“Strong Man Acts” moved to North America in the 1800’s and are credited with inspiring what is known today as bodybuilding. Usually a circus performer who displayed his strengths was known as a strongman. Strongmen displaying their strength by bench presses, steel bending, breaking heavy iron chains and such were watch by audiences attending the circus. Although bodybuilding did not yet exist, many 19th century strongmen had well-built bodies and even sold photographs of themselves flexing and posing. In present days, when we use the term ’strongman’, it mostly refers to participants competing in varied strength competitions. (besides making your muscles big enough to entertain the thought of lifting rocks, trucks or rolling massive tires around).

Using a combination of different exercises to develop physique and muscle fiber is what is referred to as bodybuilding. (mainly weight training) and diet. However, not every bodybuilder is in it for the competition. This sport involves displaying pronounced muscle tone, exaggerated muscle mass and muscle definition before a panel of judges, who assign points to competing bodybuilders based on their aesthetic appearance.

The major benchmarks in the evolution of the comparatively young sport of competitive bodybuilding are described beneath.

* Even though there were a couple of weightlifting competitions in the very first Olympiad of the modern era in 1896, modern bodybuilding truly started with Eugene Sandow, a Prussian who came up with many of the current bodybuilding techniques in addition to many of the original bodybuilding machines for the public. (tension bands, machined dumbbells etc).

* On September 14, 1901, Sandow organized the first ever bodybuilding competition, the Great Competition, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Sandow’s manager was Florenz Ziegfeld, and the 1936 Oscar winning film, The Great Ziegfeld, tells some of the story of the beginning of modern bodybuilding.

* During Sandow’s time, the Grecian Ideal was a term used to describe the perfect physique as represented in the classical proportions of ancient Greek and Roman statues. Competitors were scored based on how closely they matched these proportions during the early days of competitive bodybuilding. Sandow used these standards to develop his own physique.

* Sandow’s counterpart in North America was a man named Bernarr Macfadden. Macfadden made it a priority to build his strength (when he was younger he was often ill and weak), and started out by selling exercise equipment. Women’s fitness was also something he believed in. (it was a great idea for the time). The first publication of his “Women’s Physical Development” magazine arrived in 1900. A short while after that it was given the new name, Beauty and Health. Macfadden established a number of healthatoriums (institutions that provided physical educational programs) throughout the eastern as well as midwestern parts of America.

* The first bodybuilding competition of this kind was put on by Macfadden on January 16, 1904 in the U.S at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Two of the terms used to describe it were Physique Contest and Physique competition (other than weight competitions, strength exhibitions or athletic feats) this was the main focus point of the show. Al Treloar, who was announced The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World, won. The notable Charles Adams in 1921 and 1922 acquired fame as did other several participants in later Macfadden bodybuilding competitions.

* The first major international bodybuilding competition was the Mr. Universe contest, founded in 1947, followed by the Mr. Olympian contest that was in 1965.

Muscle mass was added to the ideal bodybuilder aesthetic, between the years of 1940 and 1970, as well as the criteria of symmetry and definition of the muscles, this lead to this time period being called the Golden Age of Bodybuilding. The Second World War is credited with having influenced the trend toward bigger, stronger and more aggressive attitudes. Arnold Schwarzenegger played a bodybuilder in the 1977 film, Pumping Iron, this helped to bring bodybuilding into the public eye even more.

* Women’s bodybuilding competition began in the 1970s (although a few women had participated in earlier contests organized by Macfadden in the U.S.)

* The International Olympic Committee granted provisional status to the sport of competitive bodybuilding in 1998 but has not yet approved it.

* With advancements in technology, bodybuilders are more massive today than they have ever been. Many competitors in today’s bodybuilding competitions weigh over 250 pounds and have less than 5% body fat.