One acronym, two organisations
"IFBB" in bodybuilding news refers to two different bodies; tell them apart before you follow a contest:
- International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB): founded in 1946 by the brothers Ben Weider and Joe Weider in Montreal, Canada; headquartered since 2006 in Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain; its members are the national federations of more than 190 countries and territories. It joined the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) in 1971; it was granted provisional IOC recognition in 1998, which was withdrawn in 2001. Its website is ifbb.com, and its official video channel carries mainly contest highlights and the finals of the various divisions.
- IFBB Pro League: an independent legal entity spun off from the former professional division of the IFBB, part of the same system as the NPC in the United States, and the organiser of professional contests such as Mr. Olympia. After the two sides separated in 2017 both kept using the IFBB acronym, so "IFBB Pro" normally means the Pro League, while "IFBB World Championships" and "Diamond Cup" normally mean the international federation.
Their rulebooks are not identical either. In men's bodybuilding, for example, the international federation's amateur rules prescribe seven compulsory poses; the Pro League and NPC system adds the "most muscular" pose, for eight in total. This site's illustrated compulsory poses cite the source of each pose from the appendix to the international federation's 2026 rules, and list most muscular separately as an optional pose.
The Chinese Bodybuilding Association
The Chinese Bodybuilding Association (CBBA) was founded in September 1992. It is a member of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness and of the Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, and it is the only body recognised by the Chinese Olympic Committee to represent China in those two organisations. It runs the National Bodybuilding Championships, the National Youth Fitness and Bodybuilding Championships and other events; the 2026 national championships were held at Mount Lu in Jiangxi, and the international federation's official channel also published highlights.
How this site cites their content
- Official videos are embedded only through the official YouTube player, in the recommended viewing section, with notes written by this site; we do not download them, repost them, or re-upload them with added subtitles.
- For competition rules we cite only the source of the clause and link to the original PDF; the explanatory text is written by this site, and we do not translate whole documents.
- From official news we take only the headline, a two- or three-sentence summary and a link to the original, reviewed by an editor before it enters overseas news.
- The contest calendar shows only the name, date, location and official website link.
- We do not use their photographs, posters or course material. This site has no affiliation or partnership with any of the organisations above.
The information about these organisations was checked on 14 September 2026; sources are listed at the end of the article. Organisational structures and rules change, so each body's official website is authoritative.
Scope: general training knowledge for adult beginners and people returning to training; competition prep, specialised rehabilitation and individual nutrition prescriptions are out of scope.