Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy; an individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their appearance. The muscles are revealed through a combination of fat loss, oils, and tanning (or tanning lotions) which combined with lighting make the definition of the muscle group more distinct.
People well-known for being bodybuilders include Charles Atlas, Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno who starred on TV Shows and in movies . Currently, three time winner Jay Cutler holds the title of Mr. Olympia as the world's top bodybuilder. [1
Early years
The "Early Years" of Western Bodybuilding are considered to be the period between 1880 and 1930.
Eugen Sandow
Bodybuilding did not really exist prior to the late 19th century, when it was promoted by a man from Prussia (northern Germany) named Eugen Sandow,[2] who is now generally referred to as "The Father of Modern Bodybuilding". He is credited as being a pioneer of the sport because he allowed an audience to enjoy viewing his physique in "muscle display performances". Although audiences were thrilled to see a well-developed physique, those men simply displayed their bodies as part of strength demonstrations or wrestling matches. Sandow had a stage show built around these displays through his manager, Florenz Ziegfeld. The Oscar winning 1936 musical film The Great Ziegfeld, depicts this beginning of modern bodybuilding, when Sandow began to display his body for carnivals. The role of Sandow was played by actor Nat Pendleton.
Sandow became so successful at flexing and posing his physique, he later created several businesses around his fame and was among the first to market products branded with his name alone. He was credited with inventing and selling the first exercise equipment for the masses (machined dumbbells, spring pulleys and tension bands) and even his image was sold by the thousands in "cabinet cards" and other prints.
Sandow was a strong advocate of "the Grecian Ideal" (this was a standard where a mathematical "ideal" was set up and the "perfect physique" was close to the proportions of ancient Greek and Roman statues from classical times - see Golden Mean). This is how Sandow built his own physique and in the early years, men were judged by how closely they matched these "ideal" proportions. Sandow organised the first 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 sold out and hundreds of physical culture enthusiasts were turned away. The trophy presented to the winner was a bronze statue of Sandow himself sculpted by Frederick Pomeroy. The winner was William L. Murray of Nottingham, England. The most prestigious bodybuilding contest today is the Mr. Olympia, and since 1977, the winner has been presented with the same bronze statue of Sandow that he himself presented to the winner at the first contest.[3]
First large-scale bodybuilding competition in America
On 16 January 1904, the first large-scale bodybuilding competition in America took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The winner was Al Treloar and he was declared "The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World".[4] Treloar won a $1,000 cash prize, a substantial sum at that time. Two weeks later, Thomas Edison made a film of Al Treloar's posing routine. Edison also made two films of Sandow a few years before, making him the man who made the first three motion pictures featuring a bodybuilder. In the early 20th century, Bernarr Macfadden and Charles Atlas, continued to promote bodybuilding across the world. Alois P. Swoboda was an early pioneer in America.
Notable early bodybuilders
Many other important bodybuilders in the early history of bodybuilding prior to 1930 include: Earle Liederman (writer of some of the earliest bodybuilding instruction books), Zishe Breitbart, Georg Hackenschmidt, Emy Nkemena, George F. Jowett, Finn Hateral (a pioneer in the art of posing), Monte Saldo, Launceston Elliot, Sig Klein, Sgt. Alfred Moss, Joe Nordquist, Lionel Strongfort (Strongfortism), Gustav Fristensky (the Czech champion), Ralph Parcaut, a champion wrestler who also authored an early book on "physical culture," and Alan C. Mead, who became an impressive muscle champion despite the fact that he lost a leg in World War I.
1950s and 1960s
Bodybuilding became more popular in the 1950s and 1960s with the emergence of strength and gymnastics champions joining the sport, and the simultaneous popularization of muscle training, most of all by Charles Atlas, whose advertising in comic books and other other publications encouraged many young men to undertake weight training to improve their physiques to resemble the comic books' muscular superheroes. Of notable athletes, US national and gymnastics champion and US Olympic weightlifting team competitor John Grimek and British strength athlete Reg Park as winners of newly-created bodybuilding titles such as the Mr. Universe and Mr. America competitions paved the way for others. Magazines such as Strength & Health and Muscular Development were accompanied by the public notoriety of Muscle Beach. The casting of some bodybuilders in movies was another major vehicle for the sport's popularization. Of bodybuilder-actors perhaps the most famous were Steve Reeves and Reg Park, who were featured in roles portraying Hercules, Samson and other legendary heroes. Dave Draper gained public fame through appearances in Muscle Beach Party, part of the "beach party" series of films featuring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon that began with Beach Blanket Bingo, and also in cameo appearances in television series such as the Beverly Hillbillies. Other rising stars in this period were Larry Scott, Serge Nubret, and Sergio Oliva. The gym equipment and training supplement industries founded by Joe Weider were complemented by the growth of the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB), which was co-founded by Joe and his brother Ben. The IFBB eventually displaced the Amateur Athletic Union's Mr. Universe titles and also that of NABBA, the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association as the most important and notable contests.
Olympic sport discussion
In the early 2000s, the IFBB was attempting to make bodybuilding an Olympic sport. It obtained full IOC membership in 2000 and was attempting to get approved as a demonstration event at the Olympics which would hopefully lead to it being added as a full contest. This did not happen. Olympic recognition for bodybuilding remains controversial since many argue that bodybuilding is not a sport.[7]
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