History UsefulNotes / Bodybuilding

* BrokenBase: Bev Francis triggered one for female bodybuilding as a contestant in Miss Olympia 1991. She weighed in at ''160'' pounds (She's 5-foot-5, fyi). Previously, no other female contestant had ever been that muscular. She came in at second place, having lost ''by a single point'' and was leading after two rounds, only to be overtaken in the concluding rounds. The debate of "How much muscle on a woman is too much?” has raged ever since. [[labelnote:Note]]However, many supporters of "big muscles on women" seemed to have failed to take into account that not many women can ever be as muscular as Francis. (Previously, she had been a top-level shot putter/powerlifter. All she needed to do as a bodybuilder was to maintain her muscle mass and shed body fat to achieve that "ripped" look, which she did.)[[/labelnote]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Bev Francis was one for triggering the Dork Age of female bodybuilding (mentioned above). As a contestant in Miss Olympia 1991, she weighed in at ''160'' pounds (She's 5-foot-5, fyi). Previously, no other female contestant had ever been that muscular. She came in at second place, having lost ''by a single point'' and was leading after two rounds, only to be overtaken in the concluding rounds. The debate of "How much muscle on a woman is too much?” has raged ever since. [[labelnote:Note]]However, many supporters of "big muscles on women" seemed to have failed to take into account that not many women can ever be as muscular as Francis. (Previously, she had been a top-level shot putter/powerlifter. All she needed to do as a bodybuilder was to maintain her muscle mass and shed body fat to achieve that "ripped" look, which she did.)[[/labelnote]]

So far, so good. So, where does the "muscle freak" part come in? Part of the answer lies in steroids and hormones. Just as steroids are abused by professional wrestlers, they are also abused by some bodybuilders who want to get even bigger muscles. When hormones and chemicals come into the equation, it is not hard to see how one can look physically like a "freak". Female bodybuilders are worse off in the sense that women produce less testosterone than men. If not managed properly, they can end up looking like female East German athletes, who were very masculine looking as a result of systematic doping. [[labelnote:Note]]However, using testosterone or steroids ''without'' working out will not give you big muscles. You'll still need to do some serious weight lifting.[[/labelnote]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Bev Francis was one for triggering the Dork Age of female bodybuilding (mentioned above). As a contestant in Miss Olympia 1991, she weighed in at ''160'' pounds (She's 5-foot-5, fyi). Previously, no other female contestant had ever been that muscular. She came in at second place, having lost ''by a single point'' and was leading after two rounds, only to be overtaken in the concluding rounds. The debate of "How much muscle on a woman is too much?” has raged ever since. [[labelnote:Note]]However, many supporters of "big muscles on women" seemed to have failed to take into account that Francis had been a top-level shot putter/powerlifter. All she needed to do as a bodybuilder was to maintain her muscle mass and shed body fat to achieve that "ripped" look (which she did).[[/labelnote]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Bev Francis was one for triggering the Dork Age of female bodybuilding (mentioned above). As a contestant in Miss Olympia 1991, she weighed in at ''160'' pounds (She's 5-foot-5, fyi). No other female contestant had ever been that muscular. She came in at second place, having lost ''by a single point'' and was leading after two rounds ,only to be overtaken in the concluding rounds. The debate of "How much muscle on a woman is too much?” has raged ever since. [[labelnote:Note]]However, many supporters of "big muscles on women" seemed to have failed to take into account that Francis had been a top-level shot putter/powerlifter. All she needed to do was to maintain her muscle mass and shed bodyput to achieve that ripped look (which she did).[[/labelnote]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Bev Francis was one for triggering the Dork Age of female bodybuilding (mentioned above). As a contestant in Miss Olympia 1991, she weighed in at ''160'' pounds (She's 5'5'' tall, fyi). No other female contestant had ever been that muscular. She came in at second place, having lost ''by a single point'' and leading after two rounds only to be overtaken in the concluding rounds.

* StoutStrength: What most of them are off-season, when they have more body fat.

* Unusually, former Finnish bodybuilder Kike Elomaa became a singer after a very short bodybuilding career[[labelnote:Note]]Short, but impressive, as she was Miss Olympia 1981.[[/labelnote]]. In 2011, she's even elected as a MP.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Most people assume that bodybuilders look as "ripped" as they are on-stage ''all the time''. The fact is that their appearances while on-stage during competitions are (usually) temporary. When not preparing for competitions ("off-season"), they look chubbier.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Bodybuilders' appearances while on-stage during competitions are (usually) temporary. When not preparing for competitions ("off-season"), they look chubbier. In short, bodybuilders do not look "ripped" all the time.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: As mentioned above, bodybuilders' appearances while on-stage during competitions are (usually) temporary. When not preparing for competitions ("off-season"), they look chubbier. In short, bodybuilders do not look "ripped" all the time.

* Raye Hollitt appeared as Zap in ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' and portrayed a bodybuilder who became one of John Ritter's girlfriends in ''Skin Deep''.

* Raye Hollitt appeared as Zap in ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' and portrays a bodybuilder who became one of John Ritter's girlfriends in ''Skin Deep''.

So far, so good. So, where does the "muscle freak" part come in? Part of the answer lies in steroids and hormones. Just as steroids are abused by professional wrestlers, they are also abused by some bodybuilders who want to get even bigger muscles. When hormones and chemicals come into the equation, it is not hard to see how one can look physically like a "freak". Female bodybuilders are worse off in the sense that women produce less testosterone than men. If not managed properly, they can end up looking like female East German athletes, who were very masculine looking as a result of systematic doping. [[labelnote:Note]]However, it must be noted that using testosterone or steroids without working out will not give you big muscles. You'll still need to do some serious weight lifting.[[/labelnote]]

So far, so good. So, where does the "muscle freak" part come in? Part of the answer lies in steroids and hormones. Just as steroids are abused by professional wrestlers, they are also abused by some bodybuilders who want to get even bigger muscles. However, it must be noted that using testosterone or steroids without working out will not give you big muscles. You'll still need to do some serious weight lifting. When hormones and chemicals come into the equation, it is not hard to see how one can look physically like a "freak". Female bodybuilders are worse off in the sense that women produce less testosterone than men. If not managed properly, they can end up looking like female East German athletes, who were very masculine looking as a result of systematic doping.

The other part of the answer is extreme reduction of body fat. Whenever you see bodybuilders at competitions, muscle definition is very important to them. No use building all that muscle if fat is covering them. Hence, it is common for competitors to starve or even dehydrate themselves before going on-stage to achieve that sculpted look. However, fat has its uses in the human body, and extreme low levels of body fat over extended periods of time can be damaging to health. Again, female bodybuilders are more affected by this as the female body needs a slightly higher level of body fat than the male body in order to function properly. Also, as breast tissue largely consists of fat, extreme fat reduction will affect breast size. To counter this, some female bodybuilders opt for breasts implants.

So far, so good. So, where does the "muscle freak" part come in? Part of the answer lies in steroids and hormones. Just as steroids are abused by professional wrestlers, they are also abused by some bodybuilders who want to get even bigger muscles. However, it must be noted that using testosterone or steroids without working out will not give you big muscles. You'll still need to do some serious weight lifting. When hormones and chemicals come into the equation, it is not hard to see how one can look physically like a "freak". Female bodybuilders are worse off in the sense that women produce less testosterone than men. If not managed properly, they can end up looking like female East German athletes, who were systematically doped and, as a result, very masculine looking.

* DorkAge

* AmazonianBeauty: Cory and Raye, as mentioned above.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: As mentioned above, bodybuilders' on-stage appearances during competitions are (usually) temporary. When not preparing for competitions ("off-season"), they look chubbier.

* BodyHorror: Through misuse/abuse of chemicals and hormones, female bodybuilders can gain very masculine-looking features, starting from a deepening voice and [[GirlsWithMoustaches facial hair]].

* BodyHorror: Through misuse/abuse of chemicals and hormones, female bodybuilders can gain very masculine-looking features, starting from a deepening voice and facial har.

* Raye Hollitt appeared as Zap in ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' and portrays a bodybuilder who became one of John Ritter's girlfriends in ''Skin Deep''.

The other part of the answer is extreme reduction of body fat. Whenever you see bodybuilders at competitions, muscle definition is very important to them. No use building all that muscle if fat is covering them. Hence, it is common for competitors to starve or even dehydrate themselves before going on-stage to achieve that sculpted look. However, fat has its uses in the human body, and extreme low levels of body fat over extended periods of time can be damaging to health.

* Lou Ferrigno as the titular Hulk in Series/TheIncredibleHulk

The other part of the answer is extreme reduction of body fat. Whenever you see bodybuilders at competitions, muscle definition is very important to them. No use building all that muscle if fat is covering them. Hence, it is common for competitors to starve or even dehydrate themselves before going on-stage to achieve that sculpted look. However, fat has its uses in the human body, and extreme low levels of body fat over extended periods of time can be damaging to health.

So far, so good. So, where does the "muscle freak" part come in? Part of the answer lies in steroids and hormones. Just as steroids are abused by professional wrestlers, they are also abused by some bodybuilders who want to get even bigger muscles. However, it must be noted that using testosterone or steroids without working out will not give you big muscles.