Paying Props to Professional Bodybuilders......

[JOHN GARGANI]

in reviewing all of the Olympia critiques, I keep seeing: he was flat, he was soft, one even said that someone looked amateurish.......

I have been to both the Night of the Champions and recently to the GNC, this year.....

fortunately, since professional bodybuilders are so accessible, compared to other professional sports, you can actually meet these people and talk to them and see them up close.....

I have to say: that the guy who comes in LAST, in any of these contests, when you see them up close, are built far better than most of us could ever imagine to be......their conditioning borders on unreal, as does their size ( not their height).....

guys who may appear to be a little washed out on the stage for whatever reason, when you see them up close, their skin is paper thin.....

ALL of them are way more cut than they may seem to be on that stage. Especially the way it comes over in a TV broadcast.

Seeing them live on stage is one thing, but right next to them is another.....

I seriously urge any of the posters on this board who have never been to one of these major events, to make it a priority to do so and I guarantee if you have never done this before, that you will be blown away at what these people look like in person.....

in addtion to that, most of them are just the nicest people going and they will take the time, as tired and drawn as they are at that moment, to speak to you, to sign something, to pose for a picture for you, etc.......

We shouldn't be surprised, since Bodybuilding in general requires a lot of discipline in life and thus these people live very ordered and structure lives....

forget about the old adage of brawn but no brain, they are very intelligent people also and have truly made a science of what they do.

the last person is any of these shows put in the same grueling training and dieting as all the others and deserve props for doing so.......

[XPumperX]

in reviewing all of the Olympia critiques, I keep seeing: he was flat, he was soft, one even said that someone looked amateurish.......

I have been to both the Night of the Champions and recently to the GNC, this year.....

fortunately, since professional bodybuilders are so accessible, compared to other professional sports, you can actually meet these people and talk to them and see them up close.....

I have to say: that the guy who comes in LAST, in any of these contests, when you see them up close, are built far better than most of us could ever imagine to be......their conditioning borders on unreal, as does their size ( not their height).....

guys who may appear to be a little washed out on the stage for whatever reason, when you see them up close, their skin is paper thin.....

ALL of them are way more cut than they may seem to be on that stage. Especially the way it comes over in a TV broadcast.

Seeing them live on stage is one thing, but right next to them is another.....

I seriously urge any of the posters on this board who have never been to one of these major events, to make it a priority to do so and I guarantee if you have never done this before, that you will be blown away at what these people look like in person.....

in addtion to that, most of them are just the nicest people going and they will take the time, as tired and drawn as they are at that moment, to speak to you, to sign something, to pose for a picture for you, etc.......

We shouldn't be surprised, since Bodybuilding in general requires a lot of discipline in life and thus these people live very ordered and structure lives....

forget about the old adage of brawn but no brain, they are very intelligent people also and have truly made a science of what they do.

the last person is any of these shows put in the same grueling training and dieting as all the others and deserve props for doing so.......

So true...

[DiamondDelts]

in reviewing all of the Olympia critiques, I keep seeing: he was flat, he was soft, one even said that someone looked amateurish.......

I have been to both the Night of the Champions and recently to the GNC, this year.....

fortunately, since professional bodybuilders are so accessible, compared to other professional sports, you can actually meet these people and talk to them and see them up close.....

I have to say: that the guy who comes in LAST, in any of these contests, when you see them up close, are built far better than most of us could ever imagine to be......their conditioning borders on unreal, as does their size ( not their height).....

guys who may appear to be a little washed out on the stage for whatever reason, when you see them up close, their skin is paper thin.....

ALL of them are way more cut than they may seem to be on that stage. Especially the way it comes over in a TV broadcast.

Seeing them live on stage is one thing, but right next to them is another.....

I seriously urge any of the posters on this board who have never been to one of these major events, to make it a priority to do so and I guarantee if you have never done this before, that you will be blown away at what these people look like in person.....

in addtion to that, most of them are just the nicest people going and they will take the time, as tired and drawn as they are at that moment, to speak to you, to sign something, to pose for a picture for you, etc.......

We shouldn't be surprised, since Bodybuilding in general requires a lot of discipline in life and thus these people live very ordered and structure lives....

forget about the old adage of brawn but no brain, they are very intelligent people also and have truly made a science of what they do.

the last person is any of these shows put in the same grueling training and dieting as all the others and deserve props for doing so.......

Yep,as always you speak the truth Mr. Gargani, and it is good to see you posting again, I have not seen you post since I was under my old screen name Mr. Widebody.

[Too swole]

Great post!

[JOHN GARGANI]

Widebody, it is great to see you still on here!!! a bunch of us old farts went over to a little site called homefitness101, as we were invited there by OJ.....

hope your training is coming along fine!

[zackmurphy]

Don't mistake our being insanely picky or astronomically precise in our complaints of about BB'er X as being a negative about anything more than simply one small aspect of an athlete in a sport that is 100% about being insanely picky and precise in analyzing imperfection.

I agree with the sentiment of your post, but I also fully endorse the "his pecs are flat" discussions, since physical shape is what it's all about.

[Vic Cherubini]

I totally agree. I met Gunter, Kevin Levrone and Tommi Thorvaldsen at a contest in Houston once. Gunter was of course, the most massive, and his size was simply amazing. This, of course, was during the offseason, but when he flexed his 22.5" arm, it was simply amazing. All of the athletes deserve props.

I just can't wait till I'm that big!

:Vic

[Number69]

Good post, but I believe it's a bit Draconian to say that they cannot be criticised.

All professionals are paid because they are exceptional at what they do. When a pro footballer misses a pass you expect him to get but know that the amazing receiver in the HS down the road wouldn't have caught, you can still criticise him because he is being judged on a higher plane.

For instance, to say that X came out of condition is not comparing him to a regional or even national bbing comp (much less a normal ripped individual), it is comparing him to the benchmark of his sport at the top level - paper thin skin, bone dry, striated glutes even.

These criticisms should be seen as critiquing a sport on the most infinitely critical level and not on a standard plane. Hope that clears things up!

[Vic Cherubini]

I think the criticisms should go more toward the IFBB and the whole organization, not the individual bodybuilders. If they are anything like me (or if I'm anything like them), they do it because they love the sport, they have a true passion for it. It seems that (like many big corporations, especially entertainment venues), the IFBB is riddled with politics, which I *hate*. Just let the guys do their things, and get the politics out of the sport. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I love bodybuilding, but I hate to see it ruined by politics.

-Vic

[MR.RAMSEY]

This was an excellent post to read!
You are a true fan of the sport!!

If everyone could do what these atheletes do, who could truly appreciate what they bring to us year after year?

[JOHN GARGANI]

Thank you Ramsey, I do consider myself a true fan and I am a life long addicted lifter.....

in answer to the other question, nobody is above criticism, it is the NATURE of the criticism at times that is just disrespectful.....criticism of the very best should be done with courtesy and moderation....

it is in VERY RELEVANT terms that our criticisms are directed.....

I am already making plans to attend the Arnold Classic next March and that should be another fantastic event.....

in a couple of Sundays, I will have the great fortune of meeting Mike Katz at a natural contest he is holding in Connecticutt......

having watched Pumping Iron so damn many times, that will be a thrill also......

by the way, even though it is hard to do this, when you meet so many great people, the nicest person that I met at the whole weekend in Atlanta was Lee Haney! what a winner.......and does he still look great! I wouldn't be surprised if we see him either guest posing or actually entering a contest in the future....

another real winner was BB.com's own Bob Chicherello.....besides looking gigantic, Bob was a real pisser and had us laughing our heads off!!!

[MR.RAMSEY]

Yeah, Haney has been and always will be one of the all-time greats.
He's made his mark in this sport and in life... mentally, physically, and spiritually.

And if you've been in these forums long enough, you'll see and hear some of everything. Just gotta take it with a grain of salt sometimes! LOL!

[monster maish]

Yep, I met Bob Chickirello and Kris Dim at the border states classic in sandiego and it is completely different seeing them in person than seeing them on stage. Especially Dim, he is only 198 pounds or so and when he is on stage next to the big boys he looks kind of small, but when you meet him in person he looks way bigger, i have about 30 pounds on him and he still looked bigger than me. Another bber i met was chris cook and that guy is huge!