How Do You Make Bodybuilding Exciting Again?

It’s no secret that bodybuilding competitions need to be livened up. Most of today’s shows lack any kind of originality, and there aren’t any names competing right now that conjure up the same kind of excitement we had when Arnold was king. Coleman may have eight Mr. Olympia titles, and the newly crowned Cutler may have beaten him last year to earn one, but it’s Arnold who’s still known as the Greatest Bodybuilder of All Time. As a result, overall show attendance is down, even in the pro ranks, and oftentimes the audience starts leaving before the event ends. And if you look for television coverage, you just won’t find it. They left the premises years ago. But, as I said, this isn’t a secret, and for years people have been trying to come up with ideas to improve the events, particularly at the professional level.

One (bad) idea that keeps appearing from time to time is to have the pro competitors put on a more theatrical-type posing routine – you know, dress them up in silly costumes and have them dance around the stage, hoping that will save the day. It won’t, and you simply have to read my article last month to know why.

Another recent example of (failed) change was the ill-fated Challenge Round that was implemented at the 2004 and 2005 Mr. Olympia competitions. It was basically a bad idea from the start that had competitors face off against each other, pose for pose, as if they were on a game show. To say that the Challenge Round was a flop is like saying that George Bush has made a few blunders during his presidency. It doesn’t even begin to tell the story of what went wrong.

But, what do you do? How do you make bodybuilding exciting again? Honestly, it’s not easy. But I have an idea, and it’s pretty simple: Just make it more like a sport again – the way it was when guys like Schwarzenegger, Oliva, and Zane were competing. Now there was some excitement – it was bodybuilding, pure and simple – but without the carnival atmosphere. I believe it can be done, and I’ve seen innovative ways some are doing it, although it hasn’t seemed to hit North America yet.

For example, in 2004, I traveled to Russia to see the IFBB Men’s World Bodybuilding Championships, aka the Mr. Universe. That’s where I shot the picture of the competitor who’s featured on our cover this month – Rustam Dgabrailov, the 2004 World Light-Middleweight Champion. It was at the finals of that event that I saw something very cool, and I wondered why it hadn’t been implemented at, say, the Mr. Olympia, which is supposed to be the premier bodybuilding event in the world. Flanking the stage were two large-panel screens, but they weren’t just being used in the typical way – close-ups of the onstage action so those in the cheap seats could still see. Rather, they were used to enhance the competition by being an integral part of it, turning what could have been a mundane show into something resembling a real sporting event. (Admittedly, there’s an age-old argument whether bodybuilding is a sport, art, entertainment, or something else. The way it’s being conducted today could be classified as "entertainment" or, perhaps, "something else" But, in my opinion, if the right things were done, it could be a legitimate sport. If...)

The way that they used the screens was like this: The competitor walked to the middle of the stage and stood flexed and motionless, not unlike what happens in a typical competition today. But, instead of simply starting his posing routine as is always done today, he stayed motionless as the announcer stated his name and listed off his competitive achievements that brought him to the World Championships stage. At the same time, that information was displayed on the screen and footage from the prejudging that was held one day earlier was spliced into the mix, showing the competitor in action against the other athletes, some of whom were competing in the finals and others who didn’t make the cut. For those who didn’t see the prejudging, it gave them insight into what had happened so far at the competitions. And for those who didn’t know the competitors (I only knew a few since no Canadians made it to the finals), it gave them sufficient background to know who was who, and whom they wanted to cheer for. The result was a rousing introduction for each competitor akin to what you see at something like a boxing match, or when you’re watching an Olympic event on TV and the television producers are setting the competitive stage before a big event begins. It made the event exciting – something that rarely happens these days – and I know that competitors who just read this would die to be competing on that sort of stage.

Now, some may argue that screens get used regularly for pro shows, and that’s true, even at the Mr. Olympia. But, I’ve never seen them used the way they were in Russia, giving the surreal feeling that you were watching an exciting sporting event on TV, but you were actually there. The 2004 IFBB World Championships was the best event I’ve ever been to.

However, that also doesn’t mean that big-screen monitors will save the day and be the thing that makes bodybuilding exciting again. Remember, it’s not just having the monitors, it’s knowing how to use them to enhance an event and make bodybuilding more like a sport. Furthermore, they didn’t have these things when Schwarzenegger was competing, so it’s not like you really need them. Rather, the point is this: Sporting events are inherently exciting because it pits competitor against competitor, and that’s what gets the crowd going and makes an event exciting. Today, in most bodybuilding competitions, that rarely happens. Yes, competitors are compared during prejudging, and, yes, they face off against each other in the posedown at the very end of the finals, but there’s everything else in between. Basically, each athlete is on the stage alone, competing, and oftentimes people in the audience don’t even have a clue who they are. Is it any wonder the shows are boring and that people leave before it's over?

So, if you want excitement, treat the bodybuilding events like a true sporting event, even if it’s not really one. And use whatever embellishments are necessary to get there, whether it’s television monitors, announcers, the stage setup or something else. Finally, forget about turning pro bodybuilders into showmen – make them athletes instead. If that’s done, I’ll bet that the events become far more exciting and bodybuilding audiences will grow again – and maybe bodybuilding can even get on TV once more.

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.