Bodybuilding is a form of competitive sport where individuals perform poses and routines in different categories for different prizes and for recognition from the different bodies that govern this industry. The body builders are assessed based on appearance and points are then awarded to each of the contestants. The individual with the highest number of points is declared the winner of the category in contention. Bodybuilders can be either male or female and both of these categories tend to use steroids to enhance appearance. The championships that are held at local, national, and international levels, deal with how well the body has been sculpted while others deal with the overall fitness of the body builder. The championships fall into professional and amateur categories.
Anabolic steroid use is widespread as athletes strive for higher heights of perfection in this profession. Even though rigorous drugs tests are conducted, bodybuilders still used them in the hopes of gaining an upper hand on their colleagues. Anabolic steroids help the contestant to gain muscle either by retaining water or by retaining the protein that the individual consumes as part of their diet. These steroids are popular because they help the athlete achieve the desire of quick growth and huge size with minimal effort.
Not only do the steroids enhance the athletes performance they enhance the appearance and even texture of the skin. All these are of paramount importance to body builders and the other players of their global industry. In the United States, these drugs are under the controlled substances act while in Canada it is under the criminal code. In addition, in this particular industry there are no strict penalties for using steroids. This means that wide spread usage goes on and the rules on testing have become lax and sometimes testing for steroids is not done.
Female body builders have also been on this scene since the 1980s. Body building competitions that focus on fitness and figure for the women has allowed women to compete actively as body builders without the hassle of bulking up like their male counterparts; the Miss (Ms) Olympia title was created to rival the Mr. Olympia title. Both these titles are part of Olympia weekend that was created by Joe Weider and his brother Ben. These events are held at the same time. Notable body builders who have won these coveted titles are Arnold Schwarzenegger and the current Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson.
