The Evolution of Bodybuilding & Fitness

[jmorg714]

Everything known about the evolution of physical fitness in human bodies, reveals the idea that physical capabilities contribute to the ability to survive and have since the beginning of time. The more physical fitness one has, the more adept at maneuvering the human form and the healthier each physiological system can become. These variables combined provide the greatest opportunity for surviving and thriving. Perhaps this is the reason that physical fitness appeals to something very deep in many people and has thus been correlated in numerous cultures with spiritual and mental development, and is, quite literally a foundation for living that is connected to all we do.

The means and the motivation for fitness have changed dramatically over time. It is however, important to note that from its earliest beginnings to the most current trends and fads, the functional need for a fit body has maintained an integral level of importance for us as humans.

In the dawn of the human race, physical fitness was motivated by survival needs. Through hunting and gathering, nomadic journeys, and laboring lifestyles, humans developed fit healthy bodies through daily tasks. Even the dancing rituals and cultural games of celebrating tribes were physically demanding and contributed to the necessity of a high level of physical fitness as well as being a factor for social acceptance. In essence, physical fitness in primitive cultures was a defining factor of human life.

The idea of physical perfection in Ancient Greece is recorded as being held in very high regard. Ancient Greeks beyond any other civilization regarded the development of physical beauty, as relating to the human physique, equal to that of developing the mind. The aim of the Greeks was to develop a balance between the mind and the body. Ancient Greeks were believed to have developed methods of strength training such as that of the wrestler Milo of Croton who, legend has it, progressively strengthened by carrying a growing calf every day on his shoulders until it was an adult bovine.

Also in the 2nd century, the physician Galen supported the use of the halt'res which was an early form of the dumbbell. Dumbbells and other weight training equipment, although showing significant advancements since that time, serve the same basic purpose that they originally did. The concept was clear then, as is well known today, that progressive incremental increases in working a muscle will strengthen it.

The Renaissance period brought with it a renewed interest in the human body and inspired scientists, artists, and poets to explore its workings, meanings, and capabilities. For example, the Vitruvian Man, a famous drawing with accompanying notes by Leonardo da Vinci from 1490, of a naked male form in two superimposed positions, is described as a study of the proportions of the (male) human body and a fusion of scientific and artistic objectives. The drawing itself is often depicted as a symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body and, by extension, to the universe as a whole.

Another example of this burgeoning interest during the Renaissance period is represented in the work of Michelangelo. Michelangelo saw the human form as the physical symbol of soul and character and believed that if the mind were strong and the soul pure, his depiction should capture that with a lean, muscular, defined form.

Repeated advice and guidance can be found throughout 14th and 15th Century literature regarding the value of physical activity, such as running, swimming, climbing, jumping, vaulting, fencing, and wrestling. Also, the trend of maintaining physical fitness as a virtue and a form of moral excellence prevailed, and so the virtue of achieving one's potential, as in the case of physical strength and skill continued to be a significant component of social standards.

With a renewed interest in the human form, and consequently in fitness, there was also an inspired need to educate people about the necessity of developing strong lean bodies. Physical education became the means to further the cognitive recognition of the importance of physical fitness in cultures throughout Europe, with Vittorino da Feltre, an Italian physician, being the first to initiate childhood physical education classes in 1420.

In the late nineteenth century, people became fascinated with amazing feats of strength as the competitive strongman became a popularized display of power. Although rather than being associated with the enhancement of health or of creating an ideal physique, many of the famous strongmen, though amazingly powerful physically, often portrayed physiques that were overweight and unsightly, and did not exhibit a look of health or leanness. Muscular and lean bodies were a sign of the working class in men and considered unladylike for women.

The practice of weight lifting, which became popularized as bodybuilding, grew quickly and soon coincided with the advent of photography and ultimately inspired a new level of egocentricity among the competitive strongmen. Images that caught the attention of the world were of muscular, yet lean and defined men, and popular strongmen became inspired to compete, not only for recognition of physical power, but for the adoration that only physical perfection could yield.

Bodybuilding, largely perceived as egocentric and vain at that time due to the exhibitionist nature of famous physiques, evolved into a performance not only of masculinity and power but of an achievement of a god-like physical structure and a new means for achieving fame. Eugene Sandow was the first famous bodybuilder and somewhat of a cultural icon. A professional strongman in Europe, Sandow came to America in the 1890s and was billed by Florenz Ziegfeld as "The World's Strongest Man". What gave Sandow his strongest appeal however was not his amazing feats of strength but the aesthetically pleasing quality of his physique.

Reintegrating some of the ancient Greek's love of the physical form, Sandow often posed imitating ancient Greek sculptures and even measured the marble male statues to help develop a formula for the perfect male physique. He developed his own physique to match those proportions and became known as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding".

Sandow almost single-handedly made it fashionable for a man to have a muscular physique at a time when men were typically quite thin or too-well-fed and overweight.

Another father figure in the industry of fitness is Jack La Lanne, born in 1914 and one of the most renowned fitness experts, celebrities, and motivational icons to ever grace the fitness world. La Lanne opened the first health spa in the United States and began approaching clients with the idea of utilizing weight training to improve their overall health, and was the first to include women among his clientele. La Lanne was the originator of much of the standard equipment that many gyms continue to use today and is also credited with the creation of the popular Jumping Jack exercise among many others. La Lanne also brought weight training and fitness to television in the early 1950s and created live fitness expertise and guidance performances which he continues still today. La Lanne, now 91 years of age and still exercising rigorously every day often states, "I can't die, it will ruin my image".

The bodybuilding culture solidified itself between the 1930s and 1970s. The 1970s became known as the golden age of bodybuilding as people interested in the sport became enamored with building balanced physiques and losing body-fat. Posing contests, beach-front weight lifting, and group training became common around the world. These expressions of the cultural fitness trends were especially popular at the famous Muscle Beach situated in Santa Monica, California.

The growing awareness of strength training, or weightlifting, as it became commonly known, added immensely to the popularity of gyms in America. The use of gyms and machines such as Nautilus had a profound impact upon the physical fitness norm and contributed to physiques that far surpassed those just a half century before.

The progression of weightlifting was greatly impacted by first the book (1974) and then the documentary film, Pumping Iron (1977), produced by Charles Gaines and George Butler. The film gave the general public a glimpse inside a world previously viewed as more or less a sub-culture which was often neglected and misunderstood. Pumping Iron also piqued the interest of a more public audience that began to see strength training as a potential tool for health and vitality.

The film popularized the concept that human bodies could be sculpted almost like art. Creating works of art through the development of the human body represents a continuing theme from the paintings and sculptures of Michelangelo, to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other famous bodybuilder's stage presentation of muscular physiques.

Fitness, like other cultural movements, became a trend, became fashion, became "what people do to fit into the social norms.

Strength training and fitness concepts are nothing new. They have existed since before the time of Christ. As awareness of exercise evolved, participants grew to utilize a variety of practices not only in regard to health concerns but for pleasure and recreation. Integrating strength and fitness became a challenge toward self-determination for some and for others it became even a path toward curing stress and improving mental health.

For thousands of years these statements have held true. At what point do you get on board and take control of your fitness destiny?


About the Author:
Jason Morgan is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and owner of Muscleworx Personal Fitness Systems located in Carolina Beach, NC. He is a featured writer for Snows Cut Monthly and various fitness publications and web sites. His website is http://www.muscleworx.com

[TDE]

nice article!

[jmstrings]

awesome article bro check out my video that shows the progression of bodybuilding from the 30's to today