Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is the process of developing muscle fibers through the combination of weight training, increased caloric intake, and rest. Someone who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. As a sport, called competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their aesthetic appearance.

History

As a sport of aesthetics, bodybuilding can be traced back to the 11th century in India where athletes created their own dumbells (called Nals) out of stone and wood. There is also evidence that they created first kind of gyms around this period.

Related Topics:
11th century - India - Dumbell - Stone - Wood - Gym

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Early years

Bodybuilding did not really gain popularity until the late 19th century, when the sport was promoted by the German Eugen Sandow - who is now often refered to as the "Father of modern bodybuilding". He is credited with inventing and selling the first machine made dumbells. Sandow organised the first ever bodybuilding contest on September 14, 1901 called the "Great Competition" and held in the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK. Judged by himself, Sir Charles Lawes, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the contest was a huge success and was a sell-out with hundreds of fans turned away. The trophy presented to the winner was a bronze statue of Sandow himself sculpted by Frederick Pomeroy. This statue (known as "The Sandow") has been presented to the Mr. Olympia winner since 1977 http://www.sandowmuseum.com/mrolympia.html.

Related Topics:
19th century - German - Eugen Sandow - September 14 - 1901 - Royal Albert Hall - London - UK - Sir Charles Lawes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Frederick Pomeroy - Mr. Olympia - 1977

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In the early 20th century, Bernarr Macfadden and Charles Atlas, continued to promote bodybuilding across the world.

Related Topics:
20th century - Bernarr Macfadden - Charles Atlas

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The "Golden Age"

The period of around 1940 to 1970 is often refered to as the "Golden Age" of bodybuilding due to the judging emphasis on muscular symmetry and definition (rather than size) and before the widespread use of steroids and other supplements. During this time training techniques improved, more publications hit the shelves, and more contests were held. In this period bodybuilding was typified by Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, US.

Related Topics:
1940 - 1970 - Muscle Beach - Santa Monica, California - US

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Due to the rise in popularity, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) added a bodybuilding competition to their existing weightlifting contest in 1939 - the next year this competition was named AAU Mr. America. Around the mid-1940s most bodybuilders became annoyed with the AAU since they only allowed amateur competitors and they place more focus on the Olympic sport of weightlifting. This caused brothers Ben and Joe Weider to form the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) - which organised their competing IFBB Mr. America which was open to professional athletes.

Related Topics:
Amateur Athletic Union - 1939 - AAU Mr. America - 1940s - Ben - Joe Weider - International Federation of BodyBuilders - IFBB Mr. America

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In 1950, another organisation, the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) started their NABBA Mr. Universe contest in England. Another major contest, Mr. Olympia was first held in 1965 - this is currently the most prestigious title in bodybuilding.

Related Topics:
1950 - National Amateur Bodybuilders Association - NABBA Mr. Universe - England - Mr. Olympia - 1965

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Initially contests were for men only, but the NABBA added Miss Universe in 1965 and Miss Olympia was started in 1980. See Female bodybuilding#History for more.

Related Topics:
1965 - 1980 - Female bodybuilding#History

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1970s onwards

In the 1970s, bodybuilding had major publicity thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the 1977 film Pumping Iron. By this time the IFBB dominated the sport and the AAU took a back seat.

Related Topics:
1970s - Arnold Schwarzenegger - 1977 - Pumping Iron

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This period also saw the rise of anabolic steroids both in bodybuilding and many other sports. To combat this, and to be allowed to be an IOC member, the IFBB introduced strict doping tests for both steriods and other banned substances.

Related Topics:
Anabolic steroid - IOC

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The IFBB is currently attempting to make bodybuilding an Olympic sport. It obtained full IOC membership in 2000 and is attempting to get a demonstration event at the Olympics which would hopefully lead to it being added as a full contest. This remains controversial since some argue that bodybuilding is not a sport since the actual contest does not involve athletic effort. Proponents argue that the posing routine requires skill and preparation.

Related Topics:
Olympic - 2000

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