Gym Bros with Jesus? Towards Bodybuilding as Play

Bodybuilding does not have to just be about physique, it can also be a form of play that allows us to delight in God’s creation. While bodybuilding brings to mind images of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, it can be found in more mundane ways among regular individuals. It’s estimated that around 13-14% of New Zealanders hold gym memberships at any given time. Bodybuilding is the sculpting of the body through increasing muscle mass or decreasing body fat levels, the end result being a lean and muscular physique. While bodybuilding is also done implicitly in many forms of exercise, bodybuilding seeks to finetune workouts to maximise the impact on body composition without regard for other factors such as cardio-vascular fitness or general health.

This focus on aesthetics rather than health can draw critique from those that consider bodybuilders self-absorbed or vain. At a wider level, some are concerned about the impacts on body image of seeing those that have carefully sculpted their body. This raises the question of whether there is any theological basis for bodybuilding or whether it is merely a vain pursuit. These questions have a personal element for me. I started bodybuilding mid last year. I knew that the person I wanted to be looked different from the body that I currently had. In response to this, I began to train and eat with the goal of increasing my muscle mass. 

Bodybuilding is ultimately a process of self-expression. It can be understood as a form of body project whereby one seeks to express their identity through the sculpting of their body. While this can have the end-goal of competition against other bodybuilders, it can also be practiced recreationally. As a social grouping, bodybuilders have their own values, understandings and passions which shape the way that they view the world. This is exhibited in the way that they view bodies. Bodies deemed attractive and desirable within the bodybuilding world may be outside the bounds of attractiveness within wider society. This is due to their muscularity which could be considered grotesque or unnatural outside of the social grouping of bodybuilders. 

For the most part, however, western society endorses lean and muscular bodies. While the level of muscularity seen in bodybuilding competitions falls outside social parameters of attractiveness, an appropriately muscled body can function as a form of social capital. It symbolises someone who is in control, disciplined and hard-working—all virtues of western society. The reverse, an out-of-shape body, is seen as indicating an indulgent and lazy personality.

For men, bodybuilding meets a need to fit society’s body expectations. Whereas women are expected to be thin, men are expected to be muscular. Building muscle therefore becomes an expression of a man’s masculinity. Participating in bodybuilding allows men to be satisfied with their appearance through achieving their desired body. This is particularly visible in those who take bodybuilding more seriously and/or have been doing it for a longer period of time. Even without physical change, working out directly improves confidence and self-esteem.

Motivations for joining a gym vary from individual to individual. The narrating of motivation is an important rapport building mechanism for those attending gyms. Due to the costs and barriers to joining a gym, it is not something that individuals find themselves in by chance. The sharing of motivations provides both a justification and a sense of commonality between gym-goers. The most common motivation is a need to lose weight, build muscle or get fit. This indicates a discrepancy between an individual's self-image and the condition of their body. The individual’s body is no longer expressing the individual’s sense of self and so they seek to shape the body to remedy this discrepancy. While this could be proactive, it can also be an attempt to recover something lost.

Motivations for continuing at the gym differ somewhat from those which motivated joining the gym. A key motivation is enjoyment. Working out at the gym becomes a form of play, with the fun and well-being associated with playing. This is particularly true of those that are more experienced at the gym as they have learnt to enjoy the process. Another motivator is the social bonds formed and enjoyed at gyms. A third motivator is relaxation and release. Working out becomes a way for individuals to unwind away from the stresses of life. While individuals originally joined the gym for an instrumental purpose, they are motivated to stay because they begin to enjoy the process of working out as play rather than work.

The best lens for evaluating bodybuilding theologically is through a theology of play. Play is a natural activity observed in other animals, not just humans. For an activity to be considered play, it must be enjoyed. Play is not something forced but is instead freely carried out outside the necessities of life. Play has consequences outside of itself, but its purpose is internal not instrumental. As Jeremy Treats puts it, “To play is to creatively enjoy something for its own intrinsic good.” Play could therefore be summarised as “radically unnecessary but internally meaningful … free from the serious business of life.” Play is not tied to achieving some productive end, but is done for its own internal motivations. Creation too is “essentially unnecessary yet meaningful.” Therefore, playing is an expression of humanity’s intrinsic createdness and will therefore always be a part of human behaviour.

Using this lens to evaluate bodybuilding first requires establishing whether bodybuilding is play. This has two components, free choice and internal meaning. Free choice is satisfied by the separation of bodybuilding from the necessities of life. Like all play, bodybuilding is a respite from necessity. Looking at the motivations for joining a gym discussed above, the primary motivation for beginning the journey of bodybuilding is to build a body—losing fat, gaining muscle or increasing fitness. While these are not the only motivations, these primary motivations satisfy the concept of internal meaning. The purpose of bodybuilding in this sense is bodybuilding not an exterior or ulterior motive. This does not mean that bodybuilding has no consequences outside itself. There are clear benefits in terms of confidence and self-expression. However, these consequences are secondary to the goal of bodybuilding—building a body. 

Bodybuilding can only be play, when it is its own end. Sculpting a body as a means of building confidence or increasing attractiveness is merely another form of work. While this is where bodybuilding often begins, it is not where it stays. While reasons for initially embarking on the journey of bodybuilding are often instrumental, the reason bodybuilders continue is because it becomes play. This has definitely been true for me. While my initial reason for joining a gym was to meet societal body expectations, bodybuilding has become something I enjoy. It has shifted from work to play. As bodybuilding becomes play it becomes an expression of delighting in creation as instructed by God.

A distinctive feature of bodybuilding is the way in which it tests the limits of what is possible for a body to become. Before I started building my body, I had no idea how much growth it was capable of. A theology of play encourages this as “allowing the body to fully explore the gifts God created in it.” A theology of play must also critique the particular danger in bodybuilding of placing one’s worth in physical appearance. There is a tension here between bodybuilding as an admiration of the body as a gift from God and glorification of the body as something which a human has cultivated. Bodybuilders have previously resolved this tension through the belief that building their body was a way to honour their God-given bodies. When bodybuilding is used to meet a need for identity, it ceases to be a celebration of creation. Bodybuilding looks forward to the redemption of creation when it can be practiced without the corruption of pride as a full expression of joy in creation.

~

Elisha Smith is a student at Carey Baptist College - Te Kareti Iriiri o Carey.