Bodybuilding: An Overview
When Eugen Sandow laid the foundation stone of bodybuilding in the later half of the 19th century, he started it as a display of strength. The criterion for showing strength was one’s muscular development. In the early days, wrestling was the sole sport for proving one’s strength of muscles.
But the real impetus to move Sandow’s spirits was the “visual ideal” impressed upon his mind by ancient Greek and Roman statues. It was the more the shapeliness of muscles and a well-proportioned body that bodybuilding sought to achieve rather than the overwhelmingly developed mass of muscle.
The “Golden Age” of bodybuilding came at about the mid 20th century, more precisely from 1940 to 1970, when the concept of the perfect body zoomed in on bigger and stronger muscles, though at the same time considering their symmetry and definition.
The emphasis on “more muscle” caused the bodybuilders to follow an integrated approach of bodybuilding that included the use of enhanced training techniques, better equipment for bodybuilding exercises, and healthy foods. Also, bodybuilding became a separate category of competition in sports.
In the later half of the 1970’s, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the spark of a renovated enthusiasm in bodybuilding. While his body image inspired millions to knuckle on body building practice, Arnold himself suggested a “way up strategy” towards the peak body structure. It was at this time when women delved into the field of bodybuilding.
The challenge before women bodybuilders has been to maintain the right level of muscular development that does not transgress the aesthetic ideals of femininity. Nevertheless, the fervor for enhanced muscles and reduced fat kept the female interest in bodybuilding on a rise. In 1980, Rachel McLish became the first Miss Olympia. Rachel’s figure and level of fitness still dominates the female ideal of bodybuilding.
Competition lies at the core of bodybuilding practice. Since its initiation as a sport to the present day, numerous competitions have been held and thousands of professional bodybuilders have struggled to make it big with their well-nursed muscles. Competitions run at adult as well as at teenage level.
However, efforts to introduce bodybuilding as an Olympic sport have met little success. The fact that bodybuilding involves more of “show” than “contest” at the actual event of competition is at odds with the efforts of the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) to get bodybuilding into this mega sports event.
In addition, bodybuilding has been infamously charged with the use of anabolic steroids, drugs that are not supposed to be used by Olympic sportsmen.
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Post CommentKen Gack
On July 7, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Interesting article.
By reading the article, however, I catch an inference that today’s body building monsters do so through training techniques, equipment, and healthy foods. I believe that it’s pretty much a well known fact that steroids are just as important a part in the training at the professional level as the components you mention. If there is a question, check out the difference in size as compared to competitors at the drug free competitions.