bodybuilding

One of the big stories in women’s bodybuilding in the last couple of years has been the influx of physique competitors who have moved up to compete with the big girls – and have been spectacularly successful. Andrea Shaw, the 2020 Ms. Olympia winner, made the transition from physique to...

At age 26, Tyler Manion is already putting his touch into reshaping bodybuilding. Or at least adding a tweak or two. Calling via Zoom from Pittsburgh, the IFBB and NPC vice president was this week’s guest on Monday Night Muscle. Manion gave Hosts Bob Cicherillo and Shawn Ray a recap of a crazy...

For the Love of Pete. For Pete’s Sake. Give Pete a Chance. In a perfect world, this memorial would be titled with a McGoughian pun, but then, in a perfect world, Peter McGough would still be alive, joking, writing, editing, mentoring, laughing. After a valiant seven-year battle with cancer...

Since modern female bodybuilding began in the late 1970s, women in the sport have often been accused by some of trying to look like men. However, Charles Gaines, author of Pumping Iron, has called this kind of female body a “new archetype,” something never before seen any time or any place in...

They say we are what we eat. Never a truer word has been spoken and you can look around and pretty much tell who eats right and who doesn’t. I look at today’s society and see obesity all around me starting with the kids right on up to the adults. TV reality shows are all popping up now with...

Any bodybuilding fan worth their salt knows that the sport saw a boom in the 1960s and ‘70s, when some of the most well-known male competitors of all time took the Olympia stage—including one Arnold Schwarzenegger. But before the inaugural IFBB Ms. Olympia in 1980, bodybuilding was a man’s...

We are in an era of “mass monsters,” for both men and women. The size of many top pro bodybuilding competitors can be amazing. But that is not true of Theresa Ivancik (I-Van-Sick), who at 5’6” and 150 pounds is not small, but not as big as many of her competitors. Theresa reminds me of somebody...

A photographer friend of mine told me about Lenda Murray and when I met her at a contest I was impressed and invited her to Los Angeles for a photoshoot for the Weider magazines. I think I began to realize how good she was when we were shooting at Gold’s Gym in Venice. Lenda was sitting on a...

It’s been more than four decades since Arnold Schwarzenegger won the last of his seven Mr. Olympia titles in 1980, yet the workouts that helped mold him into arguably the greatest bodybuilder ever are as valid today as they were then. From the time he migrated from Munich to Southern California...

That flash in the sky, what could it be? A comet? A meteor? No, it’s the meteoric rise of the career of pro physique champion Rachel Daniels! Some excellent muscle contest competitors need to pay a lot of dues, taking many years to earn their pro cards. Not so for Rachel. I went online looking...

Kamal Elgargni hasn’t been in the 212 bodybuilding scene for too long, but he’s already managed to make quite an impact on the division. At his 212 pro debut at the 2018 Arnold Classic, he managed to topple a roster of impressive competitors and took home first prize. At that year’s Olympia, he...

With the Olympia fast approaching, athletes around the world are preparing to hit the stage for bodybuilding’s biggest show. And come December, it’ll be time to show off the hard work they’ve put in. IFBB Pro League bikini competitor Lexus Redmond is one of them, and the 2020 Olympia will be her...

When you are at an elite bodybuilding competition where the competitors are all in outstanding shape, they typically all look wonderful when they are first introduced individually on stage. But as soon as you start comparing them, seeing them standing side by side, subtle differences become more...

Nowadays, we’re used to seeing Bob Cicherillo announcing on stage at major bodybuilding events like the Olympia Weekend. He has a big voice, and he’s got a big physique to match. In fact, Bob spent years as a competitive bodybuilder, beginning at the 1981 Natural America, where he placed 4th in...

The prevalence of bodybuilding-style weight training in virtually all sports has shown us a lot of things. We’ve seen that stronger athletes perform better almost across the board, including in baseball and golf, which used to be thought of as sports that depend more on “skill” than high-level...

When Chief Olympia Officer Dan Solomon announced that basketball icon Shaquille O’Neal would be the 2020 Honorary Olympia Ambassador, many people were excited. “For the most part everyone was amped up to have one of the biggest stars in the world with us this year as part of our whole Olympia...

The progress that women, especially in western culture, have made since the latter half of the 19th century is amazing. This is especially evident when you look at parts of the world that have not gone through this evolutionary change. For example, where they are denied an education, freedom of...

Derek Lunsford placed second at the 212 Olympia in both 2018 and 2019 after an impressive fifth-place debut in 2017. The first time he was runner-up, Lunsford was up against the virtually unbeatable Flex Lewis, who retired from the 212 division that year after seven consecutive wins. In 2019...

Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills region of South Dakota celebrates four revered American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Their 60-foot granite faces are carved into the Mount. If we had an Olympia version, entitled Mount Oympus, confined...

Phil Heath, the seven-time Mr. Olympia, hasn’t set foot on a bodybuilding stage since his shocking loss at the 2018 Mr. Olympia. Many have wondered when he would return to competition, and some questioned if he would ever do so again. The wait for an answer is now over: Heath confirmed in an...