by Kyle Rolf

Created on: January 19, 2009

When it comes to bodybuilding, it is leagues apart from your normal activity regimen in many ways. Bodybuilding is an art, and as such it should be treated delicately. Many times in high school (once being there myself), several students fail to pay attention to instruction when it comes to the physical education part of earning their GED. To be more specific, when engaging in weight lifting, form is a crucial form-based activity. Neglecting this key element can and will result in serious injury.

Now don't get me wrong, I myself am an avid bodybuilder and enjoy everything about it. I find it to be a gratifying activity that has several great health benefits. Yet, when it comes to students there is a fine line between making this a required course as opposed to merely introducing it to the classes to broaden their horizons. Giving students options is vital to keeping their interest in physical activity (which America is seriously lacking right now), and as such we should keep bodybuilding in the regimen, but not as an individual course.

To build further on why bodybuilding should not be made compulsory, it should be noted that even if instructors with proper teaching credentials were provided, the interest was there, and proper form was established during the activity, there still needs to be a high level of consistency with the workouts. A proper workout generally consists of hitting all the core muscle regions of the body, as well as diversifying the workout on the regular basis to prevent the muscles from getting used to "the same old routine". Many schools lack the proper type or amount of equipment to provide such an experience, and time allotments just aren't available to have a standard class of 80 or so students get a full workout day in and day out.

As many may have heard, the body is like an automobile. It takes proper fuel and maintainence to keep it running correctly. I'm not sure about this reader base, but when I was in school I didn't exactly have the proper diet to be considered optimal for bodybuilding. Those running their bodies off of cheese puffs and pepsi might not do too well in the wieght room, and may end up doing more harm than good when their body needs proper supplementation.

In short, bodybuilding should be treated like a job, not a requirement. The resources available to most students doesn't properly fit the needs of this form of physical activity, and should thus be reserved for those that are ready and willing to take on the challenge.

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