Female Bodybuilders

Today, I am exploring the world of women bodybuilders.  Have you ever attended a fitness and figure expo where women competed against each other in fitness ann bodybuilding?  I am always amazed by the men's competition; however, I was truly amazed by the women.  Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding arena.  It dates back to late 1970s when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.  Women like Lenda Murray, Laura Creavalle, Cory Everson, Kim Chizevsky, paved the way for today's female bodybuilding competitors. 



In the 80's, women's bodybuilding was starting to achieve some mainstream exposure. Pro competitor Anita Gandol created a stir by posing for Playboy in 1984, earning a one year suspension from the IFBB.  Can someone say "HATER."



In addition, Erika Mes, a Dutch competitor, posed nude for the Belgianissue of Playboy in September, 1987, also earning a one year suspension (Flex, 2003)





Delicate, lissome, slender, sylphlike body is what most women vie for. But hey! Do you know there are certain segments of women, who actually work out for bodybuilding? Unlike men, the workout for women differs in many aspects. Bodybuilding for women is not done only for muscle build-up.


Women take up bodybuilding for several reasons like –achieving the desired size, increasing strength and primarily boosting confidence.  Today, women bodybuilders are face competition to be better than the others. Women's bodybuilding, having surface from aesthetic and athletic structures are identified in terms of masculinity. Bodybuilding, as a cultural and aesthetic form of athletic competence strives to stand for the extraordinary. You can easily notice this by observing the behavior of many male bodybuilders who workout. They usually strut and grunt with a clear implication of their physique, they have developed through the rigorous work outs.

Among bodybuilders, the yearning for sleek, well-contoured muscles is desired rather than yearning for a colossal size. However, women bodybuilders should also be feminine and monstrous, which is a clear visual contradiction in itself. Therefore, many women bodybuilders make every effort for living up to the standard aesthetic norms of femininity.

Today, female bodybuilding and fitness is quite well accepted and organized, from the really serious professional who aims for a competition to the casual amateur who just wants a developed and better toned body. Gone are the days when female bodybuilders were just skimpily clad glamorous, shiny objects of drool. Like all the other emerging sports, bodybuilding for women has as many frontrunners from the early days.