The Early Years of Bodybuilding (1880 to 1930)

Dexter Jackson 2008 IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix VIII Bodybuilding is a relatively new phenomenon. Whereas athletics and sports have been around since the dawn of civilization, the act of building muscle purely of aesthetic purposes really only started to appear at the end of the 19th century. This is what has been called the “Early Years of Bodybuilding”, and it lasted from 1880 to 1930.

Bodybuilding was first popularized by a Prussian called Eugen Sandow. He was not the first man to display his muscles to the public, as professional wrestlers and strong men would often show off their well honed bodies as part of the performance. However, he was the first recorded man to display his muscles as an act in their own right. Sandow’s stage show was organized by a man called Florenz Ziegfeld, and the shows were such a success that Ziegfeld built a business empire on the back of them. Ziegfeld has been accredited with being the first person to manufacture dumbbells, spring pullets, tension bands and other strength training equipment. He was the Joe Weider of his day!

Bodybuilding and the Grecian Ideal

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For the early bodybuilders the Grecian Ideal was the goal – the idea of physical perfection based on images of the ancient Greeks, which were thought to be designed with mathematical perfection in mind. Early bodybuilders were judged on how closely they matched these classical model of the perfect man.

The Great Competition – the First Bodybuilding Event

The first bodybuilding competition, known as the Great Competition, was on 14th September 1901, and was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The panel of judges were Eugen Sando, Sir Charles Lawes, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The event was a major success with hundreds of contestants having to be turned away. The first bodybuilding champion was William Murray from Nottingham, England. His prize was a bronze statue of Eugen Sandow, that represented the Grecian Ideal. This same statue is still passed on to the winner of the Mr. Olympia, which is the worlds most popular bodybuilding contest to date.

There have been some famous Mr. Olympia winners in the last half century, and possibly most notable are the magnificent Arnold Schwarzenegger who won 7 times, Lee Haney who won 8 times, Dorian Yates who won 6 times, and Ronnie Coleman who has won 8 times. The 2008 winner was Dexter Jackson, who is also competing this year (2009). Two times winner Jay Cutler is also competing in 2009.

The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World

It took another 3 years before there was a major bodybuilding competition in a America. On 16th January 1904 America’s first bodybuilding competition was held in Madison Square Gardens, New York. The winner was Al Treloar, and he was declared to be “The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World“. The prize was $1000 which was a very large sum of money in 1904. Two weeks after the competition, Thomas Edison made a film about Al Treloar. The was the precursor to Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As the 20th century continued, bodybuilding was taken to greater heights and receiving increasing publicity. Bernarr Macfadden and Charles Atlas promoted bodybuilding all over the world.

Early Bodybuilders

There were several bodybuilders prior to 1930 that made a big impact on the bodybuilding world.

Earle Liedermam, who wrote some the first instructional books on bodybuilding
Seigmund Breitbart, a famous Jewish bodybuilder
Georg Hackenschmidt
George F. Jowett
Maxick, revolutionized the art of posing
Monte Saldo
Launceston Elliot
Sig Klein
Sgt. Alfred Moss
Joe Nordquist
Lionel Strongfort, developed the Strongfortism method of training
Gustav Fristensky, a Czech champion
Alan C. Mead, an impressive muscle champion despite the fact that he lost a leg in the Great War.