Will Men's Physique and Classic Bodybuilding take over traditional Bodybuilding?

When bodybuilding started it was more of an obscure lifestyle of gay men and people doing work-outs on the beach (Muscle Beach). The lifestyle quickly evolved from underground to a mainstream excepted lifestyle or sport in the Golden Era. Bodybuilders that are so famous that only their first name Arnold, Lou, Franco, Steve, Frank is enough. But the bodybuilding federations allowed the sport to fade away again. Why?

At first the public wanted the biggest bodybuilder to win the show. On the picture you can see Flex Wheeler in a very good shape, still a heavier bulkier Ronnie Coleman could beat him. As a result true mass monsters appeared on the stage, using all kind of peptides and huge amounts of steroids. Not to mention the diuretics and thyroid hormones that actually killed some athletes. The introduction of implants also ruined a lot of reputation, but the complete idiotism of Synthol made us look like fools.

On social media the sport of bodybuilding was synonym with all these drugs and means.  And many bodybuilders as well as a big part of the public regretted that athletes with such a disproportional musclemass and the waist of a pregnant elephant took the trophy’s. Of course these super heavyweights do have their own fans. But that’s only a small portion of all the people that like to watch well-trained aesthetical athletes competing.

The sport of bodybuilding is often regarded as having a “unhealthy and large grotesque physique” in which most women have no desire for, yet some men idolize. Men’s physique bodies on the other hand seems to be regarded as having proportional body size and the object for most women’s affection. The same is often true for gays and most young guys that can identify themselves much easier with these physiques that they think are much easier to achieve and with much less unhealthy drug use.

The young public no longer believes those fairy tales pictured in bodybuilding magazines, where the pro’s tell them they reached their goals on “chicken and rice” and with help of the supplements of their sponsors. Maybe social media and YouTube give too much information in this regard. Just think Boston Loyd.

 The federations saw that a magazine like Men’s Health sold extremely well and that a competition to get a cover was such a success. That they decided to add divisions to Bodybuilding shows.

Classic Bodybuilding and Men's Physique are not the same.

Men’s Classic Physique is for athletes who have an athletic and aesthetically pleasing physique, but have less muscle mass than traditional Bodybuilders. Therefore there are strict limitations on weight in order to distinguish Classic Physique from traditional Bodybuilding. The athletes in Classic division are told to wear fitted black briefs The length should not be longer than half way down the thighs as competitors will be evaluated for leg muscle definition. No bodybuilding posing trunks

Classic Bodybuilding is a division of bodybuilding in which height and weight must be proportionate, competitors have posing routines and are otherwise judged like a normal bodybuilding competition. The division aims to provide an outlet for athletes who wish to compete in bodybuilding but do not want their bodies to be massive and out of proportion. The 5-foot-8 athlete can't be 280 in Classic like he can be in the open classes. 

There are strict  height/weight restrictions. A 5'3" tall athlete is allowed to weigh 132 pounds. Check the math: 5-3 converting to 160.02 cm, and 160.02 cm - 100 equals 60, and 60 kg is 132.277 pounds.

Some of the confusion lies because the NPC also announced Women's Physique, which is, in essence, the female version of Classic Bodybuilding while Men's Physique is, in essence, the male version of the relatively new Bikini Division.

In bodybuilding contests the bodybuilders wear posing trunks, the classic bodybuilders black short briefs and the men’s physiques board shorts. On the boards many people regret the decision to wear these long board shorts , because it makes judging of the legs impossible. Probably the best decision should be to judge all divisions in the same boxer briefs.

The unusual public

A bodybuilding show is often regarded as long and boring -- Teen, Novice, Masters, Women, Mixed Pairs, and finally at 1am, the Open class. The judging is very often “debatable” at least. And just read the boards, since the beginning of the shows the organizations often owned  by supplement companies and/or publishers that sold the Video’s/DVD’s and sold the magazines, had their own agenda and wanted their own (sponsored) athletes to win. Just think WEIDER.

When the federation saw that the revenues of the bodybuilding shows decreased together with its popularity. They decided to make their shows more 'mainstream' and to broaden the appeal. With more easy to achieve physiques they attracted more contestants. Especially the female bodybuilding classes sometimes had only two contestants. The new physique, fitness and bikini classes where much more attractive to watch. The same is true for the new male classes “Classic bodybuilding” and “Mens Physique”. Maybe it is bad for our sport that these are not hosted in other federations.  About the IFBB and the NPC somebody on a discussion board said very, very true:

“Just because it’s a new division remember it’s the same gang of butt bandits running the show.”

These new classes are not only appealing for the public but also friends and family will come to the shows but also more females will be tempted to watch these new male classes and off course the gay’s that where always very dominant present in bodybuilding through the years.

Sponsorships for the professionals

So what made somebody want to pursue bodybuilding? Let’s take a look at a few simple facts.

Most guys idolize bodybuilders on the covers of magazines and someday want to achieve a better body for themselves. They view these bodybuilders as popular and successful because they are on a magazine cover and wish to do the same. Most bodybuilders compete and continue to compete to attain their pro card. Bodybuilders want to achieve pro status to attract sponsors and contracts with big name companies (which equals money).

Sure enough, the  above facts can also all be applied to the relatively new class of men’s physique competition. Up until recently,  many big name companies were sticking with bodybuilders and not looking twice at men’s physique competitors, so there wasn’t much of an incentive.

Now we see these leaner counterparts taking away the sponsorship spots and opportunities of the bodybuilders. This is most likely why we see such a big shift in media attention to this type of competitor.

In the recent past, we have  seen that many top level supplement companies and endorsers are dropping big name bodybuilders and signing on more men’s physique competitors. Is this alone a sign that bodybuilding may soon be taken over?

Big  companies such as Muscletech has dropped many bodybuilders (Keeping Jay and Phil of course) and signed on guys like Isaac Hinds. Optimum Nutrition has dropped IFBB Pro Jeff Long to pick up guys like Alex Carneiro and Steve Cook.

Its only realistic to expect that the classic and physique guys will earn more than their bodybuilding competitor counterparts. Magazines and model agencies are going to be all over them  within a couple of years. And just like in the Golden Era the movie industry ..because muscles sell.

In total 13 NPC Athletes walked away with IFBB Pro Cards in what were some very tough decisions on some of the classes. Notably, Womens Bodybuilding only had two competitors, whereas the Bikini and Mens Physique divisions had the most competitors. The trend I've seen is Men's Physique is continuing to add members to its ranks and has settled into a dominant division that is here to stay.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfpNV_pTIVk

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I’ve found an hilarious thread on a bodybuilding discussion board about the pro’s and con’s of the Men’s Physique Division (MPD), which I would like to share with you …

If you are asking us if it is OK for you to compete in this division without appearing or feeling gay, the answer is that it is just as gay as posing in a thong oiled up for tons of men.  Maybe less so because your junk and ass will be covered, and you won't have to do g4p to pay for your prep drugs.

Beach muscles = vagina slaying classic pussy pulling physique.

Striated glutes and tiny thong = homo worship

Allow me to post the PROS and CONS of why one is better off pursuing Men's Physique over Men's Bodybuilding and what you have to look forward to.

Men's Physique:

- Less GEAR required. Unless you have subpar genetics no more than 100mg of primobolan a week or 30mg of winstrol every other day for 7 weeks is required. ECA should be perfectly adequate to get you lean and if anything very little clenbuterol - 40-60mcg/daily.

 - You don't have to abuse thyroid medications and self-administer the flu and serious fever with DNP as being LEAN is the name of the game not being etched and striated with shredded glutes is not required.

 - You don't have to torture yourself with a harsh strict diet causing you to be ornery and a total self-righteous prick feeling like a bloody tampon. 2-3 solids of clean meals and 1-2 shakes should be on the menu and conveniently do-able.

- You don't have to blow every other dime not going towards bottles of Tren on groceries as spending $100 every 3 days in your local Aldi, Kroger, Dominick's, Shop N Save or Fairplay would be a thing of the past.

 - You can have the physique that will be the sexual object of 99 out of 100 women's affection. 

- You can have sex many times per day

- You will look better than 100 out of 100 men in the streets, your office or place of leisure.

- You will feel healthy and balanced as tasks like tying your shoe and walking up stairs will not even be an afterthought anymore nor will you need supplemental oxygen.

 - You won't have to abuse your body and tear down your joints anymore as leg pressing 1,200lbs for 10 reps with a spotter on each side of the machine is no longer required. 500lbs for 12-15 reps is now the norm.

- You won't have to lie, cheat and steal your way to get through the day.

 - You won't have to switch gyms and change your cell phone number because you owe somebody $800 for those 3 kits of growth you promised because you don't use growth now nor do you need to hustle it to pay for your own.

- You will still be bigger than majority of the Dude-Bros in your respective gym.

- You won't have to take up that middle aged but wealthy queen on his offer to privately "sponsor" you in exchange for one evening a month.

- You won't have to engage in jerk-off videos, fruit fucking, shower scenes and muscle worship videos for cash to pay for your next bottle of eQuipose.

 - You won't have to move to Venice, CA and let Ed Connerz finger your butthole for "extra help" getting on your feet while you pursue your dream.

With Men's Bodybuilding:

The exact opposite of the above.

So you decide.