Hobbies of a bodybuilder. Choice or Circumstance?
"My Hobbies just sort of gradually became my vocation." - Al Yankovic
I like this quote by Al Yankovic because if you ask most people in the bodybuilding community what they do for a vocation… an overwhelming consensus is personal training, contest prep, nutrition, etc. Invariably, there came a time when many people switched their vocation to something that would suit this lifestyle. I'm a prime example… an attorney switching to personal trainer and fitness consultant. Now, I work in marketing for an elite supplement company (SPECIES NUTRITION). In effect, this was all possible because I got into bodybuilding and the vocation suited the lifestyle.
This is even more true for the hobbies of someone in the bodybuilding community. Most in the bodybuilding sub-culture are physically frail by training. We don't train to be functional in a sporting society. We train to look perfect and have that physical awe about us. This is why you don't see many bodybuilders going skiing, kite boarding, mountain climbing, or free base jumping. Ok, Ok… not many people go free base jumping. More importantly, off season cycling, hiking or the like will burn those precious muscle building calories we work so hard to stuff in our faces! But I digress.
The thing is, the hobbies of a bodybuilder also seem to mold themselves to the lifestyle. As I travel to shows and talk with various industry limelighters, I observe and notice the same trend as to what people do for hobbies or fun. Here is a list I've come up with.
1. Video Games;
2. Going to the Movies;
3. Hooka/Herbal Enlightenment;
4. "The Pool Party/After Party".
5. The Beach.
Video Games. Well, if you can't run off a cliff firing an AK-47 with a laser dot scope while throwing a grenade over your back in real life… why not just do it in Call of Duty! Let's face it… dieting is no fun and sometimes you need to let off some steam. Let's face it… bulking is no fun, trying to stuff food down your throat all day and sometimes you need to let off some steam. See where I'm going with this? Off-season or contest prep, video games give us the perfect outlet to just GET AWAY. We can kill people and blow up buildings! We can play football! We can even fly spaceships while fighting off a zombie apocalypse, at the same time solving the city wide crime scourge and set speed records racing through the city in a new Bugatti ramming cop cars with no damage to yours!! The possibilities are endless! That is what puts Video Games on a bodybuilders top hobby list. Why? Because the hobby fits the lifestyle and you don't even burn any calories.
Going to the Movies. Hold on to your fanny packs and RTDs ladies and gentlemen, this night is about to get crazy! Well, maybe not. If a bodybuilder isn't a fan of video games, they will certainly be a fan of going out to the movies. Here, you can live vicariously through Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as he stars in one of his 5 movies that are out at the same time. As an added bonus, there are no calories burned as you get to sit in a seat and get hours of entertainment.
I have talked to a number of competitors who have actually watched a bad movie and then left to go into another theater to watch a new movie (without paying for it). Bodybuilders are perfect for this. The 19 year old attendant isn't likely to tell a hulking mass to show his ticket. I've found big people get respect and small people want to be your friend… the biggest threat to a bodybuilder in the movie theater is the alluring and seductive smell of buttered popcorn. This may not prove to be as big of an issue in the off-season… and going to get pop? No worries, bodybuilding is an expensive lifestyle. The pop will, of course, be smuggled in.
Hooka/Herbal Enlightenment.We all know (or at least now you do) that I love Hooka. We all know that I also enjoy some herbal enlightenment. You really shouldn't be surprised this is on the list. With the number of calories that must be consumed during an off-season for growth, it can get very difficult to get the appetite to eat that much food… unless. Not to mention, what better way to deal with stress? It isn't like alcohol is that much of an option… what with the calories and excessive damage it can do to one's liver. (Because we wouldn't want any MORE damage done to the liver). If you don't think this can be fun, take a search for some of my Hooka Smoking Confessionals on YouTube. Mind. Blown.
The Pool Party/After Party. Nothing will geek out a bodybuilder (and when I say bodybuilder I'm also including all the subsets like figure and bikini athletes) more than showing off what they have built up in a more fashionable setting than a stage. A place where the "civilians" (those who don't compete) can also gawk and stare at the greatness as you strut around like a Greek God/Goddess.
What Pool Party you might ask? Well, there is the famous Vegas pool party at Wet Republic after USAs and the Olympia. Rehab has fallen off a bit, but it used to be the spot back in the early to mid-2000s. There are individuals in our sport who will actually diet down FOR these monumental events. I have heard and witnessed some of the ladies actually bringing wardrobe changes to these parties… with skimpier and skimpier suits.. and for that, we thank them.
Let's not for get the after party (and really only party?) for the Arnold Classic. Once held at Boma now Blue Star, The Jason Dhir extravaganza complete with midget wrestling, fire walkers and those areal people who hang from sheets on the ceiling that maybe just once you were thinking they might fall. Ahh, but for the last call at 1:10am it just might trump Las Vegas parties after USAs and the Olympia.
The Beach. I am going to leave this one as kind of folding into the pool party experience. Let's see, you get to work on your tan, show off the bod, bring your 6-pack cooler, keep in touch with the world via social media and selfies of your abs/quads as you lay in the sun. While not available for ALL areas of the country… those of us in SoCal and Florida (and Jersey Shore I heard?), it certainly is a hot spot for those in our lifestyle.
There you have it… the phenomenon of how the hobbies of a bodybuilder morph into the very lifestyle that we lead. Until next time… Stay Sucka Free
