Although for many years it was odd to see a woman bodybuilder it is now a very popular sport for women. Now there are just as many competitions for women as there is for men and women are building just as much muscle as men are.

With this sport growing at an increasing rate many women are looking to improve not only there fitness but there strength as well. Not only is there strength and fitness important but for body building women symmetry is just as important. Woman bodybuilders can build amazing beautiful muscle symmetry that these body building women can be proud of.

In women bodybuilding it is actually a lot harder for a woman to build muscle because a woman has higher levels of estrogen and men have higher levels of testosterone. Testosterone helps the body to build muscle so it takes a woman longer and they have to work harder to achieve the same kind of muscle mass that a man can easily get.

Because women have more estrogen, they tend to store fat a lot more easily so in that aspect of body building woman have to work harder as well. If a woman is going to take bodybuilding seriously she must really watch how many calories she is consuming and how many calories she is burning. This can really help in losing the fat and building muscle.

Many women are reluctant to start bodybuilding, because they think that if they stop bodybuilding then there muscle will turn to fat. Well this myth that has been around forever is not true unless some thing in a woman occur.

For example fat happens when a woman eats way more calories then her body can burn. So if you increased your food intake when you were bodybuilding to get the proper amount of protein needed to gain muscle.

Then you stop bodybuilding for some reason and you continue to eat the amount of food you were eating and you are not burning those calories then those extra calories will turn to fat. So if you quit bodybuilding then you need to watch your calories so you do not gain fat and lose muscle.

So while getting super bulky is good it is not if you are a woman and think you might quit. But if you are serious about bodybuilding and you are a body building woman then with much work you can achieve amazing results. You will feel confident and people will be truly amazed and you can be proud of what they see.

For many bodybuilding enthusiasts, the intense workouts, focused dieting, and periodic competitions are like a drug themselves. The power that comes from working hard and sculpting your body into something you could have only imagined can be intoxicating. But when exercise and diet carry a bodybuilder only so far, many will often use bodybuilding and steroids together to take their look to the next level - the long term effects of which can be devastating.

The connection between bodybuilding and steroids is one with a long history. Anabolic steroids are supplements that bodybuilders use to enhance their workout and diet - the use of which will quickly and significantly boost muscle mass. Steroids are able to achieve this rapid growth of muscle because they contain testosterone - a hormone naturally present in men and women that is responsible for the building of muscle. When testosterone is enhanced by the addition of steroids, its job function is increased.

Because men naturally contain more testosterone, they are able build more muscle mass than women. But when women bodybuilders add steroids to their diet and exercise regime they are able to build muscle mass on the same level as men. Many women who combine bodybuilding and steroids, therefore, will also begin to take on many male physical characteristics.

Bodybuilding and steroids is actually an illegal combination for many reasons. For one, those bodybuilders who use steroids have an unfair advantage over those bodybuilders who build their muscles naturally. In order to maintain a level playing field for competitors, it is necessary to ban the use of steroids.

But most importantly, the long term effects of bodybuilding and steroids have been shown to be disastrous. Linked to everything from acne and hair loss, to insomnia and depression, steroids can have physical ramifications that are simply not worth their use. Some of the more serious side effects include hallucinations, weak ligaments, high blood pressure, and even cancer. In more than one case, steroids have been linked to fatalities.

Bodybuilding is a sport of extreme discipline and sacrifice. For those who take it seriously, the power is in their hands - and only their hands. Bodybuilding and steroids, while attractive to those who are looking for fast results, can have disastrous long term effects impacting physical health and longevity.

Everyone has either heard of or is familiar with the sport of competitive bodybuilding. The female component, which is known as women bodybuilding, began in the late 1970s as women began to participate in competitions. Now, more than three decades later, women bodybuilding is a large part of the sport and has begun to garner the respect that it has strived for since it's inception.

Although physique contests for women can actually be documented in the 1960s, they were little more than bikini contests. The first true women bodybuilding competition is regarded as the one held in Canton, Ohio in 1978. Promoted by Henry McGhee, the first United States Women's National Physique Championship was the first competition where the entrants were judged solely on their muscularity as opposed to how well they looked in swimsuits.

By 1979, more women bodybuilding competitions were being held. The sport, however, did not possess a sanctioning body until 1980. Known as the National Physique Committee, this organization hosted the first women's nationals and became the top amateur level competition for women bodybuilding in the United States. Additionally, 1980 marked the first Ms. Olympia competition, which is the most honored competition for women bodybuilding professionals.

As the sport continued to grow and increase in overall popularity, competitors found themselves needing to train harder and improve their overall muscular physique. By the 1980s, women bodybuilding was no longer a bikini contest or seeing who could pose in the highest heels. Now, it was becoming a popular sport with championship titles and increasing fan attendance.

With films that have been produced in honor of women bodybuilding competitions, coverage on major television networks and despite some controversies along the way, women bodybuilding has more than proven it's ability to remain in the ranks of this popular sport. As further proof, the IFBB established a Hall of Fame in 1999, which would honor bodybuilding's top athletes. To date, 14 women bodybuilding competitors have been inducted. Among them, Carla Dunlap, Cory Everson and Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Lisa Lyon and Abbye Stockton, Kay Baxter, Diana Dennis, Kike Elomaa, Laura Combes, Lynn Conkwright, Ellen Van Maris, Stacy Bentley and Claudia Wilbourn.

In late 2004, the IFBB introduced a new rule that required women bodybuilding participants decrease their amount of muscularity by 20%, which is now referred to simply as the ‘20% rule.' The rule applies to those whose physique requires the decrease. In 2005, another rule was introduced that would abolish the weight class system beginning with the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In addition to women bodybuilding, there are two additional categories that are closely related and often held as part of the same event. The fitness competition includes a swimsuit round, along with a round that has the entrants judged on their performance in aerobics, dance or gymnastics. The second category is a figure competition, which is a newer format, and has the participants being judged exclusively on their symmetry and muscle tone. This category focuses less on muscle size than does women bodybuilding.

Although women bodybuilding has continued to grow in popularity, the prize money remains significantly less than is awarded to male bodybuilders.