Bodybuilding is big in Baghdad

Tim Albone, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: February 27. 2009 8:30AM UAE / February 27. 2009 4:30AM GMT

BAGHDAD // Najar Khadouri has biceps bigger than a normal man’s thighs and can bench press 160 kilograms, the weight of a medium-sized gorilla.

“The girls? Yes, they like the big muscles,” his friend and fellow muscle man, Ali Abbas, 31, said with a chuckle, as he whipped off his shirt to reveal a shaved chest that appeared to have two supersized steaks slipped under the skin. His stomach is as flat as a washboard until he flexes, then it takes on the appearance of a radiator, all sharp contours and defined columns.

To say Mr Abbas, who stands at 6ft 2in tall, and Mr Khadouri, short and squat at 5ft 5in, are big would be an understatement, describing them as huge is selling their physiques short.

Mr Abbas, who claims he has won the Mr Iraq competition three times since the 2003 invasion, is the owner of one of Baghdad’s most popular gyms, The Dragon Gym For Body Building And Fitness, in the affluent Karrada district of Baghdad. It is at the heart of a bodybuilding craze that is sweeping across the capital.

Bodybuilding has long been popular in the country. But under Saddam Hussein the best gyms were reserved for people close to the regime, and in the violence that followed the invasion many gyms shut. It is only recently that the sport has really started to boom. Its popularity is so great that practitioners say the only sport more in vogue among young Iraqi males is football. Increased security and a lack of government regulation have led to a surge in gyms opening up.

The increase is connected to the introduction of satellite television and the arrival of the Hollywood blockbuster. Under Baathist rule viewers were served a monotonous diet of Saddam and more Saddam; even music videos featured his image.

Western shows and the satellite dishes were, for the masses, banned. After the invasion, sales of the newly legal dishes soared and the concept of the blockbuster and body beautiful hit Iraq in a big way. Actors with big muscles such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone became instant heroes. Until recently though many felt unable to emulate their heroes, it was too dangerous to venture to the gym.

“In 2005 we had just 100 to 150 members. People were scared,” said Mr Abbas, who has trained in the US, has tattooed arms and wears a goatee.

Today, as the security has improved, the Dragon gym now has about 300 members who each pay US$20 (Dh73) a month.

During the years of ethnic violence death squads targeted the bodybuilders. Many, due to their bulk and imposing frames, had found jobs with international security companies, as such they were pitted against the anti-western militias.

“I was a champion bodybuilder under Saddam, but after that, when the situation was very bad, I left the game. I only started again eight months ago,” said Mr Khadouri, 30, who used to work as a bodyguard for a western television station.

Despite the risks many refused to give up the sport. “We had to change our clothes. I couldn’t wear short sleeved shirts that would show off my muscles and tattoos,” Mr Abbas said.

On a visit to Dragon one day last week, men – no women visit the gym – pumped iron while, in between power cuts, hip-hop music blared from a stereo. Despite the dingy approach to the club – patrons have to walk down a rubbish-strewn street and up one flight of crumbling stairs – the machinery, which is all imported from the US, is brand new and much is still partially wrapped in polythene.

“Only the best equipment,” Mr Abbas said.

The floors are covered in padding and the yellow walls lined with posters of strongmen. Pride of place, by the entrance and above a desk, is reserved for pictures of Mr Abbas with bodybuilding big shots, taken on a recent trip to Las Vegas.

The room smells strongly of sweat and the men think nothing of stripping to their underpants to compare muscles. “I think my body is so beautiful,” Mr Khadouri said.

The tragic irony for Iraq’s muscle men is that showing off their bodies to women is impossible. Despite security advances the culture is still deeply traditional. The only place men can strip out of their clothes and show off their muscles is in the company of other men.

There are no beaches or mixed swimming pools to impress girls at.

Despite this, many go to extreme measures to achieve the desired results. Anabolic steroid abuse is said to be widespread. The drugs, illegal in much of the world, are readily available in Baghdad. It has also been known for bodybuilders to inject animal steroids in their quest for a perfect body.

“From time to time I take drugs,” said Adnan, 27. “The pill is better than the needle. I am not worried about side effects. I check myself and do one month on, one month off.”

At Arnold Classic Gym, Ali Sabah, 20, the son of the owner, greets customers.

Arnold’s is a shrine to the governor of California – photos of the former Terminator star cover the walls – and is perhaps the best stocked gym in the city.

Mr Sabah, broad and short, his nose almost as wide as his face, is clear on the reasons he works out, he said: “If girls see us they like it [the muscles]. But I just want to win competitions. I feel my body is developing to be very nice.”

With all the problems facing Iraq there has not been a Mr Iraq competition for several years. This week the bodybuilding federation is holding elections and it is hoped the first competition will be held soon after.

“I can’t wait,” Mr Sabah said.



talbone@thenational.ae