Bodybuilding Image Appeal

I wrote earlier this week here about female body image and how I didn't agree that there was as much pressure on women to hold a certain body image like there has been in the past and that the incredibly skinny look of some models really isn't all that appealing to men.

This article came up that made we wonder about the opinion of women and how they viewed the abnormally muscular men that are in the bodybuilding world. Are they appealing, or not so much?

First, some things from the article. There was a bodybuilding contest among Belgian bodybuilders being held in the Netherlands and at the last minute some folks from the Anti-Doping organization showed up and the bodybuilders scattered like rats and it essentially canceled the contest.

This was pretty staggering (yet really not that shocking):

Last year, 22 of 29 tests were positive, either for steroids or for refusing testing, a failure rate of a staggering 75 percent.

And really, you don't get to that kind of size without the help of steroids. It's just not going to happen.

But it got me thinking about the images of bodybuilders today and bodybuilders of years ago. Here's a pic of Dennis Tinerino who was big on the bodybuilding front in the 1960s:



Now look at this...thing from our current era:



Which looks is more appealing and attractive?

I would even venture that a normal guy that is wanting to put on muscle and have the lean look would view the first picture as being a more desirable goal.

But the second image just looks freaky and it looks outright unhealthy.

And that's another solid point: Physical appearance on the extremes just do not look healthy.

Ladies, correct me if I'm wrong though in my assumption that the big, skies the limit look of a freaky bodybuilder look is what you're after because I'm just not seeing where you'd find that appealing.

www.leanbodyfitness.com
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Your Happy Weight

How many times have you looked at someone else and thought that you would love to have a body like him or her?

Have you every actually put your head on that body and imagined what you'd look like?

This article talk about what our ideal or "happy weight" is and how to determine and accept it.

There's five things that are listed:

1. Take into account when you're looking at your body things like your age, exercise habits, whether you've had kids are going to have an effect on your "happy weight." The link to the article also provides a link to a calculator to determine what you're happy weight is.

2. Aim for a healthy body fat percentage. Seems as though the definition of a "healthy" body fat percentage is around 22%. The article again gives you a link to a calculator to determine your percentage (although looking at the calculator, I'm a bit skeptical that it's going to even give you a ballpark figure).

3. Be critical of media images of women. This has been a problem for a long time and will probably continue to be. Some of those models out there are just walking skeletons that I would never want to see any of my clients strive for.

4. Give yourself enough time to take the weight off. I've always pushed that if you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you're on a good path. Not that I think there's anything wrong with losing a little more than that a week, but losing 1 to 2 pounds can add up to 25-50 pounds in 6 months.

5. Recognize that you're ideal weight is going to change over time. That stupid thing called "getting older" can cause problems with your weight. Have stressful jobs, have a kid, metabolism slows down, etc can all have an impact on how your body is going to respond and it may respond differently than it use to before.

I think the article is getting at that you don't want to get to the point of being completely consumed and obsessed over how you want your body to look.

At the same time, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a goal. If you have an ideal in your mind and you want to give it a shot to try and get to it, then by all means give it a try. But just give yourself time and don't let it take over your life.

www.leanbodyfitness.com