Bubble Gut Phenomenon

Will Bodybuilders Require Maternity Leave?

I’ve decided that today would be a good day for a rant. I’ve wanted to rant about this all weekend— and so I will.

As a contributing editor to Muscular Development and FitnessRx, it’s terrific to write about health and fitness. It’s also great to be able to work in an industry that I’ve always loved— bodybuilding. As I’ve wanted to write a bodybuilding article for quite some time, I felt this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

Since the age of 9, I have been a bodybuilding fan. My father would watch it on “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” and encouraged my love of it. The first bodybuilder I admired was Boyer Coe, followed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Dorian Yates and mostly recently Breon Ansley, Derek Lunsford and Chris Bumstead.

But after the last few years, my interest started to drift— and one of the main reasons is the ugly, protruding gut found on many of today’s male bodybuilders competing in the open division— including the current champion, Phil Heath.

After the introduction of Classic Physique division last year, I became excited about bodybuilding once again. I was happy to see the Greco-Roman classic style with the wide shoulders, tiny waist and flaring quads. More so at this year’s Classic Physique Olympia, it was terrific to see 52-year-old Flex Wheeler have a comeback performance.

It seemed that the sport was getting back to basics. It was much more appealing than watching these performance-enhanced-driven behemoths strutting around onstage with their guts protruding.

If anything, men’s open bodybuilding today pays homage to “Palumbo-ism” and not the vision Joe Weider had imagined when he founded the IFBB.

When I look at reigning and seven-time Mr. Olympia champion Phil Heath, he doesn’t hold a candle to the greatness that seven-time Mr. Olympia champion Arnold Schwarzenegger established. And yet, he’s a seven-time Mr. Olympia? Really? Did the judges appoint him champion because of the way he looked from the back, or was he the lesser of the four evils?

Out of all contenders for Mr. Olympia, William Bonac from the Netherlands had the best chance and was the most conditioned. Still, I couldn’t believe how a Mr. Olympia champion can have a body that was an out-and-out disgrace to the sport!

The Arnold Classic Europe is this weekend in Spain. I’m reminded of Steve Reeves’ famous open letter to Arnold Schwarzenegger, shortly before Reeves passed away— calling on him to help guide the sport.

I hope that Arnold says something about what took place this past weekend and takes a stand, before we find that there are more examples like Dallas McCarver.

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