The authorin analyses « extreme » bodybuilding as a source of important work on oneself and describes its associated gymnastic norms. Her interpretation is based on the notion of sacred and on constructivist and phenomenological approaches to the body. Becoming a « true » bodybuilder implies regarding one’s identity as sacred by observing certain rules of purity. Moreover, this morally « clean » lifestyle brings about a deep satisfaction insofar as it enables the bodybuilder to discover his/her « inside » social sphere. Following Michel Maffesoli’s views the authorin shows that in bodybuilding narcissism, individualism and loneliness are paradoxically mingled with their opposite : the collective body. They define the shared style of a subculture of which they are the centre.