The IFBB was formed in 1946. Contestants are not judged merely on how big they or their muscles are, definition and overall balance are very important.
Male contestants wear posing trunks and female contestants wear bikinis.
The highly trained bodies perform 7 regulation poses in the preliminary contest and in the finals the contestants perform free style poses to their own selection of music. The bodybuilder can give the impression of posing artistically if they are able to express intelligence and emotional content in their poses, not merely emphasising their muscles. The bodybuilder must follow a strict training and nutrition management program, self imposing a strictly moderate lifestyle, stoically training hard and so advancing step by step.