Bodybuilding has a long and varied history, which, in the past few decades, fans have begun to group into “eras.”
The best-known example of this — the so-called “Golden Era” — lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s and was a time when Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Serge Nubret, Franco Columbu, and countless other legends were in their prime. Other examples include the “Mass Monster” era from the late ’80s to the mid-2000s, when Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, and Jay Cutler pushed the boundaries of a muscular physique.
Each era has, in its own way, advanced the fitness industry and the sport of bodybuilding as a whole. For this reason, they all echo throughout the modern age in some way. Here is a look at each major era, its key figures, and its impact on the sport.
Every Bodybuilding Era, Explained
The Bronze Era
Years: 1890-1920s
Notable Figures: Eugen Sandow, Bernarr Macfadden, Arthur Saxon, Louis Cyr, George Hackenschmidt, Katie Sandwina
[Related: The True Story of Eugen Sandow’s Wrestling Match With a Lion]
The “Bronze Era” coincided with the physical culture movement of the late 19th century and was defined by both physique athletes and strength performers, some of whom possessed a bodybuilder look.
Eugen Sandow touted the most praised body of the age. Born in Germany in the mid-19th century, Sandow toured the globe performing and posing his perceived “perfect physique” to packed crowds of onlookers. He appeared in films, sold workout and nutritional supplements, and hosted the world’s first bodybuilding show in England in 1901. His look set the benchmark for ideal bodies during this time — lean and muscular.
During this period, early strength athletes (who indulged in both weightlifting and powerlifting) competed with physique stars like Sandow for attention. Some, like Arthur Saxon, whose 371-pound bent press is still a world record, also posed like bodybuilders. While others, like Louis Cyr were effectively traveling strongmen.
Away from Sandow’s 1901 competition, physical culture writer and entrepreneur Bernarr Macfadden hosted two shows in the United States in the early 1900s, while Edmond Desbonnet hosted contests in France during the same period. This was an exciting time for the nascent sport of bodybuilding, but the Bronze Era ended abruptly in the 1910s with the outbreak of World War I.
The Silver Era
Years: 1940s-1960s
Notable Figures: Steve Reeves, Reg Park, John Grimek, Bill Pearl, Jack LaLanne, Clarence Ross, George Eiferman, Pudgy Stockton
[Related: How Sylvester Stallone Ignited Hollywood’s Physique Transformation Craze]
The so-called “Silver Era” was highlighted by the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, where bodybuilders and strength athletes — along with soldiers who were stationed nearby during World War II — spent their time training, posing, and engaging in public exhibitions. Crucially, the Muscle Beach lifestyle became glamorized in American society, leading to bodybuilders appearing in film or television with much more regularity.
Bodybuilders of the era, like Steve Reeves and Reg Park, played Hercules in action movies, while Jack LaLanne had his own syndicated television show. Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton was regularly featured in newspapers and magazines thanks to her public hand-balancing and weightlifting exhibitions on Muscle Beach.
While the Bronze Era had few bodybuilding shows, the Silver Era saw several prestigious competitions emerge, beginning with the Mr. America contest in 1939. This show became an annual event and found contemporaries in Europe, where Mr. Britain and other national shows existed. The first international contest, akin to an early Mr. Olympia, came in 1948 with the Mr. Universe show.
This paved the way for bodybuilding rivalries and comparisons between Reeves and John Grimek or Reeves and Park. As bodybuilding was now more of a sport with regular competitions, training became much more standardized than in the Bronze Era. Bodybuilders at this time typically employed full-body workouts, and, for at least part of this era, they still practiced the main Olympic lifts.
Two things spelled the end of the Silver Era: the closing of the original Muscle Beach in the late 1950s and the emergence of a new generation of bodybuilders who came to dominate the sport.
The Golden Era
Years: 1960s-Late 1980s
Notable Figures: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, Serge Nubret, Ed Corney, Mike Mentzer, Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva, Dave Draper, Lisa Lyons, Rachel McLish
[Related: How Strong Was Arnold Schwarzenegger? We Look Back at the Oak’s Short-Lived Powerlifting Career]
“The Golden Era” of bodybuilding, much like the Silver Era, was defined by America’s West Coast. Centered predominantly on the new Muscle Beach in Venice, California, this era helped push bodybuilding into the mainstream of American life and culture. Driving this expansion was Pumping Iron, the 1977 docudrama that told the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to win a sixth Mr. Olympia title.
Schwarzenegger was the dominant bodybuilder of the age, winning the Mr. Olympia title a then-record seven times. Speaking of the Mr. Olympia, the competition was first held in 1965 and soon became the pinnacle of bodybuilding. Through the Olympia, fans were treated to new rivalries like Schwarzenegger versus Sergio Oliva, Lou Ferrigno, and Franco Columbu.
When Schwarzenegger retired in 1975, space opened up for other bodybuilding legends, like Frank Zane, to win the title at a time when physiques were growing more and more muscular when compared to the Silver Era. Still, the top competitors maintained a level of leanness and definition that still appealed to the aesthetic-minded.
Away from the Olympia, an equally important development was the emergence of an entirely new generation of nutritional supplements. While supplements weren’t prevalent during the Silver Era, entrepreneurs like Joe Weider and Bob Hoffman began selling dozens and dozens of differing protein powders and vitamin extracts during this period, appealing to both pros and casual fitness aficionados alike.
As supplement use changed, so too did training patterns. Driven partly by Joe Weider, whose bodybuilding magazine empire was an immovable part of the culture, bodybuilders predominantly used high-volume, split-body workouts in earnest for the first time. Some bucked this trend, such as Mike Mentzer and his still popular heavy-duty training, but the majority focused on “bro splits.”
The Mass Monster Era
Years: Late 1980s-2010
Notable Figures: Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Markus Rühl, Paul Dillett, Nasser el Sonbaty, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Gunter Schlierkamp, Bev Francis, Iris Kyle
[Related: Bodybuilding’s Uncrowned Mr. Olympia: Nasser El Sonbaty]
The most controversial bodybuilding era is the “Mass Monster” era from the late 1980s to 2010. This was a time when bodybuilders pushed the absolute boundaries of muscle gain and, in the view of some individuals, began to sacrifice aesthetics for sheer mass or extreme leanness.
This era also coincided with controversies surrounding steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in sports, culminating in the United States passing the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, which classified anabolic steroids as a controlled substance and subject to tight government regulations. This led to the one and only drug-tested Mr. Olympia in September 1990, which Lee Haney won. (Though it was not without controversy.)
While Dorian Yates — the six-time Mr. Olympia winner who dominated the 1990s following Haney’s reign — was often the prime target for criticism due to his emphasis on sheer mass, he shared the stage with countless others who were just as big, if not bigger. Even Golden Era icon Lou Ferrigno got on board the mass train and tipped the scales at 290 pounds for his comeback in 1992.
Different training systems existed, and there was even a resurgence of Mike Mentzer’s heavy-duty training, thanks to Yates’ “Blood and Guts” style. Regardless of whether one used bro splits or heavy-duty training, the champions focused on lifting heavy weights. This was amplified in the 2000s when Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler bulked up more and more as Olympia wins piled up. Ultimately, the era began to fizzle out in the early 2010s as fans and judges began looking for more than just size in their competitors.
The Modern Era
Years: 2010s-Present
Notable Figures: Phil Heath, Flex Lewis, Chris Bumstead, Breon Ansley, Derek Lunsford, Kai Greene, Hadi Choopan, Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, Andrea Shaw
[Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Chris Bumstead: Breaking Down a Fantasy Bodybuilding Matchup]
The modern era, which future generations may call the “Mass Aesthetics” era, is characterized by drastic changes in the sport. Stemming from unease about the size of bodybuilders, a noticeable shift towards aesthetics has arisen. Some Olympia champions, such as Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, were throwbacks to the bygone Mass Monster era, but the sport has generally moved toward more aesthetic (but still muscular) bodies overall.
This is highlighted by a noticeable shift in popularity from the Men’s Open division towards categories like Classic Physique, where the goal is for leaner competitors to craft a body reminiscent of the Golden Era. This change reflects a growing appreciation for diverse physiques and a desire to move, in one way, back to the roots of bodybuilding.
It is noticeable that Chris Bumstead, the face of the Classic Physique Champion, is one of the most popular men in the sport, touting millions of followers on social media. Likewise, the 2023 Mr. Olympia champion, Derek Lunsford, first emerged as a smaller 212 division competitor before shifting divisions. This trend suggests a fatigue from the Mass Monster era and a renewed preference for more balanced, symmetrical physiques.
The Eras Tour
Bodybuilding is a sport in continual flux. Training patterns, dietary habits, and physique preferences rarely remain fixed. While the Golden Era receives the most plaudits among fans, the truth is that each era has pushed our understanding of the body and of muscle building in new ways. How the current era ends is difficult to know, but given the current trajectory, it is likely that the move toward aesthetics will continue for some time.
Feature Image: Library of Congress (Sandow), B.Stefanov / Shutterstock (Coleman), T.J. Darr (Bumstead)
