The Epic Fail That Was
This past weekend i coached two of my friends/clients/boyz in THE-FITNESS-SHOW THAT-SHALL-NOT-BE-NAMED, a debacle of catastrophic proportions.
First, a bit of background: bodybuilding/fitness is not by it’s nature a vain pursuit. no more than say, figure skating, dancing, or fencing. it is not a sport in the sense of physical competition, but a subjective activity judged on the whims of others, qualified by some unknown criteria that has yet to be astutely stated or articulated in a logical manner. Ergo, decisions are rarely received unanimously as good or bad.
fitness competition is about discipline and challenging yourself to push yourself to your very limits, physically, mentally, emotionally. it takes 6 - 20 weeks to prepare for a show, and that is after YEARS of training. What you see on stage is a body of work. it should reflect grace, power, athleticism and discipline.
Bodybuilding is not about shaking what your mama gave you in less clothing than you would wear in front of your cat. It is not a tan competition, it is not a beauty contest. It is not a vanity thing.
Somewhere, some way this was lost on organizers. Perhaps it was the realization that by appealing to an athlete’s pride, vanity, and insecurities they could make way more money off the competitors. Perhaps it was simply that the organizers themselves have lost the intent and soul of the competition. I won’t even talk about the direction of traditional bodybuilding; the drugs have left the stars of that level looking like cattle vaguely reminiscent of their homo sapiens sapiens ancestry.
My athletes, my boys and my ladies know the sport is in the gym, in the diet, and in them. If they choose to compete is is to cement their goals, but a time pressure on themselves and achieve a new level of fitness. To put the work in and receive no reward or recognition when this was promised is a travesty of horrendous proportion.
So, my guys, my proteges, my inspirations were there, registered, ready, and replete with excitement for their show. They came, they saw, the dominated (CR was the best conditioned of his class, AG was the best everything in his). The evening results are always a surprise at best, an this show was no exception. Awards were given out: the most dominant bodybuilder I’ve seen in years? 3rd place behind two great, but not comparable, physiques. The Bikini Model award? Given to an 18 year old without an ounce of evidence of a workout in her life. She was young, tall, and skinny; this was a show to reward the hard work of athletes, not the genetic blessing of parents or the tight ass which is part and parcel of being 18.
On and on it went, awards of dubious distinction to oddly placed competitors. And then… it was over. My guys categories not even called. No reward for the hard work, the discipline, the $200+ dollars spent to enter categories which were promised to be ranked and awarded. A non ending to a non event.
My guys, all of the other competitors for that matter, deserve huge kudos for their hard work. To be denied the recognition of a rank, any rank, is negligent at best, and traumatic to those involved.
Fitness exposition is dead. Good riddance; the appeal to vanity will leave a shallow pool to draw from, and the disregard of the hard working folks who enter your shows will hopefully bring about the end of these fiascos.