Section 8: Safety Considerations
The 2026 Men's Bodybuilding rules contain few explicit safety provisions. The following are the ones stated:
- Warm-up time (Article 5.1): competitors must be in the backstage warm-up area at least 45 minutes before judging starts, to allow time to warm up and change.
- No liquids onstage (Article 5.2, Note 3): competitors may not drink while onstage.
- No chewing onstage (Article 5.2, Note 2): chewing gum or other products is not allowed while onstage.
- Body-shape alterations (Article 6.1.2): implants or fluid injections that alter natural muscle shape are strictly prohibited.
- Chief Judge authority (Article 10.1): the Chief Judge may stop a competitor from competing where body condition is outside accepted criteria.
Rules on anti-doping, medical care and eligibility are in Section 1: General Rules and the IFBB's separate regulations, which are not reproduced in this document.