I was watching Pumping Iron (again) recently and I recall Arnolds retirement speech.
In essence, he said that bodybuilding is a wonderful experience that he will continue for
the rest of his life, and that he only stopped competing, but not bodybuilding.
For you retired, or soon to be retired pros or high level amateurs, do his sentiments echo yours?
Are you still a bodybuilder?
Are you still seeking to find the perfect, yet non-competitive physique?
Do you still set goals for yourselves as to the level of fitness you have and your overall look? What about
your physiological health - e.g. blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc.
Do you still train with the same level of intensity, albeit without the heavy poundages you used to do,
and without heavy supplements (outside of multivitamins, protein, creatine, etc.)?
Are you still excited about going to the gym? If you still go regularly, how long or often do you train?
Do you still look to eat healthy (relatively)?
Does the pump still feel like cumming?
I've seen some guys, when they step away, they REALLY step away. I know Shawn Ray on a couple of occasions stated that he's taken a year or more away from even picking up a weight. And I've heard recently that he hasn't done much since his "fit after 40" video. It seems like to him, it was just a means to an end, just business (and granted, he was pretty darn good at it!)
I just read an interview w/Bob Paris, and he said he really doesn't lift at all, but he cycles and does outdoor stuff.
On the other hand, you have guys like Frank Zane, Ed Corney, Dave Draper, Bill Grant who still train well into their 60's and even 70's, but at the same time, it's partly their business to do so.
What I'm really trying to get at is the mindset of the retired athlete:
If there was no business interest, nothing to be gained by competing, no money, no endorsements, no picture spreads, no fitness models, no glory:
but just for the sheer love of exercise and your life long quest for your personal physical development, mental, and even spiritual development:
Are you STILL, bodybuilders?
And for those of us who've never competed, are YOU a bodybuilder.