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.
The Universe Championships are annual worldwide bodybuilding events organised by the British National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA). Originally promoted as the Mr. Universe contest, the event was expanded to include women's classes in 1968. Notable previous winners include bodybuilder, actor, and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and bodybuilder and actor Steve Reeves (1926–2000).
William Arnold Pearl was an American professional bodybuilder and athlete. During the 1950s and 60s, he won many titles and awards, including winning the Mr. Universe contest five times, and was named "World's Best-Built Man of the Century". He later became an expert trainer and author on bodybuilding.
Roy "Reg" Park was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr. Britain in 1949. He then won Mr. Universe in 1951, 1958, and 1965. He went on to star in five films, all of which featured him playing Hercules. Later in life, he received renewed interest for being the first inspiration to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Mr. Universe may refer to:
The National Amateur Body-Builders' Association, more commonly referred to as NABBA, was founded in 1950 by the Health & Strength League to promote bodybuilding. Although the original intention was to promote physique contests in the United Kingdom, the popularity of the Mr Universe contest, and later Ms Universe contest, drew interest from competitors around the world. Today NABBA International maintains affiliations with around 60 countries.
Lee Andrew McCutcheon is a competitive bodybuilder. He is a former International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder and a current National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) professional athlete.
Mustafa Mohammad is a retired IFBB professional bodybuilder. He came in tenth place in the championship of Mr. Olympia held in Las Vegas in 2005. He was elected in 2013 as Assistant President of the Austrian Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, and Assistant to the President of the European Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness.
Earl Maynard is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler as well as a film actor, producer and director from Barbados.
Oscar Frederick Heidenstam was a Cyprus-born British bodybuilding champion and physical culturist. He was president of the World Amateur Body Building Association (WABBA), the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA), and NABBA International. He is 'The Father of British Bodybuilding'.
Tony Pearson is an American bodybuilding champion. His bodybuilding championships include individual and couples competitions.
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 Australia traces its early history to the 1940s. In 1947 the first large scale national bodybuilding contest was held, and since then bodybuilding has continued to grow within Australia. It has diversified from originally being largely male-dominated to having equal, or in some instances more, women competitors. Australia has both produced high performing bodybuilders, such as Lee Priest, and also hosted some historically significant events in the field, such as the IFBB Mr Olympia in 1980 where Arnold Schwarzenegger was the winner.
Connie Garner is a fitness competitor and NABBA Miss World Fitness. She won the Miss World Fitness title in 2000.
Rūta Bunkutė is a current IFBB/NPC Amateur fitness and figure competitor from Lithuania.
The World Fitness Federation or WFF, is an international bodybuilding organisation formed in 1968. The WFF promotes classic or athletic bodybuilding with a focus on the aesthetic quality of the physique as opposed to just muscularity.
Calum Jose Von Moger is an Australian actor and bodybuilder. He is best known for his portrayal of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2018 film, Bigger.
Douglas Paul Brignole was an American bodybuilder, fitness coach, biomechanics expert, and author. He attained fame as a multiple-time winner of the AAU Mr. Universe and Mr. America titles. Known for his long competitive career, Brignole was the oldest man to win the title of Mr. Universe. Beyond his bodybuilding achievements, Brignole was well known for his research and application of biomechanics principles to resistance training and for his use of cables, dumbbells, and isolation exercises rather than the barbells and compound exercises most commonly used by other titled bodybuilders. As a recognised luminary in the fitness industry, Brignole was consulted on a variety of topics including training protocols, trainer-client relations, and entrepreneurship.
