Apart from the pastiness and awful tattoos, Rooney's body is actually less visually offensive than that veiny monstrosity though.
I can't understand why anyone would want to look that "ripped".
Footballers without abs
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
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Apart from the pastiness and awful tattoos, Rooney's body is actually less visually offensive than that veiny monstrosity though.
I can't understand why anyone would want to look that "ripped".
Currently I am in good shape and my body looks very similar to Rio's ( obv brag
), it looks especially ripped early in the morning when I am flexed and posing, as Rio is. However when I am relaxed late in the evening after eating throughout the day I almost look a bit fat.My point is that people who look that veiny only do look like this when they flex and pose. In reality they look normal and in no way they look visually offensive, even pro bodybuilders don't look ripped when they are fully relaxed.
Absolutely no excuses for Rooney. I don't care what his genetics are - he has personal cook, personal fitness coach (or he at least should have!) and has no other job than to be in perfect shape.
All the Rooney bashing on here - my theory on him is that he was just blessed with a ridiculous amount of adrenaline, which got him through football matches despite never really being blessed with actual fitness.
And then for whatever reason that dried up, and he'd never had to rely on his body like that, and it lets him down.
The touches he takes now just look tired, like when you're messing around after having played a match and your limbs and balance are off.
Have watched a few matches from 07-09 recently on MUTV and he doesn't look physically that different, but he's a ball of enthusiasm and his touch resembles an actual player.
Side note on those, Giggsy's touch is seriously underrated/forgotten, by me at least. He basically has perfect control, regardless of service when he's out wide. Huge contrast to even 'technical' players like Martial, much less Lingard.
And then for whatever reason that dried up, and he'd never had to rely on his body like that, and it lets him down.
The touches he takes now just look tired, like when you're messing around after having played a match and your limbs and balance are off.
Have watched a few matches from 07-09 recently on MUTV and he doesn't look physically that different, but he's a ball of enthusiasm and his touch resembles an actual player.
Side note on those, Giggsy's touch is seriously underrated/forgotten, by me at least. He basically has perfect control, regardless of service when he's out wide. Huge contrast to even 'technical' players like Martial, much less Lingard.
Currently I am in good shape and my body looks very similar to Rio's ( obv brag
My point is that people who look that veiny only do look like this when they flex and pose. In reality they look normal and in no way they look visually offensive, even pro bodybuilders don't look ripped when they are fully relaxed.
Absolutely no excuses for Rooney. I don't care what his genetics are - he has personal cook, personal fitness coach (or he at least should have!) and has no other job than to be in perfect shape.
Please tell me you wrote this with tongue firmly in cheek.
I'm all for being healthy and in good shape but the lengths regular guys go to today is amazing. Some of the guys I play 5 a side with are built like top level footballers.
A few blokes I know are in the gym five times a week, get injections for this and that, supplements etc. All that for no actual purpose. They're not training for an event, there's no prize. To me it's both impressive and a little odd. I do sometimes think it's a crazy level of vanity which is why I highlighted @Zachari (Sorry pal, im not criticising as such, I just find it interesting) saying he likes to pose and flex in the morning.
Maybe I'm being given cynical. Or maybe it's a generation thing, when I was in my 20's we weren't down the gym 24/7.
As long as someone works out, it doesn't matter if it's just for vanity or for competition. It doesn't matter what gets people in the gym, as long as they get there and put in some work. The bottom line is, that's it's good for one's health. Better to flex and pose in the morning to appreciate the hard work that was put in than to rot on a couch whole day.
That's not really true at the levels we are talking about here. Some of the supplements they take and the lifestyles they lead are not healthy. It used to be restricted to bodybuilders and fitness models but I see more and more regular gym goers are at it now. Eating heavily restricted diets whilst training 7 days a week and taking god knows what supplements and more. I know two people who brought on heart conditions and a whole lot more who made themselves ill in other ways.
I used to do it for a living when I was younger and just out of university. I still remember at one point I was taking 20 something tablets each day. I would think the best pro athletes are taking all sorts to stay at the top.
Nah. He does look physically much better back then. He was always a bit porky and started his career very young so by the time he got to his late twenties he was washed up. Simple.
Are we talking about working out or taking 'supplements'? Because those are 2 different things. If someone's taking steroids or testosterone or whatever other illegal stuff with potential serious side effects, then that's their choice.
But working out is always good for your body. How often someones works out depends on their program, volume they are able to handle, their free time and goals/dedication. You aren't going to be doing full body programs 7 days a week, for that amount of days you use splits so your body has time to rest.
Which brings me back to Rooney, if regular blokes with regular jobs can put in such amount of work to look like professional athletes, then again, there's no reason for someone who's job is being a professional athlete not to look like one.
I don't like posing in the morning as much as I used to do it, but obviously I still do sometimes.
When I was younger I used to be fat. My parents are fat as well. I could say - my genetics are shit. But I decided to try and change myself started doing pretty much what you said about people who train hard. And now I probably do look similar to footballer pro. But I am not one of them
Earlier it was all about looks. Now it is more about how I feel.I wanted to become a footballer as a kid, like most of my friends. Now I play in a sunday league and it is one of the things in my life that makes me happy. Being in good shape does help a lot even at 5 a side. Another benefit is that I just feel "light" even when I walk in the park. And I like it a lot. As a person that used to be fat, this is the reward for me - feeling light and be able to run up the stairs with ease. I do not train as hard as I used to, I just try to do enough sports so I do not deteriorate.
I bet you Rooney could have abs if he eas motivated to. Or at least be in better overal form to give the max for MU. That is what annoys me the most. I don't understand why don't clubs require all of their footballers be in absolute top physical shape (not necessarily have abs) 100% of the time. This should be written in the contract!
In theory now it is possible to sign a 4-5 year contract getting ridiculous money and get to weigh 250 pounds and club can do feck nothing about it, other than continue paying every week...
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This is a great point.
I wonder how many 2000's and 2010 era footballers will be having heart attacks in their 40's/50's?
ill briefly weigh in just to say a low Body fat percentage ie the ability to show visible abs and have a defined physique doesn't equate to cardiovascular fitness, which is essentially what we really mean when we discuss athletes physiques. Pau and mark Gasol in the nba (which is much strenuous sport and more physically demanding than football athletically) have had lots of weight fluctuations and remained at the very top level of fitness without looking completely ripped at the levels expected at the top level of professional sports.
Say what you want about rooneys fitness levels and his ability on the pitch now which is completely sub par and has been unacceptable for a while, but i could guarantee he could outrun a lot of pure aesthetics preoccupied bodybuilders at your local gyms who can bench sets of 100kg etc and regulate their bodyfat through diet.
What it IS indicative of, is his general attitude towards his talent, and his failure to maximise his potential, because frankly being at a low bodyfat percentage with large muscle strength and definition is linked to his mindset, and him being stronger and more athletic all round will help him on the pitch, Run faster, jump higher, be stronger during holdup play etc etc.
Genetics help massively with body composition, but the main ingredient is your effort level and consistency to diet and training. the fattest dude ever with the worst genetics could be in amazing shape if he wanted to, just not to the same degree as natural athletes.
Say what you want about rooneys fitness levels and his ability on the pitch now which is completely sub par and has been unacceptable for a while, but i could guarantee he could outrun a lot of pure aesthetics preoccupied bodybuilders at your local gyms who can bench sets of 100kg etc and regulate their bodyfat through diet.
What it IS indicative of, is his general attitude towards his talent, and his failure to maximise his potential, because frankly being at a low bodyfat percentage with large muscle strength and definition is linked to his mindset, and him being stronger and more athletic all round will help him on the pitch, Run faster, jump higher, be stronger during holdup play etc etc.
Genetics help massively with body composition, but the main ingredient is your effort level and consistency to diet and training. the fattest dude ever with the worst genetics could be in amazing shape if he wanted to, just not to the same degree as natural athletes.
That's kind of a weird argument, don't you think? It's like saying Bolt can outrun Phelps. Different goals.
But I'd watch a race like that, think it could be fun.
I think it's a symptom of an aspirational society and the sad fact is that men are now as insecure as women about their bodies. These buffed up weight lifting men are basically just getting a boobjob for their arms and all these dodgy supplements they take will have a detrimental effect on their health in the long run.
A healthy lifestyle is good, playing sports and eating right.
A healthy lifestyle is good, playing sports and eating right.
I'd say that most of my mates were fitter at 15-25 than the same guys now.
There was almost zero vanity though. You would get DESTROYED for stripping off. Some would just put up with it. But it was absolutely the exception and not the norm.
Being in good shape was once a bi-product of playing lots of football. Now the look gets put before the output. Stupid shit bro-science like 'I try not to do much running because I want to keep my gainz'. It's a weird time.
The culture of vanity. The 'fitness competition' industry with crossfit and all of its nonsensical offshoots. It's a different world.
This thread and conversation never existed 10 years ago. Rooney has been one of the fittest footballers of his generation. His body seems to have gone to hell in a hurry, but to take the lens of 'Abs' and judge Rooney is bizarre. He always ran the most. He played more games than most. He was always the guy with a 60 metre sprint left in the tank in the 91st minute. The first picture in this thread is basically the classic body shape of a footballer.
It's a very weird thread and many responses are deluded.
sure but what im saying is achieving a physique with a six pack like whats being discussed in the thread because rooney doesnt have one, doesnt have to have anything to do with cardiovascular fitness and somebodies ability to run sprints and cover 8-10km like professional footballers like Rooney do most games. The question is does having a six pack or "visible abs" make you a better footballer, and the reality is not necessarily. Having a more functionally athletic physique with more strength and endurance will do. having abs just means you've lost bodyfat percentage to a rate your muscle shows through.
Interesting. You realize weight lifting is fantastic for you body and your health, right? Funny thing is, it's even more important for women than for men.
I also see here mentioned supplements a lot, but what kind of supplements are we talking about here? Because there are supplements and there are supplements.
Of course, and you are right, visible abs mean nothing. Powerlifters don't have visible abs for example. I don't think the problem with Rooney's physique is a lack of visible abs and people who concentrate on abs are pretty much clueless. Problem with Rooney is that his performances suck, so he can't hide behind the argument that abs are just for vanity. He's a 300k/week professional footballer with a body of a 40 year old dad who last time worked out in college but then gave up and just drinks beer and watches tv.
If the performance doesn't support the looks then it's a problem. Especially if it's your job. You can be and look fit without having visible abs, but that doesn't look to be the case for Rooney.
That's why I began by saying being in good shape and good health is obviously a positive. I'm not criticising going to the gym.
My post was about guys in their 20's, of whom there are lots it seems, taking it to an "extreme." I think a lot of its to do with vanity and maybe more pressure on men to succeed and max out at everything. You've seen in this thread numerous pictures of footballers with crazy physiques and the fawning that follows.
I don't think it's healthy and often leads to these guys taking injections, spending fortunes on supplements that do bugger all. All for no actual purpose.
As others have said though, if these guys can work full time and still be in the gym constantly so could Rooney. Relying on his natural assets when young was fine. That youthful energy and speed has gone now and he should have compensated with more gym work.
I agree to an extent, but here's the thing. Even when taking injections, it still requires quite a bit of work and dedication to get there. I don't agree with that, but that's their choice if they go there. It's also such a small % of people who work out and take steroids...
And I really dislike using 'vanity' as an argument for shaming people who work out. Especially, when people are trying to wear nice clothes to look better, which is considered normal. Aesthetics is a big part of human nature, that's why art exists.
Yep. And those overly buffed up men are basically the male equivalent of some repulsive plastic woman like Jordan.
There's a whole murky world of supplements before you get to steroids and anyone wanting to look like a fitness mag cover model will have to take them. Look at the ingredients list on your average protein powder for a start. It's a very loosely regulated industry.
As for training, to get in that kind of shape you need to be training 6 or 7 days a week and eating a highly regulated diet. It often pushes the body and CNS too hard and the lack of a balanced diet also leads to issues. Working out is obviously great but you can overtrain quite easily. Back to the thread topic the people doing it are usually not particularly 'fit' either, despite the look. The me of today could run rings around the me of then on a football pitch.
First of all, you don't have to take any supplements whatsoever. Protein powder for example is just a more convenient and cheaper way of getting enough protein, but if you can get it from your regular diet then you don't need to buy a protein powder. What else? Vitamins? Again, good diet will take care of those. Same goes for minerals, etc.
And again, saying you have to train 6-7 days a week is a really vague argument. You don't have to workout 6-7 days a week... there's so many options for programming nowadays, with most being around 3 days/week for a full body workout or 4-6days/week for bodybuilding splits. You choose what suits your needs and goals.
The word 'fit' is kind of a weird one. What does it mean being 'fit'? Having high endurance? High strength? Both at the same time? If I can run rings around a strength athlete on a football pitch but can't move a table across the room because I'm not strong enough, does it mean I'm fit?
If someone concentrates on hypertrophy or strength, but endurance doesn't interest him, he's still fit compared someone who does nothing. If you are training your muscles, your whole body will have to adapt.
A lot of it is down to genetics/build but obviously training and diet play a part, but if you see some guys who are ripped and obviously do a lot of gym work and have a strict diet, they might look great but not be able to run the length of a pitch without getting out of breath. I have also read more than a few times that for some players the amount of time and effort they would need to devote to having a great physique means they are too tired/fatigued to play so it's not worth it. Paul Gascoigne was an example of this, he got slimmer and more toned as his career went on but no doubt he played his best days when he was a bit overweight and chubby looking. Ruud Gullit was told when he signed for Milan he was hugely overweight but when he was put on a programme to lose weight it left him weak, tired and he lost muscle.
Ronaldo is an example of someone who has built a great physique and kept himself in unbelievable shape as his career has progressed, by comparison look at Messi, if he takes his shirt off after a game he isn't really ripped at all, but is often voted the best player in the world.
Looking good physically and being a great player don't always go together. Rooney attracts attention when he is playing poorly and people say he is unfit overweight etc but when he is playing well no one notices he might be carrying a few extra pounds.
There are many different types of fitness - it is a very subjective thing - and there is undoubtedly a trade-off between looking ripped/muscular and being fit enough to play at your peak in games.
Ronaldo is an example of someone who has built a great physique and kept himself in unbelievable shape as his career has progressed, by comparison look at Messi, if he takes his shirt off after a game he isn't really ripped at all, but is often voted the best player in the world.
Looking good physically and being a great player don't always go together. Rooney attracts attention when he is playing poorly and people say he is unfit overweight etc but when he is playing well no one notices he might be carrying a few extra pounds.
There are many different types of fitness - it is a very subjective thing - and there is undoubtedly a trade-off between looking ripped/muscular and being fit enough to play at your peak in games.
Tbf, Messi is pretty ripped he just don't have the same amount of muscle mass as Ronaldo. You can clearly see his abs and a pretty defined chest as well as an adonis belt. Messi's shape is superior to, say, Rooney.
I think you've misunderstood me. I'm not intending to shame anyone nor am I doubting the effort they put in. On the contrary I've said in this exchange their commitment is pretty amazing.
I'm actually more frustrated for these guys. Like generations of women before them lots of men are falling prey to a cynical fitness industry that's pumping out images of what we should look like. All with the aim of extracting £££ from us.
Correct but that's the exact opposite of the message pumped out by the fitness industry.
It's also not the case in reality. The guys we're talking about here will be using at the very least supplements.
I agree, that's marketing unfortunately. On the other hand, people nowadays often have shitty diets and supplements like protein powders or vitamins can help with that.
Nobody with a western diet is short of protein. There's no need to use a powder. The only people who say you do are the people who sell it.
Not true. Talking from experience here. Sometimes it can be a struggle for some people to get enough from their regular diet, especially if they are weightlifting and need even higher amounts of protein.
How did you struggle to get enough protein from your diet? It's pretty much impossible to do so with a western diet unless you had some kind of medical condition.
I also highly doubt the majority of people on protein powders are on them for health reasons.
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That's bollox tbf.
The "classic body shape of a footballer" is considerably leaner than Rooney is now (or ever was)
In the OP I asked for specific examples of other footballers who have a physique as soft as Rooney's in the OP. It's telling that we're 6 pages in and nobody has yet provided any examples (other than some old school fatties like Neville Southall in the days before elite footballers took strength and conditioning seriously) Which is not to say that he's lacking in cardiovascular conditioning but there's more to being a footballer at the highest level than being able to run for a long time. One of the most notable features of Rooney's decline is how often he loses out in physical battles for the ball, getting rag-dolled by defenders he would have previously been able to steam-roll. The older you get the harder you need to work to stay strong. A leaner, stronger version of Wayne Rooney would almost certainly be aging better than the player we've watched these last few seasons.
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My wife is alergic to casein so dairy or beef is a no no, she also doesn't eat a lot and her diet was always carbs heavy, so after she decided to start weightlifting her diet had to change obviously to increase the amount of protein, which is a bit of a struggle if you are used to a certain type of diet your whole life and meat isn't cheap, so on days when she's not able to get enough from food, she'll have protein powder.
Supplements are just that, supplements. They exist to supplement your diet with the stuff you are missing. If you are not missing anything, then you have no need for supplements obviously, but if you are, they can be very helpful.
EDIT: also I can imagine, that vegan diets might be problematic when it comes to the required amount of protein needed when weightlifting.
(I think we got quite offtopic
Anyway this was my last post for the day, so no more derailing. )
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My point is that Rooney cannot be judged on the first pic. He looks thin.
His decline is apparent to all.
But that's not in any way linked to that photo.
I don't believe that he's aged well. But I also don't believe that he hasn't had round the clock support from all medical staff to stay in great shape. For a decade he was among the fittest players on the planet. I don't think any would dispute that. Maybe I'm wrong.
If you want some pictures of men with average footballers bodies, google it. There are thousands out there. I'll help if you need me to when I'm next at a pic.
Go for it. A photograph of modern day professional footballer with the same physique as Rooney. I can't find one. I'm still waiting for someone else to. You seem confident such a thing exists, so go ahead and post it.
My wife is alergic to casein so dairy or beef is a no no, she also doesn't eat a lot and her diet was always carbs heavy, so after she decided to start weightlifting her diet had to change obviously to increase the amount of protein, which is a bit of a struggle if you are used to a certain type of diet your whole life and meat isn't cheap, so on days when she's not able to get enough from food, she'll have protein powder.
Supplements are just that, supplements. They exist to supplement your diet with the stuff you are missing. If you are not missing anything, then you have no need for supplements obviously, but if you are, they can be very helpful.
(I think we got quite offtopic
Right well that's a very specific, rare, medical condition. It's not examples like your wife that support the huge supplement industry. Most people takes these powders in the belief it'll make them look bigger. It's a move away from the health centric approach we should be taking. Which benefits nobody but the companies who seel the stuff.
Agree this has derailed the thread slightly so I'll also leave it there.
You like his one? If you're more of an ass man I can try to fit your kink in.
First search btw. It's not hard.
You like his one? If you're more of an ass man I can try to fit your kink in.
First search btw. It's not hard.
Not a bad effort. Only took you 23 minutes googling too. He looks a lot leaner than Rooney does, mind you. Is that really the fattest footballer you could find?!
What are those mysterious markings on his torso? Thread title is footballers without abs...