NPC Men’s Physique Contests Take Over Bodybuilding?

Will NPC Men’s Physique Contests Take Over Bodybuilding?

Author: Alex Borja SPT, HFS
The world of bodybuilding is undoubtedly adored by millions of  fans and will always be in this authors opinion. The point of this article is to take a look into the mainstream shift that bodybuilding seems to be involved in with the relatively new NPC Men’s Physique Division.
In the recent past, we have  seen that many top level supplement companies and endorsers are dropping big name bodybuilders and signing on more men’s physique competitors. Is this alone a sign that bodybuilding may soon be taken over?

Big  companies such as Muscletech has dropped many bodybuilders (Keeping Jay and Phil of course) and signed on guys like Isaac Hinds. Optimum Nutrition has dropped IFBB Pro Jeff Long to pick up guys like Alex Carneiro and Steve Cook.

Pro bodybuilder: Jay Cutler

Lets take a look at some of the reasons we see more and more interest in men’s physique competition:

• The main goal is being lean instead of huge and striated, which often requires drug abuse, lots of money, and an unhealthy lifestyle.
• You wont have to “torture” yourself with a very strict diet causing mood swings, depression, and many other unhealthy symptoms. You will still have to eat clean and watch your diet, but a little less rigorous.
• The expensive nature of steroids will be a thing of the past.
• You wont have to spend excessive amounts of money to reach your required caloric intake.
• Almost all women find that the physique of a bodybuilder is not quite as attractive as that of a men’s physique competitor.
• Your range of motion is far better than that of a serious bodybuilder as you will be able to reach behind your back and tie your shoes.
• Your joints take less of a beating as your leg pressing no longer needs to be over 1,000 lbs for the ideal competition ready physique.
• Your body will still be a decent size with great symmetry without being overly “bulky”.

Alex Carneiro: Men’s Physique Competitor

These are just some of the main reasons why men’s physique competition is becoming more mainstream.
So what makes somebody want to pursue bodybuilding? Lets take a look at a few simple facts:

• Most guys idolize bodybuilders on the covers of magazines and someday want to achieve a better body for themselves.
• They view these bodybuilders as popular and successful because they are on a magazine cover and wish to do the same.
• Most bodybuilders compete and continue to compete to attain their pro card.
• Bodybuilders want to achieve pro status to attract sponsors and contracts with big name companies (which equals money).

Sure enough, the  above facts can also all be applied to the relatively new class of men’s physique competition. Up until recently,  many big name companies were sticking with bodybuilders and not looking twice at men’s physique competitors, so there wasn’t much of an incentive.
Now we see these leaner counterparts taking away the sponsorship spots and opportunities of the bodybuilders. This is most likely why we see such a big shift in media attention to this type of competitor.
The sport of bodybuilding is often regarded as having a “unhealthy and large grotesque physique” in which most women have no desire for, yet most men idolize. Men’s physique bodies on the other hand seems to be regarded as having proportional body size and the object for most women’s affection.
Another factor that may be shifting the tides in favor of men’s physique competition is the increased attainability of the smaller men’s physique versus the bodybuilding physique. Bodybuilding takes several years to develop while a men’s physique takes less time and is within reach for many more males genetically.
Whether or not bodybuilding will be taken over by men’s physique has yet to show but it seems to be heading in that direction. Bodybuilding will always be there and loved by many, but the popularity may drop with the introduction and success of this men’s physique division.