BECOMING A BODYBUILDER THE COACH AS A CONVERSION AGENT TO A NEW LIFESTYLE

Abstract

The physical preparation of a coach, former internationally awarded bodybuilder whom we met during a competition, was the subject of an ethnographic work. This provided insight into a weight-lifting room’s everyday life, as the researcher progressively integrated the norms and values which govern the practice of bodybuilding. The coach constantly tests the engagement of novices through trials and by submitting them to the imperatives of justification. Phases of thinning dieting prepare the practitioners for the intake of legal substances, and lead them toward positive deviations, with the intake of “heavier” substances. Using his knowhow and insider knowledge as a former bodybuilder, the coach prescribes, advises and sells substances, some of which are difficult to obtain. Those who adopt his precepts will be able to complete the path to becoming a bodybuilder. By converting, they accept to transform their body, through the use of chemicals, in order to, in fine, represent the coach’s work by exposing their body during competitions.