page_title: Bodybuilding
section_title: Eugen Sandow
hierarchical_section_title: Bodybuilding / History / Early history / Eugen Sandow
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of strongman en:Eugen Sandow (1867-1925)
context_page_description: Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's musculature for aesthetic purposes. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In professional bodybuilding, competitors appear in lineups and perform specified poses for a panel of judges who rank them based on symmetry, muscularity, size, conditioning, posing, and stage presentation. Bodybuilders prepare for competitions through the elimination of nonessential body fat, enhanced at the last stage by a combination of extracellular dehydration and carbo-loading, to achieve maximum muscular definition and vascularity; they also tan and shave to accentuate the contrast of their skin under the spotlights.
  Some bodybuilders use anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to build muscles and recover from injuries more quickly, but competitions sometimes ban using them because of the health risks or considerations regarding fair competition. Despite some calls for testing for steroids, the leading bodybuilding federation does not. The winner of the annual IFBB Mr. Olympia contest is generally recognized as the world's top male professional bodybuilder.
context_section_description: Bodybuilding developed in the late 19th century, promoted in England by German Eugen Sandow, now considered as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding". He allowed audiences to enjoy viewing his physique in "muscle display performances". Although audiences were thrilled to see a well-developed physique, the men simply displayed their bodies as part of strength demonstrations or wrestling matches. Sandow had a stage show built around these displays through his manager, Florenz Ziegfeld. The Oscar-winning 1936 musical film The Great Ziegfeld depicts the beginning of modern bodybuilding, when Sandow began to display his body for carnivals.
  Sandow was so successful at flexing and posing his physique that he later created several businesses around his fame, and was among the first to market products branded with his name. He was credited with inventing and selling the first exercise equipment for the masses: machined dumbbells, spring pulleys, and tension bands. Even his image was sold by the thousands in "cabinet cards" and other prints. Sandow was a perfect "Gracilian", a standard of ideal body proportions close to those of ancient Greek and Roman statues. Men's physiques were then judged by how closely they matched these proportions.
caption: Eugen Sandow, often referred to as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding"
exif: {}