For the world’s best bodybuilders, seeing other physique athletes can sometimes be the final straw.
- “Physique updates can be triggering,” says renowned bodybuilding coach Hany Rambod.
In the midst of contest prep, with the stakes as high as they can go and the calories as low as they’ll ever be, bodybuilders are prone to anxiety, mood swings, and other mental side effects.
As Rambod tells it, social media has the potential to push some of his athletes over the edge in the blink of an eye.
Hany Rambod: The Worst Part of Physique Updates
Rambod discussed the “triggering” nature of physique updates on an Aug. 14, 2024 episode of his podcast, The Truth with Hany Rambod. Speaking to guest and Men’s Open bodybuilder Hunter Labrada, Rambod explained:
- “I think social media can really polarize us. I know when I talk to my guys, and they see someone’s physique update, it can be triggering. Sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot.”
Pro competitors often share updates to their muscularity, conditioning, and posing skill online. It’s common for bodybuilders of all levels to use these physique updates as checkpoints on their multi-month journeys to the competition stage.
Rambod continued, describing anecdotes in which his bodybuilding contestants — Rambod works with many of the best bodybuilders in the world, from Derek Lunsford to Chris Bumstead — struggled after seeing their competitors’ physiques on places like Instagram.
- “[Bodybuilders] can get freaked out and spiral,” Rambod explained. “You turn into a Tasmanian devil and you want to scorch the earth around you because of your anxiety.”
Bodybuilders in contest prep, during which they severely deprive themselves of calories to burn fat, are prone to severe adverse side effects including anxiety, depression, and mood swings: (1)
- “Bodybuilders and fitness athletes are known to have specific psychological traits and motivational patterns … which can also result in higher rates of anxiety or other mental health problems,” says a 2022 paper published in the journal Frontiers in Sports & Active Living.
Despite social media being broadly acknowledged as a “highlight reel”, Rambod elaborated to Labrada on how easily his clients can be triggered by the format, especially compared to previous eras of the sport.
- “I used to see this once in a while, but now it’s constantly at your fingertips. They don’t realize the person they’re looking at may have just had a high-carb day, or they’re under good lighting.”
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These woes aren’t exclusive to Rambod’s clientele. Labrada agreed, adding that he’s long battled with his own mental health as a professional bodybuilder. When Rambod asked how he dealt with things, Labrada wasn’t shy:
- Rambod: “When you say you do ‘extra work’ for your mental health, are you doing therapy as well?”
- Labrada: “Absolutely. Therapy, meditation every morning, looking inward and asking the hard questions. Being present.”
Being present is a front-of-mind concern for Bumstead, whom Rambod has coached since 2022. Bumstead is a five-time Classic Physique Olympia champion and regularly preaches the importance of mindfulness to his 25-million-plus audience on social media.
“I think that’s why CBum talks about it so much,” said Rambod. “He says, ‘I try to shut off [social media during prep].” Labrada agreed and, as someone whose livelihood depends on his physical and mental health, offered something more pointed:
- “Bodybuilders romanticize misery. They think if you’re not miserable, you’re not working hard enough. Your body goes where your mind is; you’re doing a disservice to yourself by thinking like that.”
“Bodybuilding is the most miserable sport in the world if you attach your self-worth to your contest results,” Labrada finished.
Labrada and Bumstead are deep in their own prep cycles for the 2024 Olympia, which runs from Oct. 10 to 13 in Las Vegas, NV. As the clock ticks down, the number of physique updates posted by bodybuilders online only goes up.
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References
- Iff S, Fröhlich S, Halioua R, Imboden C, Spörri J, Scherr J, Butzke I, Seifritz E, Claussen MC. Training Patterns and Mental Health of Bodybuilders and Fitness Athletes During the First Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Cross-Sectional Study. Front Sports Act Living. 2022 May 3;4:867140. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.867140. PMID: 35592589; PMCID: PMC9110826.
Featured Image: @hanyrambod / Instagram
