Coach, the Great Oak would definitely disagree with you on this. Considering the amount of dedication in the gym doing physical exercise, bodybuilders do not get to showcase their workout and their exercise techniques that get them on to the stage. They only show the end result, on the day of the competition. Strongman competitors show their strength at their competition, no posing suits required. Bodybuilders only look better, physically; and may exude more athleticism than strongman competitors. You can be on gear and look like adonis on stage; or you can be on gear and look soft, but pull a school bus. In their own rights they both are athletes. No matter what sport anyone is in, there is a special exercise program designed for each sport.
A friend was a member of the national olympic bobsled team, they trained physically hard at the gym, just to lay on the team sled. He is undeniably an Olympian and an athlete. Do you understand?
Ok, here's where you are wrong. Strongman and strongman training is essentially FUNCTIONAL training with an enormous amount of conditioning and agility skills, same with your olympic bobsled friend. Bodybuilding IS NOT functional training. Bodybuilding, Strongman and Olympic training are 3 different types of training protocols.
1. Bodybuilding - Isolation
2. Strongman - Very little isolation concentrating on recruiting more motor units per exercise, while increasing conditioning and agility and of course balance
3. Olympic training (sports) - Again, very little if any isolating exercises, recruiting more motor units per exercise, concentraiting on deeper muscles and stabilizers. Conditioning, balance, agility.
This is just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to training bodybuilder as opposed to athletes. One of my philosophies is little or no machines when I train an athlete, if start to do that, it WILL take away from his/her athletisism.
Just because someone physically trains hard in the gym doesn't mean he/she is an athlete. Again, different training for different results.
