Everything You Need To Know About Female Bodybuilding Competitions

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Female Bodybuilding first started coming to the forefront during the late 1970s. Before that the world of competitive bodybuilding was given over to men alone. The 1970s were the time when female bodybuilders started participating in competitions specifically for their gender and over the years the sport has gathered a lot of respect. The earliest recorded competition among female bodybuilders can be found in the 1960s but back then they were more like bikini contests rather than bodybuilding competitions. It is now believed that the first legitimate bodybuilding competition for women took place in 1978 in Canton, Ohio. This competition was promoted by Henry McGee and called the United States Women’s National Physique Championship. It was different in the sense that the competitors were judged based on their muscularity and not on how pretty they looked in bikinis or swimsuits.

Just within one year, by 1979, there were a lot more female bodybuilders taking part in the increasing number of competitions that rated healthy bodies rather than beauty alone. In 1980, the female bodybuilding competitions got their sanction. Named the National Physique Committee the organization was responsible for hosting the first ever women’s national competition and it also became the topmost amateur competition for female bodybuilders in the United States. 1980 is a special year also because it was the year in which Ms. Olympia, the most honored female bodybuilding competition, took place for the first time.

As the competition gets older with more and more women participating the workout regimes are getting increasingly rigorous. There are now championship titles that are highly competitive and no place for women who are good at posing in high heels but do not have well defined muscles. Not only are the competitions increasing but they are also gathering quite a large fan base.

There are also many films that have been produced in order to honor female body builders and their competitions. Major TV networks have covered these events and despite a few controversies in the past few years women body building competitions have managed to remain popular. The IFBB also established started the Hall of Fame in the year 1999. This Hall of Fame includes the names of the top athletes in the sport of bodybuilding. As of this day there are 14 women body builders that have been included in this Hall of Fame.

Besides women bodybuilding there are also some other categories related to the main event that are also included during the competition. The fitness category includes a swimsuit event and also an aerobics performance, gymnastics, or dancing. Another category is the figure competition during which the competitors are judged on the basis of muscle tone and symmetry.

The only difference between male and female competitions is that the prize money for the latter is much lower.