What makes someone workout for hours every day, go on diets for weeks on end, or do endless hours of cardio? Why do people eating nothing but chicken or fish for weeks at a time? Well that’s what I plan on finding out, what makes bodybuilders tick. Bodybuilders go through extreme mental and physical stress in order to achieve the ideal physique. Bodybuilding is one of the most demanding sports, both mentally and physically. So, why do these dedicated individuals put themselves through this insane stress?

            Bodybuilding is full of stereotypes and myths. What is the first thing you think when you see a man who is well built and caring a large amount of muscle? I would bet to say you think all bodybuilders are big slow meat heads. It’s a sad reality most average people see muscle size as an indicator of intelligence. This comes from the stereotype in movies of the big muscular jock in high school who is failing classes because all he know how to do is be strong. To take your body to the extreme levels of physical fitness you have to understand every function of your body. One has to understand every nutrient they intake through food and when is the optimal time to consume these nutrients. Bodybuilders are very intelligent individuals and they understand all the science behind what they do. Without this knowledge of the body and nutrients they would not be able to reach such extreme musculature.

            I love to work out and lift weights. I am very into sports nutrition and bodybuilding. I like to consider myself a bodybuilder I do compete in bodybuilding shows. But I don’t go to the same extremes that top pro bodybuilders do. I eat very similar diet to theirs consisting of high protein meats, complex carbs, and healthy fats. I love everything about the sports but I also have to deal with school and work. Professionals only have to focus on lifting and eating. They have supplement sponsors who pay them money just to lift and be big. I am fortunate enough to work in this industry. I work at supplement superstore where I’m free to eat when I need and take all the supplements I need. So in some way you could say I about as close to sponsored as possible without a contract. I never run out of anything I need and I can always try new products like the pros. I like to think I am well ahead of the game with these great opportunities I have in front of me. Many of today’s top pros never had the chances I do or the resources I have available.

            I believe i'll have no problem gather enough information through personnel interview because of where I work and the people in the gym are pretty open to help me out. The one thing that might be a problem is getting IFBB pros to email me back responses. I am sure they are busy and don’t always feel like replying to emails that don’t have some benefit to them. I do expect this so I plan to email more than just one Pro in hopes of getting a response from a few at least.

            I cannot wait to really see why these men got into this crazy sport. Why does someone put so much stress oneself? I know that being cut from a sports team is the reason I went to the gym with such drive. Any day I feel like not going I replay the day in my head and it makes me want to rip anything I can in half and it drives me to work harder than anyone who steps foot in that gym.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kf6r0D3SEA

Bodybuilders

Bodybuilders are a very unique and almost strange group of people. What other group of people go for months of eating a ton of food and follow that with months of measuring, weighing, and eating only a specific number of calories. Bodybuilding takes an extreme dedication and a true love for the sport. In my paper I plan on taking a deeper look into what really makes these unique and extremely dedicated people tick. What does it take to get on a stage with only a tiny posing suit on? What does these men and women put themselves through to achieve that ideal physique? I want to understand what made these people begin the journey to their ideal body and what to the use to stay motivated. I plan to go to the gyms in the area and talk to some of these people. Also, I want to attend local bodybuilding shows and interview the competitors, ask them what they went through to compete or why they decided to compete. In October st.louis will host the Show Me Naturals which is a large show for top natural bodybuilders. One of the competitors will be Terry Starks a local bodybuilder from my gym. I plan on interviewing him and going inside his head to find what keeps him on this long demanding road to top level pro status.


Since bodybuilding isn’t a huge mainstream sport you can actually email most of the IFBB pro bodybuilders. I want to know what it took for them to turn pro and what made them start lifting. Many of the pro bodybuilders write for magazines and have their own question and answer section where Ill be able to ask the question needed for my paper. Muscular Development is one of the top bodybuilding magazines out today. Every month they have tons of top pros writing in their own Q&A section, which i plan on summiting questions to about why they began this crazy life style.

As well as writing for different magazines many of the top pros have their own website where the allow questions and talk about past career highlights. Since the are not as popular as lets say baseball players, most of the pro bodybuilders and very personal with fans and often have open conversations with the people interested in the sport.

About Me

Hi my name is Jordan Pea I grew up in Belleville and just recently moved to Smithton with my mom. I graduated from Belleville East High School, where I played baseball and football. After my junior year at Belleville East I became very interested in weight training. It all started to become better at sports, but grew into my love of bodybuilding. During my senior I didn’t even go out for the baseball team because I was so involved with my lifting. I decided to take part in my first bodybuilding show in April of my senior year. I followed a ten week diet of nothing but grilled chicken and broccoli. It was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, but in turn also one of the most rewarding. Now I work at Supplement Superstore in Shiloh and I am also a certified sports nutritionist through the A.F.P.A. I really enjoy my job. I get to help people of all shapes and sizes reach a wide variety of fitness goals. I would have to say nothing is better than when someone comes back to show how great their progress is coming along. I really enjoy lifting and spending time with family.