Stereotypes: Fact or Fiction?

The world of bodybuilding has grown to incredible heights over the years. Yet it is still a sport that is widely misunderstood. The mainstream public too often dismisses what bodybuilders do with negative stereotypes filled with misinformation and age old prejudices. Here are a few major stereotypes that are often used – and evidence that they are nothing but ancient myth.
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Bodybuilders Are Brainless Meatheads

“Working out pumps blood to the muscles and away from the brain – thus bodybuilders are unintelligent.”

Many times when the non-weightlifting public sees a bodybuilder, all they can see are the muscles. Images of Neanderthals immediately come to their mind. Yes, while an intense workout unlocks the animalistic urges inside of us; it doesn’t prevent thinking on a daily basis. But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few pro bodybuilders educational background:

Frank Zane – BS in Education from Wilkes University
Ronnie Coleman – BS in accounting from Grambling State University
Phil Heath – Degree in IT and Business Administration and now the president of his very own supplement company.

Oh and then there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was, you know, the Governor of California for two full terms.

Look there will always be smart and dumb people – but their passion has nothing to do with it. At all.

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Steroids

The topic of steroids is usually the first thing to come up when people talk about bodybuilding. To be frank, it is something that comes up in almost any sport these days. While many bodybuilders do use performance enhancing drugs, far from all of them partake in supplements. There is an entire culture of Natural Bodybuilders that pride themselves on a body unaffected by steroids and enhancing drugs.

There is also the notion that if someone uses steroids they will magically get strong without any of the work. That is not true at all. Even the pros who use enhancing drugs work harder to improve every single day.

Like Ben Pakulski says in Generation Iron, “No you couldn’t. You couldn’t do what I do.”

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Hulking Out/Anger Issues

Sadly, sometimes only one image comes to mind when people think about bodybuilders – and he’s a big green unstoppable monster. The Hulk.

Sure, it’s only natural to find person with massive muscles intimidating. Bigger muscles do equal bigger strength. But for some reason many people in the mainstream think that means bodybuilders only solve things my smashing.

This one ties in with the other two stereotypes we discussed: steroids and unintelligence. People think bodybuilders are too dumb to be rational and are always hopped up from ‘roid rage. So they smash. Just like Hulk.

But nothing could be farther from the truth. Bodybuilding is about sculpting the body. It’s not about the raw strength that comes from it – but from the symmetry and the fulfillment that comes from self improvement. There is a large amount of self restraint that needs to be administered every day. To stay on such a rigorous schedule and to diet correctly takes discipline – which is the furthest thing from unchecked anger and rage.

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Spend All Day in the Gym

“Yeah, well if I just had the time to spend in the gym 24/7 like you do – I’d be huge too.”

Look, bodybuilding is more than the time spent in the gym. Of course putting in the work is very important – but bodybuilding is a lifestyle. It’s been said many times before and it will be said again: muscles are made in the kitchen. Like we briefly mentioned above, nutrition is a big part of the bodybuilding lifestyle and requires all-day every-day dedication to eating right so that the time spent in the gym is maximized.

Bodybuilding requires discipline across all aspects of health. You need to eat correctly, you need to get plenty of rest, and you work out. You can’t just do one of those things – you have to balance them all. And it is a common mistake made among young people who are looking to get big fast. You can’t just go to the gym for hours on end to see massive results; you have to dedicate your entire life to changing your body in order to see that kind of change.

Are there any other stereotypes that we missed? Throw out your ideas in the comments section below. You can find more articles like this by following us on Facebook and Twitter!

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