Are you attracted to competitive bodybuilders?

[PunditLisa]

@Ambivalid

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.

Gosh, I thought it took months of lifting to develop those huge muscles, and dieting to achieve the 0% body fat look. I guess they use a muscle pump to inflate their muscles right before they go on stage, so that they can deflate them and look like a “normal guy” once they step off stage.

[Meatros]

@PunditLisa

Gosh, I thought it took months of lifting to develop those huge muscles, and dieting to achieve the 0% body fat look. I guess they use a muscle pump to inflate their muscles right before they go on stage, so that they can deflate them and look like a “normal guy” once they step off stage.

I’m not sure that’s fair to Ambivalid. If you take a lightweight or a bodybuilder around 190 lbs and you catch that guy on the offseason, clothed, I’m not sure how you would differentiate him. It would be like seeing Christian Bale on the street - you wouldn’t think he was a professional bodybuilder who, once a year (or so), dieted down to 4% body fat, would you? You might think ‘this guy definitely works out’.

The heavyweight pros are a different story entirely and Ambivalid acknowledged that upthread.

[Telemark]

@PunditLisa

Gosh, I thought it took months of lifting to develop those huge muscles, and dieting to achieve the 0% body fat look. I guess they use a muscle pump to inflate their muscles right before they go on stage, so that they can deflate them and look like a “normal guy” once they step off stage.

With a healthy layer of fat over the muscles, and wearing normal clothes, they simply look like athletic men and women. The difference is striking. Lots of people have muscles, very few diet to the point you can see them.

[PunditLisa]

@Meatros

I’m not sure that’s fair to Ambivalid. If you take a lightweight or a bodybuilder around 190 lbs and you catch that guy on the offseason, clothed, I’m not sure how you would differentiate him.

I used to live across the street from former body builders. They hadn’t lifted competitively in over 5 years. She looked completely normal. Matt looked like a retired linebacker. In his prime, he bench pressed over 400 pounds, IIRC. (It was enough that my husband, who was into non-competitive weightlifting was blown away. At his max, my husband could only bench 250 pounds.) When I knew him, Matt was around 250-275 lbs and most of his muscle had turned to fat. Physically, he looked a lot like Gilad from ESPN, but with about 100 extra pounds.

[ultrafilter]

@PunditLisa

@Meatros

I’m not sure that’s fair to Ambivalid. If you take a lightweight or a bodybuilder around 190 lbs and you catch that guy on the offseason, clothed, I’m not sure how you would differentiate him.

I used to live across the street from former body builders. They hadn’t lifted competitively in over 5 years. She looked completely normal. Matt looked like a retired linebacker. In his prime, he bench pressed over 400 pounds, IIRC. (It was enough that my husband, who was into non-competitive weightlifting was blown away. At his max, my husband could only bench 250 pounds.) When I knew him, Matt was around 250-275 lbs and most of his muscle had turned to fat. Physically, he looked a lot like Gilad from ESPN, but with about 100 extra pounds.

Sounds like he wasn’t a lightweight then. What point were you trying to make here?

[Ambivalid]

@PunditLisa

I used to live across the street from former body builders. They hadn’t lifted competitively in over 5 years. She looked completely normal. Matt looked like a retired linebacker. In his prime, he bench pressed over 400 pounds, IIRC. (It was enough that my husband, who was into non-competitive weightlifting was blown away. At his max, my husband could only bench 250 pounds.) When I knew him, Matt was around 250-275 lbs and most of his muscle had turned to fat. Physically, he looked a lot like Gilad from ESPN, but with about 100 extra pounds.

This is somewhat off topic, but muscle cannot turn into fat. Muscle can atrophy and waste away and then you can gain fat but muscle tissue itself can not turn into fat tissue.

[Guinastasia]

@kenobi_65

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.”

The phrase “dicktoris” comes to mind.

[Chicagojeff]

@AClockworkMelon

I doubt that it’s possible for anyone, whether you’re a bodybuilding fan or not, to just look at, say, this 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!”

Being reasonable.. “reasonable” being that we’re not talking about some 18yr old kid who got a cycle of bol and never even went to the gym.. People in the business can to a high percentage know who’s using and who isn’t and usually what stack they’re using. It’s comparative to a professional guitarist listening to anothers solo and being able to say to a high degree what guitar and setup was probably used.

[Chicagojeff]

@PunditLisa

I used to live across the street from former body builders. They hadn’t lifted competitively in over 5 years. She looked completely normal. Matt looked like a retired linebacker. In his prime, he bench pressed over 400 pounds, IIRC. (It was enough that my husband, who was into non-competitive weightlifting was blown away. At his max, my husband could only bench 250 pounds.) When I knew him, Matt was around 250-275 lbs and most of his muscle had turned to fat. Physically, he looked a lot like Gilad from ESPN, but with about 100 extra pounds.

400?? Seriously?? Was he an actual carded pro? Their are kids here in GA high schools regularly doing 400. My partner at work Kyle who played at Carson Newman.. his max is 550..
I think they dilemma here is that its an eewy kind of existence and most people don’t get the subcategories.. their’s Gregg Plitt http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2SN7til3Z2U/S7GBuM3gv2I/AAAAAAAACcY/-4BR2Utd45U/s1600/GregPlitt-IM-Neveux-438.jpg who cuts for training and magazine covers.. and then their’s Ronnie Coleman.. who’s strictly for the stage (and some covers of Flex)

So i can see some women being attracted to Plitt when he’s not in full cut mode.. but generally Jay and Ronnie and Branch and gonna look like freaking monsters off season too..

[Meatros]

@Chicagojeff

400?? Seriously?? Was he an actual carded pro? Their are kids here in GA high schools regularly doing 400. My partner at work Kyle who played at Carson Newman.. his max is 550.

I agree, it sounds low, but it’s not outrageously low or anything. I know a few people who are pretty big who have bad levers and don’t do the bench press anymore. The amount of weight someone can press as compared to the amount of muscle they have can be deceiving. This is anecdotal, and I have no cite (consequently it could be wrong) but I remember reading that Broc Lesner benches something like 455, which seems low for the amount of mass he has.

To take a different lift - the deadlift -Eric Cressey looks in shape, but not overly muscular. He competes at 185 IIRC and his deadlift is near 700 lbs. Arnold on the other hand is “huge” and at his powerlifting peak deadlifted 700 lbs, IIRC.

[LikePriest]

OK old probably dead post but just saying. Male here. Ever since I can remember I have had a fascination with competitive bodybuilders both male and female.

From a visual perspective alone I find the kind of extreme development one sees in bodybuilding competitions arousing and even sensual. Not so much about strength, just delight in beauty of muscle.

It’s a personal taste - some can’t imagine liking that, some can’t imagine not liking it. No point in criticising the athletes themselves or what they take to look that way.

It’s the way I am

[Whiskey_Dickens]

Asking if competitive body builders are attractive is like asking if a Top Fuel dragster would make a good car. Of course not. The intention is to find the pinnacle of the sport, not provide useful transportation or successful sexual attraction.

Also, given that the demographic of the Dope tends to skew a bit to the spongy/pasty end of the spectrum, you may not have a representative population for your poll.

ETA: Whoops, totally missed that this was a zombie!

[drewder]

female fitness models are attractive, body builders on the other hand aren’t

[jayjay]

@Whiskey_Dickens

Also, given that the demographic of the Dope tends to skew a bit to the spongy/pasty end of the spectrum, you may not have a representative population for your poll.

ETA: Whoops, totally missed that this was a zombie!

Yeah, we were NOWHERE NEAR this pasty/spongy back then!

ETA: Well, I was, I guess. Can’t speak for the other old-timers…

[Emiliana]

I was so sure that Kinky Escort had resurrected this thread.