Research: bodybuilding questions!

Started by Beorning, August 17, 2017, 04:49:44 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Beorning

Because of plot bunny reasons, I found myself in need of finding out more about bodybuilding - especially about female bodybuilding. I looked online and I found some answers, but not all of them... So, I thought I might ask around here?

Here are my questions:

1. I've read (and seen on the photos) that female bodybuilders develop wide shoulders, strong jaws etc. Why is that? Is it purely because of their muscles growing, or is their bone structure changing?

2. If a bodybuilder's bone structure is changing, then is it purely because of training, or do steroids etc. play a part?

3. What happens to a bodybuilder (especially a female one) who retires and stops working out? Do their muscles shrink back? Would a wide-shouldered, hard-jawed female bodybuilder lose these features after a while?

4. Are bodybuilders strong, or are their muscles mostly for show?

5. I know there are different kinds of strength muscle training: bodybuilding focuses on looks, powerlifters train strictly for stuff from powerlifting competitions, weightlifters train for lifting weights as seen on Olympics etc. Is there a type of strength training that is something general and deals with someone simply wanting to get as strong as possible?

I'd be grateful for the input!

Exenklean

1 ) Developing wide shoulders just comes naturally with bodybuilding as you do a lot of workouts that are centered around the back and shoulders. As for the jaw and face structure changing, there are muscles in your face as well and you'll look different the more you train. As far as drastic changes go where some female bodybuilders begin looking like men, it's because not all bodybuilders are natural and some take steroids.

2) Steroids play a part, I can't be 100% sure on anything else here.

3) Not much help here, but muscles do get smaller as you workout less and get older etc.

4) Bodybuilders are strong, but they won't be as strong as say someone who works specifically for strength purposes. A professional arm wrestler would probably beat most bodybuilders in an arm wrestling strength competition.

5) If you want to get as strong as possible in the most generic sense, lifting weights at a higher and higher number per training session will get you there fast. If you lift and add even 5lbs more the week you're able to lift then you'll stronger very quickly.

Hope some of this helps. I'm not an expert.

Kuroneko

I used to bodybuild (without steroids) and continue to lift, so maybe I can answer some of your questions.

1. I've read (and seen on the photos) that female bodybuilders develop wide shoulders, strong jaws etc. Why is that? Is it purely because of their muscles growing, or is their bone structure changing?

Wide shoulders occur from muscle development in the trapezius and latissimus dorsi, two main muscles in the back, as well as the deltoids in the shoulders. That look is particularly desirable in bodybuilding, so you do specific exercises in order to develop a wide, V-shaped upper back. As for the strong jaw, that happens mostly because of steroid use and a decrease in body fat, especially for competitions, where you also seek to dehydrate your body to look more 'cut' for the competition.

2. If a bodybuilder's bone structure is changing, then is it purely because of training, or do steroids etc. play a part?

Bone density increases with muscle strength, which is why it's important to do weight bearing exercises as you get older to prevent bone breaks, but increase in bone size only comes through steroid use/abuse.

3. What happens to a bodybuilder (especially a female one) who retires and stops working out? Do their muscles shrink back? Would a wide-shouldered, hard-jawed female bodybuilder lose these features after a while?

Body changes from steroid abuse remain, but as with all people, muscles atrophy if they aren't used. So, changes in jaw size would remain if steroids were used. Muscles would shrink. Look at the actress that played Vasquez in Aliens, as an example.

4. Are bodybuilders strong, or are their muscles mostly for show?

Yes and no. They're strong in terms of lifting the weights for the exercises they're doing to increase muscle mass, but the strength you develop say, learning martial arts is a different kind of strength, if that makes sense. I've done both. Lifting weights helps you develop strength for martial arts, but can't develop your muscular strength for kicks the same way doing 100 kicks every day does. I definitely am stronger when I lift regularly, though.

5. I know there are different kinds of strength muscle training: bodybuilding focuses on looks, powerlifters train strictly for stuff from powerlifting competitions, weightlifters train for lifting weights as seen on Olympics etc. Is there a type of strength training that is something general and deals with someone simply wanting to get as strong as possible?

Yes, there is overall strength training, with both weight training and cardio components. You can't train to build muscle and burn fat at the same time, as they're different physiological processes. But you can train for strength and endurance together.

Hope that helps :-)
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Beorning

#3
Thanks for the answers, guys! :)

Some follow-up, if you will:

1. Strong jaws - so, is a strong man's jaw strong because of big jaw bones, or just big jaw muscles?

2. Strength training - let's say you'd want to train women to be tough, lift very much and be general extreme kick-ass bruisers :) What would these women look like muscle-wise? Would they resemble the bodybuilders in apperance? Also, there a name for this kind strength training - so that I could look up some photos of females who do it online?

3. I've noticed that a lot of female bodybuilders have really small breasts. Is this typical? Or would it be possible for a bodybuilder to be quite muscular and still have normally-sized bust?

Kuroneko

1. Strong jaws - so, is a strong man's jaw strong because of big jaw bones, or just big jaw muscles?

I'd say that has to do with their physiognomy more than anything - their bone structure and development. Many people clench and make faces when they lift heavy weights, so there can be peripheral muscle development, and there are exercises that you can do for your neck that can bulk up the muscles there. Plus, the trapezius muscle originates along your spine, all the way up the back of your neck to your skull, so that gets developed when you work it. If you're looking primarily at competition photos, it's not really a good example of what they look like every day. You seriously work to eliminate as much water from your body as possible - sometimes dangerously - to look like that on competition day - as well as get rid of as much fat as possible.

2. Strength training - let's say you'd want to train women to be tough, lift very much and be general extreme kick-ass bruisers :) What would these women look like muscle-wise? Would they resemble the bodybuilders in apperance? Also, there a name for this kind strength training - so that I could look up some photos of females who do it online?

Without steroids they'd look like natural bodybuilders/swimmers/gymnasts. Natural bodybuilding or strength training is what it's usually called. Try googling Rachel McLish. She was the first woman to win a bodybuilding contest in the late 70's, back when women didn't use steroids. Or Gladys Portuguese.

3. I've noticed that a lot of female bodybuilders have really small breasts. Is this typical? Or would it be possible for a bodybuilder to be quite muscular and still have normally-sized bust?

Yes, it is and no, they cannot. When you build the pectoralis major and minor muscles you lose fat and breast fat is quite often dramatically reduced. The female bodybuilders you see with large breasts all have implants, as the current trend in the sport is for women to be as muscled as men, but still look feminine, which is physiologically impossible without steroids and breast augmentation.

It's probably worth mentioning diet here as well. Any time that you're working to build the kind of muscle that a bodybuilder has - natural or otherwise - you have to follow a very strict dietary regimen in order to achieve muscle growth. As I said before, you can't lose fat and build muscle at the same time. To build muscle, you have to each a large amount of protein, spaced over the day into 6 - 10 meals (look up what the Rock's typical daily food intake is for an eye opener) along with a set limit on carbs and vegetables/fruits. No sugar, low fat, lower carb, etc. Very clean eating. You're also training about 2 hours minimum per day, at least 6 times per week (at least, I did). It's expensive (and exhausting), not to mention meal replacements and supplements. Then you kick into a different kind of training right before a competition, in order to get shredded and reduce body fat without losing muscle.
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Beorning

#5
Quote from: Kuroneko on August 19, 2017, 04:20:12 PM
Without steroids they'd look like natural bodybuilders/swimmers/gymnasts. Natural bodybuilding or strength training is what it's usually called. Try googling Rachel McLish. She was the first woman to win a bodybuilding contest in the late 70's, back when women didn't use steroids. Or Gladys Portuguese.

Hm. Gladys Portugues...



In your opinion, are these natural muscles on her? They look kind of big.

Quote
Yes, it is and no, they cannot. When you build the pectoralis major and minor muscles you lose fat and breast fat is quite often dramatically reduced. The female bodybuilders you see with large breasts all have implants, as the current trend in the sport is for women to be as muscled as men, but still look feminine, which is physiologically impossible without steroids and breast augmentation.

Let me clarify that: could a female natural bodybuilder have breasts, or would she get into the same problem as the women who use steroids?

Also, this amazing girl here:



Would you say she has breast implants? And could, say, a fantasy warrior really have this kind of musculature - or would that be impossible without steroids?

Here's another look at her:


Kuroneko

Quote from: Beorning on August 20, 2017, 03:47:24 PM
Hm. Gladys Portugues...



In your opinion, are these natural muscles on her? They look kind of big.

Gladys didn't use steroids. She was trained by Vince Gironda, and used his methods. Another name for this kind of training is Figure Athlete Bodybuilding.

QuoteLet me clarify that: could a female natural bodybuilder have breasts, or would she get into the same problem as the women who use steroids?

I'm not sure what you mean by 'the same problem as women who use steroids.' As I said before, you lose fat as you build muscle in your chest. Because breasts contain a lot of fat they get smaller. That doesn't have anything to do with steroid use. It happens to all female bodybuilders. How much breast size a female bodybuilder retains really depends on her body type and breast size when she starts training. Genetics plays a HUGE part in what you end up looking like. Not everyone has the genetics to look like the pictures in your post.

QuoteAlso, this amazing girl here:



Would you say she has breast implants? And could, say, a fantasy warrior really have this kind of musculature - or would that be impossible without steroids?

Here's another look at her:



I really can't tell from either of those images, to be honest  :-\ . She's clearly not shredded at the moment, though.

These are images are of natural bodybuilders:



This is Gladys, no implants.



Rachel McLish, the first IFBB champion, pre-implants and shredded for competition



Rachel post-implants. You can see the clear outline of the implants along her sternum

Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Doomblade403xxx

When cast for the Conan the Barbarian remake Jason Momoa had a brutal workout schedule which consisted of 4 sessions a day and ate 6 baked chickens a day. A bodybuilder doesn't necessarily need steroids to bulk up, but in order to maintain that body they have to continually work out and feed the body protein. In fact most gym rats will tell you to either eat before going to the gym, or eat within 30 minutes of the workout. This gorges those starving muscles with protein. In the above example...a person would just about have to make bodybuilding their job. Frankly most people would go broke trying to maintain a physique like that.

Kuroneko

To build muscle you don't need steroids. A man doesn't need steroids to gain muscle or bulk up, within reason, provided his genetics are good. Look what Josh Brolin's done to play Cable in Deadpool. But in order to look like this ...



... women do. You can tell that they're using steroids from the changes in their facial structure. There's also Chyna's famous porn video with her husband documenting the clitoral enlargement that can happen with steroid use.

I agree, you do have to make it your job, or at least, your full time hobby, lol. When I was doing it, it was pretty much all I did outside of my job.
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Kuroneko

Then there's Ernestine Shepard -



She's also a champion natural bodybuilder. She didn't start working out until she was 56. This is a current picture. She's 80.
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh