Extremism in Bodybuilding

[RickRock13]

Check out this article I put together over at muscle Research about extremism in bodybuidling-->Extremism in bodybuilding

What is your opinion on the subject? All feedback is welcome

 

[Arabian]

Fantastic article. That is exactly what happens to us as we embrace our sport.

 

[nh3master]

good read, Being obsessed isnt healthy in the big picture.

 

[bonacris]

People need to learn the difference between passionate and obsessed

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[stevesmi]

what happens if you are in an accident, or need surgery, or something like that where you HAVE TO take time off from the gym? or it could be a divorce, it could be a death in the family, it could be your kid gets sick.. so many things can happen where you have to accept getting away from the gym.

Arnold said a quote one time. he said something like "to be the best you have to ignore everything else" he got a call saying his father had died in europe and he was training for the olympia. so he told his mom that he cannot worry about it because he is focusing JUST on his training. this scenario is just not plausible for 99% of us who don't make a living off this sport.

you must accept you aren't gonna set a new PR everytime you set foot in the gym. its not healthy anyway, your body is not made of steel

 

[dabuffguy]

what happens if you are in an accident, or need surgery, or something like that where you HAVE TO take time off from the gym? or it could be a divorce, it could be a death in the family, it could be your kid gets sick.. so many things can happen where you have to accept getting away from the gym.

Arnold said a quote one time. he said something like "to be the best you have to ignore everything else" he got a call saying his father had died in europe and he was training for the olympia. so he told his mom that he cannot worry about it because he is focusing JUST on his training. this scenario is just not plausible for 99% of us who don't make a living off this sport.

you must accept you aren't gonna set a new PR everytime you set foot in the gym. its not healthy anyway, your body is not made of steel

You realize that story about his dad was made up for the show, right? Arnold admitted that in an interview a few years ago.

 

[joonp]

You realize that story about his dad was made up for the show, right? Arnold admitted that in an interview a few years ago.

I saw that too. I actually have never seen the movie but saw a doc on the making of the movie and had interviews with most of the guys from the movie. Most of the stuff was made up and embellished to make the movie more dramatic and entertaining. Especially a lot of the stuff that arnold did and the animosity between arnold and lou. It also talked about why the olympia isnt shown on network tv anymore.

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[stevesmi]

You realize that story about his dad was made up for the show, right? Arnold admitted that in an interview a few years ago.

no i had no idea. i guess that makes my entire post invalid

i think he seemed not genuine when he said it in the movie, i never really believed it to be true.. not realistic at all. but his point was when you are focusing on 1 thing you focus on that 1 thing and block everything else out

when i am at the gym i ignore everything else and just focus on what I am doing. i hate to be talked to or bothered.

 

[stevesmi]

I saw that too. I actually have never seen the movie but saw a doc on the making of the movie and had interviews with most of the guys from the movie. Most of the stuff was made up and embellished to make the movie more dramatic and entertaining. Especially a lot of the stuff that arnold did and the animosity between arnold and lou. It also talked about why the olympia isnt shown on network tv anymore.

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of course and it worked. great movie!

i guarantee that movie got a lot of guys into the lifestyle during that decade that would of never got into it

 

[RickRock13]

Thanks guys. Yeh, I love this lifestyle and bodybuilding is my passion...but it should never consume your life. There's a lot out there that life has to offer, whatever that may be for you. Its all about finding that balance to keep progressing and enjoying life at the same time.

Even when I was in prep, I made the time to devote to my family events and didn't let it consume me. It helped me both mentally and physically, and that is a huge bonus when you have many weeks of prep to go through. This lifestyle is just as much mental as it is physical, and you need to always maintain a sense of freedom in your life

 

[kx250rider]

I read it, and I think you're giving the best, SANE advice I've heard in a long time! Extremism in anything; a sport, a relationship, politics, or even a career, is usually a recipe for failure. In other words, "all or nothing" ultimately = nothing. I've been working out 30 years (with a few off-periods), and I've never been obsessed with my diet or gym time to the point where it would burn me out. I go by exactly what you said in so many words; "Moderation in all things". If being age 46 and still feeling 19, and 185 lbs with 4.9% body fat and a sharp 6-pack isn't proof that it works this way, then I don't know what is....

Charles

 

[Gerhard van Lamp]

Sure we all go through varying degrees of this as we progress...your mind starts playing tricks on you too! Mine in particular is on the ridiculous side of stupid

 

[-SD-]

I saw that too. I actually have never seen the movie but saw a doc on the making of the movie and had interviews with most of the guys from the movie. Most of the stuff was made up and embellished to make the movie more dramatic and entertaining. Especially a lot of the stuff that arnold did and the animosity between arnold and lou. It also talked about why the olympia isnt shown on network tv anymore.

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so why isnt the olympia in network tv anymore?

 

[RickRock13]

I read it, and I think you're giving the best, SANE advice I've heard in a long time! Extremism in anything; a sport, a relationship, politics, or even a career, is usually a recipe for failure. In other words, "all or nothing" ultimately = nothing. I've been working out 30 years (with a few off-periods), and I've never been obsessed with my diet or gym time to the point where it would burn me out. I go by exactly what you said in so many words; "Moderation in all things". If being age 46 and still feeling 19, and 185 lbs with 4.9% body fat and a sharp 6-pack isn't proof that it works this way, then I don't know what is....

Charles

Thanks bro, and yeh we all have probably had some degree of extreme in way or another. You live and you learn and you are living proof that you don't have to be obsessed to have success.

 

[MidwestBeast]

Great article, Rick.

I got way too consumed a few years back and lived nothing but bodybuilding. I wouldn't go out, turned down opportunities to go places because it interfered with my lifting schedule, etc.

Life isn't worth living when you get to that point and I've made incredible progress since allowing myself to live again.

 

[Jbranken]

"Life is too short, and your lifestyle should never get in the way of enjoying life!"

This quote stuck out to me. I have a lot of fun doing this but when I start seeing it get in the way of other priorities in my life, I always take a step back.

 

[muscleaddiction]

Basically my addiction brother...great write up!!!

 

[dylangemelli]

great article bro... i really let all of it consume my life for so very long... it took me a really good talking to to realize that i need to enjoy some other things as well... i just started to finally take Sunday's for only church and football and recovery... My fiance also is extremely happy with the more time we can spend together and there's just so much to life to enjoy... It can still be your passion and be everything to you but you have to enjoy things as well...

 

[-SD-]

My need for 7% BF is not greater than my need for a good marriage

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Great read and a lot of good points. Getting back into bodybuilding after a few years I forgot how much fun it is to transform your body into something you though was unachievable. I also forgot how much dedication and hard work it takes to make such a transformation a reality. Articles such as this remind me that while bodybuilding is a lifestyle there are limitations that should be recognized and extremes that should be avoided. Thanks for posting!

 

[Andreas Munzer]

so why isnt the olympia in network tv anymore?

great read here alot of solid info. its not on tv anymore ever since they tried one year and it was the year most of the top 5 got caught using steroids it killed the whole sport.