Bodybuilding FAQ - Is Bodybuilding a Real Sport and Are Bodybuilders Athletes?
Thursday January 8, 2009
To this day, there are many people who argue that bodybuilding is not a real sport and that bodybuilders are not real athletes as we allegedly do not display any skill during a competition. However, is this actually the case?
I can tell you from personal experience that it takes great stamina, practice and skill to be able to step onstage and display your muscles in their various bodybuilding poses properly. And even if you are a non-competitive bodybuilder, it takes a lot of skill to perform the various basic exercises required of bodybuilding such as placing a barbell on your shoulders and performing some deep squats. And finally, any bodybuilder (whether competitive or not) needs to have an incredible amount of determination in order to adhere to a rigorous training program, a structured diet and rest schedule day in and day out.
In order to settle this argument, I decided to get the answer from bodybuilding legend, top Olympian and IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Hall of Fame inductee Lee Labrada to see what his thoughts on the subject are. See what Lee had to say about this subject in this week's Bodybuilding FAQ - Is Bodybuilding a Real Sport and Are Bodybuilders Athletes? Also, feel free to comment and share your own opinion on the subject.
Comments
So in order to settle the argument, you went and talked to a ………bodybuilder?? WOW I wonder what his answer is going to be. No bias there at all.
Bodybuilders are not athletes my friend. What bodybuilders do is EXTREMELY difficult, takes tons of determination and strength and hard work, but they are still not athletes.
Posing your muscles during “competition” is not a sport or athletic. And just because something is difficult does not mean it is a sport.
Athletes and athletics require strength, power, aerobic capacity, agility, balance, proprioception and speed. Go watch a hockey player or Olympian at the top level of their sport and then come tell me if bodybuilders are athletes.
This is not a knock on bodybuilders AT ALL. I have all of the respect in the world for them, they are just not athletes.