I personally have studied martial arts and have participated in other athletic endeavors so I can safely say yes bodybuilding is a sport! it's a competition even if for the most part you're in competition with yourself.
I personally love it and love the results and the life style and mind set !

It's just like anything else you get what you put into it. Time and dedication can only get you there. Ive seen "anyone can lift weights" but anyone can also hit or throw a ball, if they put in the work they can make it happen. If it has a judge or a ref it's a sport, but the question, is basketball a sport?

Well!....... to be honest its the most demanding thing i have ever done in my life........ with that said i made it my life, and after three and a half decades it still is my life.

You be the judge!!

Bodybuilding is a sport, it is just the grading is subjective and possibly biased at times. The hardest sport because i recognise it as a lifestyle. I am not on about gym rats who juice. The guys at the top get little compared to other athletes ie football. They are not morally excepted by most (so to say i want to be a bb pro in my opinion takes guts).

Bodybuilders are nearly naked on stage and to let someone rate your physique and judge you takes guts, athletes perform in front of people, but i would imagine posing and flexing is worse. I would say they make more sacrifice as they give up a lot of time and effort, running technique for an runner can be learnt easily on the other hand contest prep,dieting, tanning and posing and many other variables are trial and error on individual basis.

Other athletes can deny there use more easily and general public lap it up, i had someone tell me years ago lance armstrong was not on PED's, he thought i was an idiot and he new best because he was a fat overweight enthusiast cyclist and that expensive bikes really make a difference and that athletes do not use PED's but bodybuilders do.

Bodybuilding is expensive and more variables involved. Most women like gym rat physiques, juiced, but deny it and they do not like the bodybuilding extreme (generalising). I think they sacrifice more than most athletes as the human body is also not designed for this kind of stress, you can say that about most athletes but bodybuilders seem to be the most chemically advanced.

Bodybuilders i have met (old school) not gym rats are usually very humble and modest and when your enthusiastic and they see that spark they want to help. People usually always view bb's as insecure,arrogant,attention seeking, so excepting another prejudice is also a reason to respect top pro bodybuilders.

Some might not see it as a sport but i see it as the ultimate sport.

Yes, bodybuilding is the greatest of sports!!! In all probability, one of the most demanding their is!

Competitive powerlifter checking in. Bodybuilding is definitely a sport.

some call it sport, some call it a hobbie, some call it a lifestyle.. to be the biggest, baddest, leanest mofo on stage its an accomplishment!!!! I believe bodybuilding is one of the hardest sport there is.. jesus eating every 3 hrs, 7-8x a day.. cycle drugs depending on goals, dehydrate yourself, paint yourself orange.. workout twice a days..let's not even consider being sore for days from a leg workout or pip.. everything revolves around it.. one wrong move, you are off, there goes your show down the drain.. my point, you make no sense.

Honestly, does it really matter what other people classify your sport/interest/game as? The general public recognizes bodybuilding, powerlifting, and strongman competitions already. Personally think theyre all similar in nature, but thats just me. All 3 have a big following, and make money, and supply jobs for many other areas of economy.

Labeling something as "sport" doesnt add or take anything away from what it has and will accomplish.

Is trolling a sport?

Not working out to look good or impress people.

Understatement of all time right there lol.......................

is "Pie eating" classified as a sport...... when i was a Ballet Dancer people took me serious, now look at me :(

I transitioned from martial arts to body building. My results in martial arts were also based off judges decisions in contests.

By your logic, neither are sports.

Here's a thought. I can probably lift what most of you power lifters can, I could certainly be competitive anyway. Can you do what I do on a stage?

LMFAO!!

Well many sports are based off judges. Many sports who have referees are somewhat of a judge, "Competitive" power lifting also is judged that guy who hits the light he judges your lift and not all judges are fair some are pricks, figure skating , boxing , etc etc are all judged. Also not all power lifters are "in shape" Stan efferding was a bodybuilder , dan green does many bodybuilding exercises along with carb cycling and cardio its not like he just does the standard 3 lifts along with assistance days and looks the way he does lol there are also a few others who look good, but the solid majority look like shit when you compare them to a "competitive" bodybuilder. Saying bodybuilding isn't competitive is pure ignorance. Not only do you compete against yourself and your previous showings you compete against many others in the sport and if you do it right you win, your judged on symmetry , conditioning, size and stage presence. Just as bikini , figure , mens physique , womens physique and womens bodybuilding are also competitive. You earn your placings and your wins. To the other ignorant fuck who says bodybuilding is basically a monkey lifting weights all I can do is laugh at you. What you do it the gym is like 30% of what a bodybuilder does there is a fuck ton more for example dieting is just not eating a certain way , carb cycling , carb manipulation , water loading , water depletion , sodium manipulation , you don't just eat the same shit every day lol I could go on for days about how in depth a true bodybuilder or any other class has to diet but id lose your attention for sure, the way you lift and what you do also plays a huge role. It is very much a lifestyle but it is very much a sport also when you compete. Power lifting is also very much a fucking sport lol and it sure as fuck takes skill as assistance days are more important than the big three lifts as you pin point your weakness and train it for example like the top part of the squat movements band , chains , partials etc that takes skill. What bothers me is when people discredit what another person pours their life into , that bothers me a lot , people are entitled their opinions but that doesn't mean you have to voice them to others who live and breath what your putting down. If you came here to argue im sure some will but I sure will not , but I can say if you walk around discrediting people and being negative you wont last here. If you want to discredit something go discredit crossfit or discredit iifym something that is complete bullshit.

based on opinions of the judges. Dont really see something competitive about it

with that reasoning you just put down any sport that is based upon judgements... gymnastics, figure skating, boxing to name a few..

Nope. We aren't atheltes. We aren't atheltic. We are muscular. That's it. A monkey can lift weights. And we all have to eat. Dieting is just eating a certain way. Lifestyle not a sport. And powerlifting isn't a sport either. Sports requires athelticism and skill. Lifting weights takes no skill. You can teach any person to lift correctly. You can't teach any person to be a professional athlete. Stength is earned with hard work but it isn't a skill or make you atheltic.

Bodybuilding isn't just the opinion of a judge. Bodybuilding is the opinion of the bodybuilder against all odds doing whatever he thinks necessary to improve himself day after day. There are many bodybuilders that live the lifestyle that don't compete amateur or professionally. Who do they compete against? They compete against themselves!....That's a really shitty statement saying that only your sport is competitive and when you win, you win on your own. Should we start putting out everyone's opinions of power lifters (aren't they a bunch of fat boys with no self discipline when it comes to dieting and symmetry? Really stupid post man