In the 1890′s, bodybuilding is generally considered to have begun with a single man who displayed his impressive physique to awed crowds. This inauspicious start began what is today an industry of people who all aim to have the most muscular and chiseled physiques.

Bodybuilding requires a dedication to building and displaying muscles at the cost of many other things. Generally, the muscles of the body are not visible under layers of fat, even on a person at healthy weight. This means that bodybuilders must be willing to lose large amounts of fat in order to best display their physiques. And in order to compete in this field, the use of steroids is practically required. Only those who compete at “natural” competitions can hope to achieve a prize without steroids.

Before the 1970′s and the development of the modern super-bodybuilder, bodybuilders were men who prided themselves on having strong, well-muscled bodies. During the late ’70′s, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a shifting culture moved bodybuilders towards the modern image of an almost grotesquely over-muscled man. These ‘new’ bodybuilders relied and continue to rely heavily on steroids.

Steroids produce bigger muscles than are possible within the normal limits of human development. Modern bodybuilders are supposed to be tested for them and banned from competitions if they test positive, but most competitions neither test nor ban members for their use. Only natural bodybuilding competitions routinely test their members and issue bans for the use of steroids.

Women’s bodybuilding became a fairly organized competition during the 1980′s. The same way that it started with men, the first women bodybuilders were not over-muscled and extreme, but rather, examples of strong and lean female athletes. Modern female bodybuilders have nearly as much muscle development as the men do. For women who do not wish to develop this much muscle, there is another option, however– women’s fitness and figure competitions have sprung up in order to give these women continued access to a competitive circuit.

In a competition, the only thing being judged is the development of the bodybuilder’s muscles. There is no performance component included in modern ‘contests’, and all the contestant has to do on judging day is take a series of poses as required, and let the judges determine where he or she falls in the entries. Bodybuilders often spend a fair amount of time practicing these poses, since they have so much import.

Bodybuilders require a specialized diet in order to gain the most muscle possible, and then lose as much fat as possible before competitions. During the build-up phase, they typically eat relatively high-calorie diets with large amounts of protein to build muscle. During the period before a competition, they generally eat less than adequate amounts of calories in order to lose fat and best display their physiques. Most stop drinking water the day before a contest.

Side effects from steroids are the main problem with being a bodybuilder. This fact is used by many natural bodybuilders to assert that the ‘sport’ is safe and about being athletic and fit, but the extremes that bodybuilders– natural or not– go to means that this is probably untrue. However, as long as society maintains the current obsession with body image, bodybuilding is unlikely to disappear.

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