Why Men Want To Have A Muscled Body

Why Men Want To Have A Muscled Body

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    Article originally published by VICE in English.

    Exercise makes people obsessive. You’re sure to meet someone who gets up at 6 a.m. to exercise at the gym, swim and bike before going to work. Or maybe it’s someone who swears that climbing indoors will completely change your life. Or it could be that guy you always see in the office kitchen drinking a protein shake.

    The bodybuilders are in their own league. You can see them on Instagram doing things like lifting someone above their heads without sweating or crushing a melon with their thighs or simply pretending that their biceps are the size of a small child’s head.

    If you loved this report and you would like to receive extra info with regards to JBHNews kindly pay a visit to the page. Although the rights to boast and be compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger all the time may sound like a cute thing, the other side of the coin—reporting to a social life, injury risks and carrying a restricted diet every day of your life—does not sound tempting. So we talked to some super-corporate guys about their dedication and not being able to put on clothes because of their size, and we asked them the most important question: why did they decide to become muscular?

    DAVE CROSLAND, 50 YEARS, HUDDERSFIELD

    VICE: Hi, Dave. How did your fondness for bodybuilding begin?
    Dave Crosland: When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by the characters of He-Man or the musculoskeletal men. I saw movies that had bodybuilders or big men. So since I was a little boy I liked that look and I wanted to emulate it.

    So when did you start?
    At 15 years I started using weights and joined my first gym. I found out I could do it, and it was pretty good too. Curiously, I enjoyed the personal challenge and pain. Although I liked large physicists, it wasn’t my only motivation, so the size is more an advantage of the training I did. Then I tried the gym and got to a good size.

    Do you currently have the highest level of musculature possible?
    No, my best level was about six years ago, when I was probably weighing 160 kilos. It was big and strong, but I could also move. When I started to weigh more than 173 kilos it was when my size began to have a big impact on how I live my life. You don’t fit anywhere.

    Like in your own clothes?
    I mean anything. Clothes, cars, buses, trains.

    What are the worst misconceptions about really muscular types?
    Obviously, drugs play a role, but I think people think it’s all about using drugs and there’s no hard work. You must invest a huge amount of effort. If you’re going to be the best in something or you’re going to overcome your limits, a lot of dedication is required.

    MOTELEOLA MAKINDE, 28 YEARS, LONDRES
    Photo: courtesy of Moteleola

    VICE: When did you start taking yourself seriously to be a bodybuilder?
    Moteleola Makinde: In early 2013. I started going to the gym to try to increase my size. If my execution coincided with my motivation during the first days of training is another story.

    Why did you want to become super muscular?
    Stesthetically, I’ve always preferred this look instead of being thin. I feel safer with and without clothes.

    Why did you start taking it seriously?
    I’d say that the bodybuilding skills forced me to take it more seriously, as I wanted to present the best of me.

    What is the worst mistaken concept about bodybuilders or muscled men?
    By the way modern media paint us, it would be our vanity, even though I try not to pay attention to things that do not tell me to the face.

    What’s the best and worst thing about being so polite?
    For me, the best part is constantly challenging yourself at the gym. Establishing new brands to overcome continuously is very exciting. The worst part is the injuries. I’d say I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt many times, but as you can imagine, it’s not fun to be away from your happy place.

    TOM HEMMING, 25 YEARS, OXFORDSHIRE

    VICE: Why did you decide to become so muscular?
    Tom Hemming: I think we’re similar in the sense that it’s a low self-esteem issue. So I would probably say, however banal it seems, that developing muscles was reduced to just wanting to lure the girls in a start and then became a passion and obsession as time passed.

    Who inspired you?
    My cousin, who is a semi-professional footballer, was very fit and athletic, so it was my first inspiration to enter the gym in general. In terms of bodybuilding, a man named Dorian Yates [a professional bodybuilder and six times winner of the Mr Olympia contest].

    So when did you start taking it seriously?
    About six or seven years ago. When I lived in California for three months and trained at Gold’s Gym and saw all the bodybuilders, I thought, ‘This is the way I want to go on and this is the physicist I want to build and the lifestyle I want to wear.’

    Is being a bodybuilder changing your life?
    It’s totally changed my life. Now it’s my career, my lifestyle and 90% of my friends I made them through bodybuilding or the gym. I met my partner at the gym and now we’re having a baby. So, yes, it has changed my life radically and I would say for good, because I had a quite extreme personality before this. I’d like to think that bodybuilding has taken me away from many potentially negative situations I might have encountered.

    What are the worst misconceptions about muscle men?
    The main thing is, we’re all arrogant and we think we’re above all. Most people I know in bodybuilding come from a low self-esteem environment. Most of my friends are introverted and we really don’t like other people watching. It is more about the development of oneself than the perception that people have of you. That said, in part it comes from a concern for what other people think.

    SAMSON DAUDA, 35 YEARS, ESSEX
    Photo courtesy of Samson Dauda

    VICE: Why did you decide to become so stubborn?
    Samson Dauda: I used to play rugby and my teammates said I had a great physicist and that I had to start taking it seriously. I met my partner at the gym and then started competing six months later and I stayed first.

    Did your first bodybuilding competition make you fall in love with the activity?
    Well, before I was dedicated to this, I was a very shy person. I didn’t take my shirt off the beach and when I was playing team sports I didn’t want to stand out too much. Obviously, when you’re in a competition, you’re almost naked. It took me 20 minutes to mentalize to do so, but when the reflectors settled on me, it was as if I had become a completely different person.

    So bodybuilding has improved your confidence in yourself?
    I couldn’t have done something like this before. As for travelling around the world and meeting new people, I have more confidence in myself.

    Are you still a work in progress or have you already reached the level of musculature that you would like to maintain?
    I’m just beginning, honestly. Bodybuilders can reach their peak at 30 or 40 years, some even compete at 50. So there’s definitely time to make progress.

    What is the worst mistaken concept about bodybuilders?
    That everything is vanity. For some people, it could be, but for me and others, it’s about discipline. I don’t go out and I look at what I eat. I am aware of every drop of water and every gram of protein I have to consume. There’s a lot of dedication. It’s not just about being as big as you can be, it’s more about symmetry.

    So, you’d say that being a muscle has changed your life? It’s definitely my job now. I used to work in construction and then, not long ago, I signed a contract to be a professional bodybuilder. I couldn’t believe it. I thought: ‘Are you going to pay me for going to the gym and training all day?’ I’m incredibly lucky to be able to keep my family this way too.

    All interviews were edited and condensed to achieve greater clarity.

    @nanasbaah

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