With BOSM approaching, the English Press Club sat down with Utkarsh Sarma, the captain of the bodybuilding team at BITS Pilani.

Utkarsh talked about how bodybuilding, while often confused with powerlifting, is rather different. Fundamentally, powerlifting is the sport of lifting weights, while bodybuilding is more reminiscent of a pageant. While bodybuilders also lift weights, they are judged on the basis of their body’s aesthetics, symmetry and outward physique as well. Participants are expected to take one of five specified poses while holding a weight, and are judged on three parameters: the posing, the symmetry of the body, and the apparent muscle size. Utkarsh added that bodybuilding is an individual sport, and the team is not scored together.

Utkarsh said that in BOSM, there are typically 15 to 20 participants in the bodybuilding competition. The tournament works by first selecting the best 12 participants in a ‘pre-selection round’, followed by three rounds of the competition itself, where contestants are gradually eliminated in batches. Utkarsh stated that of the 15 people part of the BITS bodybuilding team, 10 were to take part in the upcoming edition of BOSM.

This was the first year that one could register to compete in the bodybuilding event prior to BOSM itself, said Utkarsh. Earlier, registration was on the spot, with interested participants who had come to BOSM for powerlifting taking part in the bodybuilding competition as well. The bodybuilding team was also split from the powerlifting team just this year due to the differing needs of the two sports.

Utkarsh stated that the bodybuilding team’s training regimen prioritised discipline above all else. Workout routines were accompanied by a major weight-reduction diet, called ‘cutting’ in bodybuilding parlance, for a month prior to BOSM, and ‘bulking’, which involved consumption of 120 to 150 grams of protein per day, to increase muscle size. In the week prior to BOSM, the team would transition to ‘water-cutting’, where members’ water intake would be reduced dramatically to give the body what Utkarsh called a ‘peak physique’. Lastly, right before the competition itself, participants would ‘load’ on carbohydrates in order to give their muscles a ‘fullness’ and increase their apparent size. When it comes to their workouts, the daily workouts of team members wouldn’t necessarily be the same, but they were expected to do all kinds of workouts over a period of time. Discipline, to Utkarsh, is paramount. The lead-up to BOSM, he said, demanded great discipline from participants, who had to restrain themselves from cravings and follow a very systematic diet.

Utkarsh said that the recruitments were fairly competitive, with five of thirty-five applicants making the cut. Applicants were judged on posing, symmetry, and muscle size, and on their commitment to the discipline necessary for the team. When asked about issues faced by the team, Utkarsh expressed that a dedicated coach would be helpful, since they currently shared a coach with the powerlifting team.  He also stated that having a sponsored ‘tan’ — used in bodybuilding for highlighting the body’s aesthetic features under the lighting of the stage — would have been good.


Regarding his own time in the sport, Utkarsh, currently a fourth year, transitioned to bodybuilding from powerlifting in his third year. He expressed that his time as a captain had been great, and had motivated him to put in more effort into his own training to serve as a model to the team. Additionally, he ended up learning far more technical information about bodybuilding while teaching the basics to junior batches, which also benefited him. Balancing academics with sports was critical, according to Utkarsh, and an integral part of the discipline necessary to the bodybuilding team.

In his parting words to the GBM, Utkarsh stated that he hoped that the bodybuilding team would be more broadly recognised and solicit more interest, and again emphasised the centrality of discipline to the sport.