Professional body building and oil

• In a modern body building competition each body builder must display himself (or herself) to a panel of judges, striking several poses to show off musculature. Points are awarded for muscle development, tone of tissue and general health of the skin. In order to best display their muscles, contestants shave their body hair and liberally apply oil to their bodies. The oil has the effect of increasing muscle definition and adding a healthy sheen to the skin. The oils are usually composed of flax, soy bean or nut derivatives and many different brands are available.
  
  

History

• Body building involves intense periods of strength training, to increase dramatically muscles. This is called muscle hypertrophy. Modern body building is generally agreed to have begun in the late 19th century with Eugene Sandow, who published the first body building magazine, "Physical Culture", and billed himself as the world's strongest man. Prior to Sandow, circus strongmen had often been brutish, overweight figures, but this changed.
  
  

The "body beautiful"

• The ideal in early weight training and body building was that of ancient Greek and Roman statues: a symmetrical, densely-muscled figure. In 1891 Eugene Sandow organized the first body building contest, which he billed as "The Great Show." Students of Sandow from all over the world appeared to show off their bodies. Body building has continued to be popular since then, with many famous figures such as Steve Reeves and Arnold Schwarzenegger.