137 Results Found

This article describes and analyses the historical development of gym and fitness culture in general and doping use in this context in particular. Theoretically, the paper utilises the concept of subculture and explores how a subcultural response can...

Bodybuilding is full of myths and practices that are contrary to the scientific literature, which can lead to health problems. Adopting a scientifically designed approach is very important, as it may help bodybuilders to achieve better results while...

Bodybuilders routinely engage in many dietary and other practices purported to be harmful to kidney health. The development of acute kidney injury, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) and nephrocalcinosis may be particular risks. There is lit...

This exploratory study aims to identify and characterize the negative effects associated with the phenomenon of tokenism for Portuguese female bodybuilders, as well as the strategies they follow to integrate and remain in a context where men are sign...

Knowing the personality and autonomy factors of bodybuilders is a necessity in order to improve sports training, which would lead to the development of mental skills specific to competitive bodybuilding. The purpose of the study was to identify perce...

Many nutrition practices often used by bodybuilders lack scientific support and can be detrimental to health. Recommendations during the dieting phase are provided in the scientific literature, but little attention has been devoted to bodybuilders du...

Bodybuilders utilize peaking strategies in a bid to fine-tune their aesthetics for competition day. The most prevalent peaking strategies utilized by natural bodybuilders are unreported in the current literature. Eighty-one (M-59, F-22) natural bodyb...

Studies pertaining to muscle dysmorphia (MD) have concentrated the most on males. However, a new body ideal for women is emerging: a very toned, athletic body with flat, smooth muscles. The emphasis on the level of muscularity represents a contributi...

Bodybuilding is a sport that requires adequate training strategies in order to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy. The purpose of the present review was to perform a narrative assessment of the training routines designed for muscle hypertrophy used...

The use of doping agents has these days become a public health problem, as it also affects young and non-competitive amateurs in different sports. To prepare for competition, bodybuilders perform aggressive dietary protocols, so, bodybuilders frequen...

(1) Background: Women bodybuilders use extreme diets, dietary supplementation, and training regimes to sculpt their physiques. Women’s participation in bodybuilding competitions has increased since the 1980s. Currently, studies on their dietary...

This exploratory clinical case report presents an 87-year-old man who began bodybuilding at the age of 76 years and was officially recognised as the world’s oldest competitive bodybuilder, competing until age 83. He has a background of complex health...

Background: Competitive bodybuilders employ a combination of resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, calorie reduction, supplementation regimes and peaking strategies in order to lose fat mass and maintain fat free mass. Although recommendation...

Bodybuilding aims to achieve a muscular physique through intensive resistance training and strict dietary control. Athletes in this sport could be at risk of disordered eating behaviors; however, limited evidence exists regarding its association with...

Background: To prepare for competition, bodybuilders employ strategies based around: energy restriction, resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, isometric “posing”, and supplementation. Cohorts of professional (PRO) natural bodybuilders offer i...

The aim of this study was to investigate muscle size satisfaction and predisposition to health harmful muscle gain practice in bodybuilders and recreational gymnasium users and to evaluate its relationship with sport mastery. The sample consisted of...

Bodybuilding, as a high-performance sport, requires regular strength and resistance exercises with the principal objective of increasing muscle hypertrophy. However, many bodybuilders resort to the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) to improv...

Natural bodybuilders optimize their body composition by combining training and nutrition strategies. This study compared the resistance training practices of amateur and professional natural bodybuilders, during the pre-contest phase and in general....

The functional preference for the upper limb influences the occurrence of bilateral differences in other segments of the human body. The aim of the study is to assess the influence of the applied fighting technique and targeted physical effort on the...

Background: Body composition and hydration status, particularly the balance between intracellular (ICW) and extracellular (ECW) water compartments, are critical factors influencing performance and aesthetics in competitive bodybuilding. Despite their...

Numerous athletes compete at a high level without consuming animal products; although a well-planned vegan diet might be appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, a few elements need to be addressed to build a balanced plant-based diet for an ath...

The present study analyzed the effects from day-before to day-of bodybuilding competition on intracellular water (ICW), extracellular water (ECW), total body water (TBW), and bioimpedance analysis (BIA) parameters (resistance, R; reactance, Xc; and d...

Objectives: To examine disordered eating behaviors, orthorexic tendencies, binge-eating episodes, attitudes toward exercise, perceived hormone-related symptoms and body image perception among competitive bodybuilders across different levels of compet...

Bodybuilders tend to overeat their daily protein needs. The purpose of a high-protein diet is to support post-workout recovery and skeletal muscle growth; however, its exact impact on gut microbiota still remains under investigation. The aim of this...

Background: The purpose of this case study was to implement an evidence-based dietary approach to peaking for a bodybuilding competition and monitor its impact on body composition, muscle thickness (MT), intra-to-extra-cellular fluid shifts, subcutan...

Background: this observational and cross-sectional study aimed to describe training, pharmacological ergogenic aids, dehydration, and nutrition strategies during a peak week in competitive bodybuilders and monitor changes that occurred across this pe...

Bodybuilding is a sport where coaches commonly recommend a variety of nutrition and exercise protocols, supplements, and, sometimes, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). The present study sought to gain an understanding of the common decisions and rat...

Many bodybuilders use anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) to potentiate muscle mass gain as a result of specific resistance training and nutrition. The case we describe hereafter outlines alterations in body composition of an amateur bodybuilder durin...

Background and Objectives: Atherosclerosis, driven by dyslipidaemia and oxidative stress, is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study evaluates the effects of vigorous-intensity bodybuilding exercise (VIBBE) on atheroscle...

Background: Following DIY (do it yourself) diets as well as consuming supplements exceeding by far the recommended daily intake levels, is common among athletes; these dietary habits often lead to an overconsumption of some macro and/or micronutrient...

Bodybuilding competitions are becoming increasingly popular. Competitors are judged on their aesthetic appearance and usually exhibit a high level of muscularity and symmetry and low levels of body fat. Commonly used techniques to improve physique du...

Despite increasing awareness of plant-based diets for health and athletic performance, athletes are cautioned that careful dietary monitoring is necessary. Whether commonly consumed plant-based diets are nutritionally adequate for maximal muscular hy...

The off-season for natural bodybuilders (BB) is characterized by increased training loads and fluctuations in caloric intake, which may lead to insufficient recovery. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a pivotal role in recovery. The purpose of...

The popularity of natural bodybuilding is increasing; however, evidence-based recommendations for it are lacking. This paper reviewed the scientific literature relevant to competition preparation on nutrition and supplementation, resulting in the fol...

This case study aimed to evaluate the body composition and several biochemical markers during a 7-month pre-competition training period of a natural male bodybuilder. The athlete monitored his nutrition, training variables, and daily physical activit...

Herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) are used by over half of American adults and represent a multi-billion-dollar industry. More recently, they have gained popularity, in part due to promotion on multiple social media platforms. However, the Food an...

Bodybuilders are athletes characterized by high muscle mass. During competitions, the evaluation is performed based on aesthetic parameters. The study aims to provide normative references of body composition with the vector bioimpedance methodology (...

Objective: This study designed experiments to explore the effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) intervention with different cycling periods on the upper limb strength performance of college male bodybuilding athletes. Methods: Ten bodybuilding at...

This study analyzed publicly available autopsy reports of male bodybuilders under the age of 50 who reportedly died from cardiovascular-related events. A general Google search with the terms “dead bodybuilders” was performed on 10 Februar...

Studies investigating exercise-induced gut microbiota have reported that people who exercise regularly have a healthy gut microbial environment compared with sedentary individuals. In contrast, recent studies have shown that high protein intake witho...

Background and Objectives: Muscle hypertrophy and strength increase are significantly influenced by the distribution of muscle fiber types in individuals. Individuals exposed to similar training intensity in fitness and bodybuilding exhibit different...

Competitive bodybuilders undergo strict dietary and training practices to achieve an extremely lean and muscular physique. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe different dietary strategies used by bodybuilders, their rationale, and...

Women’s bodybuilding has attracted attention from gender researchers. However, increasingly popular fitness shows that feature different competitive tracks—bikini and figure—have garnered very limited scholarly consideration. This study draws on inte...

Bilateral renal infarction is an extremely rare condition with only few cases reported in the literature. We present a case of bilateral renal infarction affecting an otherwise healthy 34 year old bodybuilder chronically misusing testosterone and sta...

This article is based on written accounts posted on an online forum called Flashback. The purpose of the study was to explore how participants in this community negotiated the meanings of fitness doping and how such negotiations could be understood i...

Nutrient intake is critical to a bodybuilder in terms of improving the overall muscular appearance of their physique [...]

The current study analyzed the excitation of biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and anterior deltoid during bilateral biceps curl performed with different handgrips. Ten competitive bodybuilders performed bilateral biceps curl in non-exhaustive 6-rep s...

Background: High protein diet has been known to cause metabolic acidosis, which is manifested by increased urinary excretion of nitrogen and calcium. Bodybuilders habitually consumed excessive dietary protein over the amounts recommended for them to...

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of peptide hormone use on oxidative stress and antioxidant responses to a single session of resistance exercise in male bodybuilders. Forty-five male bodybuilders were divided into three groups: body...

Managing the body composition of athletes is a common practice in the field of sports nutrition. The loss of body weight (BW) in resistance-trained athletes is mainly conducted for aesthetic reasons (bodybuilding) or performance (powerlifting or weig...