# Are you attracted to competitive bodybuilders? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067 "2011-09-21T14:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/101 "2011-09-24T02:39:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [http://www.ebicep.com/greg-valentino.html](http://www.ebicep.com/greg-valentino.html) > It may be possible to slightly overdo it. “Bicep blowout”? So his muscles got so big that they literally tore through his skin? I didn’t think that was possible. I figured it’d be impossible to grow muscles faster than your skin could grow and stretch to compensate. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/102 "2011-09-24T03:17:51Z")
Because he wasn’t “growing” his biceps at all - he was just pumping synthol (a kind of oil) into them. And like a water balloon, they eventually popped. [Here](http://drfugly.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/synthol2.jpg) is another example of guys using synthol. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/103 "2011-09-24T05:26:53Z")
Straight male, I just don’t like that look on women. Toned, healthy, fit, hell yes. Bulging muscles, not so much. I respect bodybuilder’s dedication, their drive to push themselves, but at the end of the day it’s a man or woman in skimpy underwear flexing like a cartoon caricature in front of a crowd. It just looks silly as hell. I don’t get why you wouldn’t go for power lifting or something else, show the world what you can do, not what you look like. That you have to slather on greasy goo beforehand just makes it that much more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/104 "2011-09-24T05:44:58Z")
Agreed. I can watch World’s Strongest Man competitions all day long and just store up fantasy fuel, but stuff like Mr. Universe or Mr. Olympia? Bleh. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/105 "2011-09-24T10:32:42Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [Arnold,](http://www.popstarsplus.com/images/ArnoldSchwarzeneggerPicture.jpg) [Serge Nubret,](http://www.gmvbodybuilding.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/1977-Serge-Nubret.jpg) [Ken Waller,](http://forum.iron-age-classic-bodybuilding.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=446975049d0d229d8cdc4a179e3aaf02&action=dlattach;topic=18247.0;id=32498;image) [Frank Zane](http://cdn.simplyshredded.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/frank-zane-olympia-25.jpg) and [Ed Corney](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-fyssgE5sr8/TLpw90_yKTI/AAAAAAAAAdA/kMmzEPj3SYk/s1600/Ed+Corney+Flex+Mag+1975+Wallpaper.jpg), versus… > > [Jay Cutler,](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24Gf0Bi-3-g/TkzupR6JuyI/AAAAAAAAH2Y/xMIxU8Qg4lk/s1600/Jay+Cutler+%25286%2529.jpg) [Branch Warren,](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2584/3681906791_1eaf9bc9c3_z.jpg?zz=1) [Ronnie Coleman,](http://www.musclelegion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4.jpg) [Markus Ruhl](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kBE7wBClW4/TXjEP8ltdoI/AAAAAAAAHAI/cmrul1KVvFE/s1600/MarkusRuhl0.jpg) Whenever I see guys like this, or even close, it just brings to mind 200lbs of dynamite with a 1-inch wick. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/106 "2011-09-24T13:47:03Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > Whenever I see guys like this, or even close, it just brings to mind 200lbs of dynamite with a 1-inch wick. You might want to Google “Rodney St. Cloud” or “Kai Greene” for some very NSFW photos to disabuse you of that stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/107 "2011-09-24T14:00:07Z")
I heard a great fitness quote about modern bodybuilding “The guy that wins is the closest one onstage to death”, for something that used to be about fitness and health, it’s become a scary, freaky mis-representation of the human body. I am a fairly tall, broad-shouldered female with somewhat curvy body (my modelling agency, back in “the day” made up the term "angular hourglass for me). I prefer somewhat bigger guys since I don’t like to feel that I may injure the person I am with but I don’t need biceps bigger than my head. Be healthy and fit, keep up with me on a run (ideally challenge me to keep up with you) and I will be thrilled. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/108 "2011-09-24T14:15:05Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > LOL, I would wager large sums that, in a _gym_, you couldn’t pick the bodybuilders from the other in shape, toned trainers. Bodybuilders are only dieted down and oiled up and hairless _ **on stage** _. For the rest of the year, the look surprisingly similar to everyone else. Exactly. I know a few female body builders and off stage they aren’t just above average, they are gorgeous. They age well too (assuming they keep active). ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/109 "2011-09-24T14:22:27Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yes, but the question in the OP was about competition bodybuilders, not about “people who lift weights at the gym as part of their sports routine”. > > It’s like the difference between “are you generally attracted to guys who are taller than you?” and “do you find 7’-tall guys attractive?” I’d say the opposite - ‘competitive bodybuilder’ doesn’t have to mean ‘Mr Universe’ or the mass types. It’s more like asking ‘are you generally attracted to really tall people’ and getting answers based on gigantism. I’d say exactly the same as someone else did earlier - that I prefer the kind of muscle that comes from manual work or from playing a sport. But after spending a lot of time in the gym a few years ago and meeting the bodybuilders there, who were all really nice guys, my perspective on the way they look changed too. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/110 "2011-09-26T10:15:48Z")
Straight male who voted turned off. I’ll make an exception for [Lisa Lyon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Lyon), though. For NSFW pictures of her go to Google image search, turn off the filtering and search for her name combined with Mapplethorpe. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/111 "2011-09-26T15:43:21Z")
Female, totally turned off. ---
**Author:** ![Plumbkrazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plumbkrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumbkrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/112 "2011-09-27T15:30:16Z")
So many people think of bodybuilders as “in shape”, but that’s often not the case. Ask one to run a 5K…or play basketball for an hour. They’ll collapse just as quickly as if all that muscle was fat. Basically, the only thing that muscle is good for is lifting weights to build more muscle. I almost forgot…as a male, I find the women hideous. The worst part is when their face gets all muscly from the strain of lifting weights. They look like men. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/113 "2011-09-27T16:04:19Z")
They’re freaks and incredibly gross. Especially the women, who look like transvestites. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/114 "2011-09-27T19:18:28Z")
> [@Plumbkrazy](#): > > So many people think of bodybuilders as “in shape”, but that’s often not the case. Ask one to run a 5K…or play basketball for an hour. They’ll collapse just as quickly as if all that muscle was fat. > > Basically, the only thing that muscle is good for is lifting weights to build more muscle. > > I almost forgot…as a male, I find the women hideous. The worst part is when their face gets all muscly from the strain of lifting weights. They look like men. Wow, stereotyping at it’s worst. Without even getting into the _myriad_ health benefits of adding muscle to one’s frame, saying that bodybuilders are out of shape because they are not endurance athlethes is simply conflating different forms of fitness. No bodybuilder can get _anywhere_ in the world of bodybuilding without good cardiovascular health/conditioning. Now bodybuilding is _adverse_ to most _aerobic_ exercise (while trying to build muscle and not dieting) because that puts the body in a catabolic (muscle-eating) state. Weight lifting is primarily an _anaerobic_ form of exercise, meaning that it does not rely on oxygen but rather metabolic pathways for energy. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/115 "2011-09-27T19:22:58Z")
Body builders look gross. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/116 "2011-09-27T23:17:58Z")
> [@Plumbkrazy](#): > > So many people think of bodybuilders as “in shape”, but that’s often not the case. Ask one to run a 5K…or play basketball for an hour. They’ll collapse just as quickly as if all that muscle was fat. > > Basically, the only thing that muscle is good for is lifting weights to build more muscle. > > I almost forgot…as a male, I find the women hideous. The worst part is when their face gets all muscly from the strain of lifting weights. They look like men. Bodybuilder here who would love to compete if I ever got good enough. I ran nine miles on Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/117 "2011-09-28T01:19:01Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Bodybuilder here who would love to compete if I ever got good enough. I ran nine miles on Sunday. (she’s good enough…nudge, nudge ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/118 "2011-09-28T01:51:34Z")
> [@Plumbkrazy](#): > > So many people think of bodybuilders as “in shape”, but that’s often not the case. Ask one to run a 5K…or play basketball for an hour. They’ll collapse just as quickly as if all that muscle was fat. > > Basically, the only thing that muscle is good for is lifting weights to build more muscle. > > I almost forgot…as a male, I find the women hideous. The worst part is when their face gets all muscly from the strain of lifting weights. They look like men. … IFBB pro heavyweight Bodybuilder = bodybuilder Brad Pitt = bodybuilder I’m guessing you mean the former, right? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/119 "2011-09-28T02:27:02Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Bodybuilder here who would love to compete if I ever got good enough. I ran nine miles on Sunday. Yeah, but you didn’t run a full marathon, did you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/120 "2011-09-28T03:10:45Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > Natural bodybuilders are epitomes of what the human body can look like. You have mistaken the word “epitome” for the word “extreme”. There are many extremes of human appearance. Bodybuilders are an extreme; they are far from an epitome. Why is a slim, fit runner not the epitome of what the human body can look like? Why is a swimmer not the epitome of what a human body can look like? “Epitome” implies a value judgement; “look like” is clearly aesthetic. You’re simply making an aesthetic value judgement, and many people would argue that a runner or a swimmer or a gymnast or a dancer looks much, much, much better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067.md?page=7)