bodybuilders

"I laugh at the drug tests. I don’t even eat meat."

"Vegan Body­build­ing is not on­ly pos­si­ble, it’s op­ti­mal. Within three years from first lift­ing weights prop­er­ly and walk­ing on a Body­building stage as a novice, I had won Mr. Universe and be­come a Pro Body­builder. Steroids? Meat? Not a chance."

"I believe every creature is born with the inalienable right of freedom. Freedom to live in its natural environment, with its own kind, making its own decisions. I believe the law should prohibit the enslavement of all non human species for any purpose whatever."

"The protein in animal products is so laden with fats and chemicals and all sorts of stuff that's harmful to you. When I was competing and stuffing down all of that sort of stuff, I had lots of digestive problems. I was constipated and bloated and just miserable all the time. … [Going vegan] kept me not only healthy, but I feel better about myself and how I relate to other creatures in the world. … I think a lot of people don't realise if they would stop drinking milk and [consuming] all of the milk products, they would say, 'Wow, I didn't realise I could feel this good'. I know as a fact I would not be here and I would not be in this condition now had I continued eating the way I was."

"With each succeeding year on the diet — it's called lacto-ovo-vegetarianism — I've felt better. I'm more healthy, I can train with more energy, and I'm not as much of a "hard guy" as I used to be. I've become more concerned with my fellow man and the other inhabitants I share the earth with. Judy and I have now been vegetarians for almost 35 years. We have no fish, fowl or red meat in our diet. Yet I can still carry the same amount of muscle mass as I did in winning my four Mr. Universe titles. People can't believe it. They think that to have big muscles you have to eat meat — it's a persistent and recurring myth. But take it from me, there's nothing magic about eating meat that's going to make you a champion bodybuilder. Anything you can find in a piece of meat, you can find in other foods as well."

"Health and well being are a way of life. Not a certain diet or set of exercises or any other single area, but a combination of all the aspects of your life. Accept full responsibility for yourself, your health and your choices. The western civilization culture is anti health in that it is designed to produce profit not health. Read up on epigenetics. You control more of the genes which differentiate you from other humans than you realize. You are your own creator and creation."

"Most people have a problem becoming a vegan or stopping eating meat, but because of how I want to live in this world and how I want to treat other creatures, I have to be a vegan. In order for me to eat meat, I would have to change all of my other beliefs."

"Someone could have an outstanding comprehension of a bodybuilding diet and a background in nutrition but not have the work ethic and desire to put it into practice. That person won't be as successful as the person who understands some basics and puts them into action regularly."

"My journey to veganism began when I was a sophomore in high school. … For a long time before that, I felt a connection to animals and believed it was wrong to eat creatures with personalities, thoughts, and the ability to show love and affection. I grew up on an animal farm … It was in this environment, with direct contact to farm animals, that I decided that eating meat was not in accordance with my values. … There is nothing more effective than tangible results to show people that athletic achievement and substantial muscle growth can be achieved healthfully on a plant-based diet."

"Let the gym be a sanctuary for you to be at peace. Let it calm you and ground you and allow you to appreciate everything around you. Let it also be a place for you to unload and explode with intensity through your training."

"The vegan lifestyle is a compassionate way to live that supports life, supports fairness and equality, and promotes freedom."

"Strength must build up, not destroy. It should outdo itself, not others who are weaker. Used without responsibility, it causes nothing but harm and death. I can lift the heaviest weights, but I cannot take the responsibility off my shoulders. Because the way we use our strength defines our fate. What traces will I leave on my path into the future? Do we really have to kill in order to live? My true strength lies in not seeing weakness as weakness. My strength needs no victims. My strength is my compassion."

"I Am a Vegan Badass."

"It's not about being the strongest and the biggest. It's really about what are you going to do with your strength, and what are you going to do with the power that you have."

"This is a message to all those out there who think that you need animal products to be fit and strong. Almost two years after becoming vegan I am stronger than ever before and I am still improving day by day. Don't listen to those self proclaimed nutrition gurus and the supplement-industry trying to tell you that you need meat, eggs and dairy to get enough protein. There are plenty plant-based protein-sources and your body is going to thank you for stopping to feed it with dead-food. Go vegan and feel the power!"

"The world's strongest animals are plant eaters. Gorillas, buffaloes, elephants and me."

"One day, I just thought, if you see a bird with a broken leg, you really have the urge to do something about it and help the bird. … Then, at the same time, you go to a restaurant and eat a chicken or something. It doesn’t make any sense. … I just realized that if it’s really compassion that drives you, maybe it’s not enough just to stop eating animals but you maybe should boycott the whole animal industry, because … it’s not what you as a compassionate being would want. So actually you should go one step further and become vegan."

"I read a couple of good books and realized the ethical implications of eating meat and the countless other ways of abusing animals and nature. It made me cry. There simply is no need for us to consume animal products and we cause a lot of harm by doing so; that is the definition of crime. I couldn't be anything else but vegan after understanding that. … Those two things, and being vegan, are the two best things in my life. They define who I am, in body and spirit. That doesn't mean my life is all about my workout and eating, but I find my strength in life in those two aspects. Veganism is about love and respect to your environment, and bodybuilding is about love and respect to yourself."

"The heavyweight class was all about Yaxeni Enrique vs. Iris Kyle. Yaxeni is bigger but Iris has almost no faults – and her glutes/hamstrings/calves are probably the best in the sport. These two were obviously the ones competing for the class title."

"However, the proof that this can be done is Iris Kyle, who was not nearly what she is now when she qualified to be a pro."

"Yaxeni Oriquen beat Iris Kyle for the heavyweight title. Certainly, she looked like a champion in the finals. But Yaxeni had not looked as good in prejudging. Her color was off, for one thing. Iris, on the other hand, was just about perfect. The question is not whether Yaxeni should have won. Rather, it is how can Iris look so good at the Ms. Olympia and the Show of Strength events and (apparently) not get a single first place vote in any round? How is it all the judges in both shows feel she shouldn’t win even a round, much less the contest?"

"On a technical basis, body part for body part, Iris is the best in the sport at this point. But her presentation is not on the same level as that of Lenda. She also lacks the super-aesthetic genetic symmetry we see in Lenda. Lenda, in that sense, is like a Flex Wheeler. Iris also suffers from lack of or actually bad publicity. She refuses to shoot for photographers without being paid a large fee. So the photographers don’t shoot her, she doesn’t get in magazines and doesn’t’ have a lot of photos to sell. Between contest she largely disappears and doesn’t seem very social or communicative at contests. These things shouldn’t play a huge role in judging bodybuilding but they have some effect. After all, Iris won the heavyweights last year, so the judges don’t hate her. But I doubt many of them look forward to having an overall Ms. Olympia who is so uncommunicative and practically invisible between contests."

"It looked closer to me than that. Iris actually got some 3rd place votes which I found shocking. Iris should have been no worse than a close second on anyone’s scoresheet."

"But in answer to the question that many bodybuilding fans have Emailed me – yes, Iris had better legs than Lenda and much superior calves and no, you are not an idiot if you think Iris should have won."

"As with the Olympia, even if you think Iris should have placed second the contest should have been closer. It is apparent she is the victim of political judging – at least to some degree. It is true she asks for it in many ways – in the sense of avoiding publicity and being so withdrawn at contests that the judges (not necessarily the other bodybuilders) feel they are being disrespected. But it is clear that, no matter how good Lenda Murray or Yaxeni Oriquen are (and they are very good indeed), the IFBB judges simply don’t WANT Iris to win anything if they can avoid it."

"Third may have been the most surprising, based on historical data, but Vickie Gates deservedly finished in that position, with Iris Kyle coming in just off her usually spot on diet."

"Furthermore, for the first time Iris Kyle was actually a little off. Not a lot, but she was clearly not as crisp as in the past."

"But Iris Kyle, last year’s heavyweight winner had improved over the past year. Comparing body parts, it was obvious that her legs were fuller than Lenda’s – especially the back of the leg. From certain angles Lenda’s legs seemed thin – and her cavles almost non-existent – while Iris had full glutes and hamstrings as good as anyone in the contest and excellent calves."

"Vicky Gates beat Iris Kyle in the heavweight class, although many felt strongly that Iris was not given her due. However, since Iris had been totally ignored at the Ms. Olympia a few months earlier, never even compared with the top three when she might have been in contention to win the class, it was at least apparent that the judges were paying her some attention."

"In the heavyweight class Iris Kyle earned top honors beating out Vickie Gates. The victory was more than deserved though, as Kyle has been looking impressive in many of her recent shows and probably should have won the Arnold title over Gates as well. The only injustice was how the judges awarded the overall and Ms. Olympia title to Bergmann, while it seemed to many that Kyle was clearly the superior bodybuilder."

"A lot of bodybuilding fans were expecting this to be Iris Kyle's year. After being ignored and overlook for several years - in part due to the infamous "guidelines" she had won the heavyweight Ms. Olympia last fall in Las Vegas and in the opinion of many (but, of course, not the the opinion of all) should have taken the overall. In addition, nobody could remember Iris coming into a contest in the past few years in anything but her best shape. So it seemed unlikely she would "beat herself" in the contest. Many were expecting yet another showdown between Iris and Vicky Gates. Certainly, if Vicky could bring up her legs a bit more and achieve the kind of hardness and definition Iris has become famous for, it might be quite a battle."

"In short, although Lenda was still the incredible Lenda Murray we have all admired in the past, in comparison to Iris it was kind of a toss-up."

"The heavyweight class was impressive, and when the lineup emerged on stage, it was evident that it would be a shootout between Murray and Iris Kyle."

"Anyway, this back-and-forth seesawing between Iris and Vickie continued through the contest until, when the final scores were announced, it turned out they had tied - with Iris winning by virtue of the IFBB tie-breaking rule (she had more first place votes). Actually, this was a near thing. Vickie Gates at her absolute best is indeed a worthy opponent for Iris Kyle. But Vickie wasn't at her absolute best and hasn't been for a couple of years. So what we nearly had is one more instance (last year's Ms. Olympia, the 2001 Ms. International) where Iris Kyle received unfair treatment from the judges."

"How the judges treat the round system was also apparent in the difference in the scores received by Iris Kyle round by round. None of the judges gave her first place in round one but 9 out of 10 had her first in the second round."

"It is a truism in sports that, all things being equal, the bigger competitor tends to beat the smaller one. Looking at the size difference between Juliette Bergmann and Iris Kyle on stage during the posedown for the overall, it seemed this might well be the case. Juliette looked suprisingly competitive against her larger opponent, but Iris was much more muscular and, as mentioned above, had a waist nearly as small as her Dutch challenger."

"There was also the fact that, despite having totally ignored Iris Kyle last year, after her superb showing at the Ms. International the judges might be more inclined to place her as she truly deserved."

"Iris Kyle again proved to be one of the best competitors in the field, but took second, although many would agree that she deserved to win the title."

"And Iris Kyle was as magnificent as we have come to expect - hard, cut, symmetrical, with a waist nearly as small as that of Juliette Bergmann."

"This is not to say that it is clear and definitive that Iris Kyle deserved the overall or that Juliette only won because her colleagues were the ones doing the judging."

"On stage next to Iris, the excellence of Vickie's upper body - especially her arms - was obvious. But she had no legs compared to Iris, and the difference was sufficient that it seems obvious the judges were simply wrong - and perhaps motivated by political considerations."

"Iris Kyle looked fantastic, and seemed like a likely challenger to Gates' title. However, it seems like the boxing mantra held true as Kyle seemed to be the better of the two, but as they say in boxing, if you can't knock out the champ, then the champ will always take a close fight... Is that fair? It wouldn't seem so, especially since the overall winner also gets an additional $10,000 in prize money, which many would say that Kyle might have deserved."

"As the reigning champion, the Venezuelan will be hoping to defend her title this year against some very strong competition, including Iris, who will be wanting some redemption."

"Taking the overall and the Ms. Olympia title seemed to be the proof that something wasn't quite right, as Iris Kyle, winner of the heavyweight class, seemed to be the favorite of everyone else but the judges, and was visibly upset when the title was announced."

"Iris Kyle Iris Kyle had impressive quad development."

"Oriquen improved on her Olympia shape, but Kyle was also razor sharp, as she was in Vegas, but the results for her were the same. While Oriquen is a worthy champion, Kyle seems to continually get ripped off by the judges. She has probably not received three titles by no fault of her own, and it has to be frustrating. Many purists would agree that Kyle is one of the best bodybuilder's bodybuilder."

"Iris Kyle and Oriquen also were standouts in the round, along with the ever-popular Lesa Lewis."

"As a result of this contest, Iris Kyle says she is quitting. If she follows through on this, than the "guidelines" will have driven two excellent bodybuilders out of the sport - Kim and Iris - along with forcing women to compete looking small and in a kind of contest that is about big, hard and defined."

"In fact, I don't think I've talked to anyone who saw the show who didn't think Iris should have defeated Vickie, rather than the other way around."

"Iris Kyle - can this amazing bodybuilder ever get a break? Iris Kyle may be the best pure bodybuilder, but she can not seem to take 1st at a major show. Hopefully her luck witll turn around, as she is the most deserving non-champion competing of late."