Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy; an individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their appearance. The muscles are revealed through a combination of fat loss, oils, and tanning (or tanning lotions) which combined with lighting make the definition of the muscle group more distinct.

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 weightlifting, 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.