Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Kathy Segal posing on 14 June 1987.
Nikki Fuller doing a side chest pose
Sharon Bruneau doing a front double biceps at a bodybuilding contest.
Betty Pariso posing at the 2001 Extravaganza Strength Contest
Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic purposes over functional ones, distinguishing it from similar activities such as powerlifting and calisthenics.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the most notable figures in bodybuilding, 1974
A bodybuilder performs the incline dumbbell press.
The Farnese Hercules, 216 AD
Eugen Sandow, often referred to as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding"