The first ever American body building contest was held at New York's Madison Square Garden on January 16 1904. Al Treloar won the $ 1, 000 cash prize after being declared the Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World. Thomas Edison launched a film featuring the posing style of Treloar, Fourteen days later. Edison had already produced two films featuring Sandow Eugen, the father of modern body building. Edison's were the three first films ever to feature body building as an art. His efforts were coupled in the early 20th Century by Charles Atlas and Bernarr Macfadden, in the promotion of body building across the world. The American body building icon is however Alois Swaboda who was actually Charles Atlas' mentor. Atlas is said to have once said that, "Everything I know in body building, I learned it from A. P. Swaboda." By ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

Body building is reputed to have begun in the west between 1880 and 1930. Body building as the art of displaying the well formed and toned muscles is not known to have existed before the 19th century. The history of body building is synonymous with its reputed pioneer, from Prussia, Germany. The German, Eugen Sandow is generally referred to as the father of contemporary bodybuilding. Eugen is single handedly credited for pioneering body building as a sport because he used to allow a passive audience to view his amazing physique in what was called muscle display performances. Then, audiences were simply thrilled when they saw well-developed physiques. Body building displays were public performances where the packed bodies were displayed only as a sideshow to strength contests like wrestling matches. By himself, Sandow commanded a popular stage show constituting the muscle displays. ...

If you like this article, click here to share: