"It plays music on your crotch." One of the more interesting quotes I've ever read. I may add this feature to my blog.

Last night I went to a body building competition my friend Colin was entered in. It was an interesting event -- at four hours, it did drag on a bit, especially since you can only see so many guys flexing their abs before they all start to look the same -- but all the same, it was a very good time!

One thing I found out is that body building is like any other sporting event. Spectators are encouraged to cheer on their favorites, and many of the competitors -- if not all of them -- feed off the crowd's enthusiasm. I felt bad for some of the people near the end of the show because it was obvious that the crowd was getting restless, and the level of excitement was waning. One guy walked off stage shaking his head as though he had not done as well as he expected. But it was just the crowd, guy! Just the crowd! If there's a lesson here, it's definitely not to judge yourself on other's opinions -- it's the adjudicators that matter, not the audience.

I was people watching before the start of the show, and I commented on the level of narcissism present. I suppose that birds of a feather do flock together and all that, just like you'd expect few whites to show up at a black power rally, or few illiterates to be a poetry reading. Just the same, nearly all the men in the audience were huge and muscular, and a good part of the women were tall, skinny, bleach-blondes with big, fake boobs. Not that I have much of a problem with this, but my knee-jerk reaction is to equate this kind of behaviour with a level of insecurity -- are you really so displeased with your looks that you have to enact such radical changes? And must you date someone searching for the same kind of outward security? Isn't it truly the inside that matters, or are looks really all that's sufficient for some relationships? Are these people really happy, or are these relationships time-sensitive, being relegated to the garbage as the years pass? It's hard for me to say, but I'm a firm believer that personality trumps everything, and I have my doubts that the beauty of those people was anything more than skin deep.

Once the competition started I found myself riding the energy level of the crowd. I was shocked at the level of support these people had for the competitors. It occurred to me that body building is the same kind of event as any other, but it's slightly more personal as you're not just putting your skill on display, but your body as well. By allowing yourself to be objectified in this manner you're opening your entire self up to inspection -- your level of training, your posing routine, and, inevitably, your body. A pianist, for instance, is not judged by how big his head is, or how much weight he carries; but body builders are judged on many fronts, leaving themselves open to a fuller defeat. It takes a special kind of person to get onto that stage, and I'm curious to know what it is that would drive a person to those lengths, and what it takes to psych themselves up.

Several things did show clearly from this competition. One was the camaraderie of the competitors: it was friendship borne through war or intense competition, where they've all been through the same training, the same preparation, the same intensity. They had all shared the same experiences, and although there was no quarter given in the competition, there was a level of respect for each other that was never breached, even during the two unfortunate incidents when the crowd openly disagreed with the judging. This attitude came through especially strong during the pose-offs, where the competitors got a chance to expose their personalities and play off the crowd and each other.

There was also a strong feeling of accomplishment present, even among the people who didn't win awards. All the competitors were proud of their work and their trials. This, for me, was the most satisfying part: knowing that, win or lose, the people present had achieved the goals they had set. When I talked with my friend Colin after the performance, he was glowing with happiness, and I was so very proud of what he accomplished. At 52, he was competing with many people less than half his age. In the Masters category (age 40+), he placed third of three; in the Middleweight category he had much stiffer competition, but much to my surprise and delight, managed a second place finish out of seven people. That was definitely the highlight of my evening.

I think I learned a lot about body building by attending this event: it's not just a bunch of brainless, self-obsessed people showing off their bodies for their own satisfaction and the delight of people who enjoy watching these kinds of things. Rather, it's just as intense a level of training and competition as any other sport, and the people are as friendly and appreciative as anyone else. I don't think it's something I will find myself doing anytime soon, but Colin waited until his fifties -- I have plenty of time to change my mind.