1970s onwards

In the 1970s, bodybuilding had major publicity thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the 1977 film Pumping Iron. By this time the IFBB dominated the sport and the AAU took a back seat.

The National Physique Committee (NPC) was formed in 1981 by Jim Manion, who had just stepped down as chairman of the AAU Physique Committee. The NPC has gone on to become the most successful bodybuilding organization in the U.S., and is the amateur division of the IFBB. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the decline of AAU sponsored bodybuilding contests. In 1999, the AAU voted to discontinue its bodybuilding events.

This period also saw the rise of anabolic steroids used both in bodybuilding and many other sports. To combat this, and to be allowed to be an IOC member, the IFBB introduced doping tests for both steroids and other banned substances. Although doping tests occurred, the majority of professional bodybuilders still used anabolic steroids for competition. During the 1970s the use of anabolic steroids was openly discussed partly due to the fact they were legal.^[3] However the U.S. Congress in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 placed anabolic steroids into Schedule III of the Controlled substance act (CSA).

In 1990, wrestling promoter Vince McMahon announced he was forming a new bodybuilding organization, the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF). McMahon wanted to bring WWF-style showmanship and bigger prize money to the sport of bodybuilding. McMahon signed 13 competitors to lucrative long-term contracts, something virtually unheard of in bodybuilding up until then. Most of the WBF competitors immediately abandoned the IFBB. In response to the WBF's formation, IFBB president Ben Weider blacklisted all the bodybuilders who had signed with the WBF. The IFBB also quietly stopped testing their athletes for anabolic steroid use since it was difficult to compete thus with a new organization which did not test for steroids. In 1992, Vince McMahon instituted drug testing for WBF athletes because he and the WWF were under investigation by the federal government for alleged involvement in anabolic steroid trafficking. The result was that the competitors in the 1992 WBF contest looked sub-par, according to some contemporary accounts. McMahon formally dissolved the WBF in July, 1992. Reasons for this probably included lack of income from the pay-per-view broadcasts of the WBF contests, slow sales of the WBF's magazine Bodybuilding Lifestyles (which later became WBF Magazine), and the expense of paying multiple 6-figure contracts as well as producing two TV shows and a monthly magazine. However, the formation of the WBF had two positive effects for the IFBB athletes: (1) it caused IFBB founder Joe Weider to sign many of his top stars to contracts, and (2) it caused the IFBB to raise prize money in its sanctioned contests. Joe Weider eventually offered to accept the WBF bodybuilders back into the IFBB for a fine of 10% of their former yearly WBF salary.

In the early 2000s, the IFBB was attempting to make bodybuilding an Olympic sport. It obtained full IOC membership in 2000 and was attempting to get approved as a demonstration event at the Olympics which would hopefully lead to it being added as a full contest. This did not happen. Olympic recognition for bodybuilding remains controversial since some argue that bodybuilding is not a sport because the actual contest does not involve athletic effort. Also, some still have the misperception that bodybuilding necessarily involves the use of anabolic steroids, which are prohibited in Olympic competitions. Proponents argue that the posing routine requires skill and preparation, and bodybuilding should therefore be considered a sport.

In 2003, Joe Weider sold Weider Publications to AMI, which owns The National Enquirer. Ben Weider is still the president of the IFBB. In 2004, contest promoter Wayne DeMilia broke ranks with the IFBB and AMI took over the promotion of the Mr. Olympia contest.