigorexia as an allusion to anorexia. I find it sad when I see people idolizing these poor souls who are likely several years away from death. Even if they live on, the damage to their body is unrecoverable and this behavior should never be encouraged.
Despite working out hard and putting on sizable muscle, I could never come close to achieving even an amateur level physique because I remained entirely natural. I had some advantages in that I have small joints and an excellent shoulder to waist ratio but without drugs I just look like a guy in decent shape. I really lost interest in bodybuilding as the aesthetic bodybuilders were more and more pushed out by the mass monsters. I also saw the long term effects on pros and amateurs including many deaths. At this point, bodybuilding is such a dangerous sport that it would be hardly different from putting on an anorexia competition. The bodybuilders may look like the epitome of health but the damage to the heart and liver, as well as the effects of dehydration generally take decades off the athlete, It used to be that bodybuilders were dying in their 50s (obviously not always). Now, more and more bodybuilders are dying while still active in the sport. Some as young as their early 20s. It's insane.
This may seem controversial but I think of competitive level bodybuilding as a mental illness. These guys and women spend unreal amounts of money on drugs with very little compensation. Only the highest elite bodybuilders make money and you have a massive number spending money to feed an addiction. When you read candid interviews with bodybuilders, it's shocking how difficult it is to live with and maintain that level of muscle mass. They will get tremors and sweats, It's uncomfortable end many are addicted to pain killers. I know a lot of members are really into the look but these beefy folks are killing themselves. They need to eat massive quantities to maintain even an amateur level body and need to regulatr every aspect of their life. Bodybuilders themselves have referred to it as the most selfish sport in the world.
Nowadays, we have even crazier people who have no competitive aspirations but simply want to pack on as much mass as possible. They will ingest and pump into their bodies anything to achieve more mass. This includes what I consider the current craziest mass gaining method, synthol. The term for this is bigorexia as an allusion to anorexia. I find it sad when I see people idolizing these poor souls who are likely several years away from death. Even if they live on, the damage to their body is unrecoverable and this behavior should never be encouraged.
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