Hello! I started this topic to find out the pluses and minuses of bodybuilding practice.
Bodybuilding becomes a very popular sport (I don’t know if I can call it sport) in our days. There are a lot of sport clubs where people can practice it, there are a lot of magazines and shows which promote it and of course there are a lot of people who try to be strong and beautiful practicing it.
At the same time we can see negative experience, when this hobby diminishes people health and doesn’t bring anything good.
So which are the pluses and the minuses here?
Ok, I’ll try to express my personal opinion. I think bodybuilding should be use with a great caution and with a lot of knowledge about it. If we do all the exercises as they should be done, using a special guide or an experienced coach, the results will be positive. The same principle should be followed in sport nutrition (I mean protein cocktails and other biological adds).
Generaly my opinion about bodybuilding is a positive one and I think it brings more pluses to our body than minuses.

Okay, so I think first off we have to figure out what definition we're using for bodybuilding. I googled it just to be sure what the working definition is, and for the purposes of this reply, I think I'll stick to what I found there: it is the practice of strengthening and enlarging the muscles of the body through exercise. If you just consider THAT, there's not many ways that'll be bad for your health. It's certainly a great way to keep fit, and weight-lifting is generally considered VERY good for you. In fact, I've even heard that working with weights at the gym, is far better for you than cardio (I can't remember the exact biological reasons for this, and it may be more pertinent to me as an asthmatic than to your average joe, but I think it's a fairly commonly held belief)! My boyfriend is a massive health freak, and he swears by weight-lifting and exercising with weights (e.g. doing sit ups while holding a resistance in his hands). Basically the EXERCISES bodybuilders do are pretty great. They are good for you, and you can be very healthy from exercising in that manner.

However, the problem of taking bodybuilding too seriously, particularly to a competitive level, is that often straightforward EXERCISE is not enough to achieve desired results. Professional (and competing amateur) bodybuilders often end up taking steroids - and if they're not taking steroids, they are ALL taking protein supplements. There is a huge body of evidence to suggest such supplements are really very bad for you. And, well, I'm sure nobody needs ME to tell you that anabolic steroids are EXTREMELY bad for you! And I think it's impossible to get up to professional standards of bodybuilding without taking some kinds of supplements. You cannot look like this guy, without taking supplements. Moreover, I don't think that looks very good. I don't think any woman thinks that looks that nice. As macho as that may make you feel, I'm sure your chances of getting laid decrease substantially!

So, while I think the premise behind bodybuilding is great, and doing plenty of weight-lifting exercises is very good for you, if you take it to a competitive level, it's bad for you. Because everyone else is partaking in unhealthy supplements etc and you'll be pressured into it too. Alas, that'll always be the problem with this sport. The only way you'll win is if you're bigger than everyone else, and if one person is taking protein supplements/steroids they'll win! So you have to do that too. Therefore, I think the sport is very bad for you, and would certainly ward off anyone I know from doing it.

Also, I think often people don't consider women in bodybuilding. I think it's even WORSE for women than it is for men. But if you're just doing weight exercises, that's REALLY great, you should go right ahead.

I think any sport is necessary and useful to person, the main thing is not to turn this sport into the main purpose of life and not to use illicit drugs (as far as I know, this is a big problem for bodybuilders).
Any good beginning can be spoiled by fanatic approach.

Yes, attention to body is extremely important but majority of professional bodybuilders use illicit drugs. I know it because I have a friend who is very addicted to the bodybuilding and he told me it.
So, these illicit drugs harm organism much more than sport helps to organism.

I agree with Doctor Who. Without exaggeration bodybuilding can be spoiled by fanatic use of illicit drugs. It's a GREAT problem.
As for me I don't want to be a bodybuilder. N E V E R