Pakistan Bodybuilding – Getting Built on a Budget

As I've been paying attention to bodybuilding in the Middle East over the years, Pakistan is definitely one of the countries to watch. De hecho, Pakistan bodybuilding is really taking off, despite the fact that their residents don't have access to all of the typical frills that most athletes do.

Por ejemplo, not many Pakistan bodybuilders are able to buy supplements or even use proper weights. En cambio, some people have to resort to using equipment such as cemented dumbbells and barbells made out of wood with bricks on the end.

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los Chicago Tribune ran an interesting story on this subject recently, and I found a couple of passages really informative. One part of the article included the following:

Salman Khan, sin embargo, is not the only personality that the youngsters aspire to resemble. After talking to a few would-be Romeos I learned that the evergreen Arnold Schwarzenegger is still very much an icon. Although improving their romantic prospects is very much the motivation for the youngsters — for those above 35 (category two as Sohail puts it), the main motivation is staying healthy.

But the truly hardcore bodybuilders have to put their money where their mouth is — literally. Sohail says that the dedicated bodybuilder has to eat like an iron man as well, maximising his carbohydrate, protein and vitamin intake. According to Sohail, a professional bodybuilder must eat at least 1 kg of chicken, 8 a 10 huevos, 1 ½ kg of boiled potatoes and a few additional supplements daily.

I also found this part kind of cool since it talks about how Pakistanis use bodybuilding to avoid gangs and other pitfalls:

One such piece of equipment is cemented dumbbells — made by putting concrete into empty ghee canisters. Some interesting alternatives to standard dumbbells are chairs, tables, iron stands and bicycles. Most of these gym addicts use olive oil to massage their entire body with and bathe in the Karachi sun for hours to get that perfect tan.

Apart from staying fit and looking good, bodybuilding enthusiasts say their workouts also help them avoid paan, gutka, cigarettes and niswaar. For those who live in more violent areas of the city, going to the gym helps them avoid not only the sporadic gunfire but also keeps them away from the local gangs. Focused on improving their ‘baadi’ and popping up their ‘machli’, our local bodybuilders stay true to their dumbbells.

Autor: George Spellwin