What is Bodybuilding to T-Nation?

Training
161

i just reiterate…

the dieting is such a HUGE part of what it takes to be a competitive Bodybuilder, that I do not think you can really claim you are one if you have not got into contest condition, dave tate has never gotten on stage, but he as achieved single digit bf% while being 240-250lbs of solid muscle, so he can call himself a bodybuilder.

it would be like somebody claiming they were a Powerlifter and they never did the three lifts.

now I do NOT mean this to be an insult to anybody, it is just my opinion, and there are lots of guys on this site who do not (in my point of view) as “bodybuilders” that I respect and acknowledge they look a lot better than me (Px, steely, etc.) again this is just semantics and my opinion.

162

[quote]heavythrower wrote:
i just reiterate…

the dieting is such a HUGE part of what it takes to be a competitive Bodybuilder, that I do not think you can really claim you are one if you have not got into contest condition, dave tate has never gotten on stage, but he as achieved single digit bf% while being 240-250lbs of solid muscle, so he can call himself a bodybuilder.

it would be like somebody claiming they were a Powerlifter and they never did the three lifts.

now I do NOT mean this to be an insult to anybody, it is just my opinion, and there are lots of guys on this site who do not (in my point of view) as “bodybuilders” that I respect and acknowledge they look a lot better than me (Px, steely, etc.) again this is just semantics and my opinion.
[/quote]

Mr Tate has indeed been on stage before although when he was much younger

163

^I was just chatting with someone on FB last night concerning their possibly competing, leanness, and how far to bulk before you’re just ‘fat’, and I found myself saying that actually dialing everything in, bringing all the factors of ‘bodybuilding’ together, and making it to the stage… muscled, lean, and proportioned… well, it gives you a perspective that people who have never made it will not share.

S

164

[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:

[quote]heavythrower wrote:
here, Ill put it another way…

i trained at some pretty hard core dungeon gyms when I was younger and competing in PL and OLing.

there were lots of “bros” that were big and strong, but never competed. often after a contest, they would ask how i did, i would tell them, and the responses often were like:

“thats all you benched/squatted/pulled? hell, i could do more than that, i have done more than that just the other day, i should have entered that meet”

blah blah…

well it takes a lot more to be a PL than just to bench squat and deadlift heavy. you have to prepare yourself to do be your best at all three on the same day, while making weight, and perform when your name is called, not when you are ready, and to perform to the satisfaction of judges, etc.

cant tell you how many times i was nursing an injury while training for a meet, and come meet day, on at least one of my lifts i was not 100%

its one thing to train regularly and have a particularly good day at the gym when you are feeling good, nothing is sore and hurting, had plenty of rest, etc. and hit a big number on one of the lifts, it is quite another to prepare yourself to do your best and hit prs in all three lifts on a predetermined day under competition rules/judging standards.

hope that made sense. [/quote]

Good point I agree completely.

Also lol @ anonyms post. [/quote]

thanks,

i remember having finals on the same week that i had to compete at a regional meet that happened to be a national qualifier.

i had to drive from alabama to texas all night, with no sleep because i studied all night the day before, and took exams that day, then had to drive from 3 pm till late late in the night(early morning) to the meet location. I missed the 24 hour weigh in, so i was depleted and could not hydrate or eat until i stepped on the scale 8 am the morning of.

i made weight, and had a SHITTY day. i only went 5 for 6, only getting my opener deadlift, if I had hit my third attempt squat, and my second attempt deadlift, i would have had my first and only elite total at 181. i still managed to qualify for the national adfpa collegiates, but hell, i had hit bigger lifts 3 weeks before for doubles and triples than i did at this meet.

this is what it means to compete and really call yourself a Powerlifter.

maybe I am too much of a purists, but the same applies imho if you call yourself a bodybuilder

165

[quote]heavythrower wrote:
and there are lots of guys on this site who do not (in my point of view) as “bodybuilders” that I respect and acknowledge they look a lot better than me (Px, steely, etc.) again this is just semantics and my opinion.
[/quote]

And, I reiterate that I am uncomfortable applying the label “bodybuilder” to myself. My training certainly has BB’ing elements to it, and adding mass is important to me, but I don’t think of myself as a “bodybuilder”. Ditto “powerflifter” label.

It’s not like being one is mutually exclusive of the others. I really don’t like labels in general.

I lift weights. Daily. Sometimes multiple times daily. Olympic lifters might have a problem with me labeling myself a “weightlifter”.

I love lamp.

166

[quote]heavythrower wrote:

… stuff …

[/quote]

HT - I could easily see where I would be in a gym, look up and see you hulking around and think “powerlifter or off-season bodybuilder”. People just don’t look like you (or similar) without lifting heavy shit.

167


Bodybuilder

168

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Bodybuilder[/quote]

Heavy ass weights

169

The nail in the coffin;

“Here at Testosterone, we don’t talk to many pro bodybuilders. We’re not really fans of the “sport” and about the only time we hear from the pros is when we’ve pissed them off.”

170

[quote]want2getlean wrote:
The nail in the coffin;

“Here at Testosterone, we don’t talk to many pro bodybuilders. We’re not really fans of the “sport” and about the only time we hear from the pros is when we’ve pissed them off.”

fucking great article though. Lee is the man

171

[quote]want2getlean wrote:
The nail in the coffin;

“Here at Testosterone, we don’t talk to many pro bodybuilders. We’re not really fans of the “sport” and about the only time we hear from the pros is when we’ve pissed them off.”

I’ve always loved Lee Priest!

172

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:

[quote]want2getlean wrote:
The nail in the coffin;

“Here at Testosterone, we don’t talk to many pro bodybuilders. We’re not really fans of the “sport” and about the only time we hear from the pros is when we’ve pissed them off.”

fucking great article though. Lee is the man[/quote]

yeah, the interview (well, more like what Lee says) is pretty cool

But it just goes to show that even in the supposed ‘hardcore’ days, the website had a slant against actual bodybuilding

173

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Bodybuilder[/quote]

If you look at pictures of Sean Connery, one could argue that many on here have exceeded his physique, both in size and asthetics. Does that make them bodybuilders simply because they’ve dialed in their diet and weight training so as to be more muscular than average?

174

[quote]want2getlean wrote:

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:

[quote]want2getlean wrote:
The nail in the coffin;

“Here at Testosterone, we don’t talk to many pro bodybuilders. We’re not really fans of the “sport” and about the only time we hear from the pros is when we’ve pissed them off.”

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/dead_man_talking[/quote]
fucking great article though. Lee is the man[/quote]

yeah, the interview (well, more like what Lee says) is pretty cool

But it just goes to show that even in the supposed ‘hardcore’ days, the website had a slant against actual bodybuilding
[/quote]

I imagine sales of products devolved FOR bodybuilding have changed that somewhat here.
Still, too many writers who look like they don’t lift.

175

I’d say one of my hobbies is weight training, I wouldn’t say I’m body building even as a hobby. However, based on the efforts of some people on this site, I’d say their hobby is bodybuilding, even if they hadn’t dieted down for a show.

These are people much bigger than average who have gotten that way by putting a lot of time and effort in at the gym and in the kitchen with the specific goal of putting on muscle for asthetic reasons.

176

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:

[quote]want2getlean wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Look, while people may have different opinions, the reality is, it comes down to what you LOOK LIKE to most people.

(…)

That is just a fact. The average person even as a serious gym goer wouldn’t know whether someone else competed without speaking to them…and most people don’t avoid labeling complete strangers…so they would get called what they look like.[/quote]

What?
This has got to be the worst argument I’ve ever heard.

So you are what an uneducated layman thinks you are?
So if a stranger thinks you look like an idiot, you are for all effective purposes an idiot. Cool.[/quote]

Yes I agree. The average person might walk into the gym and think everyone in there that is bigger than them is a bodybuilder, and they would be wrong.

edit: People define themselves by what they actually are, not what others think they look like. A football player may look like a bodybuilder, but he most likely goes around telling people hes a footabll player because that is what he is. [/quote]

I have never played a down of football in my life.[/quote]

Why not?

177

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
[Still, too many writers who look like they don’t lift.
[/quote]

Quoted for truth

178

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

Why not?[/quote]

I played soccer, swam, did math team, academic bowl, and was all of 140 pounds as a senior in high school.

179

[quote]anonym wrote:

[quote]Mike T. wrote:

The gym is my sanctuary, the weights are my prayer bench…[/quote]

This is my shaker bottle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My shaker bottle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my shaker bottle is useless. Without my shaker bottle, I am useless.[/quote]

180

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
[Still, too many writers who look like they don’t lift.
[/quote]

Quoted for truth[/quote]

Belichick doesn’t look like he could play one down of football, does that mean he’s a lousy coach?