Although he is not a household name today, Eugen Sandow helped to transform bodybuilding into what we know it as today. Prior to his emergence in the bodybuilding world, weight lifting was about performing feats of strength, and not about the appearance and health of the body.
Eugen Sandow. Source: (Men's Health).
The transformation of the body using weights (primarily stones of different weights) to gain strength was practiced in ancient Egyptian and Greek societies; in India in the 11th century, people lifted stone dumbbell weights, called Nals, and they also had early gyms. The Indian goal in lifting the Nals was to improve their health and to help them with everyday challenges, and weight training may have been India’s national pastime by the 16th century.
The Original Strongmen
Louis Cyr. Source: (Rare Historical Photos).
It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that weight training, with its roots in the ancient practice of stone lifting, took on its modern role in entertainment and the development of the body for exhibits. In the late 19th century, Louis Cyr, a Canadian from Quebec, practiced feats of strength such as lifting horses off the ground and pushing a train car up a hill. Cyr was not only strong but turned his strength into a sort of vaudevillian show, and early strongmen like Cyr had the goal of thrilling the crowds with their feats of strength. The strongmen tried to outlift each other as part of the show. The competitors in this era were typically not concerned with their appearance or the aesthetics of the body as these strongmen occasionally had protruding stomachs and thick limbs.
Sandow's Lasting Effect
Eugen Sandow. Source: (Rare Historical Photos/colorized).
However, this would change with Eugen Sandow, who was born in 1867 as Friedrich Muller. Sandow, who became known as the father of modern bodybuilding, entered the profession as a strongman, traveling America in the 1890s. Sandow’s impressive physique led him to be considered the first real bodybuilder. He also developed some of the first bodybuilding machines, and he published the first bodybuilding magazine. In 1901, he held the first bodybuilding competition, “The Great Show,” in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Competitors were judged based on attributes other than size; he was looking for qualities such as symmetrically even development. “The Great Show” itself began with other physical displays, including wrestling, gymnastics, and fencing. Once this portion of the show was complete, the bodybuilders entered to Sandow’s composition, The March of the Athletes, wearing the requisite outfit which consisted of black tights, black jockey belt, and leopard skins. Sandow helped to really create the industry, and because of his influence, his image has been immortalized on the statuette given to winners of Mr. Olympia.
His Influence Helped To Popularize The Sport
Bernarr MacFadden. Source: (Wikipedia/colorized).
Sandow helped bodybuilding to become more widespread. One individual, Bernarr MacFadden, who became known as the father of physical culture, created a chest expander and also published one of the first bodybuilding magazines, Physical Culture. He was, perhaps, one of the first influencers in bodybuilding.
MacFadden and Sandow inspired another important figure in the bodybuilding world: Charles Atlas. Atlas watched the strongman shows at Coney Island and asked the strongmen about their exercise regimens and diets, supplementing the information from Physical Culture magazine. Bernarr MacFadden dubbed Atlas “America’s Most Perfectly Developed Man” in a 1922 contest. Atlas went on to develop his own system, which he called “Dynamic Tension." The program focused on bodyweight and isometric exercises. Atlas also acted as a professional model, posing for photographs as well as statues. One such statue is Alexander Stirling Calder’s Washington at Peace (1917-18) on the Washington Square Arch in Manhattan.
George Hackenschmidt
George Hackenschmidt. Source: (Rare Historical Photos/colorized).
Another significant early strongman was George Hackenschmidt, who was also a professional wrestler. He is believed to be the father of the professional wrestling version of the bear hug as well as the individual who popularized the hack squat. He is also credited as the inventor of the bench press. Hackenschmidt was well known during his time, and President Teddy Roosevelt, who was a proponent of physical culture once said "If I wasn't president of the United States, I would like to be George Hackenschmidt.”
By the end of the 1920s, bodybuilders were household names, and bodybuilding was no longer merely associated with the pursuit of getting strong.
