A Genealogy Of Male Bodybuilding

Download or read book A Genealogy of Male Bodybuilding written by Dimitris Liokaftos and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-02-03 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bodybuilding has become an increasingly dominant part of popular gym culture within the last century. Developing muscles is now seen as essential for both general health and high performance sport. At the more extreme end, the monstrous built body has become a pop icon that continues to provoke fascination. This original and engaging study explores the development of male bodybuilding culture from the nineteenth century to the present day, tracing its transformations and offering a new perspective on its current extreme direction. Drawing on archival research, interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, this book presents a critical mapping of bodybuilding’s trajectory. Following this trajectory through the wider sociocultural changes it has been a part of, a unique combination of historical and empirical data is used to investigate the aesthetics of bodybuilding and the shifting notions of the good body and human nature they reflect. This book will be fascinating reading for all those interested in the history and culture of bodybuilding, as well as for students and researchers of the sociology of sport, gender and the body.

Download or read book A Genealogy of Male Bodybuilding written by Dimitris Liokaftos and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-02-03 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bodybuilding has become an increasingly dominant part of popular gym culture within the last century. Developing muscles is now seen as essential for both general health and high performance sport. At the more extreme end, the monstrous built body has become a pop icon that continues to provoke fascination. This original and engaging study explores the development of male bodybuilding culture from the nineteenth century to the present day, tracing its transformations and offering a new perspective on its current extreme direction. Drawing on archival research, interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, this book presents a critical mapping of bodybuilding’s trajectory. Following this trajectory through the wider sociocultural changes it has been a part of, a unique combination of historical and empirical data is used to investigate the aesthetics of bodybuilding and the shifting notions of the good body and human nature they reflect. This book will be fascinating reading for all those interested in the history and culture of bodybuilding, as well as for students and researchers of the sociology of sport, gender and the body.

Download or read book Little Big Men written by Alan M. Klein and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1993-08-24 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Little Big Men is a study of competitive bodybuilders on the West Coast that examines the subculture from the perspective of bodybuilders' everyday activities. It offers fascinating descriptions and insightful analogies of an important and understudied subculture that has risen to widespread popularity in today's mass culture. Alan Klein conducted his field study of bodybuilding in some of the world's best-known gyms. In studying the social and political relations of bodybuilding competitors, Klein explores not only gym dynamics but also the internal and external pressures bodybuilders face. Central to his examination is the critique of masculinity. Through his study of "hustling" among bodybuilders, Klein is able to construct a social-psychological male configuration that includes narcissism, homophobia, hypermasculinity, and fascism. Because they exist as exaggerations, these bodybuilder traits come to represent one end of the continuum of modern masculinity, what Klein terms comic-book masculinity. This study is a rare foray into the critique of contemporary American macho.

Download or read book Mr. America written by John D. Fair and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2015-01-05 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Map[s] the shifting definitions of gender and masculinity . . . provides the rare insight into the world of bodybuilding that only an insider could offer.” —Sport in American History For most of the twentieth century, the “Mr. America” image epitomized muscular manhood. From humble beginnings in 1939 at a small gym in Schenectady, New York, the Mr. America Contest became the world’s premier bodybuilding event over the next thirty years. Rooted in ancient Greek virtues of health, fitness, beauty, and athleticism, it showcased some of the finest specimens of American masculinity. Interviewing nearly one hundred major figures in the physical culture movement (including twenty-five Mr. Americas) and incorporating copious printed and manuscript sources, John D. Fair has created the definitive study of this iconic phenomenon. Revealing the ways in which the contest provided a model of functional and fit manhood, Mr. America captures the event’s path to idealism and its slow descent into obscurity. As the 1960s marked a turbulent transition in American society—from the civil rights movement to the rise of feminism and increasing acceptance of homosexuality—Mr. America changed as well. Exploring the influence of other bodily displays, such as the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests and the Miss America Pageant, Fair focuses on commercialism, size obsession, and drugs that corrupted the competition’s original intent. Accessible and engaging, Mr. America is a compelling portrayal of the glory days of American muscle. “An entertaining narrative of the bodybuilding subculture in America.” —Kirkus Reviews “Deftly written and superbly researched.” —Journal of Sport History

Download or read book Bodybuilding written by Gordon LaVelle and published by . This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men written by Arnold Schwarzenegger and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-07-17 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete program for building and maintaining a well-conditioned, excellently proportioned body -- for a lifetime of fitness and health. In Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men, legendary athlete Arnold Schwarzenegger shows you how to achieve the best physical condition of your life. For every man, at every age, Arnold outlines a step-by-step program of excercise, skillfully combining weight training and aerobic conditioning. The result -- total cardiovascular and muscular fitness. Arnold's program of exercise features stretching, warm-up and warm-down routines, and three series of exercises, each more ambitious than the last, all calculated to help you progress at your own speed. In addition, Arnold contributes important advice about equipment, nutrition and diet, and getting started on your program of exercise. Special sections of Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men cover training for teenagers, exercises designed to keep you in shape on the road or when you can't get to the gym, and the regimen Arnold followed to win his seven Mr. Olympia titles. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs of Arnold and other top bodybuilders, Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men will help every man look great and feel terrific.

Download or read book Men's Health Natural Bodybuilding Bible written by Tyler English and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It takes guts and dedication to meticulously sculpt an extremely lean and cut physique. If you are ready to build a competition-worthy body or just want to look like a pro, there is no better program than the total-body diet and workout plan revealed in Men's Health Natural Bodybuilding Bible. It is THE how-to manual for anyone who wants to win his first bodybuilding competition the right way—purely, naturally, on guts, grit, and extreme dedication to diet and muscle craft. Or even just look like you did without stepping foot on a stage! Developed by professional Natural Bodybuilding Champion Tyler English, this plan will show you how to pack on pounds of MUSCLE with the workouts that helped him take first place in competition. Get the best intense workouts for each muscle and the right form so you reap maximum results.