Random Thoughts About The Bodybuilding World
In this blog post, I felt like talking about all the experiences I’ve had with many different types of individuals, and extremes within the bodybuilding world. Not many people know the truth of the “behind-the-scenes” within this highly extreme lifestyle, so I felt like describing my experiences within it to you all.
Personalities
Well, where do I begin? In the beginning when I started bodybuilding, I felt it was a simple sport really. Simple in the sense of it just being about yourself, your diet, your training, and your supplementation. I never really looked it like a completely new lifestyle until I completed my very first contest back in October of 2008. From that point on I took bodybuilding more seriously (cause I wanted to get better and better), and it kept growing and growing to this very day. But along this road I’ve been on, I’ve met many different personalities ranging from egotistical morons, humble athletes, humorous, naive, douche-bags, assholes (yes I might throw in a bad word or two here in there with this blog), attention whores (guys and girls), arrogant pricks, true athletes, and basic fans (that love the sport, but want no part in competing).
But within all these types of individuals, there are those that take bodybuilding to a very negative and bad place. I’m talking about the place of excess, lust, greed, sex, JUST to get that ultimate trophy ($5-$10 plastic item wow!). But don’t get me wrong though, I am NOT stating that everyone in the sport takes it there, I’m just saying that there are some that do, and those are the stories that never get brought to the attention of many of the individuals that think this sport is all about fitness and health. Honestly, bodybuilding can be one of the most unhealthy sports (surprise surprise right?!). With the amount of extreme many of us take our bodies too, it’s funny how we keep doing it over and over again, and our bodies don’t just quit on us (it has happened to some out there).
Offseason
In the offseason we pound tons of food into our systems, it makes us gain size, so we start feeling miserable due to the weight gain, then…our bodies start to sweat over the the simplest things like walking or putting on clothes (clothes LOL that’s a whole new set of problems in the offseason…nothing fits). Offseason has its own set of issues that we need to deal with, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on, we always want to keep doing it. Why do we put ourselves through this? Because we want to get bigger, since in our minds, being small sucks. Nothing is ever too big honestly for us. If we could get upto 400lbs and be ripped, we probably would LOL.
Contest Prep
Now let me get into the deep dark place known as Contest Prep. This my friends would be the hardest thing you have ever attempt to do (if you ever decide to do it). Why is it so hard? Well…depending on if you have a coach or not, lets say you do (highly recommended by-the-way), they’ll probably start you off on 1/2-2/3rds of the calories you were intaking during your offseason (that deduction will be felt). Cardio will now be high priority, and thus being required to do 2x a day basis. Sound easy? Try doing 90min a day on the stepmill, plus a good weight training session mixed in-between all that, oh and don’t forget you now are consuming less calories then you were before…so…here’s a simple equation…more training + more cardio – lots of calories/junk food = shit just got serious. This will go on for 16 weeks until your show date, and the calories keep decreasing while you are still doing lots of cardio and weight training as hard and heavy as you can. You won’t have energy to walk around, talk to anyone really (that drains energy), working out will be a drag on your life, not want to cook or eat the same shit each day. You’ll get sick of drinking pain coffee, tea, pain water, having no salt or sugar in your diet, and you’ll just become miserable. You’ll be begging for a cheat meal, but get denied each time by your coach. Better get ready to get up 3-5x a night to take a piss, cause that’s what’s going to happen; sleep will be a hard thing to get enough of. One social thing you’ll go through is, you’ll find out who your real friends are. Time and time again I’ve been asked to go out, while on prep, but had to deny the invite due to having to go train, cook, cardio, cook, eat, and then sleep (so I can do it again the next day). These people won’t understand your goal or accept you as they did before. You’ll be thought of as an obsessed individual that only thinks about working out. You’ll become an outcast to many, and that’s fine really since those people don’t deserve you in their lives anyways if they can’t support your goals. But that’s bodybuilding. You can’t be a rock-star and be a bodybuilder at the same time, and it’s hard for people that do not understand the lifestyle or what is involved in a contest prep.
Balance with Bodybuilding and Reality
How are bodybuilders and female fitness competitors in general though? Are they nice people? To be honest, most of them are great, and excellent individuals, BUT there are some that aren’t realistic in the sport. They think they have what it takes to become a Pro (externally wise, I’m not questioning their internal drive). They keeping being unrealistic with their ultimate goal, even though they see photos of the LEVEL they MUST attain to achieve that goal, and in reality they are FAR from that attained level. They fight and train through injuries, sicknesses, sacrificing their relationships & social time with their loved ones, not eating certain food in offseason and just stick to a strick diet (this is called over-dieting btw a.k.a eating-disorder-in-the-works) and they just keep thinking they have what it takes physically, but reality isn’t getting through their heads. It’s actually really sad and pathetic to see. Sure, all of us would like to be a Pro or Top-Level, but realistically it isn’t in the cards for majority of the bodybuilders out there. That is when “balance” must be found within themselves. Balance is what I call a mixture of your “human” life with your “bodybuilding” life. You have to have a mixture of both, and you will find enjoyment in everything you do. Many that don’t have this balance will only find enjoyment doing their ‘bodybuilding’ thing. I love bodybuilding, and I will never quit it, and that’s because I found balance. Balance allows me to not get burnt out with all that I do, and it will keep me fresh until the very end.
Top-Level Bodybuilders
How are the Pro’s in the sport? Many of them that I’ve met are really cool and down to earth. I felt that Dennis Wolf, Fouad Abiad, Dusty Hanshaw, Kai Greene, Jerome Fergeson, Hany Rambod, Branch Warren, Will Harris, Ben Pakulski, Johnny O Jackson, Jay Cutler, Amanda Latona, Nicole Wilkins and many others are really great people, that just love being around the fans that support them. But there are some that keep that “ego/arrogant” swag about them wherever they go. I won’t list names, but if you don’t see their name above, that might give you a hint. Many just play nice to the camera, but when it’s OFF…they become someone else. So, a little word to the wise, if you find one of your role-models out there not living up-to the personality that you expected, don’t be surprised. They take their bodybuilding career to a different place then some others do, and I honestly feel it isn’t the right one. When I met Phil Heath, I felt him being somewhat arrogant, and just wanted to give the quick answer to what I asked him, so that he could just take a photo with me and then go (there wasn’t a line or anything, he was just guest posing at my contest, and walking in the lobby). But on camera, he’s totally kissing-tail to the fans, being humble, bla bla bla. So, many Pro’s out there just show a different personality on camera then they do in person. Don’t take offense to it, it’s just who they are.
Ok so I think I’ve spit enough info for today on this topic, I hope that it was all interesting for you all. Until next time guys, keep training hard! Live your dreams and be happy with life.
