50 free Bodybuilding trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Bodybuilding is a sport that argues about whether it is a sport, which makes it perfect trivia territory. This quiz begins with Eugen Sandow flexing for Victorian audiences and judging the first contest at the Royal Albert Hall in 1901 with Arthur Conan Doyle, moves through Charles Atlas, Muscle Beach and the Weider brothers' IFBB, and arrives at the Mr. Olympia: Larry Scott in 1965, Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzenegger's seven, Frank Zane's vacuum, the eight-title reigns of Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, Phil Heath and Chris Bumstead in Classic Physique. There are questions on Pumping Iron and Lou Ferrigno, on Ms. Olympia and Rachel McLish, Cory Everson and Bev Francis, on Vince McMahon's short-lived WBF, the Arnold Classic, and on how the sport actually works: the mandatory poses, bulking and cutting, the Sandow trophy, pro cards, natural federations and the divisions added since 2012. About a third of the questions are easy for anyone who has seen Arnold flex, a third are medium and the rest will test people who know their front lat spread from their most muscular. Every answer is verified against reference and biography pages, and each question carries its source.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Eugen Sandow, the Father of Modern Bodybuilding, was born in 1867 in which Prussian city?
Königsberg
Born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, he left Prussia in 1885 to avoid military service and became a circus athlete; the city is now Kaliningrad.
Q 02Eugen Sandow's first bodybuilding contest, the Great Competition of 1901, was held at which London venue?
The Royal Albert Hall
So many people turned up that enthusiasts had to be turned away at the doors.
Q 03Which famous author sat on the judging panel of Sandow's 1901 Great Competition?
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The winner, William L. Murray of Nottingham, received a gold statue of Sandow sculpted by Frederick Pomeroy.
Q 04The bronze Sandow statue replicated as the Mr. Olympia trophy was originally awarded in 1901 for which placing?
Third place
The bronze was the third-place prize in 1901; Steve Reeves received it in 1950 and Frank Zane got the first Olympia replica in 1977.
Q 05Eugen Sandow's stage career was built with the help of which famous Broadway impresario as manager?
Florenz Ziegfeld
The 1936 Oscar-winning film The Great Ziegfeld shows Sandow beginning to display his body at carnivals.
Q 06Which father of physical culture promoted the first big US bodybuilding contest in 1903-04?
Bernarr Macfadden
Winner Al Treloar took a thousand dollars and was filmed posing by Thomas Edison two weeks later.
Q 07Charles Atlas took his stage name after a friend said he resembled a statue on top of a hotel where?
Coney Island
Born Angelo Siciliano in Italy, he legally changed his name in 1922 and launched the famous 97-pound weakling mail-order course.
Q 08The Charles Atlas exercise system was marketed under what two-word name?
Dynamic Tension
The phrase was coined by advertising man Charles P. Roman, whose ads about a bully kicking sand in a weakling's face ran for decades.
Q 09The International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) was founded in 1946 by which two Canadian brothers?
Joe and Ben Weider
Joe Weider also created the Mr. Olympia in 1965 so that amateur Mr. Universe winners could keep competing for money.
Q 10The first Mr. Olympia contest was held in 1965 at which venue?
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Larry Scott won that night and again in 1966 before retiring.
Q 11Which two men share the record for the most Mr. Olympia titles, with eight each?
Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman
Haney won from 1984 to 1991 and Coleman from 1998 to 2005; Arnold and Heath are tied on seven.
Q 12Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first Mr. Olympia title in 1970 at what age?
23
He had already won the Mr. Universe at 20, which he called his ticket to America.
Q 13In which Austrian village was Arnold Schwarzenegger born in 1947?
Thal
He trained at a gym in nearby Graz and watched films of his idols Reg Park and Steve Reeves at local cinemas.
Q 21Which president made Lee Haney chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness?
Bill Clinton
His most quoted training advice is to stimulate, not annihilate.
Q 22English six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates was nicknamed what for his low profile between contests?
The Shadow
He won from 1992 to 1997, trained at his own Temple Gym in Birmingham and popularised high-intensity training.
Q 23Phil Heath, known as the Gift, won the Mr. Olympia every year over which span?
2011 to 2017
The former University of Denver basketball guard is tied with Arnold on seven titles and had a famous rivalry with Kai Greene.
Q 14Besides Arnold and his main rival, Pumping Iron features Mike Katz and which other bodybuilder?
Franco Columbu
The filmmakers ran out of money and the project stalled for two years until the bodybuilders themselves helped raise funds.
Q 15The 1975 Mr. Olympia featured in Pumping Iron was held in which city?
Pretoria
It was Arnold's sixth title; he then retired, only to return and win a controversial seventh in 1980.
Q 16Lou Ferrigno is best known for playing which television character from 1977 to 1982?
The Incredible Hulk
He lost most of his hearing as an infant and said he took up bodybuilding after fantasising about being like the Hulk.
Q 17Cuban-American Sergio Oliva, Mr. Olympia from 1967 to 1969, was known by what nickname?
The Myth
He defected while representing Cuba at the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games in Jamaica and beat Arnold for the 1969 title.
Q 18Frank Zane, Mr. Olympia 1977-79, was famous for which pose that showed off his tiny waist?
The vacuum
Nicknamed the Chemist, he taught mathematics and chemistry for 13 years and usually competed under 200 lb.
Q 19Ronnie Coleman worked in which job in Arlington, Texas, from 1989 to 2000 while competing?
Police officer
He had graduated cum laude in accounting from Grambling State but could not find work in the field.
Q 20Ronnie Coleman is known by what nickname?
The King
He won 26 IFBB pro titles and is often called the strongest Mr. Olympia ever for his extremely heavy training.
Q 24Chris Bumstead, who won six straight Olympia titles from 2019 to 2024, is known by what nickname?
CBum
The Canadian retired after the sixth title and is widely credited with bringing mainstream attention to the sport.
Q 25Who was the first Classic Physique Mr. Olympia when the division began in 2016?
Danny Hester
The division emphasises symmetry, small waists and vacuum poses over sheer mass.
Q 26The Men's Physique division, added in 2013, differs from open bodybuilding in that competitors pose in what?
Board shorts
Most physique competitors weigh under 200 lb and are judged mainly on front and back poses.
Q 27Who won the first Ms. Olympia in 1980?
Rachel McLish
It was initially called the Miss Olympia, and her look now resembles a fitness or figure competitor rather than a modern bodybuilder.
Q 28Which woman won six consecutive Ms. Olympia titles and retired in 1989 undefeated as a professional?
Cory Everson
She is the only woman ever to retire undefeated; Lenda Murray then won the first Ms. Olympia she entered in 1990.
Q 29Bev Francis, later a top female bodybuilder, first made her name in which strength sport?
Powerlifting
The Australian was also a national shot put champion and in 1981 became the first woman to bench press over 300 lb.
Q 30The 1985 documentary Pumping Iron II: The Women followed competitors preparing for a contest at which venue?
Caesars Palace
It featured Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Carla Dunlap and Lori Bowen among others.