Though bodybuilding appears to be a modern day activity it has its ancient roots dug deep into 12th Century India, where the very first training methods and bodybuilding related diets first emerged. Within 300 years bodybuilding had become a phenomenal success in India and people from all over the world were following their lead. To assist their bodybuilding attempts people created their very first dumbbells and weights during this time. With the creation of the first weights weightlifting and bodybuilding found its foremost element.
In the western world bodybuilding came to be recognized as a great sport only in the 1800’s when bodybuilders such as Eugene Sandow came to the forefront. By the early 1900’s people felt a growing need for the introduction of contests that would validate the hard work of those who built their body. As a result, the bodybuilding competitions, which have become such a quintessential part of the whole regime today, came into being. Sandow was one of the frontrunners of the initial bodybuilding movements and was named the father of Modern Bodybuilding. To make sure his voice and ideas about bodybuilding found its way to the people he made frequent public appearances, organized exhibitions and, more importantly, started the pioneering fitness magazine ‘Physical Culture’.
It was Sandow who finally pushed the authorities of the Olympic Games to include weightlifting as one of the events. Thanks to his efforts weightlifting came to become one of the main attractions of the Olympic Games from the year 1896. Even today it is one of the most viewed events of the games.
With the arrival of bodybuilders such as Charles Atlas in the bodybuilding circuit in the early 1900’s the sport became even more widespread and lucrative. Quickly his legendary ads spread all over the place and penetrated deep the deepest psyche of all American men. Everyone in the world wanted to be just like him!
Quickly more and more exercise equipments started gaining popularity in the market. People were now getting conscious of the way they ought to train, the way they ought to eat and the equipments they ought to purchase in order to sculpt their body into shape. The fitness industry was only now shaping into the form we are acquainted with presently.
With the emergence of the Tarzan and the Hercules movies between the 50’s and the 70’s bodybuilding became something of a rage. Everyone was now raring to go and achieve a body as beautiful as Steve Reeves.
Cashing in on the cult status of bodybuilding was entrepreneurs such as Joe Gold (who found both, the Gold’s Gym as well as the World Gym) and others.
Bodybuilding was now struggling to segregate itself from weightlifting and become a sport by itself. During the 70’s yet another bodybuilding phenomenon by the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger was to take the world by a storm with his perfectly carved body. Later he would enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the best developed man in the world and thereby begin a cult of sorts.
