On Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding was a mystery to me but I was always fascinated by it. Reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s memoir, Total Recall, was my introduction to the bodybuilding world.

The line that stood out to me was that a bodybuilder is both the sculptor and the sculpture. In competitions they are judged on mass, symmetry, proportion, and definition. And here they use weights as a chisel to shape their bodies however they like.

Another important part of bodybuilding is stage presence. Bodybuilders spend hours practicing their poses and routines like a dancer practicing their choreography. These poses are are their physique gets judged after all.