Is Bodybuilding a Sport?

itsgrand

Hey,was just curious as to whether Bodybuilding is a sport or not.

I can't seem to find it under the sport section of boards.

I think it should be considered a sport simply because its so tough to do,what with changing your lifestyle completely for good results,what do you think?

Any help is appreciated.

dave80

itsgrand wrote: »

Hey,was just curious as to whether Bodybuilding is a sport or not.

I can't seem to find it under the sport section of boards.

I think it should be considered a sport simply because its so tough to do,what with changing your lifestyle completely for good results,what do you think?

Any help is appreciated.

some say its a sport some dont, my opinion is the bodybuilding training in the gym etc is a sport but the bodybuilding shows are more of a beauty contest

clown2brown

+1 Yes I believe it is a sport and boards should recognize this by putting it under the 'Sports' section. Seriously the clowns believe yoga is a sport....:cool:

Edwardius

There's a yoga forum but no strength sports forum?

Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble, Rabble.

El Horseboxo

I see it more as a hobby. If someone asked me if i played any sports i'd never answer yeah i do bodybuilding. Granted i don't compete so i don't have that angle to defend it from.

Hanley

I dunno tbh...

To me competitive bodybuilding is the destruction of your body.

I always think sports promote health and fitness to an extent.

I could honestly argue it either way tho.

*Sits on fence*

COH

Its more of an art than a sport maybe, but a sport nonetheless given the competitive/physical aspect

Its a spart!

Sangre

Not a sport to me.

No physical attributes are actually tested in competition e.g. strength, speed, agility, dexterity, flexibility. Only physical appearance.

dantes87

The sports section on boards contains these:


Darts, not a sport but a game
Frisbee??
Greyhound racing? There aren't even people in the event ffs
Paintball?
Scuba diving?:rolleyes:

If these are sports then you can't really question bodybuilding

The Davestator

Sangre wrote: »

Not a sport to me.

No physical attributes are actually tested in competition e.g. strength, speed, agility, dexterity, flexibility. Only physical appearance.

Totally agree. I heard once that the definition of a sport is something you need to change footwear for! It's not perfect, but right most of the time.

I respect the dedication it takes to be show ready, but a pastime in my opinion

dantes87

The Davestator wrote: »

Totally agree. I heard once that the definition of a sport is something you need to change footwear for! It's not perfect, but right most of the time.

I respect the dedication it takes to be show ready, but a pastime in my opinion

That definition isn't great though is it.

Working on a building site is a sport?
I have to get new footwear for a wedding, watching someone get married is hardly a sport:)

The Davestator

dantes87 wrote: »

That definition isn't great though is it.

Working on a building site is a sport?
I have to get new footwear for a wedding, watching someone get married is hardly a sport:)

Some basic common sense is assumed when applying this definition.

dantes87

The Davestator wrote: »

Some basic common sense is assumed when applying this definition.

I'm only messing.

But a "sport" is a difficult thing to define

clown2brown

The Davestator wrote: »

I heard once that the definition of a sport is something you need to change footwear for!

Didn't know you had to change your footware for riding a feck'n bicycle:pac:

itsallaboutheL

Sangre wrote: »

Not a sport to me.

No physical attributes are actually tested in competition e.g. strength, speed, agility, dexterity, flexibility. Only physical appearance.

Hold a most muscular for 30 seconds there.

itsgrand

COH wrote: »

Its more of an art than a sport maybe, but a sport nonetheless given the competitive/physical aspect

Its a spart!

Hah I think your right. It is an art in the way it's sculpting the body like an artist would with clay. And also a sport due to great demands of constant physical strength which is something to be admired.

I also respect the way they have to change their diet. Like in every other sport diet is always very important,but in bodybuilding it's crucial.

I'd love to see a section for it in the sports forum,I think a good few people would have a fair few questions and tips on the subject.

SpookyBastard

Tough one really. Normally we see sports as some form of organised competitive game/activity with a goal for winning. So yes to all ball games, team games, etc etc . Then you see people referring to some martial arts as sporty and others as traditional or 'arts'. The Chinese word for sport means training physically so would that include body building? Is a body builder an athlete? If they are then it should be considerd a sport as they are athletes competing to attain a goal. Can argue each way of course but I'd be inclined to go with 'yes'

Also, am I the only one who thought 'THIS IS SPARTTTTT!!! AH' to COH's post?

taz70

Surely it's just the male equivalent of a beauty pageant.

This doesn't detract from the hours of dedication required to create the necessary physical transformation, and it's certainly an impressive display, but rather than a "sport", I see it more as an artistic or aesthetic endeavour rather than an athletic one.

In other words, just because a competitor has to physically train, doesn't automatically make it a sport (pageant contestants also have to train to transform their bodies into the best physical shape that they can prior to competition).

In addition, are there any sports where what one actually does in training is materially different from the performance required during the competition? I think this is what differentiates it from, say, powerlifting. Granted, competitors practice poses and routines, but this really is just about presentation - which is increasingly crossing over into dance, if we consider Kai Green.

And for god's sake, would someone tell Branch Warren to STOP SMILING on stage. He's much more impressive without the forced grimace!

Brian?

It is a sport. What about it makes it not a sport? The training and dedication?

Brian?

taz70 wrote: »

Surely it's just the male equivalent of a beauty pageant.

I think you'll find the male equivalent of a beauty pagent is a male beauty pagent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Male_beauty_pageants

LK_Dave

what if bodybuilding leads to powerlifting? I would say that is a sport.

Bottle_of_Smoke

No, pwerlifting yes but not bodybuilding. If it were you could probably argue weightwatchers is a sport

seanmc1980

sport in the dictionary is defined as.

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

so this is the starting point people.

put body building into the equasion

1 yes its and activity that involves physical exerction
2 not much skill in it
3 individual or team = yes
4 compete = yes
5 entertainment= yes

so in summary body building is a sport but only if you compete. if you do it for a past time then its just and activity/hobby

end

hardCopy

clown2brown wrote: »

Didn't know you had to change your footware for riding a feck'n bicycle:pac:

Maybe not, but I hate wearing bike shoes to work.

Barry.Oglesby

If bodybuilding is a sport then so is spinning, dieting, tanning, draughts, Guess Who?, and a variety of other things that fulfill some of the criteria for being a sport.

1. It's skill-free. It has technique (posing) but no skill
2. See point 1.

Dedication, hard work, etc. etc. are all fine qualities but none of these make a sport. It seems everyone wants to be called an athlete these days and get kudos for getting out of bed in the morning.

Bloody Nipples

I would only class something as a sport if it requires physical exertion in the competitive aspect of it. It's a personal thing but I wouldn't class darts, snooker, bowling, shooting, body building, chess etc. as sports.

I'm not questioning that they take a lot of time and effort to get good at they just lack that little something.

In the case of body building, I don't see it as having that element of chance that sport does, apart from the judges score cards which is out of the body builders hands. If you've trained harder and are bigger, you'll win on the day (feel free to correct this impression but this is just how I see it).

dartstothesea

Something in my brain seems to be thinking it's not quite what I'd understand is a sport. Who cares though? It's a contest involving fierce competition, that should be enough. You could sure say it's an art too, I guess.

Hard to say why I wouldn't think of it as a sport per se, but it's just a word, not the be all or end all.

d'Oracle

Is Competitive Eating a Sport?

dartstothesea

Askin' me or the previous lad? There's just no way my post could have said that anything that's competitive is a sport, I really think there's no way.

To actually answer your question, I'd say it isn't, no.

flyer88

It is quite clearly not a sport! And adding to that...this thread is in HEALTH & FITNESS rather than SPORT, that explains it in a way.

Scuba Ste

flyer88 wrote: »

It is quite clearly not a sport! And adding to that...this thread is in HEALTH & FITNESS rather than SPORT, that explains it in a way.

Well there's no forum for weightlifting, powerlifting or strongman but I'd say they're sports (maybe not strongman, I dunno). Most people use this forum to discuss those sports.

I'd say no it's not a sport. And it definitely doesn't need a forum, there's about 5 proper bodybuilding posts here a year. I don't think yoga needed a forum either though and it's definitely no sport.

The Davestator

Chess is regarded as a sport by all but 4 coutnries in the EU. Thankfully, we are one of the four who dont recognise it as a sport and the sports council does not fund it. Heard the chess assosciation on 'off the ball' a few weeks back.

Sport v passtime v games is a very interesting debate.

Were gladiatorial games a sport? Is shooting or fox hunting?

Magic Eight Ball

A sport is an activity requiring physical ability, physical fitness or physical skill which usually, but not always, involves competition between two or more people.

Snooker is considered a sport.. Just ask Stephen Lee.

Remmy

Magic Eight Ball wrote: »

Snooker is considered a sport.. Just ask Stephen Lee.

Ha!


You just try and tell phil 'the power' taylor that he doesnt compete in a sport...Look at that waist to forearm ratio..Magnificent.

ScumLord

I wouldn't consider it a sport because judging it is purely subjective. I also wouldn't really consider a body builder as healthy or an athlete, their body is taken to the extreme but I'd imagine if they took part in many sports they'd be useless at them due to their bulk. If you ever notice in MMA that the big overly muscular guys usually end up getting their asses kicked because they lack agility.

I've heard storeys about body builders on motorbikes stopping every half an hour because of cramps due to their chest muscles making it hard to hold handlebars.

Remmy

ScumLord wrote: »

I wouldn't consider it a sport because judging it is purely subjective. I also wouldn't really consider a body builder as healthy or an athlete, their body is taken to the extreme but I'd imagine if they took part in many sports they'd be useless at them due to their bulk. If you ever notice in MMA that the big overly muscular guys usually end up getting their asses kicked because they lack agility.

I've heard storeys about body builders on motorbikes stopping every half an hour because of cramps due to their chest muscles making it hard to hold handlebars.

I cant think of any others offhand but a few are quite impressive athletes.Chris Cormier has a good 100 metre sprint,Andy hamen has an impressive 40 yard dash time.Im sure there are others.

JayRoc

Most of the people who don't think bodybuilding's a sport
probably think golf is.

As for there being no exertion involved in competition, try being onstage for 2-3 minutes and then tell me there's no exertion

ScumLord

JayRoc wrote: »

Most of the people who don't think bodybuilding's a sport
probably think golf is.

As for there being no exertion involved in competition, try being onstage for 2-3 minutes and then tell me there's no exertion

I'm not saying it's not hard work or takes somewhere near the same level of discipline or work ethic to achieve but would you say a champion body builder is on the same level of fitness as say an Olympic sprinter or even a walker?

paky

body building is not a sport...

its a beauty pageant

Barry.Oglesby

JayRoc wrote: »

Most of the people who don't think bodybuilding's a sport
probably think golf is.

As for there being no exertion involved in competition, try being onstage for 2-3 minutes and then tell me there's no exertion

Golf is a sport. There is skill and timing involved.

Doing stunts or magic tricks also involves exerting oneself, neither are sports.

Everybody wants to be an athlete.

lastlaugh

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Everybody wants to be an athlete.

Even Stephen Lee & Phil 'The Power' Taylor.

eoghan.geraghty

Bodybuilding is an eating disorder.

Remmy

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Everybody wants to be an athlete.

......but nobody wanna do no heavy ass skills training?Doesnt have the same ring to it.

mloc

I think it depends on the very subjective definition of a sport.

Does it require years of dedicated, back breaking training to reach the highest level of competition? Yes

Does it require exertion during competition? Yes, very much so

Does it require skill? Yes in training, at the highest levels, and a moderate amount in competition. It is, however, not a highly skilled activity like gymnastics, MMA, fencing etc.

Is it a sport? I think it depends on the definition of sport.

Barry.Oglesby

mloc wrote: »

Does it require skill? Yes in training, at the highest levels, and a moderate amount in competition. It is, however, not a highly skilled activity like gymnastics, MMA, fencing etc.

No it doesn't have skill, training properly requires some technique, but no more than any dedicated trainee would use. But not very much skill.

mloc

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

No it doesn't have skill, training properly requires some technique, but no more than any dedicated trainee would use. But not very much skill.

What about the skill in getting to know your body and how to train it to the best of its genetic, and indeed anabolic, potential?

itsgrand

ScumLord wrote: »

I wouldn't consider it a sport because judging it is purely subjective. I also wouldn't really consider a body builder as healthy or an athlete, their body is taken to the extreme but I'd imagine if they took part in many sports they'd be useless at them due to their bulk. If you ever notice in MMA that the big overly muscular guys usually end up getting their asses kicked because they lack agility.

I've heard storeys about body builders on motorbikes stopping every half an hour because of cramps due to their chest muscles making it hard to hold handlebars.

I think that some bodybuilders may take an unhealthy approach,like severe lack of cardio or a diet filled with too many supplements. But I also think bodybuilders can be the the healthiest humans if they combine cardio with their workouts,and have a diet full of organic foods with some supplements too. I recently read an article about bodybuilders of the past being seriously strong AND able to run for miles on end. They push their bodies,then compete with others who have taken the same tough road as them to see who has worked the hardest,who has perservered through the diet and who has gone through the most pain in the gym to achieve the "perfect body". This is why I think it should be regarded as a sport.

Barry.Oglesby

mloc wrote: »

What about the skill in getting to know your body and how to train it to the best of its genetic, and indeed anabolic, potential?

Oh right okay I see what's happening now, you just don't understand what skill is.

For something to be a skill from a sporting point if view, there has to be a variable. On one end of the scale, a variable would be an opponent trying to stop you from doing whatever it is you're trying to do. On the other end would be wind for example.

So for a bodybuilder, all of the lifting in the gym is free of skill, that's just technique applied. In the kitchen for the rigid diets, that's discipline and knowledge, and in terms of optmising their drug taking, that's also just knowledge and of course access. On stage for posing, the only variables would be nerves, experience etc. which only the most anal of individuals would derive the term skill from.

So when people ask me if it's a sport, I say no. Not because I dislike bodybuilding, but because I simply can't stand to compare Brian O'Driscoll taking a ball in full flight with someone standing still and clenching.

Lantus

itsgrand wrote: »

I think that some bodybuilders may take an unhealthy approach,like severe lack of cardio or a diet filled with too many supplements. But I also think bodybuilders can be the the healthiest humans if they combine cardio with their workouts,and have a diet full of organic foods with some supplements too. I recently read an article about bodybuilders of the past being seriously strong AND able to run for miles on end. They push their bodies,then compete with others who have taken the same tough road as them to see who has worked the hardest,who has perservered through the diet and who has gone through the most pain in the gym to achieve the "perfect body". This is why I think it should be regarded as a sport.

Body builders that work to compete may certainly not be doing themselves any favours and as it is well documented the current fashion of very very low BF% pushes people to make very radical lifestyle choices to cut back and dehydrate to get that final cut look on the stage. Not healthy.

Aesthetics is not performance and so there is really no set standard of achievement as fashion changes the yardstick of what constitutes a winner also changes. This is contrast to say the 100m sprint where time is still time.

I think it is a sport in the sense that olympic lifting would be considered BB by most people. But there ae too many activites that are labelled as sports that are not and more join them every year as people campaign to get their hobbies listed as olympic events. Labels...

Burkatron

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

No it doesn't have skill, training properly requires some technique, but no more than any dedicated trainee would use. But not very much skill.

I dunno, have you not seen the applied tans on these guys??

Ironman Collie

Hi all,

I feel compelled to write on my own experiences as a bodybuilder, both on and off the stage.

To say bodybuilding is not a sport is hurtfull when you truely believe in something and strive to be the best you can be in it. The training regime for a competitive bodybuilder especially leading up to a competition is astonishing and possibly the most physically and mentally demanding training you can go through. The dedication needed is stagering. But the personal reward and sense of accomplishment when you finally get up on that stage blows you away, more so than any other sport I have ever being involved in.

To say there is no skill in it comes from someone who has never tried to understand how amazing the human body is and how it can be trained to overcome any obstacle. The knowledge needed to train CORRECTLY comes from hard study of form and constant training to adapt the body to new stresses and routines to teach your body memory to make your movements more fluidlike and make your body stronger to work better in these movements, sounds exactly like what other athletes do, doesn't it.

People like to poke fun at bodybuilding, because of the steroid stigma attached to it and that is what is stoping the sport from becoming more mainstream and even inclusion as an olympic sport. Where steroid's do play a part in some areas of bodybuilding, others like myself practice natural bodybuilding and believe me the results can be equally outstanding.

Just as an example, I will briefly explain competition lead up for myself just to give an indication to those who don't understand what is involved.
Training is all year round but when you decide to do a competition it has a big affect on how you approach your training, I like to start out with very heavy training to "bulk up" (try to get the mass on before you start the diet phase), everyone is different and their body reacts differently, hence the individual nature of the preparation. For me I start strict diet 3 to 4 months out from competition and I do not stray from that diet at all. This means approximately 7-8 meals a day (small manageable meals, not 10 lb steaks as people believe). Your body no matter who you are works better this way, any nutritionist will tell you this as your body has a constant source of energy every few hours and does not need to hold onto fat because it thinks it is not going to get more energy from say 7 in the morning till lunch time. Training is strict with up to 2-3 hours a day as well as lots of cardio contrary to peoples beliefs (after all your heart is the most important muscle you have).

Everything you do down to your sleep patterns, keeping yourself positive to keep the body in top condition, working on your weak areas because bodybuilding competitions are judged by muscle symmetry, fullness, vascularity, and muscle proportion and other factors NOT just who is the biggest. All this training and dedication, the getting up at four or five in the morning to fit in a session before you go to work, the sacrificies you make socially (no drink, junk food, not even a drop or a crumb) all for the love of your sport and the elation of getting up on stage knowing that you done your best and put in the hours and dedication that any professional athlete would be and is proud to be able to adhere to.

The seven compulsory poses, take believe it or not a hell of a lot of practice to execute properly and to hold in a seemingly relax state when every fibre in your body burns on every pose on stage. The free pose routine is precise and timed and created to expose the muscles in their fullest tension, which you should try and hold a very tight pose for a period of time and see what it feels like.

Everything involved in bodybuilding leads me to a better place, the confidence it can instill, the sense of achievement and the knowledge that only a very very small number of bodybuilders ever make it to the stage has to be testimont to the training regime and dedication needed to be a bodybuilding sportsperson.

My apologies for the longwinded reply, but I hope you can draw some more knowledge about bodybuilding from my post and hopefully at least one person might change their mind, and see it as a sport!

Regards and good wishes
Collie