The difference between bodybuilding, figure & fitness (or why we should all get along)

I've spent a long time trying to understand where, why and how people draw the lines between bodybuilding, figure & fitness. Indeed, do we need to draw a line?

The term aesthetic is, by it's very nature, subjective. One person's rose can be another's thorn; and there lies the rub: we all have our own interpretation of beauty. When it comes to crafting an aesthetic physique, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder: size, symmetry and shape all play their part; so why are we obsessed about categorizing this into the simple classes of big, medium and small?

In many respects, there really is no line between bodybuilding, figure & fitness - they each represent various points on a spectrum. Try thinking about it another way; look at the image below:














Where does the red end and orange begin, or the green turn into blue? There really is no absolute difference, no place to draw a line. And yet when it comes to bodybuilding in it's various forms, we seem compelled to break it down into simple groups.

Much of this is driven by the shows and competitions, after all, it's difficult to judge between a bodybuilder and fitness competitor as they each have a very different personal preference for their own physique, not to mention how they may or may not temper this in order to please the judges depending on whatever the official 'flavor of the month' is at a given moment in time.

People have written and blogged about this a thousand times - here's a great example. So, back in the real world, the one we all inhabit when not competing or viewing a show: does it really matter?

Of course not. As TC writes in this post: Believing that.."anyone with a different philosophy or goal is an asshole, is misguided... The truth is, we're all freaks and there's plenty of room in our circus."

See what I mean?

Be who you are, do what you enjoy and cut the others a little slack. We spend enough time dealing with the haters out there who don't like the sport at all to waste it by fighting amongst ourselves.