The old magazine ads touted sure-fire ways to get the mean, muscular beach bully to stop kicking sand at you. After all, isn’t that what all beach bullies do: kick sand at 98-pound weaklings?

Forever holding the classic, bicep-bulging pose, Charles Atlas offered simple steps by mail order to build brawn so that you can pop the old beach bully in the schnozzle and to cause other beach-going, rib-showing weaklings to quake and the ladies to swoon.

Then came Arnold (Schwarzenegger). And the world of bodybuilding blossomed. Or, as bodybuilders prefer to say, “got pumped.” Other top bodybuilders followed: Lou Ferrigno, Tony Atlas and Mickey Hargitay.

The Terminator took the once-obscure and often misunderstood fitness activity into the mainstream and soon gyms and exercise centers started becoming more populated with men – and, later, women – with big, rippling muscles.

Viewed as something of an art form, bodybuilding became acceptable and fashionable in many circles. The enthusiasm for fitness and the pride in developing shapely physiques led the way to a revolution in the exercising industry with an increasing number of gyms and centers sprouting up in communities.

Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Center’s Fitness Center offers some of the most knowledgeable trainers in the industry and some of the best equipment, including Technogym®, a revolutionary system backed by years of research and development.

Although considered the forerunners of modern bodybuilding, Arnold and Charles Atlas, however, don’t deserve credit for putting the spotlight on this form of physical fitness. The origins of bodybuilding go back more than 130 years.

While the ancient Greeks and Egyptians hoisted heavy stones to build strength, bodybuilding with an eye to building rippled brawn took a turn in the late 19^th century in Europe when it was viewed as a form of entertainment, according to Bodybuilding.com.

Initially, the strong man’s goal was to amaze crowds with amazing feats of raw strength. Some historians of the sport say bodybuilding originated hundreds of years ago in dark dungeons with stone lifting.

The use of weights – as in weight lifting – revolutionized this form of fitness. Crowds in the late 19^th century enjoyed watching the visiting strongmen lift animals and pull carts in their challenges against other strongmen.

The early pioneers’ appearance – with big bellies and extremely thick limbs – was secondary to their feats of raw strength. Eugene Sandow, however, is attributed with turning bodybuilding into a showcase of muscle quality, strength and healthy living. Born in 1867, Sandow exemplified those attributes and is still considered an icon of the sport today, despite some current trends of producing huge, drug-induced bodybuilders.

Sandow, who gained renown in Europe as a strongman in the 1890s, came to America and was billed as the world’s strongest man. With his densely packed muscles and body asymmetry, Sandow is recognized as the sport’s first true bodybuilder by modern definition.

Bodybuilding may not be your cup of protein-packed, amino acid-infused shake, but if you’re looking to get into tip-top condition, stop by the Fitness Center today! Whether it’s to make the ladies swoon, to make the bullies quake or to just look fine and dandy, you can’t afford to miss paying us a visit at this top-notch private exercise center.