The best movies about weight training and bodybuilding: check out our selection!

Today's topic will not be about food, healthy eating or weight loss. However, gaining muscle mass will not be avoided. We will show a total of five bodybuilding movies that have rocked the world, becoming popular, appreciated and discussed. We will not avoid the issue of anabolics and their use for higher performance. Which foreign films should you not miss?

Generation Iron

One of the most famous films is a documentary from the world of bodybuilding - Generation Iron. This is a film that was released in 2013 and still has a lot to say to its viewers. Of course, it's not a movie for everyone. It not only takes us into the world of bodybuilding competitions, but also documents the everyday lives of a few men who live bodybuilding.It's great as a point of interest for those who have been in bodybuilding and fitness for a while but want to see how others may have it. For those who have no idea what bodybuilding is all about and what allthese people have to go through, it may be a shocking revelation. On the other hand, for newbies who are eager to make it in bodybuilding, this is super motivation, but also full of information on what to prepare for and what they can expect.
This documentary has become so popular that it now has three episodeswhich shows that it really has something to give to its viewers. If we were to go into detail, the film is about top bodybuilders preparing for the Mr. Olympia competition. You'll see stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke and Michael Jai White.
The fact that this is a truly star-studded film is evidenced by the many awards it has won. To name a few, the 2013 Politiken Audience Award nomination, the 2013 Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement Documentary, the 2014 Audience Award at them Festival in Buffalo Niagara, and the 2013 Golden Reel Award in the Documentary Competition at the Nevada International Film Festival.
The second installment of Generation Iron was made in 2017, and the third one a year later.

Pumping Iron (older but classic)

One of the first bodybuilding films that rocked the world was Pumping Iron, made in 1977. While this is an older documentary, it has its own undeniable qualities and it would be a shame to overlook it for its older date of production. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the time the winner of five Mr. Olympia awards. In the documentary, we follow the popular foreign actor as he prepares to win his sixth title at the age of 28.

In addition to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film also features other stars such as Lou Ferrigno and Matty Ferrigno. In 1977, the film won the KCFCC Award for Best Documentary. Interestingly, although it is a documentary, this is only partly the case. Part of the film is fiction and has a back story as the five-time Mr. Olympia prepares to defend his title. He's up against Serge Nubret and a young deaf man named Lou Ferrigno, whose father is his trainer. So it's not just about the training itself, but also about the psyche, which plays a big role in competitions.

CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession

Another great documentary from Vlad Yudin (who also made Generation Iron) is CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession from 2015. In addition to CT Fletcher, Stephen Adele and Steve Austin are also featured.

This movie is considered one of the best movies that can motivate you to higher goals in sports and bodybuilding. It shows the main character as a person who was able to beat adversity and despite the pain and hardships he had to go through since childhoodhe was able to fight and work his way up to become a six-time world champion powerlifter.

In this film we not only follow CT Fletcher's professional life, but also his private life. It deeply influenced him and motivated him not to give up and instead to throw himself into his "fight" with great vigour, which eventually bore fruit.
The film is almost two hours long, but you definitely won't be bored. It will show that the world is not just black and white and that if we really want something and give it our all, we can achieve high goals.

Ronnie Coleman (the King)

Another excellent documentary produced by Vlad Yudin is Ronnie Coleman: The King. This was filmed in 2018 and again it is a documentary affair that follows the life steps and toil of one of the masters in the industry - Ronnie Coleman. Alongside him, the film also features Jay Cutler, Victor Martinez, Dorian Yates and more.
"The King" is a pretty fitting title for a film about the man. He defended the title of Mr. Olympia a total of eight times, setting a world record for receiving the award. The film follows the life and career of Ronnie Coleman and his journey to the top, but also how his career has taken a toll on his health. He had to undergo several surgeries after he retired and was unable to do without crutches. Thus, he shows that even a bodybuilder can be just an ordinary man and a human being at the same time, and that combining these two worlds is actually balancing on the edge.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

The last of the films we can recommend to you does not focus only on bodybuilding, but on the overall the world of people who want to make it in sports and win at all costs. Bigger, Stronger, Faster is a 2008 film produced by Chris Bell, who also appears in it, alongside others - Mike Bell, Mark Bell and others.
The film explores American culture through the lens of the desire to win, bodybuilding, drugs and performance enhancing drugs for athletes, and other issues in the world of bodybuilding and sports. It shows all this in the journey to victory of two siblings who became members of the steroid subculture in pursuit of their dreams.
This film may be motivational, but it also reveals the dark side of the bodybuilding world, what it all entails and what can come out of it. Many times it will make you question whether it's all really worth winning.
The film, which had its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, brings thethe use of performance-enhancing anabolic steroids as a hot-button issue in the US. We don't just follow bodybuilders, but also doctors, members of fitness centres, US congressmen and other athletes who comment on the use of anabolics.
For those interested in this topic, the sequel, Prescription Thugs, will also be of interest.