Fitness in the United States and the Development of Bodybuilding Competitions

   As seen in the previous post on the history of fitness around the World, fitness has always been a key asset to the daily lives of humans. During the National Period of the United States, the great American intellectuals of the time began to recognize the importance of fitness. Benjamin Franklin recommended regular physical activity such as running, swimming, and basic forms of resistance training for health benefits (Dalleck and Kravitz). Similarly, President Thomas Jefferson viewed the importance of physical activity to somewhat of an extreme measure. Jefferson stated, “Not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise, and the weather shall be little regarded. If the body is feeble, the mind will not be strong" (Personal Fitness Professional).

            The first bodybuilding contest to ever be held was in 1891 in the United Kingdom, and was hosted/judged by the first true bodybuilder, Eugene Sandow (Robson). Eugene Sandow was a professional strongman from Europe who traveled to the US in the 1890’s to be titled the World’s Strongest Man. He hosted the first bodybuilding competition and claimed it, “The Great Show” (Robson).

(Eugene Sandow)

The event had great success with a sell-out crowd of 2000 people. The winner of the competition received a cash prize equivalent to $2,500 and a gold statuette of no other person than Sandow himself (Robson).

This bodybuilding competition gave precedence to the development of competitions in the United States. In 1939, the Amateur Athletic Union created the Mr. America show, which began as a demonstration of athletic skills, but developed into the first modern bodybuilding competition in 1940 (Robson).  The first place winner of the 1940 Mr. America show was John Grimek (Robson).

(John Grimek) 

As the sport of bodybuilding grew in popularity, the number of competitors increased along with the size and definition of their physics. In result to growing popularity, Ben Weider formed the International Federation of Bodybuilders in 1946 (Robson). Even more large-scale competitions arose, including two of the most infamous competitions still today: Mr. Universe was formed in 1950, and Mr. Olympia was formed in 1965 (Robson). Mr. Olympia evolved into what is considered to be the ultimate title in the sport of bodybuilding today. 

Works Cited

Dalleck, Lance and Kravitz, Len. The History of Fitness. The University of New Mexico. Web.

            15 March 2011. <http://unm.edu/>.
Eugene Sandow. n.d. A History Lesson in Bodybuilding. Web. 15 March 2011.
            <http://bodybuilging.com/>.
John Grimek. n.d. A History Lesson in Bodybuilding. Web. 15 March 2011.
            <http://bodybuilding.com/>.
Personal Fitness Professional. Fitness Through the Ages. Web. 15 March 2011. 

            <http://www.fit-pro.com/>. 
Robson, David. "Find out how Bodybuilding has evolved over the years, broken down by 
            different eras." A History Lesson in Bodybuilding.  Web. 15 March 2011. 
            <http://bodybuilding.com/>.