Friday, November 5, 2021

Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art

When Sport Becomes Art :

I feel that any time a human pursuit reaches its highest form it becomes art. Art transcends boundaries, both personal and cultural, and cannot be defined by the traditional linear models of thinking popularized by mainstream culture. Titles, measurements, accolades, or even social approval do not reflect one’s inner journey or personal experience and expression.

Definitions or belief systems have no intrinsic meaning other than what is ascribed to them by various social groups. Interestingly, each social group will ascribe a very different value on any given subject, and each group tends to believe that its opinion is the correct one.

Art transcends all of these standard descriptions and conveys a feeling or an emotion that is hard to contextualize with words. It is this essence that makes art fascinating. Often times a certain proficiency in the subject matter is essential to fully appreciate the experience. In other words, the more someone becomes familiar with a subject, in this case bodybuilding, the more one can recognize, genius, greatness, or the artistic.



Watching Tom Platz blast out 20 plus reps with 500 pounds goes beyond physical accomplishment. The process becomes art. Another example would be a football receiver diving through the air, to catch a pass with one hand, in between two defenders, while simultaneously dragging both feet before flying out of bounds. These moments or events go way beyond the physical achievements or quantitative description.

These “defining moments” are what millions of viewers watch for daily in sports. The event is really a stage that presents an opportunity for the athlete to transcend the normal definitions of their chosen sport. The thing is, in order for an athlete to get to the “sporting promised-land”, or at least the highlight reel, years of practice, failures, unseen moments, victories, and defeats have all been part and parcel to the “defining moment”.

What is it that pushes someone to “be all they can be”? What is the “X-factor” that drives people to break previous limits of the past? While it’s hard to contextualize the essence of what makes a person a true bodybuilder, one only has to look at the Special Olympics to get a deeper understanding of the difference between real athletes vs. “wannabee” pretenders.
 

Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art Are You a Real Bodybuilder or Just a Wannabee? : When Sport Becomes Art



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