| Bodybuilding in Germany | |
|---|---|
 Eugen Sandow, an early German bodybuilder | |
| Country | Germany |
| National team(s) | Germany |
Bodybuilding in Germany dates to at least 1812, and was focused around the gymnasium. Later it would develop a national governing organization that was internationally recognised. German competitors have competed in international competitions. Drug testing is done for the national championships.
1812 saw the start of Turnverein by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, which started the tradition of muscle building in Germany focused around the gymnasium. [1] At least 1,500 gymnasiums existed in Germany by the 1870s with muscle mass building a component of what took place in them. [2]
The 1992 edition of the Ms. Olympia contest was held in Chicago, Illinois with 20 competitors, including at least one from Germany. [3] In 2003, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation was founded by Berend Breitenstein. [4] In 2003, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation became affiliated with the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. [4] Frank Guenther won the men's world championship in 2003. [4] In 2004, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation organized the German National Bodybuilding Championships. [4] Frank Kaeger won the men's world championship in 2007. [4] In 2009, German competitor Sabine Streubel won the WNBF Pro World Championships in the women's category. [4] In 2012, the German National Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation became affiliated with the Drug Free Athletes Coalition and severed its relationship with the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. [4]
The German National Bodybuilding Championships test competitors using a polygraph, and urine analysis for all winners. [4]
Germany has an organization that is a member of the European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation. [5] The country has a national organization that is a recognized by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness as a national federation, representing the country's bodybuilding community. [6]
Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic purposes over functional ones, distinguishing it from similar activities such as powerlifting, which focuses solely on increasing the physical load one can exert.
Eugen Sandow was a German bodybuilder and showman from Prussia. Born in Königsberg, Sandow became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy.
Samir Bannout is a Lebanese former professional bodybuilder and coach. He won the 1983 Mr. Olympia title, and is the first Middle Eastern bodybuilder to win the title.
Strongman is someone who exhibits strength through strength athletics. Strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, are composed of a variety of events in which competitors have to move the highest weights possible, the winner being the one having the highest tally across all events. In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events mainly for women but also men. While bearing a close resemblance to bodybuilding, its emphasis is on muscle definition, not size. The class was introduced when bodybuilding's popularity began to decline.
Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB Pro, IFBB Elite Pro or Wabba International Pro Card.
Thomas Inch was a British strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth and Britain's Strong Man.
The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League is the largest international professional sports governing body federation in the world for professional bodybuilding, physique, fitness, figure, bikini and wellness. It sanctions the most prestigious competitions in bodybuilding at the Mr Olympia and Ms. Olympia, and the second most prestigious competitions in bodybuilding at the Arnold Sports Festival and Rising Phoenix World Championships.
Mark H. Berry (1896–1958) was an American national weight lifting champion, author and trainer.
The Two Hands Anyhow is a traditional strongman weightlifting exercise. The goal was to lift as much weight overhead with two hands in any method.
Elena Shportun-Willemer is a professional female bodybuilder who mainly competes in European bodybuilding competitions. She is known in the bodybuilding world for her artistic style of posing which involves modern and belly dancing, classic lines and symmetry which are often compared with those from the female bodybuilders from the late 1970s and early 1980s such as Cory Everson and Anja Langer. Although Shportun-Willemer has had the opportunity to compete at the pro level she has opted to remain competitive as an amateur level and recently won the 2009 Arnold Amateur International Bodybuilding Championship.
Strandpulling is the general term for the practice of stretching steel springs, rubber cables or latex tubing, as a form of exercise and as a competitive sport, using a "chest expander", with many specific movements designed to target different muscles and provide progressive resistance usually, but not always, to the upper body.
Bodybuilding in the United States traces its early history to the 1860s when it was based on the east coast. By the 1940s, it had arrived in Hawaii. In the same period, the country was involved with the early internationalization of the sport. The sport had a golden age during the 1960s and 1970s when much of the activity was taking place on the west coast. Bodybuilding for women began to take off during the 1970s. A number of changes took place in the 1980s.
Bodybuilding in France dates to 1847. The country has a national federation that is a member of the European Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness.
Bodybuilding in India is organized and the national federation is internationally recognised. Bodybuilders from the country have competed in international events.
Viktoria Vasylivna Posmitna (Larsson) (Ukrainian: Вікторія Василівна Посмітна (Ларссон); born 7 April 1966 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR) – Ukrainian athlete (powerlifting, bodybuilding, fitness), coach, TV host. Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, Master of Sports of Ukraine of international class, twelve-time champion of Ukraine, multiple winner of the European and World Championships.
Kolar Venkatesh Iyer, known as K. V. Iyer (1897-1980) was a gymnast, bodybuilder, proponent of Indian physical culture, and author of books including the 1930 Muscle Cult: A Pro-Em for My System. He contributed to the development of modern yoga as a system of exercise.
Al Treloar was an American bodybuilder, athletic trainer, author and artist's model. He won the first international bodybuilding contest in 1904, appeared in early silent films, and toured the United States as a vaudeville performer. He was physical director at the Los Angeles Athletic Club from 1907 to 1949.
Turkish Bodybuilding, Fitness and Armwrestling Federation is the governing body of bodybuilding, physical fitness and arm wrestling in Turkey. It was formed in 1991, and is based in Ankara. It is a member of the World Bodybuilding Federation, World Fitness Federation and World Armwrestling Federation. It organizes Turkish championships for each sport branch, and selects national teams for international competitions. President of the federation is Niyazi Kurt.
