[quote]Rob_M wrote:
My worthless 2 cents is that a bodybuilders training/nutritional regime has all the hallmarks of an athlete but bodybuilding competitions are not athletic events or are not a sport. Other than the endurance involved in the hard contractions of posing while in a carb depleted state, I don’t see any expressions of athleticism at a competition. What they do in the gym is another matter.
I view the competitions as more akin to ‘performance art’ or something like that.[/quote]
I agree, but that’s not going to stop people from arguing about this forever. I think anyone who lifts and doesn’t consider the act athletic is either not lifting with any sense of focus or they are one of the many who think talking to their friends for an hour while standing next to a benchpress constitutes a workout. What got any of those guys into that kind of shape was athletic exercise. Anyone who does that regularly for years on end with above average focus and determination is an athlete. Soccer mom’s hogging the treadmills don’t count and neither do the weekend warriors who no one would ever suspect of lifting any significant weight.