Heterotopia/Utopia Aspects in the Sport of Bodybuilding

Michel Foucault defines heterotopias as, “something like counter-sites, a kind of effectively enacted utopia in which the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted” (1). He explains that these places are real and exist in every culture. I believe a perfect example of one of these spaces is a fitness center/gym.

In gyms it is normal for people to sweat, throw objects on the ground (dumbbells) and slam weight plates together, make loud noises ranging from grunting to yelling, and interact with strangers. All of these actions are considered abnormal in the setting of most places in society, such as a school or restaurant, but in the atmosphere of the gym these actions are completely normal and expected. One of the most absurd instances of a typical act performed in a gym when compared to any other setting is a man asking another man to spot him while lifting. For a man to go up to a complete stranger and ask that person to place his hands very close to, if not on his own body, and then assist him in his exercise is absolutely ludicrous in theory yet it happens constantly and is a fully acceptable action in a gym. This example shows how the norms of society are not enforced in the setting of a fitness center, and for that reason a fitness center is an ideal example for Foucault’s heterotopias.

Similarly, the stage of a bodybuilding contest represents a utopia. According to Foucault, utopias “present society itself in a perfected form, or else society turned upside down” (1).  In bodybuilding, the main goal is to shape one’s body to a perfected form, and look God-like. A perfect human is completely nonexistent in today’s society, but the physical shapes of bodybuilders are designed to represent a sculpture and perfectly defined human being. To form a human’s body to the image of a Greek God is fundamentally impossible and therefore represents key aspects of a utopia. On a stage where men whose bodies are taken to the absolute extreme form and are gleaming in oil, vascular due to dehydration, massive from years of training, dark from self-tanner people can't stop themselves from staring. It seems unreal, these men's bodies seem as astounding pieces of human flesh sculpted together in a perfected form. For all of these reasons, when a person looks at the stage of Mr. Olympia, where all the competitors are standing, he/she is looking at a perfect representation of a utopia. Below is an image from the 2010 Mr. Olympia prejudging. 

(Hinds)

Works Cited

Foucault, Michel. "Of Other Spaces (1967), Heterotopias." Foucault, info. Foucault, info, n.d. 
                           Web. 13  Mar. 2011.
            Hinds, Isaac.2010 Mr. Olympia. 2010. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://sizematter.com/>.

Bodybuilding: A New form of Masculinity

Factory jobs and work involving manual labor are rapidly becoming non-existent. As technological advances are continually made, and companies further seek cheaper labor (i.e. outsourcing) the number of industrial jobs available are diminishing (Hagenbaugh). As stated by Barbara Hagenbaugh, “Fifty years ago, a third of U.S. employees worked in factories, making everything from clothing to lipstick to cars. Today, a little more than one-tenth of the nation's 131 million workers are employed by manufacturing firms.” The United States has entered the era of “the office job” and this could be effecting the male population in effect.

It is a drastic transition from working factory jobs, in which the work is strenuous, tiring, and typically difficult to perform, to sitting in an office filling out paper work and typing all day. Men might view this new line of work as less masculine, and will attempt to compensate for this loss of masculinity in effect. What better way to feel more “manly” than to work out and become more muscular? A man with large vascular muscles can feel like an alpha male no matter what his job is. As these office workers increasingly joined gyms and began weight training, more and more men entered the realm of bodybuilding. This lead to the increasing popularity of the sport of bodybuilding and transformed it into what it is today. Below is a video of various popular bodybuilders training. The video shows exactly how the sport of bodybuilding and weight lifting in general can allow testosterone to flow full rampant  through the male body and leave a guy feeling as if he's reached the apex of masculinity. 

Works Cited

Epic Bodybuilding Motivation-Fallen Warrior. 23 May 2010. Online Video Clip. Youtube.
                           15 March 2011. 

            Hagenbaugh, Barbara. U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Fading Away Fast. USA Today: 12

                           December 2002. Web. 15 April 2011. <http://usatoday.com/>. 

Evolution of the Bodybuilder

    As the sport of bodybuilding grew in size, the level of competition increased directly. Competitors have continually grown in size and increased in strength levels from the time of the first competition in 1891. Even recently the changes made in the physics of bodybuilders are astounding. Below are images of two bodybuilders: Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven time Mr. Olympia from the “Golden Age” of bodybuilding in the 1970’s, and Ronnie Coleman, eight time Mr. Olympia, whose reign of the Mr. O title lasted from 1998 to  2005.

(Arnold)

(Ronnie Coleman Posing)

     It’s obvious that Coleman is more massive, defined, and vascular than Arnold. Similarly, Coleman’s strength is greater than Arnold’s. Arnold, in 1974, at a height of 6’2’’ and contest weight 235 lbs. could bench 450 lbs. for 8 reps (Jones). Whereas Ronnie Coleman, at a height of 5’11’’ and contest weight of 280 lbs. is able to bench press 495 lbs. for five reps (The Cost of Redemption). Some of the other very impressive lifting statistics of Ronnie Coleman include: Dead lifting 800 lbs. for two clean reps, leg pressing 2300 lbs. for 8 reps. These heavy weight lifting techniques were not very common during Arnold's era. Below are a few videos of Ronnie accomplishing the lifting stats that I mentioned above.

     This supports the pattern that bodybuilders are continually becoming more advanced as time progresses. Many wonder just how much more massive, vascular, and strong bodybuilders can become in the future. Is there going to be what Brenkus describes as a “perfection point” (discussed in an earlier post) in which the physiques of these athletes can become no more massive and defined. On the other hand, will continually changing human genes provide the backbone for better and better competitors in the future? Also, if more effective and stronger supplementation, such as anabolic steroids are developed these athletes will be able to break any plateau that human nature presents.

Works Cited

Arnold. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://muscletitans.com/>. 

Brenkus, John. The Perfection Point. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Print.
Jones, Jake. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 2005 J.L. Jones Enterprises, LLC. Web. 15 March 2011. 
           <http://bodybuildinguniverse.com/>. 
Ronnie Coleman 2300 lb Leg Press. 25 February 2011. Online Video Clip. Youtube. 15 March 2011.
Ronnie Coleman 800 pound Deadlift. 26 January 2009. Online Video Clip. Youtube. 15 March 2011.
Ronnie Coleman Posing. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://born2bbig.com/>.
Ronnie Coleman Supernatural. 25 February 2009. Online Video Clip. Youtube. 15 March 2011. 
The Cost of Redemption. Dir. Mitsuru Dkabe. Perf. Ronnie Coleman. MOC video, 2005. DVD. 

"Big Ron"

(The King: Ronnie Coleman)

Ronnie Dean Coleman was born on May 13^th, 1964, in Monroe Louisiana (Harris). He grew up playing football where he became familiar with the weight room, and lifted for countless hours to get bigger and stronger for the season. Coaches and teammates referred to Ronnie as, “The hardest working kid on the squad” (Harris).  After high school he went to Grambling State University to play football and graduate Cum Laude with a BS in Accounting (Harris). Soon after graduating Ronnie left Louisiana and relocated to Dallas, Texas in hope of finding better job opportunities.

Unfortunately, Ronnie’s job search didn’t go as well as he thought it would and he ended up working for Domino’s as a pizza delivery boy (Harris). He was completely dissatisfied with his job and when reflecting upon it stated, "I dreaded every day working there, but I knew I was destined for something better." He left his job at Domino’s and joined the Arlington police force. Having always lifted and stayed in very good shape Ronnie was more than fit for the job. Below is an image of Ronnie in his police uniform.

(Ronnie Coleman)

In 1989 Ronnie was advised by a fellow officer to join Metroflex gym, one of the best hardcore gyms around (Harris). There he would meet his new training partner, owner of Metroflex, Brian Dobson. Dobson shared with Ronnie his expertise in bodybuilding training and within only four months Ronnie was ready for his first show. In 1990 Ronnie Coleman was on stage for the first time at the Mr. Texas bodybuilding competition and won with ease (Harris). He continued to compete in a few other amateur competitions until he showed in the NPC Nationals, where he would compete two times (Harris). Even though Ronnie placed fourth in the competition during his second show, he was sent by the NPC to Poland to compete in international bodybuilding competitions. He devastated the other heavyweight bodybuilders and received his IFBB pro card in 1991 (Harris).

It was official; Ronnie Dean Coleman received his pro card and was welcomed into the league of professional bodybuilders.  In 1998, after years of hard work and competing Ronnie finally achieved the greatest accomplishment in the sport of bodybuilding, received the Sandow trophy, and was granted the title of Mr. Olympia. He would go on to win Mr. O each consecutive year up until 2005 (Harris). This achievement makes Ronnie Coleman tied for the most Mr. Olympia titles in the history of bodybuilding. The only other competitor to achieve 8 Mr. O titles was Lee Haney. 

A video below shows Ronnie Coleman as he win's his first Mr. Olympia title, and also raw footage of his training throughout the years. 

Works Cited

Harris, Ron. Ronnie Coleman: His Rise to the Top and How He Stayed There. 

                      RonnieColeman.com, 2000-2007. Web. 15 March 2011. 

Ronnie Coleman. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://befit4free.net>. 

"Ronnie Coleman Tribute 2011." 9 February 2011. Online Video Clip. Youtube. 

                     15 March 2011. 

The King: Ronnie Coleman. 2005. Web. 15 March 2011. 

                      <http://musclebase.blogspot.com/>.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Origin of the Bodybuilder

    “It was the summer I turned fifteen, a magical season for me because that year I’d discovered exactly what I wanted to do with my life” (Schwarzenegger 13). Arnold explains in his book, Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, that at such a young age he was driven by the motivation of becoming the best bodybuilder in the world, and in effect the best-built man. Although most kids dreamed of the possible futures of becoming firefighters, astronauts, detectives, etc. Arnold felt as if his goal of becoming the best bodybuilder was not a fantasy, but a set future. Being inspired by his father, a champion in the sport of ice curling, Arnold was involved in sports at a very young age. Arnold played soccer, boxed, swam, competed in the javelin throw and shot put. One of his coaches for soccer decided an effective training method was lifting weights for an hour each day. This is where it all began, Arnold fell in love with weight training the second he laid eyes on “the huge and brutal” guys in the gym and desired to transform his body to fit this image. He began training intensely and became obsessed with the results he saw in both size increase and definition. Arnold began to read American magazines including Muscle Builder, and Mr. America and idolized the men he saw in them, mainly Reg Park. 

Arnold pursued his goals, became a professional bodybuilder, moved to America, and laid precedence for the sport of bodybuilding to evolve into what it has today. He went on to win the Mr. Universe competition five times, and the Mr. Olympia seven times. Through his achievements and movie, Pumping Iron, Arnold changed the view of society on the freakish concept of bodybuilding, and also inspired many to participate in bodybuilding. Below are two images of Arnold in his glory days.

(Arnold Posing)

(Arnold)

Works Cited

Arnold. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://healthandfitness777.blogspot.com/>.

Arnold Posing. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://graphicsdb.com/>. 

Schwarzenegger, Arnold. Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977. Print. 

Should The IFBB Crackdown on Illegal Steroid Use

    Natural leagues are vast in existence in the sport of bodybuilding. Such leagues include the ABA, PNBA, and INBA which pave the road to the higher organizations. The competitors in these organizations are often tested for illegal drug use, and if one can not pass the drug screening he/she is ineligible to compete. Although steroid abuse is greatly frowned upon in these organizations, once a bodybuilder receives his pro card and is part of the elite group of bodybuilders in the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilders), drug screening is hardly if not at all performed (Should the IFBB Enforce the Steroid Ban). The IFBB claims that performance enhancing drugs are not allowed to be used by its competitors, but it is not strictly enforced, and many bodybuilders have admitted to taking steroids and pro hormones while training for competitions. 

The controversy that evolves from the banning of steroid use in the IFBB is viewed in many different perspectives. Many people think that if FDA banned substances are completely removed from bodybuilding competitions that the sport’s popularity, and achievements would suffer greatly in effect (Why Bodybuilding Needs Steroids). The spectators that attend these competitions are infatuated with the freakish size and definition of the athletes. So if the bodybuilders become smaller, and less astonishing due to the lack of steroid aid will less people attend the shows? This could cause the bodybuilding industry to suffer greatly. 

On the other hand, could the overall acceptance of the sport of bodybuilding in terms of societies norms increase if these illegal drugs are strictly banned. It is simply unclear, and for that reason the topic remains an unsolved controversy in the sport of bodybuilding. 

Works Cited

"Should the IFBB Enforce the Steroid Ban." Web. 15 March 2011. <http://bodybuilding.com/>. 

"Why Bodybuilding Needs Steroids." Web. 15 March 2011. <http://bodybuilding.com/>.

Performance Enhancing Drugs

     Bodybuilding encompasses the ideal of fitting a perfect image and trying to sculpt one’s body to an unflawed form. To win a competition one must go to great lengths to meet the judges’ qualifications. A bodybuilder seeks low-body fat percentage, size, vascularity, definition, symmetry, and proportionality. Due to increased competition in the sport of bodybuilding, the athletes are typically forced to take unnatural supplements. These performance enhancing supplements that are common in most of the athletics today, specifically bodybuilding include but are not limited to anabolic steroids, testosterone boosters, estrogen blockers, human growth hormones, insulin-like growth factor and narcotics (Mayo Clinic Staff). 

Below are several types of performance enhancing drugs commonly used by pro and amateur bodybuilders. All of these compounds are designed to increase muscle mass and strength, improve recovery time, and promote overall muscle advancement. The drugs work mainly thought the synthetic modification of testosterone production, and can be taken in pill, injection, or topical form (Mayo Clinic Staff).

(Steroids In Various Forms)

(German Testosterone Enanthate)

(HGH)

(Dianabol)

    Since all of these drugs are extremely hazardous to consume a vast amount of side effects can occur when one chooses to use them. The image below is a great representation of all the harmful effects one can experience from steroid abuse. 

(Algra)

     Even though side effects from steroids are vast and deleterious to one’s body, a determined bodybuilder will ignore the potential negative outcomes in order to see the short term rapid gains that only these drugs make conceivable. A documentary named, “The Man Whose Arms Exploded,” featuring Gregg Valentino reveals the real life effects, physically and emotionally that Valentino experienced from steroid abuse. The documentary also pertains to several other issues discussed in my blog project as well as the reasoning many use when defending their decision to use steroids. A small portion of the documentary is present below. 

Works Cited

Algra, Bruce. Harmful Effects of Steroids. n.d. Algra Corporation. Web. March 15 2011. 

Dianabol. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://www.beststeroidonline.com/>.

German Testosterone Enanthate. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://mesomorphosis.com/>.

HGH. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://anabolex.com/>. 

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the Risk." Fitness. 23 December 2010. Mayo

          Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 15 March 2011. 

          <http://mayoclinic.com/>.

Steroids in Various Forms. n.d. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://thegooddrugsguide.com/>.

"The Man Whose Arms Exploded Part 1 Ingles." 1 February 2009. Online video clip. Youtube. March

          25 2011. 

The Ideal Body

      It is obvious that society has an ideal image for both Men and Women to fit. Overtime that specific image has evolved and changed in several ways. One example of this change is the increase in muscularity of males. A clear example of this alteration of the ideal male figure is present in male action figures. Catina Dan, a blogger for Men of Action, provides great images that represent the evolution of male action figures. Several images are present below. 

(Gung Ho)

(Han Solo)

(The Incredible Hulk)

(Ram Man)

John Brenkus, in his book, The Perfection Point, talks about finding the limits for people trying to attain the perfect body. He analyzes the sport science behind the limits of pure strength and how performance enhancing drugs are used to stretch the limits. He states that, “Every time someone declares that we can go no faster, no higher, no farther, someone else comes along to prove him wrong and leaves the doubter regretting his foolishness” (XI). Through this ideology,  he’s basically saying the limits for human achievements in sports are unpredictable. Man will continue to evolve in to a more advanced athlete. Also when those more advanced athletes begin to take performance enhancing drugs they breach the threshold of any normal person’s capability, and can achieve unconceivable feats. 

Works Cited

Brenkus, John. The Perfection Point. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Print. 

Dan, Catina. "Do you Believe in Evolution?" Men of Action. 15 April 2009. Web. 15 March 2011.
Gung Ho.Action Figures Observer's Field Manual. Web. 15 March 2011. 
         <http://actionfigureinsider.com/>. 
Han Solo. Action Figures Observer's Field Manual. Web. 15 March 2011. 
         <http://actionfigureinsider.com/>.
Ram Man. Action Figures Observer's Field Manual. Web. 15 March 2011. 

         <http://actionfigureinsider.com/>.

The Incredible Hulk. Action Figures Observer's Field Manual. Web. 15 March 2011. 

         <http://actionfigureinsider.com/>.

The Founding of Two Meccas

      Gold’s Gym is considered by many to be the most popular and prominent franchise of fitness centers in the sport of bodybuilding today. This elite gym is commonly referred to as “The Mecca of Bodybuilding” and was originally established in 1965, in Venice Beach, California (Drasin). The founder of Gold’s Gym, Joe Gold, was a merchant marine and sold the gym along with his rights to the “Gold’s Gym” name in 1973 because he desired to take voyage back on the sea. While out at sea, Gold’s exponentially grew in popularity, expanded and became the main sponsor of bodybuilding events as well as being advertised in a variety of magazines.

      

       Joe returned to the US in 1976 and realized just how popular his creation had become. Due to the fact that Joe sold his rights to the name, he was forced to open a new franchise, which he called World’s Gym (Drasin). By doing this Joe Gold created the second “Mecca of Bodybuilding” and it effectively gained success and popularity. Many of the popular bodybuilders at the time including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo, Ken Waller, Irvin Kosvewski, etc began training at World’s Gym which attributed to its success. 

The video below is taken from the show series, Ric’s Corner, and features Ric Drasin talking about the history of Gold’s Gym including its location, the daily routines of bodybuilders training there, and the logo design. He then talks about the actions of Joe Gold in developing the “Two Meccas of Bodybuilding.” 

Works Cited

Drasin, Rick. "Joe Gold Gym."Ric's Corner. 19 December 2009. Online Video Clip.  Youtube. 15 
             March 2011. 

Drasin, Rick. The Man Behind Two Meccas. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://bodybuilding.com/>. 

Fitness in the United States and the Development of Bodybuilding Competitions

   As seen in the previous post on the history of fitness around the World, fitness has always been a key asset to the daily lives of humans. During the National Period of the United States, the great American intellectuals of the time began to recognize the importance of fitness. Benjamin Franklin recommended regular physical activity such as running, swimming, and basic forms of resistance training for health benefits (Dalleck and Kravitz). Similarly, President Thomas Jefferson viewed the importance of physical activity to somewhat of an extreme measure. Jefferson stated, “Not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise, and the weather shall be little regarded. If the body is feeble, the mind will not be strong" (Personal Fitness Professional).

            The first bodybuilding contest to ever be held was in 1891 in the United Kingdom, and was hosted/judged by the first true bodybuilder, Eugene Sandow (Robson). Eugene Sandow was a professional strongman from Europe who traveled to the US in the 1890’s to be titled the World’s Strongest Man. He hosted the first bodybuilding competition and claimed it, “The Great Show” (Robson).

(Eugene Sandow)

The event had great success with a sell-out crowd of 2000 people. The winner of the competition received a cash prize equivalent to $2,500 and a gold statuette of no other person than Sandow himself (Robson).

This bodybuilding competition gave precedence to the development of competitions in the United States. In 1939, the Amateur Athletic Union created the Mr. America show, which began as a demonstration of athletic skills, but developed into the first modern bodybuilding competition in 1940 (Robson).  The first place winner of the 1940 Mr. America show was John Grimek (Robson).

(John Grimek) 

As the sport of bodybuilding grew in popularity, the number of competitors increased along with the size and definition of their physics. In result to growing popularity, Ben Weider formed the International Federation of Bodybuilders in 1946 (Robson). Even more large-scale competitions arose, including two of the most infamous competitions still today: Mr. Universe was formed in 1950, and Mr. Olympia was formed in 1965 (Robson). Mr. Olympia evolved into what is considered to be the ultimate title in the sport of bodybuilding today. 

Works Cited

Dalleck, Lance and Kravitz, Len. The History of Fitness. The University of New Mexico. Web.

            15 March 2011. <http://unm.edu/>.
Eugene Sandow. n.d. A History Lesson in Bodybuilding. Web. 15 March 2011.
            <http://bodybuilging.com/>.
John Grimek. n.d. A History Lesson in Bodybuilding. Web. 15 March 2011.
            <http://bodybuilding.com/>.
Personal Fitness Professional. Fitness Through the Ages. Web. 15 March 2011. 

            <http://www.fit-pro.com/>. 
Robson, David. "Find out how Bodybuilding has evolved over the years, broken down by 
            different eras." A History Lesson in Bodybuilding.  Web. 15 March 2011. 
            <http://bodybuilding.com/>.