Sport | Amateur bodybuilding |
---|---|
Category | Sports governing body |
Jurisdiction | International |
Abbreviation | NPC |
Founded | 1982 |
Affiliation | IFBB Professional League IFBB Amateur International / International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (formerly) |
Affiliation date | Since 2005 (IFBB Professional League) Until September 18, 2017 (IFBB Amateur International / International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness) |
Headquarters | PO Box 789, Carnegie 15106, United States of America |
President | Jim Manion |
Official website | |
npcnewsonline |
The National Physique Committee (NPC) is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. [1] Amateur bodybuilders compete in competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC. While the term "bodybuilding" is commonly used to refer to athletes participating in contests sanctioned by the NPC and IFBB Pro League, nine divisions are represented including men's bodybuilding, women's bodybuilding, bikini, men's physique, classic physique, women's physique, figure, fitness, and wellness.
The Amateur Athletic Union is an organization that governs many amateur level sports in the U.S.. Each sport has a committee that provides direct oversight of that sport. For the sport of bodybuilding Jim Manion was the president of the Physique Committee. Manion decided that in order to better promote the sport of bodybuilding, he would need to break away from the AAU, so he founded the National Physique Committee in the early 1980s. [2]
The NPC is the only amateur organization recognized by the IFBB Professional League. [3] The IFBB Pro League is the professional league for bodybuilding athletes and the sanctioning body for the world's largest professional contests such as the Mr. Olympia, Arnold Sports Festival, and Legion Sports Fest. In order to become an IFBB professional athlete an athlete must compete at an IFBB Pro Qualifier such as the NPC Nationals Championship, NPC USA Championship, or any other pro qualifier. Professional status will be awarded to top placing athletes.
Athletes must possess a valid NPC card to compete in an NPC show. NPC cards are valid for a calendar year.
An athlete must be a U.S. citizen to compete in the following national competitions:
Proof of citizenship must be one of the following:
Residency is four (4) months prior to a contest or must be a full-time student in the area. [4]
(Dependent on event)
(Only relevant to specific events) 2 Classes:
3 Classes:
4 Classes:
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider'sOlympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanctioned by the IFBB Professional League. Joe Weider created the contest to enable the amateur Mr. Universe winners to continue competing and to earn money. The first Mr. Olympia was held on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, with Larry Scott winning his first of two straight titles. The equivalent female title is Ms. Olympia.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Lora Ottenad is an American professional bodybuilder and powerlifting champion from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders, from its inception in 1986 through to its final staging in 2013. It was first held in 1986 by the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). In 1987, the IFBB allowed the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to sanction the Ms. International as an amateur event. In 1988, the contest was again sanctioned by the IFBB. From 1989 the contest was part of the Arnold Sports Festival.
Bob Paris is an American writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist, and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion. In 1989, he became the world's first male professional athlete to come out as gay in the media while still an active competitor in his sport.
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.
In bodybuilding and physique, a posedown is a free for all posing round in a bodybuilding or physique competition where the participants strike various poses, highlighting specific muscles and their overall physique. Posedowns are usually the final part of the competition and can often decide a close competition. Some competitors like to keep pre-set routine for the posedown in order to keep the flow going and show off their muscles. There are strategies competitors adopt during posedowns to best dominate or intimidate opponents, such as the forced perspective of posing as massive as possible and covering up other opponents on stage or forcing opponents into another pose, which can throw off their pre-set posing routine. For this reason, some competitors like to go through a spontaneous routine and keep the competition off-guard.
Darrem Charles is an actively competing IFBB professional bodybuilder.
Johnnie Otis Jackson is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder and powerlifter. Jackson has been said to have one of the best developed upper bodies in professional bodybuilding in the world. He is known for training in Arlington, Texas, with fellow American IFBB pro competitor Branch Warren. Due to his strength, he has sometimes been referred to as the world's strongest bodybuilder.
Kay Baxter was a pioneer female bodybuilder.
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.
David Christopher Palumbo is a retired American bodybuilder. He competed in his first bodybuilding competition in 1990, an NPC national competition in New York City, where he placed 6th place weighing in at 168 lbs. In just 5 years, Palumbo would gain 70 lbs and win the overall at the 1995 NPC Junior Nationals. His best placing in competition came at the 2003 NPC USA Championships where he finished 2nd place in the Super Heavyweight class.
Betty Carmichael Pariso is an American professional female bodybuilder. She is the oldest professional female bodybuilder to win the overall of an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League contest at the age of 53 years old.
Debi Laszewski is an American retired professional female bodybuilder. She ranks as the 3rd best female bodybuilder in the IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding Ranking List.
Dr. Dena Michele Westerfield, D.C., is an American IFBB professional female bodybuilder, chiropractic doctor, personal trainer and massage therapist. She lives in Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.
Rhonda Lee Quaresma was a Canadian professional female bodybuilder and International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB) competitor.
The 2001 Ms. Olympia contest is an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and part of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2001 was held on October 26, 2001, at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Paradise, Nevada. It was the 22nd Ms. Olympia competition held. Other events at the exhibition include the Mr. Olympia and Fitness Olympia contests.
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.
Jeremy Buendia is an American professional bodybuilder who competes in the IFBB Men's Physique Division. He is a four-time Men's Physique Mr. Olympia beginning from 2014 to 2017.
Cedric Kennan McMillan was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder and United States Army Instructor. His last victory was the 2017 Arnold Classic.