The #1 Reason Why Bodybuilding Isn't Popular

[Ruhlfreak55]

To the first part I bolded;

Because those “dumb and pathetic alcoholics” are the ones who PAY…

Why does Conor make millions and millions per fight, even when on a losing streak? Because he sells the fight, and all those pathetic dummies PAY for the PPV’s..

That’s why bodybuilders should care, otherwise, they stop bitching that BBing isn’t popular and the prize money is dog shit..

Very few people make a comfortable living in the industry…

To the 2nd bolded part;

You must have not seen a BBer in regular clothes… Unless Nick Walker or Hunter Lebrada etc are in swim trunks on a beach or on stage, they look like morons walking down the street or at a nice restaurant or outing etc…

BBers love to mistake stares of aw and freak factor with someone enjoying what they’re seeing…

No one cares for more than 5 seconds and the whole 5 seconds 99% of people think it’s disgusting…

Also, it’s easy for a bunch of you who do this as a hobby to say “who cares if it’s mainstream, I love it.. Hardcore underground forever!” Blah Blah Blah..

Yea bro, you don’t make a living off this… It’s pretty sad to see someone put their health on the line for a BS $400k that’s really like $200k after taxes…

$200k to be the best in the world?? Lmfao… What a joke…

I'm not discounting most of what you're saying. What I'M saying is that my behavior will NEVER change a single iota to please the pathetic masses.

 

[Performance Based]

Interesting conversation here - speaking candidly I would not classify bodybuilding a sport. An art, absolutely. Sport? Absolutely not.

Art and beauty is in the eye perceiving. A sport requires a level of physicality and skill.

I just don’t see being incredibly large and gasping for air any time you have to walk up some stairs as an athlete. I went down this road heavily from 2010-2013; speaking candidly it stemmed from my own personal insecurities and mental health. At the time before my health spiraled out of control I sincerely thought I was in excellent shape. On my best day I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with my training as of now. Isolation lifts and minimal cardio just isn’t difficult.

Bodybuilders are usually some of the kindest folk you’ll meet - I just see a majority coming from where I did. Struggling with how the world perceives them and spiraling out of control with their health and drug abuse.

This coupled with the droves of old and new school guys we see u fortunately passing away I really think has turned a lot off from the sport.

 

[get it in ya]

The fact of the matter is most of the population is beyond pathetic in a million ways. They can't achieve much of anything because they have no discipline or work ethic, they drink most nights of the week (literally poisoning themselves for zero benefit) and they let others control their entire lives. So why would we care if "most of the population" deems anything pretty dumb?

I've never seen anyone so big they "look like an idiot" btw. That's an interesting and absurd statement.

Look at the the picture of first post in this thread

 

[FK86]

Look at the picture of first post in this thread

Or these

 

[qbkilla]

99% of people are either too timid or too lazy to make up their own mind about what is valuable or worthwhile.

I would agree with this people are essentially sheep who follow what they are told to think, believe is right or wrong, but not when it comes to what they think looks good or is valuable.

Many guys have a thing for asian girls, or girls with glasses, neither does anything for me and I don't pretend to like them. Soccer is the world most popular sport, many people (most of the USA) pays it no attention. Rap/hip-hop/mainstrem music is what all the celebs and masses listen to and is played at the Super Bowl, me and my friends who can't stand it have no problem telling people we cant.

Basically, people just don't find being 300lbs muscle cool or attractive because they don't, not because others aren't into it.

 

[qbkilla]

Interesting conversation here - speaking candidly I would not classify bodybuilding a sport. An art, absolutely. Sport? Absolutely not.

Art and beauty is in the eye perceiving. A sport requires a level of physicality and skill.

I just don’t see being incredibly large and gasping for air any time you have to walk up some stairs as an athlete. I went down this road heavily from 2010-2013; speaking candidly it stemmed from my own personal insecurities and mental health. At the time before my health spiraled out of control I sincerely thought I was in excellent shape. On my best day I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with my training as of now. Isolation lifts and minimal cardio just isn’t difficult.

Bodybuilders are usually some of the kindest folk you’ll meet - I just see a majority coming from where I did. Struggling with how the world perceives them and spiraling out of control with their health and drug abuse.

This coupled with the droves of old and new school guys we see u fortunately passing away I really think has turned a lot off from the sport.

It definitely isn't a sport (missed this post). I am a huge sports fan but don't follow bodybuilding.

Not being able to continue in sports (couldn't make the college team) was actually the reason I got into lifting serious. I played baseball, but got to a point where I couldn't keep up, needed something to be my new hobby because there is no point in playing baseball or football as an adult if your not doing it college pro (some will disagree but im not going to be that 40 year old guy who tore his ACL playing flag football with the kids). I guess beer leave softball could be fun but id rather just spend the time hitting the gym, looking good. But when it comes to the TV or what im going to argue on Facebook, its sports not bodybuilding. When I drive in my car, its on sports radio.

 

[totalrecomp]

Well I know one thing that hurts the "popularity" of BBing: The fact that no one is more negative about it than the so called "fans."


I for one don't want guys acting like fools because it whips up other fools into an interest frenzy. The last thing we need as a species is more negative knob shines running their GD mouths.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

I think you all have this perception of bodybuilding being unpopular because of your age. This forum is full of old gen Xers. Late millenials and zoomers all knows bodybuilding, it's incredibly mainstream even among non-lifters. But you guys are in your old-guy bubbles and probably have limited interaction with these cohorts.

 

[qbkilla]

I think you all have this perception of bodybuilding being unpopular because of your age. This forum is full of old gen Xers. Late millenials and zoomers all knows bodybuilding, it's incredibly mainstream even among non-lifters. But you guys are in your old-guy bubbles and probably have limited interaction with these cohorts.

So your saying the opposite of what everyone's is saying, bodybuilding is becoming more popular over the years?

 

[VaginaBoob89]

So your saying the opposite of what everyone's is saying, bodybuilding is becoming more popular over the years?

Yes. People might argue that because it's not on television/ESPN anymore it's not popular, but this fundamentally ignores how younger generations consume entertainment media vs older generations. TV is for old-cels, the relevant 18-35 year old demographic only watches stuff on youtube/instagram/tiktok/social media etc and there are a gazillion more eyes on bodybuilding content than in the 1990s.

How many competitors at the local show in 1983 vs 2022? How many olympia viewers? How much $ coming from sponsorships and coaching? BBing is so popular that it's never been a better time to be a bber, supplement huckster, or coach than ever before.

You guys saying "bodybuilding isn't popular" are just mad b/c the attention is less focused on men's open. Among young people, there are innummerably more "non competitive" bodybuilders who live the life and are trying to get jacked than when I was a teenager. And nearly all of them are very aware of the competitive scene; just their attention isn't as much on the 300lb offseason guys.

 

[Othello]

Or these

Nasser looking like senator Armstrong lol

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Yes. People might argue that because it's not on television/ESPN anymore it's not popular, but this fundamentally ignores how younger generations consume entertainment media vs older generations. TV is for old-cels, the relevant 18-35 year old demographic only watches stuff on youtube/instagram/tiktok/social media etc and there are a gazillion more eyes on bodybuilding content than in the 1990s.

How many competitors at the local show in 1983 vs 2022? How many olympia viewers? How much $ coming from sponsorships and coaching? BBing is so popular that it's never been a better time to be a bber, supplement huckster, or coach than ever before.

You guys saying "bodybuilding isn't popular" are just mad b/c the attention is less focused on men's open. Among young people, there are innummerably more "non competitive" bodybuilders who live the life and are trying to get jacked than when I was a teenager. And nearly all of them are very aware of the competitive scene; just their attention isn't as much on the 300lb offseason guys.

Is it really that big now? I see what you're getting at and have noticed the shift to cell, web-based and streaming. My god. I don't even watch TV anymore either. I'm plugged in every waking hour. And my son and daughters definitely don't use traditional cable TV. Definitely an interesting take. Frankly, I don't know whether to be pleased or concerned. LOL

Edit: I'm pleased. They're going to have to be computer literate in the future.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

Is it really that big now? I see what you're getting at and have noticed the shift to cell, web-based and streaming. My god. I don't even watch TV anymore either. I'm plugged in every waking hour. And my son and daughters definitely don't use traditional cable TV. Definitely an interesting take. Frankly, I don't know whether to be pleased or concerned. LOL

Edit: I'm pleased. They're going to have to be computer literate in the future.

Yes. A lot of what we're debating here is semantic. Is men's open bodybuilding as popular as before? Do more people as a % of the population know who Big Ramy is in 2022 when compared to Phil Heath in 2011 or Dorian in 96? I think the answer could really go either way, and if you measure bodybuilding's popularity in this way, you *might* come to the conclusion that its losing popularity. But that's a ridiculous way of measuring popularity that only the most zealous of purists would possibly employ. If you went around and asked normie gym women in their 20s who do some glute isolation exercises and hip thrusts along with various machines if they know who Chris Bumstead is, I'm betting the % is far higher than most dudes in this thread would have guessed.

But when you add in everything else in terms of actual shows/competitive bodybuilidng with all the other divions, omg it's exploding in terms of both spectators and competitors as a % of the population. And when you add in the category of "guys and gals who want to look jacked and muscular but don't neccessarily want to get on stage or want to pursue sports adjacent to bodybuilding such as powerlifting", then bbing has absolutely exploded. More men are getting black pilled and realizing that their physical appearance is basically the number one determinant to their romantic success, particularly when they are the youngest and horniest, and they are responding by entering gyms in droves attempting to improve themselves. Maybe a lower % of guys in gyms can actually bench 2 plates compared to 1996 when going to the gym at all was only something a relatively more hardcore demographic would do in the first place, but as a portion of the general population I'm sure tons more people are going to the gym and lifting seriously/regularly compared to before.
Social media culture, vanity, self branding, image projecting, and wanting to broadcast one's identity are fueling a huge increase in people interested in both competitive and non-competitive bodybuilding. Admittedly a smaller % of the attention is on top men's olympia bodybuilders, but is this really a bad thing? Accessibility might be a good thing in terms of health, approachability, and inclusiveness (within reason, we don't want some of the "literally no muscles" divisions cropping up. they have a few of these in China and other East Asian countries).

And none of this is to mention the growth of bodybuilding outside of the anglosphere. Ask somebody like @luki, Chen Kang, Lu Chen Hui, or Coach Abdullah what they think of bodybuilding's decline in popularity. They'll either look at you confused or laugh in your face. And is concentration of bodybuilding in the anglosphere a good thing? Forget the anglosphere, really just America... I'd argue "no". Why the fuck couldn't we have an Olympia in Egypt/China/Thailand? We used to have them in other countries, I think gravitating toward an American centric pageant/sport is overall bad, honestly. Look at how insane the UK bodybuilding scene is developing its own identity and interesting characteristics. They are so focused on optimizing TRAINING, enjoying the process of training, and putting that in the forefront over competing, drugs, or even nutrition. Everyone carries a logbook and it's normal to give logbooks as gifts. BBing is spreading across the world and its culture is diversifying in the same way BJJ did and this is causing further refinement of the process of bodybuilding making it just better and more efficient and discarding some of the stuff that was done ritualistically in the past but perhaps wasn't actually optimal. Having it spread to other places and other cultures with different and fresh perspectives allows for more in the trenches empirical insights to develop that advance the sport overall.

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

I would say there's something to this if you include everything. But to me bodybuilding IS the open. The other stuff barely qualifies, and I definitely don't aspire (and never have) to this "aesthetic" bullshit that the classic people get off on. And bikini...yea sorry that's not bodybuilding.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

I would say there's something to this if you include everything. But to me bodybuilding IS the open. The other stuff barely qualifies, and I definitely don't aspire (and never have) to this "aesthetic" bullshit that the classic people get off on. And bikini...yea sorry that's not bodybuilding.

This is a reasonable perspective in a way, even if I personally consider it elitist it is at least consistent with reality. But then compare 1993 Milos Sarcev with some of the shots of Chen Kang in his 2022 prep or George Peterson （RIP) when he was in classic division and tell me which one looks more "aesthetic" and which one is more men's open mass monster muscle freak looking.

But if we restrict bodybuilding to the open, then a lack of WWE ceremony and ritualism/hype is far from the main reason for the decline of men's open. It's simply because they got too big and a much smaller portion of normie women want to fuck Nick Walker vs the portion that want to fuck Urs/Breon/Cbum/etc, and thus the guys will want to look more like the top dawgs in classic rather than Nick Walker. (sorry for picking on nick as an example, I'm sure he has a shit ton of very hot groupies in the fitness/bbing community, I'm referring to normie women finding his look disgusting. Lots of hot fitness babes love it)

 

[qbkilla]

I would say there's something to this if you include everything. But to me bodybuilding IS the open. The other stuff barely qualifies, and I definitely don't aspire (and never have) to this "aesthetic" bullshit that the classic people get off on. And bikini...yea sorry that's not bodybuilding.

I tend to agree with this. Fitness is becoming more popular, so supplements are, and social media magnifies everything.

But I would be a perfect example I'm 185-190lbs in the am and eat 3k calories and use 400mg of AAS and go to the gym 5 days a week for years on end. I participate in bodybuilding forums to gain info how to improve my own body and follow well known guys on ig who I think have knowledge that I can use.

But I don't follow competitive bodybuilding, I know some names from reading the forums, and don't follow anyone on ig who isn't providing content I can use (meaning I don't follow anyone to track their physique).

Would people like me be counted as interested in bodybuilding? I would say no, but if we categorized people like me as "interested in bodybuilding" vs just guys who want to be massive, it would appear it is more popular.

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

This is a reasonable perspective in a way, even if I personally consider it elitist it is at least consistent with reality. But then compare 1993 Milos Sarcev with some of the shots of Chen Kang in his 2022 prep or George Peterson （RIP) when he was in classic division and tell me which one looks more "aesthetic" and which one is more men's open mass monster muscle freak looking.

But if we restrict bodybuilding to the open, then a lack of WWE ceremony and ritualism/hype is far from the main reason for the decline of men's open. It's simply because they got too big and a much smaller portion of normie women want to fuck Nick Walker vs the portion that want to fuck Urs/Breon/Cbum/etc, and thus the guys will want to look more like the top dawgs in classic rather than Nick Walker. (sorry for picking on nick as an example, I'm sure he has a shit ton of very hot groupies in the fitness/bbing community, I'm referring to normie women finding his look disgusting. Lots of hot fitness babes love it)

I mean as far as I'm aware pretty much no one wants to fuck me and I'm barely big at all so

 

[b-boy]

bb'in isnt a sport. at all....its a hot body contest for muscle fetishists...vast majority of people dont care for that look. if they did, strippers would be jacked...porn actors would be jacked....but nope. its a fetish thing.
and guys are more impressed by muscle men that chicks are. gimme 5'10 205 at 10 percent bf at 52 years old over some a these juiced up dudes any day. at least i can find clothes that still fit. physique guys are way better lookin than 250+ pound guys on stage all day.
plus i could never be that big anyway but it aint sour grapes!

Today's professionalmuscle ^^

 

[totalrecomp]

Today's professionalmuscle ^^

The level of crotchetiness and "get off my lawn" is certainly increasing lol.

BBing and fitness is changing but it absolutely is GROWING. BBing at heart is NOT going anywhere and all one has to do to see this simple fact is compare photos of women's physique from year one to now. Compare classic from year one to now. Compare even men's physique and bikini from the first year to now. People will always keep pushing for more. Every single category has kept pushing the limits of it's respective "standards." Muscle and those willing to chase it are NOT going anywhere and the BBing spirit is alive and well even if people don't recognize the current incarnation it has taken.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

I was away for some time and last year when I came back to the board, the entire conversation was by a bunch of would be underwear models (if they weren't so butt ugly) and HRT old men talking about their 7mg per day dick problems. Professional Muscle will never be that kind of board if I have anything to say about it...