The increase of younger bodybuilders?

[Pseudonym]

I've just had an email from someone writing about teenage bodybuilding, and the increase of younger bodybuilders. So I thought I'd get opinions from you guys.

 

What do you reckon? Is teenage bodybuilding on the rise? If it is, why is that?

 

Competitively, are all bodybuilding federations seeing similar growth in young contestants? Or is it mainly NZIFBB who are doing a particularly good job of social media?

[jimmybro1]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

I've just had an email from someone writing about teenage bodybuilding, and the increase of younger bodybuilders. So I thought I'd get opinions from you guys.

 

What do you reckon? Is teenage bodybuilding on the rise? If it is, why is that?

 

Competitively, are all bodybuilding federations seeing similar growth in young contestants? Or is it mainly NZIFBB who are doing a particularly good job of social media?

I wouldn't say bodybuilding is growing quite the opposite.

 

But physique is growing like crazy! Probably cause more easily achievable (thought be to) and you don't have to get up on stage in a thong which is hard for most. Mens physique is seen as being more a model and people love the attention that comes around doing shows mostly from social media. 

 

I think people are just so attention crazy these days they love posting about them sleeves on platforms like IG especially as this is become more accepted by young generations. I am sure if people especially guys posted the shit they do now on social media 10-15 years ago there peers would give them a lot more stick for it. 

 

People are becoming more aware of their heath and a few tend to adopt the fitness/bodybuilding lifestyle because of this. 

 

Just my thoughts 

 

Peace out, Bye 

[HarryB]

I agree with jimmybro. Physique is growing in leaps and bounds and it's motivated by the social media outpouring. If there was a junior physique division then I'm sure that would be loaded with guys. Much more so than bodybuilding. It's like that all across the industry. Everyone is celebrating mediocrity. 

[Skeletor]

Was actually going to start a topic about this the other day but slightly different.  Had noticed that as young guys start out in the gym they all seem to lean toward bodybuilding and focus mainly on how they look but none really want to give powerlifting a go. I have no problem at all with this but wonder how we can attract more powerlifters early on .  Also love seeing people posting fitness related things on social media. Not sure why they cop any flack for it. That's what social media is for.  

[HarryB]

17 minutes ago, Skeletor said:

Was actually going to start a topic about this the other day but slightly different.  Had noticed that as young guys start out in the gym they all seem to lean toward bodybuilding and focus mainly on how they look but none really want to give powerlifting a go. I have no problem at all with this but wonder how we can attract more powerlifters early on .  Also love seeing people posting fitness related things on social media. Not sure why they cop any flack for it. That's what social media is for.  

 

Well interestingly enough I was talking to a young guy about this whole thing recently. Because we have a few teenage and junior bodybuilding guys coming to the gym now and the primary reason for that is because I coached one of them and his friends and peers saw his results and so followed suit. Went from one young dude asking me a bunch of questions to a whole bunch of them. So I'd suggest the way to get young guys into powerlifting is by a) lifting some decent weight and b) being engaging without being a douche. 

 

I also think the set programming of powerlifters limits the enjoyment factor. A young person ain't rocking up to train with you while you do your 5 by 5.. or at least he or she ain't rocking up twice to do that. But see I often train with people and do legs or chest or back or whatever cos it's fun. 

[Skeletor]

14 minutes ago, HarryB said:

 

Well interestingly enough I was talking to a young guy about this whole thing recently. Because we have a few teenage and junior bodybuilding guys coming to the gym now and the primary reason for that is because I coached one of them and his friends and peers saw his results and so followed suit. Went from one young dude asking me a bunch of questions to a whole bunch of them. So I'd suggest the way to get young guys into powerlifting is by a) lifting some decent weight and b) being engaging without being a douche. 

 

I also think the set programming of powerlifters limits the enjoyment factor. A young person ain't rocking up to train with you while you do your 5 by 5.. or at least he or she ain't rocking up twice to do that. But see I often train with people and do legs or chest or back or whatever cos it's fun. 

I'll always make an effort to talk to people where I can and offer any advice should they ask although I'm extremely shy myself in person. But if I see a young guy or gal doing a good lift on social media I'm the first to congratulate and encourage  them . Interesting you say about the set programming because that's exactly what I like haha. Steady progression and knowing exactly what i have to do. Definitely see your point though. Good that you have these youngsters looking to you for advice. 

[HarryB]

I like helping people out. I enjoy the rapport and that type of thing that comes with it. It's tough for a lot of people to find out the specifics of prepping or even training because either the experienced guys don't wanna talk to noobs or they wanna get paid to talk to them. 

[manlet]

The gym scene is getting bigger with young dudes but not really bodybuilding in the competitive sense.

 

I think we see that in the increased quality of junior competitors coming through but the teen numbers still only 2 to 4 dudes.

[Bigken1985]

I had a fb friend post all over fb that he had done a physique show. 10 photos of his upper body and abs. I said u got the abs. Where's the wheels! ? He said under the board shorts. It's pretty fucked. Most these guys have never seen a squat rack. They just get lean. They aren't muscular or freaks or anything. I guess being average is the way to go these days. I do acknowledge they put in a Lot of hard work. But grinding for years on end is a bit different to three months prep to get lean

[HarryB]

It's like when I see a gassed pler post about hitting his 220 squat and everyone gets behind him. We applaud mediocrity and can't relate to the 300 plus squatters. Maybe cos we look at these lower level guys and they're more relatable. 

[Realtalk]

Sorry guys bit far lol 

[Realtalk]

I really didn't think people could be so stupid to be involved in an organisation that is so unprofessional, dishonest and just run by such scumbags. I wonder what they are thinking.

[bang_bang]

Fucking lol. 

 

i came in here to mention same guy, been chasing a pro card for years unsuccessfully, starts wearing a wig and doing physique and gets a masters physique pro card? I didn't know such a thing existed. How desperate can you get.  

[HarryB]

Well f*ck you guys... there goes my plan to return to stage in a mankini.. 

[soundsgood]

You'd carve up Harry

[maccaz]

f*ck lol in on pics of toupee guy 

[Pseudonym]

Oooookay... This wasn't really a question about which bodybuilding classes we like.

 

That said, I can see the appeal of the Physique class. Have any of you guys taken your bodybuilding photos (ie, the ones of you in a posing trunk that's practically a thong) and tried to show them to grandma, or to your colleagues at work? I have. It's the most awkward thing ever. They already thought you were weird - now you're presenting them with proof. Now all the photos are on Facebook, it's that awkwardness times a thousand. I don't think full length boardies are the way to go either, but somewhere in between there's a happy medium.

 

And there are plenty of good physiques in Physique now - the type you have to work for. It's certainly not the easy option any more, if it ever was.

 

Anyway, back on track please! I think maybe the question should be less about bodybuilding as a category in a show, and more about bodybuilding as in general lifting to get in shape.

 

4 hours ago, manlet said:

The gym scene is getting bigger with young dudes but not really bodybuilding in the competitive sense.

I agree. The gym has just become something that every young guy does now. It's almost not even a hobby any more. It's now like brushing your teeth - it's almost stranger if you DON'T do it!

[PETN]

50 minutes ago, maccaz said:

f*ck lol in on pics of toupee guy 

 

Found it

 

 

Before Narlabs 

 

After Narlabs

[maccaz]

6 minutes ago, PETN said:

 

Found it

 

 

Before Narlabs 

 

After Narlabs

Holy lol he adopted some 2006 emo girls haircut 

[jbrauch53]

to get "back on track"   :

I agree with the general concept of competitive bodybuilding staying relatively the same but the gym scene filling up more and more with younger dudes just looking to get stronger and grow.

We haven't had social media /fb / instagram for very along and I think all these bodybuilding and gym meme and fitness motivation pages are becoming "cool", leading to the fitness life being more visible and mainstream. Everyone who's fit and guys n girls that compete, in any class, post pictures and look lean and look great. 

I think that has something to do with it. More people just want to look great and want to be better than everyone else lol, and attract the opposite sex, and walk around with a shaker bottle because gym culture is getting cooler. Its just more easy today to be exposed to with social media. 

 

Thats what came to mind first anyway. it would be cool to see statistics of numbers of competitors in the last 10-20 years in bodybuilding and across the board. Like you guys are saying, physique certainly has taken off for sure

 

[FUBU]

I still remember the first time I signed up to the old Golds Gym in Rotorua about 13 years ago. Bodybuilding wasn't as popular then as it is today. I have seen quite a significant influx of younger people, especially girls,  joining the gym in the last 5 years. I think the average Joe Blog wants to be more than 'just average'. Social media is manipulating their minds. They see instagram photos of bodybuilders or physique models, and think that's not the average lifestyle, I want to be a part of this era. I personally think bodybuilding is going through a peaking trend and eventually it will stagnate again, over time. Callum Von Moger is the new Arnold. When young kids see photos of him they think, ' I'm going to look like that when I'm older'. The reality is, that these poor sods think it's easily obtainable, about 5 years later down the track after they joined the gym and worked the hard yards they realise it's never going to happen. So most guys then realise it is nothing more than just a distant dream.  They then tend to look to a source of a more achievable physique that they can mimic. Sergi Constance is a prime example of what is a more realistic physique that most young people want to obtain as it looks aesthetically pleasing, well that's how the fitness magazines and social media betray the image. You see this ripped dude drinking a protein shake or some tasty alcoholic beverage and you see an aesthetic tropical background, or an expensive looking view of some sort that ties in with the fitness industry image. The fitness industry is HUGE nowadays and they are milking it as much as they can, while they can. People these days want to belong to something that will make them not 'just average'. It's not just bodybuilding. It branches out to other fitness sports like, Crossfit, MMA, etc. In regards to powerlifting not being as popular as the other fitness fields. My guess is that powerlifting is viewed as a really tough and challenging sport that is only meant to be for big solid people? http://spotmebro.com/dont-need-powerlift

[HarryB]

Well its like my generation reading the magazines and seeing Arnold on the beach or Shawn Ray in a mustang surrounded by women. 

 

I don't know if more people train now, every guy I knew as a teenager had a bash at the weights. Mind you we only had 3 channels on TV back then lol wasn't much else to do. 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

14 hours ago, HarryB said:

It's like when I see a gassed pler post about hitting his 220 squat and everyone gets behind him. We applaud mediocrity and can't relate to the 300 plus squatters. Maybe cos we look at these lower level guys and they're more relatable. 

i agree with this but maybe my angle is a bit different to what you implied. atleast for me, i felt as a beginner there's a lot of misinformation out there about what is and isn't attainable, so my inspirations have changed a lot over time. even still, as a slightly more experienced beginner i selectively pick what believe is attainable within my limitations / boundaries (how hard we're willing to work/train, how frequently, how much attention to food all that stuff). 

 

i saw maccaz instagram post with his 250kg deadlift PB and was crazy inspired by this, i don't get that way if i look at a 400kg squat or Ronnie Coleman posing. same way i guess if i was wanting to look good on the beach i would look at physique class because more often than not, i can relate better to people who are not in the 'superhuman' category.

 

are there numbers supporting increase in competitive teenage bodybuilders, or is it more of teenagers going to the gym to get muscular? is it just males or males and females? it would make sense if there was an increase after all though, especially among males. there is a lot of attention on 'buff' males in the media, not necessarily competitive bodybuilders but just actors and sports people (compare what the all blacks look like today vs 20 yrs ago) in general who are muscular and lean.

[maccaz]

34 minutes ago, FellowshipOfTheRon said:

i agree with this but maybe my angle is a bit different to what you implied. atleast for me, i felt as a beginner there's a lot of misinformation out there about what is and isn't attainable, so my inspirations have changed a lot over time. even still, as a slightly more experienced beginner i selectively pick what believe is attainable within my limitations / boundaries (how hard we're willing to work/train, how frequently, how much attention to food all that stuff). 

 

i saw maccaz instagram post with his 250kg deadlift PB and was crazy inspired by this, i don't get that way if i look at a 400kg squat or Ronnie Coleman posing. same way i guess if i was wanting to look good on the beach i would look at physique class because more often than not, i can relate better to people who are not in the 'superhuman' category.

 

are there numbers supporting increase in competitive teenage bodybuilders, or is it more of teenagers going to the gym to get muscular? is it just males or males and females? it would make sense if there was an increase after all though, especially among males. there is a lot of attention on 'buff' males in the media, not necessarily competitive bodybuilders but just actors and sports people (compare what the all blacks look like today vs 20 yrs ago) in general who are muscular and lean.

 

 

this

 

i find more attainable goals more inspiring as i know its possible in my life.

i rather watch someone struggle a 300 squat than someone doing an easy 400+, dunno if thats normal or not but i aspire to things that are actually attainable (if im being realistic) 

 

thats not to say i dont want to see the top of the world guys, its just not as relatable.

 

 

[HarryB]

So we're compounding the problem of lowering standards by being inspired by the struggle lol

 

The reason young guys aren't into powerlifting competition as much could be as simple as the fact they're as boring as hell.