Did Men’s Physique and Bikini “Save” Bodybuilding?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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I don’t really follow Men’s physique or the bikini divisions. To be honest aside from Anyone who competes in those classes I’d say you’d be hard pressed to find someone who can list the current champ or more than a couple of top pros.

Anyway, Jeremy Buendia (the current men’s physique champ) recently stated how the sport was “saved” by the newer divisions. This obviously brought him a lot of negative heat from others in the sport and I thought Dave Palumbo’s commentary was pretty good in assessing what the real deal is.

http://www.rxmuscle.com/video/rx-rants/14725-jeremy-buendia-savior-of-bodybuilding-palumbo-responds-rxrant.html

(Mods- this is a video not an ad or anything that I know might be frowned upon)

Your thoughts?

S

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First off, that guy’s hair scares me.

Secondly, did dude say Men’s Physique saved bodybuilding or he saved bodybuilding. Those are drastically different statements.

I’d have to agree with him on the women’s side of things. I’m even a bit turned off by some of the women’s shows. They’re getting extremely lean and it’s kind of gross. It’s impressive, but gross (just an opinion). Add mass and that level of leanness and I’m out. It’s a dude with hair.

Back to the original topic. Perhaps not everyone wants to be a mass monster. It looks quite uncomfortable. It takes years, if not decades, of steroid abuse if you want to challenge the likes of Heath. Aiming for physique doesn’t seem like a copout; it just seems more feasible and healthy.

To determine if these categories had an effect on bodybuilding then you need to look at prize money for 1st place, overall prize money, and sponsorships. If physique and bikini had a drastic impact on those things then it’s definitely a valid argument.

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Well it certainly saved the promoters pocketbooks, they make a killing off of the entry fees now. On one hand they give an aspiration to achieve to a lot of people that could never step on stage as a legit BBer, but they sure do make the shows long LOL.

I think if the IFBB, NPC WFBB and every other organization folded to bankruptcy you’d still have the die hards fly to a common spot to compete in a warehouse with a 20 person audience for bragging rights, bodybuilding wasn’t in any danger of needing saving, they money train may have been to some extent though.

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Not sure I would say it “saved” bodybuilding. Open bodybuilding is still struggling to keep fans interest and the sport is nowhere near as popular as it was in the late 80’s and 90’s. I’d argue the days of Ronnie and Jay battling it out were more popular than today as well. This is just my take on how the new divisions have impacted men’s open which to the mainstream eye is body building.

As far as the new divisions impact on bodybuilding culture in general, there isn’t any debate it has been a boon. More people feeling the pull to compete has brought the fitness and bodybuilding lifestyle more into focus. I have no social media and can’t stand it but there is no denying there are far more people engaged in the BB community through it now than any time in recent memory. Everyone and their mom is a bikini or physique competitor on there it seems lol.

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I don’t believe men’s physique saved bodybuilding, however I do think bodybuilding has the potential to make a comeback with the addition of its new classic physique edition. Guys in classic physique such as Calum von moger (pre injury) were bringing back that golden age, 60s/70s aesthetic look that still looks appealing and attractive to the general public. However I could be wrong.

My theory is men’s bodybuilding has lost some popularity due to the extremism of the sport, guys walking in on stage with bloated stomachs, obvious synthol use and aesthetics/ proportions are an afterthought whereas the primary goal is just to show up on stage with as much muscle mass as possible at a very low body fat percentage, this look doesn’t appeal to the general public. It’s similar with heavy metal music (which I love), the aggressive sound and vocals sound displeasing to the general populace, causing most bands to remain underground or not well known, however a small minority go nuts for it therefore a small but loyal and dedicated fanbase is created, the same can be said for bodybuilding.

With the addition of classic physique the public is more attracted to said look, this can be compared to the terrible, awful rise in “nu-metal” (heavy metal and hip-hop combination) in the early 2000s and sadly also again now. However in this case I think it might actually be a good thing as I prefer the classic physique look and when I start completing that is the division I’m aiming for.

Physique… It’s cool, many guys in physique have amazing bodies, however it doesn’t feel the same as bodybuilding (to me), many of the classic bodybuilding poses arent there, legs aren’t usually on display and the bodies, although amazing, look more athletic than they do Arnold schwartzeneggeresque. While it also may drive more popularity towards bodybuilding, I believed the physique category also allows more people, who otherwise wouldn’t have the right structure for bodybuilding to compete. However (this is my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own opinions) I think Jeremy buendia is kind of a douche, I’ve seen him start arguments on Instagram with bodybuilders not well known, and there’s some gossip about him that I’m not gonna put on here. However that being said, he’s achieved his goals and has a very, very nice physique therefore I respect him.

Bikini didn’t save bodybuilding, it saved women’s bodybuilding as the women were starting to literally look like men in the ms Olympia competitions. While this isn’t bad, some people are definately into that (no judgement here, do whatever makes you happy as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else), the general populace also wasn’t, with bikini there is a bigger focus on the natural female figure, therefore more conpetitors= more interest in the sport and more money for the organisations. However I think in the future classic physique might be the division that really gets popular

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A lot of bikini competitors in truth seem to be girls who basically just lost a few lbs of fat and firmed up a little. I don’t mean to knock anyone or suggest they don’t work hard, but so many fitness competitors you see on IG seem to be young girls who would probably look like that at the age they are at anyway give or take those few lbs…obviously someone who has undergone a complete transformation that’s different, but I highly doubt most bikini competitors are FFGs

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Didn’t even click on the link yet and my first thoughts were this dude just wants to get the same attention that pro bodybuilders get in the regular division.

Edit:Ya Palumbo explained it well although I think the classic division was a good idea, Buendia was out of line for sure, who does he think he is?

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Officially he’s the top guy in HIS division, but ask any fan of the sport and they’ll tell you he’s a failed bodybuilder.

For the record, I think he looks great but it was a pretty disrespectful and arrogant comment that shows no real understanding of how most fans view the sport.

S

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Agreed, no disrespect to Buendia and what he has accomplished but he should recognize he is by no means entitled to be putting himself above any other division like he’s some kind of savior of the sport.

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From me, a die-hard 70s-80s-90s bodybuilding fan, I lost interest when the freak show started. I so admire the work and dedication it takes to be at that level, but I just lost interest. After I heard about Wesley Vissers, I started following him and Classic Physique, I guess I’m a fan again.

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