Bodybuilding Competitions: Mr Olympia and Mr Universe

Competitive bodybuilding is all about looking good. The aim for contestants is to display the most aesthetically pleasing body. Muscles need to be well defined, well balanced across the body, and with good symmetry. To show off their muscles bodybuilders strike a pose and hold it so that the judges can determine who good their muscular development is.

Bodybuilders spend a lot of time developing and perfecting their posing routine as this has is ultimately how they are judged – if two bodybuilders have near identical muscles, then the one that looks the best will win.

Unlike with weightlifting which is purely about lifting the heaviest weight possible, the goal of bodybuilding is to develop size and shape. The sport of bodybuilding has nothing to do with Olympic weightlifting or strongman competitions. It is almost a human art form rather than a sport. For the layman, bodybuilding and power-lifting appear to be the same, however they utilize different training regimes. different diets, and a completely different mindset.

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The International Federation of Bodybuilders is the key player in the bodybuilding today. They are the organizers of bodybuilding’s most prestigious competition, Mr. Olympia. The Universe Championships (previously called Mr. Universe) are run by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA). The Universe Championships now have 4 categories:

Mr. Universe (Amateur)
Mr. Universe (Pro)
Miss Physique
Miss Figure

2008 NABBA Universe: Women Prejudging

Rachel Grice from UK won the Figure Class 2 with an awesome display. The Class 1 winner was the incredible Russian star, Maria Stukova who went on to claim the Overall Figure Title from Rachael in the posedown.

Vivian Hijlkema from Holland brought her incredible physique and excellent conditioning to the contest stage to win the MISS PHYSIQUE UNIVERSE title.

How to Prepare for a Bodybuilding Contest

We should point out here that bodybuilding is not a healthy sport, as the strict diet prior to competition goes against our advice of eating a well balanced diet.

The general strategy adopted by most present-day competitive bodybuilders is to make muscle gains for most of the year (known as the “off-season”) and approximately 3-4 months from competition attempt to lose body fat (referred to as “cutting“). In doing this some muscle will be lost but the aim is to keep this to a minimum. There are many approaches used but most involve reducing calorie intake and increasing cardio, while monitoring body fat percentage.

In the week leading up to a contest, bodybuilders will begin increasing their water intake so as to up-regulate the systems in the body associated with water flushing. They will also increase their sodium intake. At the same time they will decrease their carbohydrate consumption in an attempt to “carb deplete”. The goal during this week is to deplete the muscles of glycogen. Two days before the show, sodium intake is reduced by half, and then eliminated completely. The day before the show, water is removed from the diet, and diuretics may be introduced. At the same time carbohydrates are re-introduced into the diet to expand the muscles. This is typically known as “carb-loading.” The end result is an ultra-lean bodybuilder with full hard muscles and a dry, vascular appearance.

Prior to performing on stage, bodybuilders will apply various products to their skin to improve their muscle definition – these include fake tan commonly called “pro tan” (to make the skin darker) and various oils (to make the skin shiny). They will also use weights to “pump up” by forcing blood to their muscles to improve size and vascularity.

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