To understand bodybuilding, you have to take the time to look back in history at how far it has come in the last century. Bodybuilding in modern evolution began in the 1890s with Eugene Sandow; who is crowned at the Olympia every September as world champion. Cultures as a whole began to see powerlifting and strongmen as an opportunity to challenge each other to see who could lift the most on many levels. This is where powerlifting competitions exemplify this challenge and competition at its best. However, symmetry was not a known concept at this time, but it soon came up with Eugene Sandow. Sandow himself started out in Europe as a strongman before coming to America in the 1890s.
Sandow promoted bodybuilding and also published the first magazine of the time promoting the sport called “Physical Culture”. Sandow suffered a brain hemorrhage when he tried to pull a car out of a ditch to show off his physical prowess. Sandow had the opportunity to judge the first bodybuilding contest before his eternal death. The first show was called “The Great Show” in 1891. The prize money at the time was $2,500 and a gold statue of Sandow. Judging criteria were established for points to be awarded for displaying more than just size, including; general development, balance of development, condition and tone of muscle tissue, general health and skin condition of the competitors. Sandow’s first statue was for a man named William Murray from Great Britain. After this bodybuilding competition, he became more and more popular.
This was the time when the cartoon “Hey skinny…your ribs are showing!” it became popular. We’ve all seen this cartoon from time to time, where a skinny guy with a cute girl on the beach gets picked on by the big guy with muscles. The big guy kicks sand in the weakling’s face and then takes the girl from him. This has become the stigma over the years for the big guy. This has been known as the most successful ad campaign in history. By the late 1920s we had barbells, dumbbells, and other exercises that led to more muscle development today. On the California coast, from the 1930s to the 1970s, weightlifting on the beach became increasingly popular; where at the top of the list is Muscle Beach in Venice.
Competition intensified when the Amateur Athletic Union inducted Mr. America in 1939; where contestants would demonstrate athletic abilities and be advised to get in the best shape possible to increase their chances of winning. John Grimek, the first Mr. America, made strides in muscle development and also won the award his sophomore year. He became a new idol; one where the role of fitness takes a new direction in physical development and general improvement. Steve Reeves and Clancy Ross were big names during this time; although some were still skeptical of the sport of bodybuilding.
Early global names include the greats, Frank Zane, Bill Pearl and Sergio Oliva. Ben Weider, the figurehead of bodybuilding today, was influential in the formation of the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilders) in 1946. The competition everyone knows about at this point is the Mr. Olympia, started in 1965 by Weider and the IFBB. The 1960s would mark the time when the greatest bodybuilder in history came to light. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1967 began his reign by winning the Mr. America title and dominated the world of bodybuilding where he would win Mr. Universe five times and Mr. Olympia seven times. Bodybuilding grew in the 1970s with Arnold and other stars like Zane, Draper, and Feriggno. While the muscular body gained popularity, the world of fitness gained momentum and people realized that this is a very lucrative business to be in.
The 1970s brought the dominance of bodybuilding and the IFBB. The federation decided to make bodybuilding a legitimate sport when enough competitors in more than 100 countries made themselves known. By then, bodybuilding had become a multi-billion dollar industry. Currently, we have seen many big names enter the world of bodybuilding, such as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, as well as Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis. Correct training and diet have become central to the daily lives of more than four billion of the world’s population. Competitive bodybuilders are the greatest of all time, find new ways to increase muscle size, and discover that this can be a career option. In the 1980’s we had a chance to see steroids come to the fore and put a black eye on the sport of bodybuilding. Physics improved also due to advances in training and strategies. We saw Lee Haney win seven Mr. Olympia awards with his frame around 240lbs and being bigger than any other bodybuilder at that point where we now see many pushing close to 300lbs. By the time Haney retired, he had broken Arnold’s records and is believed by many to be the biggest name in bodybuilding. We now have very public figures in bodybuilding, such as the current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, former bodybuilding king Ronnie Coleman, and Gunter Schlierkamp, who all made their way into the world of movies. Bodybuilding competitions continue to be popular and inspiring for many fans.
