Reaction Paper On Bodybuilding

I have always been very obsessed with body image. When I was young, baseball was my sport. Soon after, I joined the swim team. During these years I’ve never looked the way that pleased me. When the age of fourteen came around, I decided to join the gym with a personal trainer. At this time, being overweight and unhappy. Never did I think the gym would mean so much to me in the future. Just before the age of sixteen, bodybuilding made a drastic impression on me. The art of building a well symmetrical body. Everything about this sport fascinated me because it gave a chance to create a new me.

The chariot rider had to develop strong arms in order to control the reins of his horse drawn cart. How did he get them? Exercise of course! It may not have been the exercise that we know today, but, none the less, it began with repetitive motions of muscles used in everyday work. Remember they did not have our modern day machines to build those great coliseums.

Weightlifting is a sport Egyptians do. One method of weightlifting was the attempt to lift a heavy sack of sand with one hand. The method

Today’s modern bodybuilders opposed to the bodybuilders of the sixties and seventies look like they have evolved from some enormous inhuman creature with amazing genes. Looking at the average size and body fat percentages of old school bodybuilders they weighed somewhere between one hundred and eighty to two hundred and twenty pounds. Now if you compare that to today’s bodybuilders weighing in at somewhere between two hundred fifty and three hundred pounds it makes you think what the heck

Purpose: After listening to my speech my audience will be familiar with the three American muscles of the 60’s.

Body Builders tend to carry heavy barbells and dumbbells, which create greater resistance, leading to a more solid contraction, resulting to greater muscle size and strength. This also explains why runners have well defined legs, swimmers have broad shoulders and basketball players have solid biceps and triceps.

I developed a character to be a representative of the main audience for my essay by taking the characteristics of individuals observed in McComas’ weight room and combining them into one persona. Based off of this, the persona is a male Virginia Tech college student who is familiar with the weight room and the concepts of body building. He is in good physical shape, and wears typical gym clothing, such as gym shorts, sweatpants, t-shirts, or wife-beaters. He has long-term experience with the majority of the weight and machines found in McComas’ weight room, and falls into the category of “serious lifters,” rather than just an occasional gym-goer. He is very perseverant in his work out regiment, and has a focused mindset.

people with super powers. For years, bodybuilders have been role models for Americans of all

Bodybuilding is the process that involves development of muscle fibers which is facilitated through special exercises, increased diet (calorie) as well as having the recommended amount of rest. I believe that in the current century bodybuilders have formed subcultures that are very unique in the sense that they have their own values, beliefs as well as traditions that are enshrined within their cultural provisions.

Every great thing has its legends. Here are some from this great sport. The first great legend is a man known as Fred "Dr. Squat" Hatfield. Hatfield made history throughout the sport of powerlifting, being known best as the first man to squat over 1,000 pounds in a competition. He achieved 1,014 at a bodyweight of 255 pounds (American Strength Legends 2). He did this at the age of 45, as well. Even more so, he could bench press 573 pounds and deadlift 766 pounds. All through his life, Fred was an athlete, excelling in soccer, track, and gymnastics. He received many degrees associated with fitness and sports training, now owning one of the largest personal training organizations in the world; the International Sports Sciences Association. He has also trained the U.S.A. powerlifting squad and many other world renowned athletes. Some other huge achievements of Dr. Hatfield were winning three world powerlifting championships and setting thirty world and national records in five different weight classes, something never done by any other lifter. Fred competed from the ‘70's to this very day at the age of almost sixty (American Strength Legends 2).

Millions of dollars are made and lost in the pursuit of the largest muscles, fastest gate, hair replacements, plastic surgeries, implants and liposuction removals to at least give the physical appearance of our basic standards of prowess. Many times life changes and new habits can help a person become stronger, healthier, more control of their anger, and be able to exhibit traits of an alpha male without using techniques such as plastic surgeries.

The dominant identity of the group would be males who are interested in becoming bigger and stronger, past the point of normal human standards. Although there are women who are bodybuilders, and they have their own Miss Universe and Ms. Olympia for bodybuilding, it is still a male dominated sport (EDinformatics).

In ancient Greece, body building was almost exclusively for males. Men are the greater physical specimen so in the Greek’s minds, they should be the ones sculpting their bodies and taking pride in their appearance. Women were pushed to the background and were seen to have other responsibilities than athletics. In today’s world women are considered equals. Anything a male can do a woman can also do if she pleases and this includes bodybuilding. Giraldi touches on this when describing how women in the gym will cause men to elevate what they are doing (Giraldi 61).Women are seen in gyms worldwide now and participate in all Olympic sports that males do. This is definitely a change that has occurred over time and is for the

Since the beginning of time, humans have found ways to alter their bodies. Mostly due to cultural influences, we adapt to what seems culturally desirable. Currently in Africa, women stretch their necks to bizarre lengths for an increase in social status (Gluckman). In America, anyone doing this to their bodies would be viewed as a nut job. This is due to the different social views around the world. Throughout history, different types of body alteration have been adopted or done away with. Weight lifting, which has been around for centuries, is a very popular form of body alteration.

Similarly, Worthen & Baker (2016), talks about the concept of ‘Edgework’ where an individual take risks reconstructing themselves according to the challenges that they are faced. Women test their limits with weightlifting in order to achieve ideal body shapes. When they push themselves, they risk conforming to the norms that society has on feminity.