Bodybuilding: a Sport or Vanity - Research Paper Example

Is Bodybuilding a Sport or Vanity? Name: Institution: Date: Is bodybuilding a sport or vanity? Abstract Bodybuilding has been criticized by people who see it as vanity rather than sport. Body builders commit their time and resources to enhance their body appearance through building of muscles. Enhancing one’s appearance to boost self-esteem seems to be the main reason that pushes many people to start bodybuilding exercises. The vanity element is promoted when unlimited time is allocated to bodybuilding at the expense of other activities. Admiring the body so much at the expense of relationship with God and other people promote bodybuilding carrying the vanity tag. Bodybuilding has to be done in moderation to boost physical appearance that benefits one’s fitness and good health. Increasing self-confidence and self-esteem can be pointed out as some of the benefits of bodybuilding. Piling muscles for no apparent reason that is extreme borders on vanity. The disposition of a person and the way he works out determines whether bodybuilding is in vain or not. Many participants and experts believe that bodybuilding cannot be classified as a sport for absence of standard parameters that are also applied in other sports like athletics. This paper looks at bodybuilding looking at whether it qualifies as a sport and whether the vanity tag comes in. the introduction sets the stage for the debate while the conclusion ends with the call for moderation in bodybuilding. The discussion explores bodybuilding extensively. Introduction In the modern world, there are so many people who are of the view that bodybuilding is not a real sport and that bodybuilders cannot be classified as real athletes as it is purportedly done since they do not display any skills in their competition. Being on the stage to show off toned and muscular bodies is not a sport. Weight lifting to attain muscles and other workouts help someone to relieve stress. It is a fact that bodybuilding is not a sport as scholars and participants agree. Posing one’s muscles in contests in front of a panel of judges is neither athletic nor sport. The difficulty of doing some things in bodybuilding does not translate it to being a sport. Athletics and athletes need power, strength, agility, balance, aerobic capacity, speed and proprioception (Wolf, 2011). Speed particularly is important to athletes but this does not apply to bodybuilding during competitions. There a difference between a bodybuilder and a hockey player. Taking action about ones appearance increases the self-confidence of a person. Athletes are not allowed to use certain supplements and asteroids which are used by some bodybuilders. This paper explores the controversies that surround bodybuilding and the thin line that borders on vanity and whether it is a sport or not. Discussion Bodybuilding is the application of progressive resistance exercise in order to develop and control musculature. A person who takes part in such an activity is called a bodybuilder. Bodybuilders come on stage to perform specified poses in lineups but later perform individual poses in front of a panel of judges who rank competitors applying criteria such as muscularity, conditioning, and symmetry. Displaying and performing body poses on the stage may not constitute a sport. There is nothing bad with wanting to look good but being obsessed by how one’s looks and people perception about his appearance is the vanity part of bodybuilding. Therefore, it is accurate to conclude that there is some element of vanity in bodybuilding since most people who opt for it are in one way or another dissatisfied with the way they appear (Chandler, Cronin, & Vamplew, 2007). They want to do something about their body appearance and look good. Spending so much time to push the standards of bodybuilding beyond the limits of normal working out contributes to the vanity tag that is associated with bodybuilding. The vanity part has to be managed in moderation before destroying the life of the person involved and making it like an idol (Houdmann, 2013). The confidence exuded by the bodybuilder can go beyond the reason for working out. A man being obsessed with his appearance does not augur well with women and many other groups’ perceptions in the society. Women believe they are the ones to spend more time in front of the mirror dressing up and applying makeup and not men. People on the extreme side of the controversy view bodybuilding as a dysfunctional sport that represents pure vanity. Consequently working has to be with a clear purpose and not promoting obsession with one’s looks and body strength (Russell, 2006). The vanity of building is determined by the person who is working out and the purpose of him working out. Working out just to improve an individual physical appearance is not bad. The hype that people give about appearance and looks make some body builders to feel so much full of themselves to the extent of promoting the vanity tag (Wolf, 2011). Professional bodybuilding cannot be considered as a sport. The contestants only compete amongst themselves and this cannot qualify it as a sport. Early bodybuilding entailed few components, agility test, a strength test, and the aesthetic portion of the contest. Modern competitions only comprises of the aesthetic portion in the judgment which compares closely to what is done in the beauty contests by women. These contests do not comprise of a sport. A four year-study that was carried out in Mecca-Southern California on bodybuilding revealed a basic set of discrepancies between what is projected as ideal by the subculture and actually takes place. The differences are studied to determine which ones come from changes that have taken place in bodybuilding and which one are structural to it. Body building should be a source of motivation for people who engage in it since they want to compete with other participants. The problem arises when people become so much obsessed with their looks or glorify their own looks (Banawich).  Bodybuilding can be an interesting sport when people who participate in it take part with the sole reason of competition and showcasing their talents. Loving the body physique so much due to accumulated muscles and spending unlimited time on working out at the expense of other economic activities makes bodybuilding to be vanity. Nevertheless, the physical body can also impact on one’s spirituality (Houdmann, 2013). Maintaining a physical fit body is good for anyone. Bodybuilding results into improved body composition; it leads to low fat that leads to reduction in chances of lifestyle threatening diseases. Changing the way somebody looks can hugely increase the self-esteem of a person and enhance self-confidence. Taking small steps towards attaining the kind of body that one requires trains his endurance and patience as well as cultivating hard work and commitment. Competition is a good avenue where people can apply for transforming themselves; and even their entire lives. Improving someone looks is an important step towards attaining enhanced self-esteem. Achieving a bodybuilder’s physique is not easy. It takes a great amount of stamina, skill and practice to be able to build muscles as well as come on stage and display the muscles in different poses (Lambert, Frank & Evens, 2004). Performing various poses displayed by bodybuilders is not an easy task and a lot of training and commitment take place. Bodybuilding is a sport if it is adhered to following the basic principles of the game. The fact of bodybuilding being sport or vanity depends on the person who is practicing bodybuilding and how he carries himself around. What bodybuilders do, takes a lot of determination and strength. They have to train daily and observe carefully their diet or nutrition. Being a little loving towards self is not bad. People want to appear good because they want to feel good. There is a thin line between working out to enhance one’s appearance and being obsessed with one’s looks. The latter promote vanity when it comes to bodybuilding. When bodybuilding becomes an addiction or an obsession, it becomes unhealthy and promotes the vanity perspective. Excess bodybuilding can reach a point where there is no any meaning in piling up excess muscles. This is vanity that encourages one’s obsession with oneself. Striving for the purpose of gaining bigger and stronger muscles in extreme becomes pure vanity (Russell, 2006). When one’s physical appearance of an individual become important than his relationship with others and God then it becomes an idol. It should not be that it is the most important thing for an individual in the world. Whoever is working out to enhance his or her physical appearance has to be carefully that it does not turn into an obsession with ones looks which is vanity. Some people do not see anything being displayed in bodybuilding rather than vanity and self-gratification. A male bodybuilder spends a long time and hard work making up a huge, muscular body for the reason of shaving up and waxing it to show it off in front of other people in a contest who determine who has the most defined and biggest muscles. It may resemble a beauty contest but in this case muscles are on display instead of women elegant bodies. This is what makes many people think that bodybuilders and beauty contests are sinful, vain, and a revolution against God’s own creation (Pupka, et al, 2009). It is not sinful to look after one’s body well but being too much concerned about one’s appearance and looks may not be good and will affect the relationship with God and other people. It is good to stay in shape and have a good body for one’s health advantage. But this does not mean spending unlimited amount of effort and time to develop a body that is not appropriate to any service. Bodybuilders spend a lot of time building muscles that they come to show off to other people. Such activity does not contribute to solving daily challenges and problems experienced by human beings or improving lives. It is of essence to look at the motivation when considering the moral consequences of bodybuilding. Competitions are a source of motivation for improvement in spite of the activity or sport, and when bodybuilding is viewed from this angle it will be morally acceptable. Nevertheless, it is important to be keen so as not to cross the line of vanity. If an individual does bodybuilding as a sport; that is, views it that way, allocate reasonable time available, does not make use of supplements that are harmful or anabolic steroids, intelligently trains so as to avoid damage to ligaments, joints, and other body parts, and is not obsessed in the manner that he appears, then this does not appear to vanity at all (Chandler, Cronin, & Vamplew, 2007). Meeting this criterion has become difficult to many people who indulge in the sport hence bringing the tag of vanity and being obsessed without one’s body. Competition and improving one’s appearance should be the motivation underlying bodybuilding. Bodybuilders who are serious dress modestly both outside the gym and inside the gym, and not specifically to attract attention. People who promote vanity in bodybuilding are so much obsessed with their looks and dress so that people will notice them. Bodybuilding is a regimen of exercises specifically designed to promote human body’s muscular development and enhance general fitness and health. Bodybuilding as a competitive activity targets to display in artistic fashion pronounced muscle symmetry, mass, and overall aesthetic effect. In many other sports, the body and the mind are trained to overcome and meet certain challenges, and the training is normally designed to enhance practical performance and capacity on the track, field or arena. However, in bodybuilding the agenda is not to enhance practical speed, endurance, or strength, but to enhance development of sheer muscle mass (Rivera, 2009). Bodybuilders are not usually strong and some of the strongest men with dazzling strength are smaller as compared to bodybuilders since their kind of training is to attain practical strength. Some people argue that modeling and bodybuilding can be sinful depending on the disposition of the individuals or his character. If a person is so obsessed about his body, then he should avoid bodybuilding completely. Someone who is not obsessed about his looks and thanks God for his appearance can do bodybuilding without allowing it to degenerate to the vanity stage (Rivera, 2009). God also want human being to take care of their bodies. It should be a theme of any participant in beauty contest or bodybuilding contest to understand that strength and beauty all come from God and for his glory. The people should appreciate that God gave them those bodies for His glory and not for them to glorify themselves. Bodybuilding cannot be this evil act as referred to by others if the people involved use the prescribed approach (Houdmann, 2013). Taking care of one’s body is different from pushing the body beyond limits for some impractical purpose. The years and years of training should have a clear purpose. Enhancing someone’s appearance should not be the centre stage of the daily life of person. Confidence building and health maintaining is a good for someone without being overly obsessed about appearance. Bodybuilding cannot be vanity when it is done in moderation to improve a person’s physical appearance. Conclusion Moderation has to govern the approach towards weightlifting or bodybuilding. Piling up muscles and being pushed to the level of using steroids make bodybuilding to be a vanity affair with a little sense of purpose. Physical training to look good is not in bad taste. Good looks and a good body enhance self-confidence and self-esteem. Physical fitness is important and everyone should strive to be physically fit for his own good. Vanity in body building comes in when people are so much taken up with the way they look and will go to greater lengths to ensure that they maintain high muscles on their bodies. Physical fitness program designed to improve the appearance of a person is a good idea. However, people should not spend seventy five percent of their time working out and admiring their bodies. Being concerned about the physical condition of one’s body is in good faith. One has to boost his appearance and enhance his personal esteem. This has to have a limit and, therefore, done in moderation. When bodybuilding is taken to great extremes it becomes some kind of an idol. This is where vanity in bodybuilding is promoted. A little vanity which is directed towards a positive goal can be constructive to the welfare of the society and individuals development. References Banawich, T. The 30 lies of bodybuilding, retrieved from: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/30lies.htm#top on 29th May 30, 2013. Chandler, T.J.L., Cronin, M. & Vamplew, W. (2007). Sport and Physical Education: The Key Concepts, London: Routledge. Houdmann, M. (2013). How a Christian view bodybuilding/weightlifting, retrieved from: http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-bodybuilding.html on 29th May, 2013. Lambert, C.; Frank, L, & Evens, W. (2004). Macronutrients considerations for the sport of bodybuilding, Sports Med, 39 (5): 317–327. Pupka, A; Sikora J, Mauricz J, Cios D, Płonek T. (2009). The usage of synthol in the body building". Polim Med. (in Polish) 39 (1): 63–5. Rivera, H. (2009). Bodybuilding FAQ-Is Bodybuilding a real sport and are bodybuilders athletes? Retrieved from: http://bodybuilding.about.com/b/2009/01/08/bodybuilding-faq-is-bodybuilding-a-real-sport-and-are-bodybuilders-athletes.htm on 29th May 29, 2013. Russell, M. (2006). Is bodybuilding a sport? Retrieved from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Bodybuilding-A-Sport?&id=218082 on 29th May 29, 2013. Wolf, 2011, The myth of the un-athletic bodybuilder, retrieved from: http://evilcyber.com/fitness/myth-unathletic-bodybuilder/ on 29th May 30, 2013. Read More

Displaying and performing body poses on the stage may not constitute a sport. There is nothing bad with wanting to look good but being obsessed by how one’s looks and people perception about his appearance is the vanity part of bodybuilding. Therefore, it is accurate to conclude that there is some element of vanity in bodybuilding since most people who opt for it are in one way or another dissatisfied with the way they appear (Chandler, Cronin, & Vamplew, 2007). They want to do something about their body appearance and look good.

Spending so much time to push the standards of bodybuilding beyond the limits of normal working out contributes to the vanity tag that is associated with bodybuilding. The vanity part has to be managed in moderation before destroying the life of the person involved and making it like an idol (Houdmann, 2013). The confidence exuded by the bodybuilder can go beyond the reason for working out. A man being obsessed with his appearance does not augur well with women and many other groups’ perceptions in the society.

Women believe they are the ones to spend more time in front of the mirror dressing up and applying makeup and not men. People on the extreme side of the controversy view bodybuilding as a dysfunctional sport that represents pure vanity. Consequently working has to be with a clear purpose and not promoting obsession with one’s looks and body strength (Russell, 2006). The vanity of building is determined by the person who is working out and the purpose of him working out. Working out just to improve an individual physical appearance is not bad.

The hype that people give about appearance and looks make some body builders to feel so much full of themselves to the extent of promoting the vanity tag (Wolf, 2011). Professional bodybuilding cannot be considered as a sport. The contestants only compete amongst themselves and this cannot qualify it as a sport. Early bodybuilding entailed few components, agility test, a strength test, and the aesthetic portion of the contest. Modern competitions only comprises of the aesthetic portion in the judgment which compares closely to what is done in the beauty contests by women.

These contests do not comprise of a sport. A four year-study that was carried out in Mecca-Southern California on bodybuilding revealed a basic set of discrepancies between what is projected as ideal by the subculture and actually takes place. The differences are studied to determine which ones come from changes that have taken place in bodybuilding and which one are structural to it. Body building should be a source of motivation for people who engage in it since they want to compete with other participants.

The problem arises when people become so much obsessed with their looks or glorify their own looks (Banawich).  Bodybuilding can be an interesting sport when people who participate in it take part with the sole reason of competition and showcasing their talents. Loving the body physique so much due to accumulated muscles and spending unlimited time on working out at the expense of other economic activities makes bodybuilding to be vanity. Nevertheless, the physical body can also impact on one’s spirituality (Houdmann, 2013).

Maintaining a physical fit body is good for anyone. Bodybuilding results into improved body composition; it leads to low fat that leads to reduction in chances of lifestyle threatening diseases. Changing the way somebody looks can hugely increase the self-esteem of a person and enhance self-confidence. Taking small steps towards attaining the kind of body that one requires trains his endurance and patience as well as cultivating hard work and commitment. Competition is a good avenue where people can apply for transforming themselves; and even their entire lives.

Improving someone looks is an important step towards attaining enhanced self-esteem. Achieving a bodybuilder’s physique is not easy. It takes a great amount of stamina, skill and practice to be able to build muscles as well as come on stage and display the muscles in different poses (Lambert, Frank & Evens, 2004).

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