by Alex Shabunya
Bodybuilding is full of myths, many of which are not only quite exaggerated, but also affect the popularity of this sport. All these rumours are in the first place generated by those people who get annoyed by the look of the muscular young men who think: “Who needs such muscles? What’s the point in having them?” But do sportsmen need high jumps or discus throwing in their everyday “non-sport” life? Sport is all about self-expression. Bodybuilding in addition is a beautiful way to express oneself.
The man with the brawniest body in Belarus Alex Shabunya (the winner of world and Europe Championships, overall champion of the Eastern Europe (2005), “Mister IRONMAN” – 2005, seven times champion of the Republic of Belarus and the holder of many other titles, who lifts up to 50 tons of iron during his workout session) expresses the professional opinion about the most widely spread myths and about bodybuilding in general.
Myth no. 1. Alex, it is true that bodybuilders have lots of health problems?
They don’t have more health problems than other people. Healthy life-style and healthy food harm nobody. Putting aside traumas that happen in any sport, bodybuilders are healthy people. They rarely have problems with stomach, almost never suffer from osteochondrosis. In bodybuilding the load on joints is less than in many other sports, sinews and ligaments become considerably stronger.
A bodybuilder must closely listen to his own body; it is a very important quality that brought success and helped to keep good health to many sportsmen. No one should act in defiance of his or her body’s voice!
Myth no. 2. They say that bodybuilding restrains growth, is it true?
It is absolutely wrong. There are many tall people among bodybuilders, and they began working out in their teens. I am 185 cm (6 ft 1 in.) tall. Over the ten years of working out I grew by 5 cm.
Take Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example: he began working out at the age of 14 when his height was under 180 cm. During five years of training he grew to 187 cm and developed additional 45 kg of muscles.
Myth no. 3. Bodybuilders have to keep to a diet all the time.
If you call selective nutrition a diet then, of course, you have to keep to it all the time. If diet is understood as restricted nutrition then it is necessary to restrict oneself only six weeks before the contest. We completely eliminate salt, sugar, butter and farinaceous foods. Instead one can eat porridge, chicken breasts, fish and egg-white at any time. The diet before the contests is necessary in order to lose weight and obtain good muscle shape.
In between contests my weight is 130 kg (286 lb), I eat 11 times a day – every 2 hours, from 6 AM to 11 PM. During the contests my weight is 122 kg (269 lb). When I am getting prepared to the tournament my nutrition pattern is virtually the same, the only difference is that I eat less carbohydrates and more protein. I try to eat ecologically clean natural food. The emphasis is put on good, high-quality proteins and amino acids.
Myth no. 4. Alex, some people believe that bodybuilding exercises make women masculine.
When a woman works out professionally of course she does not become more feminine. It is true that women become more mannish, because bodybuilding exercises make the body produce more male hormones. I personally do not like such women, I think their nature is to be tender and womanly.
Myth no. 5. In order to build good muscles one has to use steroids.
I can say for sure that certain preparations are used by most bodybuilders, more or less. In our days it is very difficult to reach certain levels without such drugs. Every preparation takes its own time to excrete and this factor is considered when selecting one medicine or another, because every sportsman has to pass dope tests. But if somebody just wants to have a robust body he can do without steroids.
Myth no. 6. Bodybuilders are aggressive and violent people.
On the contrary, many bodybuilders are very good-natured and kind-hearted people. When you come back home after the workout session you don’t have energy for aggression. The only irritating thing is the diet: you want to eat but you must not. When keeping to a diet any person, even the quietest one, becomes somewhat short of temper.
Myth no. 7. It can be said about the bodybuilders: it’s a gain to have muscles for brain.
Those who get hung up only on sports more often than not fail to become great champions. To my mind, the following idea should be taken into account. If a person has achieved a success in a professional sport then his or her head is definitely okay. Many sportsmen are people of great erudition; they are at the same time strong and intelligent. First, they need to know anatomy. Second, they have to know what is what in chemistry, pharmacology and physiology – in order to know what happens in the body when they take the required preparations or medicines.
Myth no. 8. Alex, they say that after a bodybuilder stops working out his muscles turn into fat.
These prejudices are nonsense! Everything depends on the person’s body type. If a person is initially full-bodied then after quitting from sports he or she naturally gains weight. But those who had not have problems with excessive weight should not be afraid: they can even begin losing weight. Another point to consider is age. Muscular tissue accelerates metabolism. As time goes by, muscles become thinner, metabolism slows down and if the sportsman continues eating as much as before (through the habit to have substantial meals) he begins to grow stout. So, it is not retiring from sports that causes obesity, but systematic overeating.
Myth no. 9. Is it true that bodybuilders suffer from narcissism?
This opinion originates from the fact that we have to look in the mirror frequently. But it is really necessary: you have to see and assess yourself all the time. Working out in front of the mirror is a part of any training session. The mirror makes possible to estimate the progress. It reveals at once what you have gained – muscles or fat. And the ability to pose correctly is among other abilities used to assess the sportsmen in the contests. However “star fever” is not infrequent among athletes.
Myth No. 10. Many bodybuilders begin facing problems in their private life, including those in the sphere of intimate relations.
I cannot tell about other athletes, but with me everything is fine. I have been happily married to Irina for twelve years and we never had such problems. Generally speaking, this myth is closely related to the steroids, their use can decrease the production of testosterone, male sex hormone in the body. When a sportsman stops taking pills, the endocrine system restores itself. As for the sexual abilities, some bodybuilders can just leave ordinary men in the dust! Of course after working out a sportsman can be so exhausted that he wants nothing but rest, however this can happen to anyone after any hard work.
source:shabunya.com
