Is bodybuilding vain?

nikikeenan
nikikeenan Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Whats ur opinion on bodybuilding? Do you think its a totally vain thing to do?
Is it a sport of looking better and better and better.
I started it to get in shape but also to gain strength and be more athletic, not just athletic looking..however I dont strength train so I suppose I am not really getting much stronger?
I feel accomplished building my body to be more muscular and I do "feel" stronger..Idk what do you think?
«134

Replies

  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    does **** stink?
  • SirBonerFart
    SirBonerFart Posts: 1,185 Member
    no its all about a healthy lifestyle
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    no its all about a healthy lifestyle

    contest prep should totally be taught in nutrition class....
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Uh, of course it is vain. What kind of question is that?
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Is it vain? Yes. Do I think vanity is wrong? Not unless it's taken to an extreme. If the only thing that matters in your life is how lean you are and you'd sacrifice literally everything (your family, friends, career, etc.) to get leaner, it's gone too far. But I admire people who have goals and work hard to achieve them, even if I don't have the same goals.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    They call them "vanity muscles" for a reason.
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    yes, but that doesn't mean it has to be a negative thing.
  • notenoughspeed
    notenoughspeed Posts: 290 Member
    I have worked my assets off lifting in the gym over the past year and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. #gymrat. Yes, I want to look sehxy when I'm done. I'll trade in gluttony for vanity any day.
  • TheBitSlinger
    TheBitSlinger Posts: 621 Member
    Depends on your definition of "bodybuilding". I was part of an organization for a few years where we lifted weights to cut down on miscellaneous injuries common to the profession. Nothing vain about it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Is running a marathon or an ultra vain?

    I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to be the best you can be at your chosen sport (I'd draw the line at steroids or other performance enhancing drugs).
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    It's not vain... at least in my eyes. If it is vain, then so is doing anything that will make you look and feel better. So whatever... who cares what people think!
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    Not necessarily. It's not purely about physique. The body is functional and happens to look good when it is strong and healthy.

    But yes, basically. Usually bodybuilding is about physique... and... circle complete.
  • aakaakaak
    aakaakaak Posts: 1,240 Member
    It's only vain if you're doing it for vain reasons.

    I, on the other hand, am doing it for misogynistic reasons.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
    I think there's a difference between pride and vanity.

    I'm proud that this kid who never got picked for any team in school can do stairclimb events because my body is so strong that going up dozens of flights of stairs is possible for me. Those squats paid off.

    I'm proud that when I say: Oh, it isn't far...just around the corner...that means 2 miles for me. Bodybuilding also gives me lots of stamina.

    Yep, I do flex my arms to make my bi/tris "pop"...but not because I think they are hotter...but because they are visible signs of my hard work.
  • nikikeenan
    nikikeenan Posts: 15 Member
    It's not vain... at least in my eyes. If it is vain, then so is doing anything that will make you look and feel better. So whatever... who cares what people think!

    True..I just like to think of myself as athletic..with athletic goals not so much asthetic goals..I love the challenge of PR's on my heavy lifts . I also have loved watching my tricep grow etc from hard work..
  • nikikeenan
    nikikeenan Posts: 15 Member
    I think there's a difference between pride and vanity.

    I'm proud that this kid who never got picked for any team in school can do stairclimb events because my body is so strong that going up dozens of flights of stairs is possible for me. Those squats paid off.

    I'm proud that when I say: Oh, it isn't far...just around the corner...that means 2 miles for me. Bodybuilding also gives me lots of stamina.

    Yep, I do flex my arms to make my bi/tris "pop"...but not because I think they are hotter...but because they are visible signs of my hard work.
    I feel this way too..lots of stamina also
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    Whats ur opinion on bodybuilding? Do you think its a totally vain thing to do?
    Is it a sport of looking better and better and better.
    I started it to get in shape but also to gain strength and be more athletic, not just athletic looking..however I dont strength train so I suppose I am not really getting much stronger?
    I feel accomplished building my body to be more muscular and I do "feel" stronger..Idk what do you think?

    This song is about me. Isn't it?
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    It's not vain... at least in my eyes. If it is vain, then so is doing anything that will make you look and feel better. So whatever... who cares what people think!

    True..I just like to think of myself as athletic..with athletic goals not so much asthetic goals..I love the challenge of PR's on my heavy lifts . I also have loved watching my tricep grow etc from hard work..

    I agree, and this is how I look at lifting. I like getting stronger. The aesthetics are a bonus for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm vain as hell, and I control what I eat because I want to lose more fat. The lifting helps with that, in terms of holding onto lean mass, but I find lifting to be explosive and powerful. And I find strength to be super hot. I read an article earlier this week that talked about how physical strength and mental strength are mutually inclusive, and when I see a man who is obviously strong and well-constructed, it's like automatic respect and attraction (or, for a female, automatic respect and admiration) because I know how hard it is, and I take some cues from his appearance and how he carries himself about what kind of man he is.

    And I think I got off subject there, but yeah, I think bodybuilding is vain but in the most awesome way possible.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    IT SURE IS!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Whats ur opinion on bodybuilding? Do you think its a totally vain thing to do?
    Is it a sport of looking better and better and better.
    I started it to get in shape but also to gain strength and be more athletic, not just athletic looking..however I dont strength train so I suppose I am not really getting much stronger?
    I feel accomplished building my body to be more muscular and I do "feel" stronger..Idk what do you think?

    Yes.
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    It's vain.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    Yup, and I am totally ok with that.
    Also being strong kicks so much *kitten*.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Depends on your definition of "bodybuilding". I was part of an organization for a few years where we lifted weights to cut down on miscellaneous injuries common to the profession. Nothing vain about it.

    I think weight lifting is not the same as body building. When I think of bodybuilding, I think of people in contests, like beauty contests, getting their pictures taken and taking measures to be sure their veins pop just right.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    To an extent- I suppose one could argue that.

    I personally think it's all about aesthetics- not about "vanity"

    vanity (ˈvӕnəti) noun
    1. excessive admiration of oneself; conceit. Vanity is her chief fault.
    2. worthlessness or pointlessness. the vanity of human ambition.


    Bodybuilding itself is a sport- a competition. So in and of it self I don't think it's any more vain than say water polo- or underwater basket weaving.

    And I also don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with being proud in the hard work you have done. I look amazing- I'm going to admire myself for it and revele in the fact others appreciate it.

    But that doesn't mean I give up my sense of self- and ALL I am is about what I look like- stepping over my friends, family and my own morals/ethics to focus on how I look. I am just not about that.

    But there is no shame in my game- I know when I look good.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Yup, and I am totally ok with that.
    Also being strong kicks so much *kitten*.

    tumblr_luzydi8QVP1qcqgrgo1_250.gif
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It's not vain... at least in my eyes. If it is vain, then so is doing anything that will make you look and feel better. So whatever... who cares what people think!

    The difference being that traditional body building is all about looking a certain way and building muscles a certain way...it's all about the look. Whereas people who train for any manner of sport are usually going to look pretty damned good...but the purpose of their training doesn't revolve around that, it's just a bi-product of their fitness.

    Yes...it is vain...and I wish I had the genetics to be so vain...
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
    Is losing weight to look better vain? Vanity like everything else is not a black and white item, it's a grey area as long as you're not going high far and to the right it's fine. If you sit staring at yourself in the mirror for hours fawning over how good you look, then yes... you have probably gone far with vanity.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    Its as vain as wearing makeup or combing your hair
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Depends on your definition of "bodybuilding". I was part of an organization for a few years where we lifted weights to cut down on miscellaneous injuries common to the profession. Nothing vain about it.

    I think weight lifting is not the same as body building. When I think of bodybuilding, I think of people in contests, like beauty contests, getting their pictures taken and taking measures to be sure their veins pop just right.

    this is what I would say too.... bodybuilding = using weights to sculpt the physique that you want, and it's ultimately about looks, while competitive weightlifting and powerlifting etc is about lifting the maxium amount of weights, then you get people who lift weights for health reasons and/or to improve performance at another sport.......... yes bodybuilding is all about looks and you could say that's vain but the next question is whether there's anything wrong with being vain. Personally, for me, I'm much more in a powerlifting mindset than a bodybuilder one. yes we all want to look sexy but really I care much more about health and how much actual weight I can lift. That's how I am, and in the past I did feel some peer pressure to try to look a certain way because I was told that's what I *should* want, (my bad, I shouldn't be so easily influenced...), and I feel a lot better for rejecting that mentality and going for what I really want, which isn't 6 pack abs, it's being able to squat and deadlift at least 2x my bodyweight (or at least giving it my all to achieve that, so I know I achieved the best that I could).

    We've all got to pursue the goals that we want. In weight lifting, for some that's looks, for others it's brute strength. I'm in the brute strength camp and I'll choose being able to lift crazy amounts of weight over 6 pack abs every time. But if other people would rather focus on looks then that's totally their choice and I respect that. I don't think it's fair to label it as "vain" - different people have different priorities. If you're working out and eating well and your body fat percentage is in the healthy range, then you're doing what you can to be healthy. Everything after that is about personal choice and where your priorities are.
  • AverageUkDude
    AverageUkDude Posts: 371 Member
    Its as vain as wearing makeup or combing your hair
    This

Categories