Men's Physique Division | Will It Take Over from Bodybuilding?
Men's Physique Division
Will It Take Over from Bodybuilding?
A New Class – A New Beginning?
It began as an ordinary day in the fall of 2010, only a few weeks after Jay Cutler was crowned the world’s best bodybuilder for the final time. As the holidays approached, NPC President Jim Manion was preparing to make the kind of announcement that would make the day a bit less ordinary, igniting debates and opening the door for an entirely new kind of bodybuilder. Word traveled fast, making its way from city to city, from gym to gym and across the Internet. They called it the Men’s Physique Division. Some laughed at the idea, including MD Senior Writer Ron Harris, who wrote, “For most of us bodybuilders, the emergence of Men’s Physique was, to put it bluntly, a joke— guys in board shorts hitting model poses? I assumed it would be a failed experiment. Obviously I was about as wrong as wrong could be.” A new division allowing men to compete while wearing knee-length shorts! Was this really happening?
The press release announcing the new division proclaimed, “Beginning in 2011 a new division for men will be introduced— Men’s Physique.” Some scoffed at the idea. Laughter could be heard from those who refused to embrace the merits of this new type of athlete. The press release laid out all the details: “Judges will be looking for fit contestants who display proper shape and symmetry combined with muscularity and overall condition. This is not a bodybuilding contest so extreme muscularity should be marked down.” As we read further, a clearer picture was painted: “Contestants will be asked to walk in board shorts (shorts must be just above the knee in length and can be one inch below the belly button). Competitors will enter the stage without a shirt and barefoot. Competitors will walk to the center of the stage alone and perform quarter turns with optional pose of hand on hip or hand in pocket, face the judges as directed, then proceed to the side of the stage.”
A New Type of Competitor
From a business standpoint, the arrival of the new division was a stroke of genius. Physiques resembling those celebrated on the shores of South Beach were suddenly given the opportunity to compete for championships, eventually making their way to the Olympia stage.It’s simple math. There are only a limited number of men courageous enough to walk across a stage wearing standard bodybuilder trunks, the kind that leaves little to the imagination. The traditional bodybuilding division requires the development of the entire physique— complete with stage-worthy legs. A Men’s Physique competitor, on the other hand, enjoys the luxury of board shorts, the kind made popular by surfers. This new division was the NPC’s open invitation to thousands of men with well-built upper bodies, lacking the quad and hamstring development needed to fit in as a bodybuilder. The floodgates had opened.
The Impact of MPD
As the Men’s Physique Division (MPD) closes out its fifth year, there is no denying its success or its popularity. NPC amateur events are enjoying record-breaking participation, fueled largely by the sport’s fastest-growing division. Men’s Physique competitors are beginning to land on the covers of the industry’s top magazines, real estate that was once monopolized by champion bodybuilders. Physique stars, while building fan bases, have become appealing to supplement companies looking to attract a less hardcore customer. Ron Harris explains, “We’re at the point where it’s common to see two to three times the number of men in the MPD division compared to bodybuilding. The trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. You even see the popularity of MPD reflected in print ads for supplements. These used to be the domain of the biggest and freakiest male bodybuilders. Now, products are pitched using smaller, more streamlined MPD athletes.”
Should Bodybuilders Feel Threatened?
The only thing growing faster than the number of MPD competitors is the size and overall muscularity of the individual participants. Shoulders are getting fuller, arms bigger and backs wider. According to some observers, many of the top professional Physique competitors are beginning to build physiques that may one day rival some of their bodybuilder counterparts. MD Senior Editor Peter McGough is among those who have noticed the trend. “I think the big question at the moment is whether the MPD guys are getting too muscular,” McGough said. “Are they pushing the division into bodybuilding territory?”
Hall of Fame bodybuilder Shawn Ray is a bit less enthusiastic about Men’s Physique, declaring, “I personally have no real interest in Men’s Physique competition, as a fan or as a spectator. That’s not to take away from the legitimacy of its importance and impact on the sport. Clearly, it is highly popular among the athletes as an alternative to the extremes of bodybuilding, allowing for more athletes to participate.”
The Future
At first glance, it would seem ridiculous to suggest that any of this would pose a legitimate threat to the future of bodybuilding, a sport built on the shoulders of giants named Arnold and Ronnie. But according to Ron Harris, the threat is real. “I see the Men’s Physique Division as being a threat to the future of bodybuilding for the simple fact that it’s so much more appealing to so many more young men out there in the gyms,” Harris said. “As much as I love bodybuilding, even I have to admit that the top tier look of today is one that is neither attainable nor desirable to the average guy.”
Harris continues, “To build a physique capable of doing well at the highest levels of bodybuilding today takes years. It also requires enormous amounts of food to build all that muscle, and let’s be real— not a small amount of drugs, either. Most people in the general public see an MPD body and find it appealing. Men would love to look like that, with the wide shoulders, big arms, six-pack and slim waist. Most women find a body like that very sexy. Contrast that with a physique so thickly muscled, it’s amazing the guy can even move. He has thighs so huge they rub together when he walks. Most of the year, he is bloated with a red face, and his gut might look pregnant. Who wants to look like that? Very few men. And very few women find that sexy.”
Retired pro bodybuilder Bob Cicherillo has a much different opinion. “While the actual numbers of Men’s Physique competitors may be greater, the popularity and fan base is still solidly in the bodybuilding arena,” Cicherillo points out. “The two divisions are not competing against each other, as is commonly thought. I wanted to be a bodybuilder when I was just starting out. I looked at other bodybuilders for inspiration, for their look, their training. Getting in good shape was of no interest to me. I liked the extreme look of a pro bodybuilder. People gravitate toward what they have an interest in. Just because there are many types of music, doesn’t mean it sways you from whatever it is you tend to like.”
While Peter McGough doesn’t see traditional bodybuilding going away, he does acknowledge a potential shift in market share. “I don’t think Men’s Physique will overtake, or even diminish dramatically, interest in the men’s bodybuilding class,” McGough said. “Increasingly, over the past decade or so, bodybuilding has become marginalized and its audience is confined to those thirsting to see extreme, ripped-to-shreds, humongous muscle. There will always be that audience; those wanting to see the freakiest, most muscular physiques on the planet. They won’t transfer their affections to guys training within a limited development objective.”
Ron Harris, an accomplished bodybuilder in his own right, offered up this word of caution: “Considering it’s all about incentives in this world of ours, MPD has a lot more to offer than bodybuilding. For that reason, it’s no wonder so many young men are turning to it for a competitive avenue and bypassing bodybuilding. Bodybuilding will always exist, I am confident of that. But it’s definitely moving toward becoming a sideshow for the big freaks while the newer divisions emerge as the main events.”
Can We Really Compare Them?
How can we possibly compare a world-class bodybuilder to a physique competitor? Guys like Phil Heath and Kai Greene have spent years testing the boundaries; pushing their physiques to places few imagined possible. Is there anything in a physique lineup that rivals the jaw-dropping proportions of an Olympia-caliber bodybuilder?
Shawn Ray sees no comparison. “In my opinion, there is no comparing the two divisions in terms of popularity. The Physique numbers are bigger simply because more people can actually jump onstage in board shorts. I believe they will both continue to coexist, much like the Bikini division is no real threat to Figure competition— to each his own. I’m a Hall of Fame bodybuilder and I’m interested in bodybuilding! The popularity of Men’s Physique hasn’t deterred my interest simply because the participation numbers are higher.”
On that ordinary day in the fall of 2010, the Men’s Physique Division was introduced. Some laughed, while others predicted its failure. Five years later, as we contemplate the future of bodybuilding, we are left with only one question: Who’s laughing now?