# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/161 "2011-10-03T01:25:48Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > [http://www.google.com/imgres?q=john+cena+on+steroids&hl=en&sa=X&biw=748&bih=507&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsofd&tbnid=JNOGrx\_8MwKPgM:&imgrefurl=http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php%3Ftopic%3D352909.0&docid=iUZ661Lwd\_TXqM&w=223&h=331&ei=XgmJTti-GufEsQLprbTKBw&zoom=1](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=john+cena+on+steroids&hl=en&sa=X&biw=748&bih=507&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsofd&tbnid=JNOGrx_8MwKPgM:&imgrefurl=http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php%3Ftopic%3D352909.0&docid=iUZ661Lwd_TXqM&w=223&h=331&ei=XgmJTti-GufEsQLprbTKBw&zoom=1) > > If you like “natural” “non-bodybuilder” looks, _how_ can you claim to also like John Cena? I don’t like John Cena when he’s training. He’s not so repulsive when he’s not training and has a lot more body fat. He’s also at the upper end of the muscularity I find even remotely attractive. If you click on the link I listed and read for context, you’d see that I mentioned that he’s at the very upper limit of what I’d be comfortable with. I still have never dated nor hit on a guy anywhere near that muscular, having known more than a few that were going for the “bulky” look. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/162 "2011-10-03T01:31:49Z")
> [@nashiitashii](#): > > I don’t like John Cena when he’s training. He’s not so repulsive when he’s not training and has a lot more body fat. He’s also at the upper end of the muscularity I find even remotely attractive. If you click on the link I listed and read for context, you’d see that I mentioned that he’s at the very upper limit of what I’d be comfortable with. I still have never dated nor hit on a guy anywhere near that muscular, having known more than a few that were going for the “bulky” look. Fair enough; I’m just saying, Cena isn’t even _natural_ at all. The body you find attractive (upper end or not) is a body attained through the use of anabolic steroids (yes, even the pictures you linked). ---
**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:** [October 3, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/163 "2011-10-03T01:44:32Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > The body you find attractive (upper end or not) is a body attained through the use of anabolic steroids ( **yes, even the pictures you linked** ). I find it funny that [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h-xgw9xhWDI/TZiD_5XJcGI/AAAAAAAANcY/kW3fr6v-_u4/s400/john-cena+hot.jpg) is absolutely the result of steroids while [this](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168017_115095928562275_100001856042956_117784_6892910_n.jpg) (the one on the right obviously) absolutely isn’t. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/164 "2011-10-03T01:44:36Z")
It’s [not](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_82AxNzq4mOI/Sd77aMvogAI/AAAAAAAAACg/uNmwq_82gDg/s400/solovev7.jpg) [always](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_82AxNzq4mOI/Sd1cGeEn0-I/AAAAAAAAABM/9wD3S-Qxac8/s400/wahlund.jpg) a result of steroid use. Due to my lack of familiarity with the bodybuilding world, I can’t verify for sure on sight who uses steroids and who doesn’t unless it’s extreme. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/165 "2011-10-03T01:46:07Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I find it funny that [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h-xgw9xhWDI/TZiD_5XJcGI/AAAAAAAANcY/kW3fr6v-_u4/s400/john-cena+hot.jpg) is absolutely the result of steroids while [this](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168017_115095928562275_100001856042956_117784_6892910_n.jpg) (the one on the right obviously) absolutely isn’t. > > Bolding mine. That latter one MIGHT not be a result of steroid abuse, but DAMN are all three of those guys abusing the bronzer! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/166 "2011-10-03T03:02:14Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I find it funny that [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h-xgw9xhWDI/TZiD_5XJcGI/AAAAAAAANcY/kW3fr6v-_u4/s400/john-cena+hot.jpg) is absolutely the result of steroids while [this](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168017_115095928562275_100001856042956_117784_6892910_n.jpg) (the one on the right obviously) absolutely isn’t. > > Bolding mine. That’s why I posted a picture of Cena in a bodybuilding competition, which is what you are posting of _me._ You put the two competiton pictures side by side and you try to give me that same snarky bullshit answer. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/167 "2011-10-03T03:15:17Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I find it funny that [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h-xgw9xhWDI/TZiD_5XJcGI/AAAAAAAANcY/kW3fr6v-_u4/s400/john-cena+hot.jpg) is absolutely the result of steroids while [this](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168017_115095928562275_100001856042956_117784_6892910_n.jpg) (the one on the right obviously) absolutely isn’t. > > Bolding mine. I never said the Cena pics were _obviously_ steroid-enhanced pics that should be recognizable to the non-bodybuilding fan’s eye. Even the competition pictures. He’s admitted to using, so I wasn’t speculating; I was saying that the pictures that the previous poster had mentioned liking were indeed pics of a steroid-enhanced body. But I said this because I _know_ it for a fact; not because the pictures are so glaringly obvious (although his competition photo _is_). ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/168 "2011-10-03T03:37:28Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > People really do _not_ understand the concept of cutting for competitions; they must think that all bodybuilders walk around dry, vascular and totally cut all the time. They seemingly don’t realize that when not preparing for a contest, a natural bodybuilder would have exactly the kind of physique they’d probably find appealing. I get what you’re saying, but the poll was about people who DO compete at that level, and who, therefore, are going to be _actually looking like that for a certain percentage of the time._ If my presumptive boyfriend were going to look like a freakish bulgy-veined, muscle-bound, teeny-headed oompa-loompa for part of the time, REGARDLESS of how non-freakish he looked the rest of the time, he would massively unattractive to me while he looked that way, and depending on the person, it might be enough to kill the relationship. I shudder at the thought of even touching someone while they’re all cut and slathered up like that - what if he wanted to give me a hug after a competition? He’d squish me to death with his nasty vein-ridden muscles and I’d go into my grave smeared with icky slimy orange shit. No deal. I don’t care how normal they look every other day, the fact that they’re willing to half-kill themselves for days/weeks just for the purposes of flaunting their freakish musculature is a huge turnoff in both a physical and psychological/personality way, and something I am profoundly disinterested in ever dealing with. Give me a hobby-level triathlete or a pleasure swimmer or a club soccer or rugby player or a car mechanic or a carpenter/construction worker who actually \*uses \*his muscles instead of showing them off, and doesn’t give a shit what his body-fat percentage is. Just ew. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/169 "2011-10-03T12:59:14Z")
I don’t understand the disconnect. It’s fairly obvious that most of the posters here like one of two “archetypes” physically. 1. Lean look. Not overly muscled, nor overly defined, but a healthy runner or swimmers physique, with low body fat and good natural definition. 2. Mass look. Either muscled or simply big and burly, neither one overly cut or defined. When you think about that, it makes sense. _Modern_ bodybuilders often look like a bizarre anatomical model in season, and can have extremely strange proportions out of season. Unlike the classic strongmen, or even the rather hulking but aesthetically balanced champions of the seventies, the mass monsters of today simply do not look normal. Natural bodybuilders that are more in proportion and smaller can certainly meet that pleasantly bulky look out of season, and no doubt would be found attractive to those who like their men a little thicker. In season pics though are a terrible way to ascertain that opinion, since a man or woman at that time is an absurd caricature of themself. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/170 "2011-10-03T14:12:16Z")
I don’t mind muscular, but I loathe muscle-bound. Or to put it better: [This?](http://www.bathingnews.com/.a/6a01156ef01963970c011570ba63f8970b-800wi) Yes. [This?](http://pi.b5z.net/i/u/230085/i/Ronnie_Coleman.jpg) Most emphatically NO. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/171 "2011-10-03T14:20:08Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I never said the Cena pics were _obviously_ steroid-enhanced pics that should be recognizable to the non-bodybuilding fan’s eye. I doubt that it’s possible for anyone, whether you’re a bodybuilding fan or not, to just look at, say, [this](http://www.submitproductratings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/muscular-secrets.jpg) and declare whether that body is the result of steroid use. Hell, the guy in the middle of the picture I linked to earlier could have been on steroids for all we know. Steroids aren’t magic goo that miraculously give you huge muscles without having to work out at all. So when people say they aren’t attracted to “steroid muscles” or whatever they’re referring to the insanely huge muscles that their owners almost definitely required steroids to obtain. Otherwise you could find a picture of some weedy little guy who you know has taken steroids and declare “See! You’re attracted to steroid-enhanced bodies!” ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/172 "2011-10-03T17:15:09Z")
When will competitive body builders break the barrier…the “clothing barrier”? Do they ever pose nekkid?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/173 "2011-10-03T17:39:11Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > When will competitive body builders break the barrier..the “clothing barrier”? > Do they ever pose nekkid?:eek: Thanks, now I’ve come down with hysterical blindness. Going to make this afternoon’s data review a bit of a trick! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/174 "2011-10-03T17:43:49Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Do they ever pose nekkid?:eek: If you turn off “SafeSearch” on Google, then do an image search for “female bodybuilder”, you’ll very quickly find that the answer is, “yes, some do.” ---
**Author:** ![Molesworth\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Molesworth\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molesworth_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/175 "2011-10-03T17:48:38Z")
Straight male who is (very) attracted to female bodybuilders. Everywhere you look there are curves you simply don’t see on 99% of women. Yes, it can be a bit cartoonish, but I find it hot as hell. OTOH, most pictures of catwalk models look (IMHO) like a marginally pretty face has been photoshopped onto an Auschwitz survivor. Kate Moss is a prime example of this; she has the body of a lanky and awkward teenaged boy suffering from anorexia, but she still makes millions. I don’t get that. At all. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/176 "2011-10-03T18:30:53Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I doubt that it’s possible for anyone, whether you’re a bodybuilding fan or not, to just look at, say, [this](http://www.submitproductratings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/muscular-secrets.jpg) and declare whether that body is the result of steroid use. Hell, the guy in the middle of the picture I linked to earlier could have been on steroids for all we know. Steroids aren’t magic goo that miraculously give you huge muscles without having to work out at all. So when people say they aren’t attracted to “steroid muscles” or whatever they’re referring to the insanely huge muscles that their owners almost definitely required steroids to obtain. Otherwise you could find a picture of some weedy little guy who you know has taken steroids and declare “See! You’re attracted to steroid-enhanced bodies!” I agree. But the poster I was responding to had titled her post “I voted no to being attractd to bodybuilders” (or something close to that). My point in everything I was saying (and posting) was that she actually IS attracted to bodybuilders, even _un-natural_ (steroid-abusing) ones. Like **Argent Towers** has repeatedly pointed out, bodybuilders are only freaky, veiny, dry, 2% bodyfat, tan monsters when they are competing and when they are _on stage._ The rest of the time, they look like _normal people._ ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/177 "2011-10-03T21:42:06Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I agree. But the poster I was responding to had titled her post “I voted no to being attractd to bodybuilders” (or something close to that). My point in everything I was saying (and posting) was that she actually IS attracted to bodybuilders, even _un-natural_ (steroid-abusing) ones. Like **Argent Towers** has repeatedly pointed out, bodybuilders are only freaky, veiny, dry, 2% bodyfat, tan monsters when they are competing and when they are _on stage._ The rest of the time, they look like _normal people._ Competition form is what characterizes the idea of “bodybuilder”. Off season, they are just big burly guys. The same effect can be achieved through genetics, or just good old fashioned physical labor and a healthy appetite. The difference in body and even face between seasons can be extremely dramatic. They look completely different. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/178 "2011-10-04T00:36:25Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I agree. But the poster I was responding to had titled her post “I voted no to being attractd to bodybuilders” (or something close to that). My point in everything I was saying (and posting) was that she actually IS attracted to bodybuilders, even _un-natural_ (steroid-abusing) ones. Like **Argent Towers** has repeatedly pointed out, bodybuilders are only freaky, veiny, dry, 2% bodyfat, tan monsters when they are competing and when they are _on stage._ The rest of the time, they look like _normal people._ You know what? There’s no point in arguing with you because you’re determined to tell me what I like while completely ignoring the rest of my original post. Normally, I like lanky guys, but muscular ones are okay. Really muscular? It depends. I don’t generally go after bodybuilder types because 1) I’m not terrifically comfortable with the idea of sleeping with any of them and 2) they’re usually borderline retarded IME, and that’s a huge turnoff. Normal people, my ass. The average competitive bodybuilder has larger muscles than the average non-bodybuilder can achieve via hard labor, and powerlifters tend to look even more different than bodybuilders. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/179 "2011-10-04T00:47:11Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > [this](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168017_115095928562275_100001856042956_117784_6892910_n.jpg) (the one on the right obviously) absolutely isn’t. Holy shit! That’s Jamie Ambivalid on the right?! Lol. I didnt know he did minstrel shows. ETA: love the expression on Jamie’s face. Absolutely priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067/180 "2011-10-04T05:26:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > When will competitive body builders break the barrier..the “clothing barrier”? > Do they ever pose nekkid?:eek: Depends, if you’re talking about the roid freaks, they’d be crazy too – I believe steroids make your nads shrink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-attracted-to-competitive-bodybuilders/597067.md?page=10)