How is it you can express in one sentence what it takes me two paragraphs to hint at?
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I guess that’s fair enough. I see it more as a matter of simplicity, really. The label just makes it easier to describe your hobby.
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that’s just because you had that glass jaw, princess
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The reason I hung up the gloves is actually even more embarassing; I realized I just plain don’t like hurting people. No killer instinct. I’d land a good shot, and rather than follow it up I’d stop and make sure the dude was ok.
Sadly much better at getting hit than hitting as a result.
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not exactly the worst flaw a person could have, I suppose.
I agree. I’m probably more bodybuilder than a lot of people who compete in the newer categories but I’ll never say I’m a bodybuilder (although that’s technically what I do).
The reason I say this is because I maintain my physique day in and day out and have worked at it for over a decade. That takes more than a 20 year old dieting for 6 months and stepping on stage…or worse, dieting for 6 weeks and wasting everyone’s time.
This is not a knock on competitors; I’m stating this to reinforce the idea of calling yourself something that you’re not.
I continue to play basketball in competitive leagues but I’m not a basketball player. I don’t get paid for winning. I also hit the long ball in rec league softball and I’m not a softball player.
I’m just a guy who trains hard to look good and perform well. In fact, I’m considering running a campaign to redefine “dad bod” and put an end to the thinking that being fat and weak is sexy. Stupid millennials.
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Bodybuilding is a sport? News to me.
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S
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I think a lot of these peeves are, unfortunately, a sign the times.
If strength has never been your main focus, knowing you could break a record isn’t necessarily going to motivate you to buy a singlet. I suspect there are BBers out there who could do very well in PLing, but they don’t even realize it because they don’t train in low rep ranges.
I was pretty excited to see that I could set a CA USAPL Masters Bench record in the 52 kg class, for women in my age range. Wow! I don’t know if I can handle the kind of fame that would go with that claim. LOL! Talk about being a not very big fish in a very, very, small and pond. It would be different if I was Marisa Inda.
Sometimes knowing you could do it is exciting enough. If had a rockin’ squat and DL to go with it, I might buy a singlet. My plan is to wait until I’m in the 80 plus age group and them I’m going to BURST onto the PLing scene and sweep ALL the records. Haha!
Agree. Not everyone has the aesthetic proportions that will lend themselves to winning a competition.
Thinking of females here, but not all of these body types are ideal for winning a figure contest. Pic below from Sohee Lee, she’s one of the very few people I like to follow.
To state the obvious, in females, not everyone wants to get implants. They aren’t mandatory, but very few women are going to keep an ideal hourglass figure, and be super lean.
There are some people with really impressive physiques out there who have no desire to get on a stage, even though they certainly could do very well.
Mostly, I say I train for aesthetics or figure goals, or I train like a BBer, or if I’m talking to someone who knows lifting, I’d say I mostly train for hypertrophy and aesthetics. I don’t think the labels matter unless you’re presenting yourself as an expert/ trying to sell your experience.
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“Trainers” who look like they’ve never picked up a weight in their life stating that body part splits don’t work. In the first place, if you speak in absolutes about any type of training you are only showing your ignorance as they’re are various methods that will “work.” In the second place, at least look like you might have accidently wandered into a weight room once or twice before you tell everyone that body part splits don’t “work.” There is an article on the main page now doing just that from a guy that looks like he’s never lifted.
I do realize that someone doesn’t have to be “jacked” to know a thing or two about lifting, but it adds to your credibility if you at least look like you lift. I don’t take financial advice from homeless guys, either.
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OMG I can’t possibly like this reply any more! -lol.
IMO 99% of “youtube experts” and “fitness authors” should keep their mouths shut. Of course if the generally uneducated and inexperienced masses didn’t give them any attention, this wouldn’t be an issue, but therein lies the “who should I listen to?” problem.
Still, the online “experts” constantly screaming about how the actually jacked up competitors are doing it “wrong”, despite the very VERY obvious evidence to the contrary, just gives me a headache.
S
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I see what you’re saying. Yeah, most people at the gym are going to say “BBing is my hobby,” or “Basketball is my hobby,” or “I mostly train for strength” instead of saying “I’m a PLer.” I’m always quick to say, “I’m not a PLer.” There are some people with really impressive physiques who for whatever reason do not want to compete on a BBing stage, but they are very advanced. I thought @BrickHead was a BBer long before he finally decided to do a show. I don’t remember if he called himself one, but maybe it’s just semantics at some point. There are people you’d respect for their accomplishments even if they may never get on a stage.
With all the instagram experts, the signal to noise ratio is not good. The “daily selfie” posts get boring very fast. I don’t have instagram and check my FB feed maybe twice per week.
I’ll go through phases of researching a topic, or if I find someone good I’ll read their content for a couple of months. There are really only a handful of people like that, where I’ll read them on a regular basis. That’s really all you need. Find three to five reputable people to read, or just one real life coach whose expertise fits your goals.
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I was just thinking this the other day. At the gym I go to, there are a couple of trainers that are so out of shape that they have to take the elevator.
Why are you training other people when you can’t even walk up the stairs? Damn…
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Why not? They may just have bad genetics.
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Sadly this seems to be more true for women at my gym than men. The girls are young but don’t really have any muscle definition and have a little extra body fat. I’m not trying to bash the women or paint them into a corner and say they have to be physique competitors, but they should look like they take care of themselves. Unfortunately, this is the Y and I’m guessing the overweight women who train with them feel more comfortable with a girl who’s a little chubby versus a girl who is strong.
LOL! Perfect. Judgement free zones for everyone!
And lastly, for some reason this made me think of cardiologists. Somehow doctors who save lives and are experts on the heart do nothing to take care of their own. It’s not uncommon to see an obese cardiologist. I can’t believe someone who sees the effects of certain lifestyle choices every day can make the same stupid choices.
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Oh man, I didn’t think about that. They probably want to stay “all natural” and don’t take Financial Enhancement Drugs either. LOL.
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Yeah. Also, how many people in the gym even know what the labels mean? So many people will say they’re into WLing. They aren’t talking about the Oly lifts, they just mean “I’m into weight training,” or “I like to lift weights.” To the general public, probably anyone who gets into resistance training is a BBer or a WLer. If you ever use the squat rack, you’re a PLer. 
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what if I just use it for curls?
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If someone ever calls me a bodybuilder, rather than getting pedantic about it and explaining that I’m a strongman, I just take it as a compliment to mean I don’t look like a slob.
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