-
Evolution of Bodybuilding as a Sport
At the end of the 19th century an interest in muscle building arose. There was a return to the Greek ideals of celebrating the human body. Muscle gains were made by lifting stones. During this time the contests of bodybuilding were based on how much a person could lift and not so much on symmetry and proportion of the body. -
Prize Money
By the early 1900's competitions began to attract larger crowds. Promoters became involved and a new business and sport was born. Prize money became the award to the "Most perfectly developed man". (still the man who could lift the most) -
Effects of Diet on the Body
By the 1920/30's it became evident that the health of the human body was closely related to the development of it's physique. Little was known at this time of proper diet but competitors began realizing the difference between thier body's and the body's of previous competiors. -
Mr America
In 1939 bodybuilders began competing in local competitions all over the U.S in hopes of qualifying for the Mr. America contest. Mr America was the first major modern bodybuilding event. -
Perfection of the Human Body
By 1945 the knowledge of diet for sculpting the body had been more developed. The ideas of symmetry and proportion were becoming the driving foce for winning any bodybuilding competition. -
True Bodybuilders
During the 1950's bodybuilders were training harder and more consistantly than ever. Because of this there was a "boom" of knowledge of the body's potential that even scientists didn't predict. It was during this time that bodybuilders started becoming more perfectly sculpted. -
Bodybuilding "Boom"
During the 60's and 70's the competition for championship titles became fierce and the sport became more popular. Bodybuilders such as Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbo, and Arnold Schwarzenegger contibuted to the growth of the sport. Competitors were massive and science continued to advanced on the effects of diet and exercise. -
Pupming Iron
In 1977 an independent documentary was made. It was called Pupming Iron. It followed the competitors and gave the sport a "human" side and became even more popular. -
Bodybuilding Sport a Sure Thing
By the 1980's it was evident that bodybuilding was here to stay and continued to grow. -
Worldwide
By the 1990's bodybuilding sport included 160 countries worldwide. Competitors have become more massive than ever. -
Bodybuilding Today
Today, (as you can imagine or probably seen) bodyduilders are huge! The science of muscular development has been mastered. It used to be just symmetry and proportion that won a title, but now mass and width are included in those categories for judgement. Althugh the sport is more popular than ever it is still not considered "mainstream". It isn't shown on NBC (for example) like basketball or football, but it is always a goal of the competitors.