Something New under the Sun
Excerpt from the book 'Modern Amazons' by Bill Dobbins
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There has been a revolution in fashion, style and the human body. Muscle has suddenly become chic. This began with men, and now includes women. The trend was first noticeable in the movies. Nobody was ever as lean, muscular and "ripped" as martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Sylvester Stallone trained with a champion bodybuilder to create the sculpted physique we saw in Rocky II. Arnold Schwarzenegger, by far the greatest bodybuilder of his day, appeared on screen in Conan the Barbarian, and raised the bar even further. Nowadays, no self-respecting action film hero could expect to make much of an impact without a hard body and a great set of abs. People watch Jean-Claude Van Damme for his physique, not his acting. Today, a male fashion model can't succeed without the defined pecs and abs of an aspiring bodybuilder.
Since the late 1970s there has been a gradual acceptance of female muscle as well, due in large part to the example of women's bodybuilding. Before the advent of modern bodybuilding for women, even female Olympic athletes were rarely hyper-muscular. People admired the muscular legs of female dancers, but not their deltoids or biceps. "Warrior women" in the movies were starlets with big hips and breasts, not hard, athletic and muscular physiques. Tits 'n' ass was the name of the game, not pecs 'n' glutes. As we enter the 21st century, women's bodybuilding is flourishing all over the world. Hundreds of young female physique competitors from dozens of countries gather each year for the World Women's Amateur Bodybuilding Competition, sanctioned by the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB). The United States has long taken the lead in bodybuilding for women, followed by Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but we are now seeing increasing participation in the sport by women from Eastern Europe and Asia. The growing popularity of women's bodybuilding is rarely written about in mainstream newspapers and television, but venture to Columbus, Ohio in March, where Arnold Schwarzenegger holds his annual Ms International Bodybuilding Championship, or attend the IFBB Olympia Weekend each October in Las Vegas, where female bodybuilders compete for the prestigious Ms Olympia title, and the size and enthusiasm of the growing world-wide audience for female physique will be evident.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
There has been a revolution in fashion, style and the human body. Muscle has suddenly become chic. This began with men, and now includes women. The trend was first noticeable in the movies. Nobody was ever as lean, muscular and "ripped" as martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Sylvester Stallone trained with a champion bodybuilder to create the sculpted physique we saw in Rocky II. Arnold Schwarzenegger, by far the greatest bodybuilder of his day, appeared on screen in Conan the Barbarian, and raised the bar even further. Nowadays, no self-respecting action film hero could expect to make much of an impact without a hard body and a great set of abs. People watch Jean-Claude Van Damme for his physique, not his acting. Today, a male fashion model can't succeed without the defined pecs and abs of an aspiring bodybuilder.
Since the late 1970s there has been a gradual acceptance of female muscle as well, due in large part to the example of women's bodybuilding. Before the advent of modern bodybuilding for women, even female Olympic athletes were rarely hyper-muscular. People admired the muscular legs of female dancers, but not their deltoids or biceps. "Warrior women" in the movies were starlets with big hips and breasts, not hard, athletic and muscular physiques. Tits 'n' ass was the name of the game, not pecs 'n' glutes. As we enter the 21st century, women's bodybuilding is flourishing all over the world. Hundreds of young female physique competitors from dozens of countries gather each year for the World Women's Amateur Bodybuilding Competition, sanctioned by the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB). The United States has long taken the lead in bodybuilding for women, followed by Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but we are now seeing increasing participation in the sport by women from Eastern Europe and Asia. The growing popularity of women's bodybuilding is rarely written about in mainstream newspapers and television, but venture to Columbus, Ohio in March, where Arnold Schwarzenegger holds his annual Ms International Bodybuilding Championship, or attend the IFBB Olympia Weekend each October in Las Vegas, where female bodybuilders compete for the prestigious Ms Olympia title, and the size and enthusiasm of the growing world-wide audience for female physique will be evident.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Bill Dobbins, Modern Amazons
Hardcover, 26 x 28.8 cm (10.2 x 11.3 in.), 168 pages
$ 39.99
$ 39.99
The talented Bill Dobbins and his amazing bodybuilding babes
Lesa Lewis, USA. Photo: Bill Dobbins