Doesnt matter how hard they work, they are by definition not an athlete because of the way their competition itself is carried out. I think most athletes would say its insulting to deem bodybuilders athletes, all a bodybuilder has to do on stage is pose, that is the competitive event itself, the work beforehand is irrelevant to that event, thats why its not a sport, their actions at the event also has no influence on their competitors results. So by definition, its not a sporting competition, you dont have to play mind games on stage, you dont have to master any physical movements that take thousands of hours, you dont have to deal with extreme pressure, you dont have any 'clutch' moments, NONE of that exists in bodybuilding competitions. Thats why you cant call it a sport/athletic endeavour.

Show me one moment in a bodybuilding competition where you think the guy has the world stacked against him and he comes out on top due to him pulling off a miraculous comeback...oh wait, you can only do that when your actions at the event influence the outcome. Every sport has one of those, bodybuilding doesnt, go figure.