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Bodybuilding in the usual sense of the word means to shape one's body muscularity in the direction of having your appearance judged against that of others competitively. Bodybuilders are by and large the athletes who know more about exercise, nutrition and how their own personal body and metabolism can be trained and formed to that end. Bodybuilding in that sense is not necessarily a healthy form of exercise, and like the high school wrestler who starves and dehydrates to "make weight" can have very negative consequences.

This lifestyle has several dangerous risks when it comes to students, as in younger boys and girls in Grade and high school (and even some college) who are still growing. What comes to mind for me are the competitive weight-lifters of past years.from Eastern European countries that were part of the old Soviet Union. They in many instances exhibited deformed statures as a result to damage to the growth-plates at the ends (primarily) of their upper leg bones caused by lifting very heavy weights before the growth plates had fused to the bones.

Students, as defined as younger children and young adults in school settings, are a group of different people with vastly different physiques, interests and relative stages of development. To propose that something as competitive as bodybuilding be made compulsory is to me preposterous. High school athletics are a battleground over steroid use as things stand now, and adding the prospect of universal embarrassment

That being said, some of the key elements that comprise a bodybuilding lifestyle such as knowledge of good nutrition, suitable exercise in its various forms and learning about your own anatomical traits will serve the student positively throughout their lifetime. I am constantly amazed (well, whenever I think about it) at the lack of real understanding shown by teachers and even coaches and medical professionals regarding the difference between grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates; amino acids; types of exercise and especially proper exercise form. As I have written elsewhere before, the average natural athlete who becomes a coach or fitness instructor is often totally unaware of how an average or below avarage physical speciman should start exercising.

Embarassing a novice or causing them injury through the macho pressure generated in many gym settings will turn a younger person away from a healthy lifestyle quite easily. Forcing them into a competitive situation in a school setting would be a terrible thing to do.

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