Areas of Bodybuilding

Professional bodybuilding
In the modern bodybuilding industry, "professional" generally means a bodybuilder who has won qualifying competitions as an amateur and has earned a "pro card" from the IFBB. Professionals earn the right to compete in sanctioned competitions including the Arnold Classic and the Night of Champions. Placings at such competitions in turn earn them the right to compete at the Mr. Olympia; the title is considered to be the highest accolade in the professional bodybuilding field. Steroid testing in these competitions is generally never done.
Natural bodybuilding
In natural contests bodybuilders are routinely tested for illegal substances and are banned for any violations from future contests. Testing can be done on urine samples, but in many cases a less expensive polygraph (lie detector) test is performed instead. What qualifies as an "illegal" substance, in the sense that it is prohibited by regulatory bodies, varies between natural federations, and does not necessarily include only substances that are illegal under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. Illegal Anabolic steroids, Prohormone and Diuretics, under widespread use by professional bodybuilders, are generally banned by natural organizations. Natural bodybuilding organizations include NANBF (North American Natural Bodybuilding Federation), and the NPA (Natural Physique Association). Natural bodybuilders assert that their method is more focused on competition and a healthier lifestyle than other forms of bodybuilding.
Female bodybuilding
The first U.S. Women's National Physique Championship, promoted by Henry McGhee and held in Canton, Ohio in 1978, is generally regarded as the first true female bodybuilding contest - that is, the first contest where the entrants were judged solely on muscularity. In 1980 the first Ms. Olympia (initially known as the "Miss" Olympia), the most prestigious contest for professionals, was held. The first winner was Rachel McLish who had also won the NPC's USA Championship earlier in the year. The contest was a major turning point for the sport of women's bodybuilding. McLish inspired many future competitors to start training and competing. In 1985, a movie called Pumping Iron II: The Women was released. This film documented the preparation of several women for the 1983 Caesars Palace World Cup Championship. Competitors prominently featured in the film were Kris Alexander, Lori Bowen, Lydia Cheng, Carla Dunlap, Bev Francis, and Rachel McLish. At the time, Francis was actually a powerlifter, though she soon made a successful transition to bodybuilding, becoming one of the leading competitors of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In recent years, the related areas of fitness and figure competition have gained in popularity, surpassing that of female bodybuilding, and have provided an alternative for women who choose not to develop the level of muscularity necessary for bodybuilding. Rachel McLish would resemble closely what is thought of today as a fitness and figure competition instead of what is now considered female bodybuilding.
Competition
In competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders aspire to develop and maintain an aesthetically pleasing (by bodybuilding standards) body and balanced physique. The competitors show off their bodies by performing a number of required poses - the front lat spread, the rear lat spread, the front double biceps, the back double biceps, the side chest, the side triceps, the most muscular, and the thigh abdominal. Each competitor also performs a choreographed posing routine to display their physique as well as aesthetics, and some are often very artistic in nature. A posedown is usually held at the end of an evening-show judging, while the judges are counting points, and generally does not affect the result. Bodybuilders spend time practicing their posing technique as this has a large effect on how they are judged. Some bodybuilders have been renowned for the skill and artistry of their posing routines. These include John Grimek, Ed Corney and Bob Paris. Others have made famous individual, often original poses, such as the side one-armed biceps in the case of Larry Scott and Dave Draper.
In contrast to strongman or powerlifting competitions where physical strength is important, or with Olympic weighlifting, where the main point is equally split between strength and technique, for bodybuilding competitions it is the, size, shape and symmetry that are the important factors during competition. The different types of competitions entail different training and dietary regimens.
Preparations
Cutting and bulking
The general strategy adopted by most present-day competitive bodybuilders is to make muscle gains for most of the year (known as the "off-season") and approximately 12–14 weeks from competition attempt to lose body fat (referred to as "cutting") while minimizing the loss of muscle mass. Generally this involves reducing calorie intake and increasing aerobic exercise while monitoring body fat percentage.
The precise effectiveness of the cutting and bulking strategy is unknown, with only limited observational case studies on the subject. No studies involving precise hypercaloric feeding combined with resistance exercise have been conducted.
Many non-competitive bodybuilders choose not to adopt this strategy, as it often results in significant unwanted fat gain during the "bulking" phase (particularly for those who do not use anabolic steroids). While competitive bodybuilders focus their efforts to achieve a peak appearance during a brief "competition season", most ordinary people prefer to maintain an attractive physique year-round. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a proper training program combined with a modestly hypercaloric diet with proper macronutrient balance can produce steady gains in size and strength, while avoiding significant increases in body fat.
Pre-competition
In the week leading up to a contest, bodybuilders may decrease their consumption of water, sodium and carbohydrates, the former two to alter how water is retained by the body and the latter to reduce glycogen in the muscle. The day before the show, water is removed from the diet, and diuretics may be introduced, while carbonhydrate loading to increase the size of the muscles through replenishment of their glycogen. The goal is to maximize leanness and increase the visibility of veins. The appearance of veins are further enhanced immediately before appearing on stage by darkening the skin through tanning products, applying oils to the skin to increase shine and some competitors will eat sugar-rich foods to increase the visibility of their veins. A final step is the use of weights to fill the muscles with blood and further increase their size.