Are Muscle Mags and the IFBB working together to...

[VaughnTrue]

Are Muscle Mags and the IFBB working together to increase the popularity of physique, and decrease the popularity of bodybuilding?


The last 2 years there have been major changes to how shows and athletes are covered both in mags and online. We are seeing less and less of big freaky bodybuilders, and more and more physique people on social media and on the traditional bodybuilding outlets.






I could be way off, but seems like its the way the IFBB is headed...or at least wants to be headed.

[Gorky88]

Are Muscle Mags and the IFBB working together to increase the popularity of physique, and decrease the popularity of bodybuilding?


The last 2 years there have been major changes to how shows and athletes are covered both in mags and online. We are seeing less and less of big freaky bodybuilders, and more and more physique people on social media and on the traditional bodybuilding outlets.






I could be way off, but seems like its the way the IFBB is headed...or at least wants to be headed.

Yeah it is inevitable. It makes money and doesn't make people scared of these people. They think it is still attainable and pleasing to the eye. I mean we all said how Mens Physique needs a section on this forum but some moderators took a long time and argued with that idea. It will low up even more.

Although it is kind of a dying industry, Muscular Development in their latest issue had 2 physique competitors from what I remember.

And these kind of bodies are much more marketable to the mainstream media.
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yeah IFBB is definitely heading in that direction. I don't think men's bodybuilding will necessarily suffer too much but women's bb will suffer for sure and it already started showing signs.

[NVious]

Popular demand, most bbers looking bloated and torn and rise of social media.

[txdave]

Muscle Mags and the IFBB working together to...drain as much money from as many customers as possible PERIOD.

[MaKaiser]

Maybe bodybuilders should work together with physique competitors to decrease the necessity for their sport to be directed by a bunch of money hungry bastards.

[TropicalSunset]

Maybe bodybuilders should work together with physique competitors to decrease the necessity for their sport to be directed by a bunch of money hungry bastards.

This is what needs to happen, but I don't see it ever coming to pass. Most pros don't have the initiative to post any workouts online, let alone work to change the system.

[MaKaiser]

This is what needs to happen, but I don't see it ever coming to pass. Most pros don't have the initiative to post any workouts online, let alone work to change the system.

I think bodybuilding is just one crazy rich Arabic investor away from transforming into a legitimate organization. Ye know one that doesn't leave those responsible for bringing in the fans and the dough, penny-less by the end of it with nothing left but failing organs and memories of a 'golden age' that is yet to happen.

[JoePietaro]

I've worked for both FLEX and Muscular Development and publish my own print magazine (MuscleSport Magazine). From my vantage point, those two 'main' titles in the industry look to put someone on the cover that will of course sell magazines first and then try to promote their athletes second.

So when you see a cardboard cutout fitness model on the cover of a supposed bodybuilding magazine, it is done to try and attract the impulse buyer who sees it on the newsstand and grabs it.

But that is sending the wrong message to you core audience and subscribers.

I'm bringing a hardcore bodybuilding product to the readers with MSM and our current issue has Lee Priest on the cover (who is also one of our columnists).

[endurancell]

I've worked for both FLEX and Muscular Development and publish my own print magazine (MuscleSport Magazine). From my vantage point, those two 'main' titles in the industry look to put someone on the cover that will of course sell magazines first and then try to promote their athletes second.

So when you see a cardboard cutout fitness model on the cover of a supposed bodybuilding magazine, it is done to try and attract the impulse buyer who sees it on the newsstand and grabs it.

But that is sending the wrong message to you core audience and subscribers.

I'm bringing a hardcore bodybuilding product to the readers with MSM and our current issue has Lee Priest on the cover (who is also one of our columnists).

The physique competitor's type of physiques have always been more attractive and desirable to the masses than the physiques of bodybuilders so why the sudden switch?

I get that it could be more marketable to put a physique like Steven Cook on the cover of a bodybuilding mag as opposed to Kai since BBing and physique popularity is at an all time high with the fitness trend still going strong and one is obviously favorable to most people, but these companies have many more outlets of generating revenue than just selling magazines nowdays. I guess it just all comes down to greed

[MillerTime07]

Not working together per se, they are just both going where the money is.

[BartPimpson]

I doubt anyone in the IFBB has any kind of plan.

[Sickboy_4ever]

In Finland the muscle mags are mostly all about bikini competitors nowadays. 75% of the interviews, etc. are about bikini. Kinda pisses me off. As if I want training tips from 110 lbs women... no offense.

[Skigazzi]

I think they have to increase the popularity of the physique division if they want to maintain the health of the BB division over the long term.

BBing division has an average age of like 38 (maybe older?) or something crazy in the final call outs...with the amount of mass and maturity those guys have its probably very daunting to become a pro BBer because once you get your card, you are suddenly years away was being respectable on stage again.

I think they see Physique as a way to restock the IFBB's youth, and I believe in 5 years we'll see a LOT of those guys growing out of the division and into BB'ing. Physique will be the young mans game, and BB will be the 'old' mans game.

People still talk about Rhoden and Cedric being the 'saviors' of BBing, they'll bring back the pleasing physiques...but they are 38 and 40 years old..EVERYONE (practically) who has a chance to be Mr O is past their peak except Phil and Compton.

I believe they (IFBB) sees the physique division as a way to usher in a new BBing standard once the monsters age out. There will always be monsters, but it will maybe be more like the days where Zane could beat Lou, in today's environment, that isn't possible.

my $.02

[JoePietaro]

The physique competitor's type of physiques have always been more attractive and desirable to the masses than the physiques of bodybuilders so why the sudden switch?

I get that it could be more marketable to put a physique like Steven Cook on the cover of a bodybuilding mag as opposed to Kai since BBing and physique popularity is at an all time high with the fitness trend still going strong and one is obviously favorable to most people, but these companies have many more outlets of generating revenue than just selling magazines nowdays. I guess it just all comes down to greed

But that is why the larger companies publish multiple titles - one can be a general fitness magazine and a second can be bodybuilding. When you send mixed signals on one or the other, what does that tell the respective readership? It is a shaky business plan and one reached on a reaction from one place - newsstand sales, which pays pennies on the dollar.

Today's market is more of an online one and that has to be in the mix when you decide to go with a specific cover theme that is way off from what you have built your reputation on.

Even though the print industry is in fact a dying one, your cover still carries a lot of weight and is the 'face of your franchise' for a month or more (depending on your frequency). It should represent what your product is and will continue to be.

Yes, hardcore bodybuilding's audience is a niche, but loyal one, so as a publisher, I am choosing to feed them what they want. They will stay with you and satisfying everyone is an impossible task.

Take cigar magazines, for instance. People love them and they get huge celebrities on their covers. They are highly produced and I'm sure cost a ton to print. But I do not know anyone who has ever bought one or subscribed to any. I don't smoke, so I would never pick one up and flip through it, even at the barber shop.

But they surely have a loyal - and probably niche - audience.

Like bodybuilding...

[stealth_swimmer]

Yes and no.


They're not trying to decrease the popularity of bodybuilding. With the current state of the sport, pretty much everything has been done (outside of changing how shows are judged) to try to get bodybuilding out there. Thing is that most people just don't like that look.


The magazines and IFBB are not actively trying to favor Physique - that's a consumer driven demand. They're definitely trying to promote them though. The Bikini and Physique divisions proved to be big successes and are more popular among the mainstream. The magazines and IFBB are simply following that demand-driven trend (which they should, if they're good business people).

[stealth_swimmer]

But that is why the larger companies publish multiple titles - one can be a general fitness magazine and a second can be bodybuilding. When you send mixed signals on one or the other, what does that tell the respective readership? It is a shaky business plan and one reached on a reaction from one place - newsstand sales, which pays pennies on the dollar.

Today's market is more of an online one and that has to be in the mix when you decide to go with a specific cover theme that is way off from what you have built your reputation on.

Even though the print industry is in fact a dying one, your cover still carries a lot of weight and is the 'face of your franchise' for a month or more (depending on your frequency). It should represent what your product is and will continue to be.

Yes, hardcore bodybuilding's audience is a niche, but loyal one, so as a publisher, I am choosing to feed them what they want. They will stay with you and satisfying everyone is an impossible task.

Take cigar magazines, for instance. People love them and they get huge celebrities on their covers. They are highly produced and I'm sure cost a ton to print. But I do not know anyone who has ever bought one or subscribed to any. I don't smoke, so I would never pick one up and flip through it, even at the barber shop.

But they surely have a loyal - and probably niche - audience.

Like bodybuilding...

Great input. Makes sense, especially the part about having multiple magazines. Just like Flex is for hardcore bodybuilding, and then you got Muscle and Fitness for a broader audience.

In Finland the muscle mags are mostly all about bikini competitors nowadays. 75% of the interviews, etc. are about bikini. Kinda pisses me off. As if I want training tips from 110 lbs women... no offense.

That's what a lot of women aspire to, especially if they're starting from the point of being overweight.

[JoePietaro]

Yes and no.


They're not trying to decrease the popularity of bodybuilding. With the current state of the sport, pretty much everything has been done (outside of changing how shows are judged) to try to get bodybuilding out there. Thing is that most people just don't like that look.


The magazines and IFBB are not actively trying to favor Physique - that's a consumer driven demand. They're definitely trying to promote them though. The Bikini and Physique divisions proved to be big successes and are more popular among the mainstream. The magazines and IFBB are simply following that demand-driven trend (which they should, if they're good business people).

I try to view it this way - as a businessman and a fellow fan. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle and it's not all about the competitions. The average man or woman in the gym that wants to look like a bodybuilder will know who Jay Cutler the Bears QB is before the bodybuilder.

So when I sit down and strategize the content with my managing editor, we are looking to reach the broader of the niche, if you will, by not pigeonholing it to who is competing in what show, but rather use that valuable editorial space with material that the competition either chooses to ignore or tip their toe in the water.

Steroids and female bodybuilders are two perfect examples. People into bodybuilding use AAS and it is counterproductive to try and ignore that. So we talk matter-of-factly about them and the pros and cons. Then the FBBers who have been totally ignored and phased out are welcomed in MSM and write about not just the basics, but also the otherwise 'taboo' subjects such as muscle worship, web cam shows and adult films.

[NVious]

Yes and no.


They're not trying to decrease the popularity of bodybuilding. With the current state of the sport, pretty much everything has been done (outside of changing how shows are judged) to try to get bodybuilding out there. Thing is that most people just don't like that look.


The magazines and IFBB are not actively trying to favor Physique - that's a consumer driven demand. They're definitely trying to promote them though. The Bikini and Physique divisions proved to be big successes and are more popular among the mainstream. The magazines and IFBB are simply following that demand-driven trend (which they should, if they're good business people).

Lmfao keep em coming Stealth

[RC2008]

The funniest thing is that the physique guys in the pro ranks are not attainable to the masses either... Not even by a long shot... not without breaking the law and doing some additional "research" including training and supplementation.

In the amateur ranks, sure, there are a few who are attainable. Maybe even most of them. Because many, many competitors in the amateur ranks are naive about what is going on in the pro ranks with physique athletes. But given that Sadik and Jeremy Buenda or someone similar to those two keep winning, it's fair to say that if the goal was pushing something more "attainable" on the general public, they're failng miserably because the level of conditioning in particular and muscle density the top guys present in the pro ranks is unattainable without some drugs on whatever level it may be required depending on the individual.

Personally I think it's VERY, VERY sad that the IFBB allowed this to happen to physique... I very much prefer its humble beginnings. And if they stuck to those beginnings a lot of people would be able to get to their goals and not feel they need to attain a ridiculous (frankly inhuman) standard of size or condition just to win a plastic trophy and a few grand. But that's just my opinion.

All of a sudden a clear row of abs and visible serratus is not enough anymore. Now you have to look more compact than a neutron star and walk around wrapped in sandpaper masquerading as skin.



^ That look should NEVER have been sacrificed.

[BartPimpson]

The funniest thing is that the physique guys in the pro ranks are not attainable to the masses either... Not even by a long shot... not without breaking the law and doing some additional "research" including training and supplementation.

You can look like a physique pro if you have bad genetics. You can look like a physique pro if you're a natural bodybuilder. But you certainly can't look like a physique pro if you're both.

[RC2008]

You can look like a physique pro if you have bad genetics. You can look like a physique pro if you're a natural bodybuilder. But you certainly can't look like a physique pro if you're both.

How many IFBB physique pros on the Olympia stage are doing it naturally AND placing anywhere near the top 10? And, why are there ENHANCED physique IFBB pros mixing it up with naturals if it's so "attainable"? That is an illogical scenario.

The primary reason why a lot of guys are not placing naturally is the impossible TYPE of physique you need to present up there. Compare say, Sadik or Jeremy to any of the lower tier physique pros who are actually natural and tell me how "possible" it is to make it to the Olympia top ranks with two testicles, a good diet and training regimen and a lot of heart alone. Even over the span of a decade.

A lot of pros get ripped. Very low body fat actually.. But, what is possible naturally is just not enough for the Olympia anymore. For the vast majority of people who have a lot of years of structured, specific training and attention to nutritional intake for the look. Even serious professionals.

I'm not talking about stats on the scale btw... I'm talking about the distinct look some of the top pros have that you just never see in any of the natural pros. Sometimes those natural pros have similar stats as the top guys...

I just think the physique category went a little too far.

You'd think this was bodybuilding..:

[NVious]

Xclassic did well in his physique show, he's young as hell
Robbie could def snag a pro card
Same thing with Gzus

If you have top genetics and understand how to train/diet, it's doable.

That said it's marketable in the sense of it being doable, it's not actually doable for most, but it's A LOT more "doable" in the sense that someone will get MUCH closer to a physique pro than they ever will to an bbing pro.

[RC2008]

Xclassic did well in his physique show, he's young as hell
Robbie could def snag a pro card
Same thing with Gzus

If you have top genetics and understand how to train/diet, it's doable.

That said it's marketable in the sense of it being doable, it's not actually doable for most, but it's A LOT more "doable" in the sense that someone will get MUCH closer to a physique pro than they ever will to an bbing pro.

That's not really good enough... You shouldn't have to take drugs at any point to win a pro card...

Reading what you just said about guys with top tier genetics... I do agree. In some cases, drugs are what level the playing field in physique.

That before and after with Sadik is... saddening to be honest. Still impressive though.

[NVious]

That's not really good enough... You shouldn't have to take drugs at any point to win a pro card...

Reading what you just said about guys with top tier genetics... I do agree. In some cases, drugs are what level the playing field in physique.

That before and after with Sadik is... saddening to be honest. Still impressive though.

Why do you think like that though?

Even if they went to more natural standards, exact same **** would happen, genetically elite would be the genetically elite...they'd just be smaller and less conditioned.

It wouldn't give the average person any more of a chance, it might fool them more, but their standing would remain the same.

[littlearm]

I don't think the mags are really pushing it that much.

My guess is the magazines earn a little bit of money from subscriptions and a whole lot of money from advertising - they love publishing those ridiculous "Special 6-page ad reports". And most of the ads are still targeting "true" bodybuilders. (I believe physique competitors ARE "bodybuilders", but you know what I mean.) The mags definitely aren't going after bikini athletes which are often the largest group at NPC shows.

It's mostly show promoters who are pushing physique and bikini on us. They collect more entry fees from those large classes, and from what I've seen they attract more friends and family members who buy tickets to the shows.

[JoePietaro]

Compare the competitors to a natural show to the rest and that will answer your question if these guys are on gear or not.

And there's nothing technically "wrong" with having MPD-type physiques inside a bodybuilding magazine, but if you compare the previous cover to the current one, they should not appear like two totally different titles.

[XClassic10]

Xclassic did well in his physique show, he's young as hell
Robbie could def snag a pro card
Same thing with Gzus

If you have top genetics and understand how to train/diet, it's doable.

That said it's marketable in the sense of it being doable, it's not actually doable for most, but it's A LOT more "doable" in the sense that someone will get MUCH closer to a physique pro than they ever will to an bbing pro.

Getting mentioned with Robbie and Gzus... does this mean I've made it? haha really though it does seem that the national NPC stage and especially the pro stage are looking for more of a bodybuilder look as opposed to what the division was supposed to originally be like. I think some true naturals could win their pro card, however they would need incredible genetics and amazing shape to do well on the pro stage. The only natural (who I know for a fact is natural) physique pro I know of is Sunny Akhigbe. i'm sure there are others but he's the only one I'm certain of. I believe he placed 2nd-3rd in his pro debut, but he does have terrific shape and conditioning that make up for his lack of mass.

likewise I think depending on what judges I would get, I would have the potential to maybe snag a pro card due to my shape/conditioning alone because size would definitely not be why I would win. However I would definitely need some more mass if I wanted to place in the pro ranks.

[RC2008]

Getting mentioned with Robbie and Gzus... does this mean I've made it? haha really though it does seem that the national NPC stage and especially the pro stage are looking for more of a bodybuilder look as opposed to what the division was supposed to originally be like. I think some true naturals could win their pro card, however they would need incredible genetics and amazing shape to do well on the pro stage. The only natural (who I know for a fact is natural) physique pro I know of is Sunny Akhigbe. i'm sure there are others but he's the only one I'm certain of. I believe he placed 2nd-3rd in his pro debut, but he does have terrific shape and conditioning that make up for his lack of mass.

likewise I think depending on what judges I would get, I would have the potential to maybe snag a pro card due to my shape/conditioning alone because size would definitely not be why I would win. However I would definitely need some more mass if I wanted to place in the pro ranks.

Jeff Seid was probably the closest thing to doing well on a pro stage naturally (i.e. winning) as of 2014-15's standards with the entrance of a physique at the calibre of Sadik Hadzovic (meaning lat/shoulder to waist ratio and bulging serratus/ dryness that you won't find even lon some pro bodybuilders, let alone naturals) that we will.... probably ever see in a very long time. Anton Antipov is extremely vocal about being natural, but even if he was, he doesn't scrape top 3 routinely at the Olympia. Mark Anthony never claimed he was natural, so who knows. Maybe he takes stuff, or tried something at some point.

There has been a permanent exodus for the natural physiques. You can look conditioned naturally, but there are certain aspects to your physique that you will never attain than an enhanced athlete can. Everything about the top guys tells us that the characteristics to their physiques are exclusive to enhanced athletes. Distinct muscle density and hardness, extreme dryness, ridiculous lats causing a dramatic shoulder-waist ratio and then of course the muscle fullness.

The transformations Sadik makes during his prep are an easy giveaway even if he didn't look like he was on something.

[BartPimpson]

How many IFBB physique pros on the Olympia stage are doing it naturally AND placing anywhere near the top 10?

None of them. But I can imagine a bodybuilder with very good genetics competing on a physique pro stage naturally.

[stealth_swimmer]

Lmfao keep em coming Stealth

Jay Cutler would talk at high schools, Dexter Jackson went to hospitals and stuff if I recall correctly, Phil Heath goes on various media outlets as well as works with an autism awareness foundation of some sort, Vince McMahan of the WWE made his own bodybuilding federation (I think it was called the WBF) that didn't last too long.

Now if you got any better ideas, then go out and get started on them. Not everyone can become a huge actor like Arnold. We can't just think every Mr. Olympia is gonna be the next Arnold.