MunxCub: O-lifting is damn hard to, and unless you have great natural flexibility and strength to begin with you have to start young to be good, and be strict in your training.
I didn't want to post in this thread because I think someone wants to turn it into a mud slinging contest to get me booted from the forum, so I will just make my points as nicely as I can and be on my merry way.
Powerlifting, is awesome, and also humbling.
Well then to say bodybuilding is not a sport, you must also think that gymnastics, figure skating, Olympic diving,synchro swimming, boxing and any other sport that has points attributed to its competitors by judges are not sports either. You try telling a gymnast what they do is not a sport.
"WHAT BODYBUILDING JUDGES LOOK FOR:
(1) SYMMETRY - the overall shape of the body. The best bodybuilders have wide shoulders, flaring lats, a torso that tapers down to a small waist, thighs that flare dramatically between hip and knee.
(2) PROPORTION - the balance of one part of the body to the others, of particular body parts to the rest. Is the development of the upper body proportionate to the rest? Is the size of the arms in proportion to the chest and shoulders? Is calf size balanced compared to thighs and arms?
(3) INDIVIDUAL BODY PARTS - how well each body part is shaped and developed. Is there a line between the upper and lower pectorals? Is there a split between the biceps? Are all three heads of the triceps distinct and well-developed? How about the various muscles of the shoulders, the back, the quadriceps and hamstrings? Which body parts are outstanding and which are weak points?
(4) DETAIL AND QUALITY - definition, separation, striations, cross-striations, hardness and muscle detail. How muscular and well-defined is the physique? Is there distinct separation between the pectorals and deltoids, the delts and the arms, the four heads of the quadriceps and the line between the quads and the hamstrings viewed from the side? Are striations and cross-striations clearly visible? Is there "anatomy chart" detail showing in all the important muscle groups?
(5) PRESENTATION - comparison posing and free posing. The ability of the bodybuilders to display physical development to its best advantage both in comparison posing---hitting the compulsory poses during prejudging---and how well designed and executed is the free posing routine.
(6) OVERALL ASSESSMENT - factors such as attitude and comportment on stage, skin tone and quality, grooming, the fit and appropriate design of theposing suit."
"Therefore, if bodybuilding is really a sport, exactly what kind of sport is it?
The answer is that it is indeed a sport of form---just a different kind of form than we are used to dealing with. The form associated with gymnastics is dynamic, a form of movement. But the form involved in bodybuilding is a plastic one.
The term "plastic" in this case, means the molding, shaping or sculpting of physical form. Bodybuilding is often described as the sculpting of the muscles of the body, and this is exactly what it is. When the bodybuilding takes place as part of a sports competition, the ultimate result is judged according to aesthetic standards, just as gymnastics or diving is. This result is achieved by athletic means, a lot of hard, difficult and intense physical training. In fact, the demands upon the body of training and diet programs followed by world-class competition bodybuilders are so incredible that only highly gifted, superbly-conditioned athletes could be expected to bear up under stresses of this magnitude.
World-class bodybuilders are, and have to be, exceptional athletes. Bodybuilding training in the gym is a demanding athletic activity. And it is this training that is directly responsible for shaping and sculpting the body into the final plastic form that will be judged on stage in a bodybuilding competition. The mass, shape, proportion, symmetry, and definition of the physique, the degree of muscle separation, the low body fat and resulting display of striations and "cuts," are all the result of highly strenuous athletic workouts in the gym plus the discipline of following an eating and nutrition program designed to yield maximum muscle mass with a minimum of body fat.
Bodybuilders are sometimes criticized because they become so muscular, develop so much bulk, that other of their athletic abilities suffer. But this simply means they are specialized, just as all elite athletes tend to be. As far as athletic bodies are concerned, "form follows function." You look like what you do. Bodybuilders may not be good marathon runners, but long-distance runners generally can't lift much weight, either. Gymnasts tend to be small, compact and muscular. Discus-throwers are beefy and powerful. Golfers do not succeed because of the height of their vertical leap, and are rarely slam-dunk artists, while all the physical power in the world doesn't help sink a three-foot putt on the final hole of the U.S. Open with the tournament at stake.
So bodybuilders are indeed athletes, the training they go through is highly athletic, the ultimate result, the competition-prepared bodybuilding physique, is a direct consequence of that training, and the plastic form of this physique is what the competitors are judged on in a bodybuilding contest. Therefore, while competition bodybuilding is artistic, it's not an art form; and while it has theatrical and dramatic elements, it is not theater. It's a sport. And it satisfies every criterion as to what an athletic contest or a sport ought to be."
(Found this little gem, I did not write this)
100m = speed
marathon = endurance
long jumpg = longest jump
High jump = highest jump
Olympic lifting = heaviest weight lifted in chosen lifts
Bodybuilding = muscle mass, proportion, symmetry, definition.
Powerlifting = Heaviest weight lifted in chosen lifts
Gymnastics = technique, grace, accuracy, difficulty.
All of these test/evaluate something that is judged based on some criteria.
But as the final point of contention, we need an agreed upon definition of SPORT, only then can we correctly debate its standing.
"For example, here are some definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary, which not only gives definitions, but describes how the meanings of words have changed over the course of history:
ATHLETE - (derived from words meaning "to contend for a prize")
A competitor in the physical exercises---such as running, leaping, boxing, wrestling---that formed part of the public games in ancient Greece and Rome.
ATHLETIC
(1) Pertaining to an athlete, or to contests in which physical strength is vigorously exercised.
(2) Of the nature of, or befitting, an athlete; physically powerful, muscular, robust.
SPORT
(1) Pleasant pastime; entertainment or amusement; recreation, diversion. (Particularly associated with the taking or killing of wild animals, game or fish.)
(2) Participation in games or exercises, especially those of an athletic character or pursued in the open air.
(3) To engage in, follow, or practice sport, esp. field-sport; to hunt or shoot for sport or amusement."
Quotes from Bill Dobbins. Also check out this http://www.sportsci.org/news/news9803/hatfield.html Entitled Bodybuilding as an Olympic sport, by Dr. Fred Hatfield
http://www.diablobarbell.com/articles/Powerliftingasasport.htm Powerlifting as a sport, by Garret Harper
P.S if you say bodybuilding is not a sport, then you gotta get rid of golf, bowling, darts, and poker from ESPN.
To all others thanks for the helpful comments in my search, maybe one day the CF will have something more my style in terms of sports, till then i'll just do my own thing.
