Muscle men and women across the Highlands will gather soon to compete in a national qualifier bodybuilding contest in Inverness.
The Highlands and Islands Classic Bodybuilding competition will take place on April 2 at the Ironworks Venue in the city’s Academy Street.
The event is organised by Forge Gym, based in Carsegate Road, under the auspices of the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Association (IBFA) Scotland.
The contest will feature male and female competitors from under-18s to over-55s in bodybuilding, figure, bikini and fitness categories.
Competitors will be judged on their symmetry, muscularity, definition and presentation, with the winners in each category being invited to compete at the IBFA British championships.
And with last year’s Mr and Miss Highlands winners, Rudi Sczerbal and Mayuree Duff, taking a year out to grow, it means the contest is wide open and the rostrum already includes many national calibre competitors.
With just six weeks until show time, many competitors will have already undergone 12 or more weeks of gruelling dieting and training in an effort to strip body fat and reveal the muscularity and detail of their bodies.
Typically, bodybuilders and bikini competitors in preparation for competition will eat up to eight meals a day and train twice a day with a mix of weights and cardiovascular workouts.
Anyone wanting tickets should call the Ironworks box office on 0871 789 4173.
Doors will open at noon on April 2 and the contest starts at 12.30pm. Tickets cost £18.
Bodybuilding developed in the late 19th century and was promoted in England by the ‘father of modern bodybuilding,” Prussian-born Eugen Sandow, who was seen as the image of masculine perfection.
Sandow was so successful at flexing and posing his physique that he later created several businesses around his frame, including patenting his own dumbbells, setting up his own personal fitness coaching and publishing his own monthly fitness magazine.
In modern times, Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps viewed as one of the most notable figures in the sport.
