History of Bodybuilding
Information on the History of Bodybuilding
History of Body Building
The history of body building is very interesting. It has been dated back to 11th century India, where athletes used to lift carved stone dumbbell weights, which were known as Nals. They were much like the modern fitness equipment. Actually, gyms in India have been traced back to this same period, and by the 16th century, it is said that body building was one of their national pastimes. Body building was carried out even in the ancient Greek and later Roman empires.
Body building started to become popular in North America towards the middle of the 19th century. At the first modern Olympics in 1896, there were two weightlifting events. North Americans were first exposed to body building through the strongman at traveling circus sideshows and carnivals. The man credited with inventing many of the contemporary body building techniques was a German named Eugene Sandow.
Sandow began his performance with feats of strength and adapted various poses that showed off his body, much like the modern day body builders do. In 1899 he went to England and opened his first "Physical Culture Studio" at London. He was a good business person as well - selling products by mail and publishing his own magazine. He ended up with a chain of 20 studios throughout England.
The first body building competition was organized by Sandow as well. It was held on September 14, 1901 and was called the "Great Competition". Staged at the Royal Albert Hall, it was a complete sold out, attracted hundreds of spectators and caused an immense traffic jam. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the 3 judges.
Sandow's counterpart in North America was Bernarr Macfadden. Frail and sickly as a child, Macfadden had built health and strength by working outdoors as a young teenager. At the age of 25, he was selling exercise equipment. He was an early crusader for women's physical fitness. In 1900, he began publishing a magazine called "Women's Physical Development", which was soon renamed "Beauty and Health". At a time when most experts thought that most exercise was basically bad for women, Macfadden espoused relatively strenuous exercise for both sexes and all ages.
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