Belgium’s bodybuilding revival

Once relegated to the confines of provincial gyms, bodybuilding is making a comeback in Belgium.

Buoyed by the image culture on social media platforms, muscles gain influence. The hashtags #muscu have accumulated 5.53 billion views on TikTok.

Fitness influencers like Tibo InShape rack up millions of views by sharing their routines, protein meals and squat sessions. And it's no longer just for guys in tank tops: muscle-building now attracts teenagers seeking physical transformation, as well as women and 50-somethings looking to regain their vitality.

Originally, this new wave was all about “natural bodybuilding”, meaning “being muscular, without excess and without products”.

But at the gym, breaking your own limits isn't an event; it's a reflex. Each level reached becomes the starting point for the next. Jason, 21, says he started weight training for aesthetic reasons: "Three years ago, I weighed 78kg for 1m68. I just wanted to lose weight."

While attending the gym, he became interested in powerlifting, a rawer, more performance-oriented discipline that requires...more training.

On Instagram, Steven El Harchi, Belgium’s +80kg bodybuilding champion, lines up the classic poses: bulging biceps, visible veins. For the past 12 years, this veteran has claimed to be “natural”, while promoting brands of protein supplements.

The line between “healthy” and “influenced” bodybuilding is becoming increasingly blurred. Steroids are the big taboo in this equation: Increasingly frequent, especially among young people, doping practices are infiltrating the locker room. In search of quick results, some cross the red line without measuring the consequences.

French sociologist Guillaume Vallée says this “muscle factory” is part of a logic linked to contemporary capitalism. The gym becomes the place where we transform our bodies as we optimise our LinkedIn profile: through effort, repetition and productivity. We beef up our bodies to be seen, validated and liked. And in the business as in the gym, everyone pretends to play by the rules. Until it's time to really win.