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Arnold on the Current State of Bodybuilding

AnaSCI

ADMINISTRATOR
Sep 17, 2003
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SCHWARZENEGGER SAYS

“PRO BODYBUILDING IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION”

Arnold opens up on the current state of bodybuilding.

Mass Monsters. Bodybuilders with massive, musclebound bodies are the norm in the competition scene. Gone are the days of the classic v taper and the vaunted vacuum pose. Many of the pros in the open weight competition weigh upwards of 250 pounds and there seems to be no end in sight to the amount of muscle the competitors are willing to put on. But that viewpoint isn’t attractive in everyone’s eyes. Specifically, it appears non attractive to one of the most iconic bodybuilders of all time – Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Arnold has his reservations on the path bodybuilding is taking. In a recent Evening With Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Olympia champion had his own views on the current state of bodybuilding and what it means to the sports future. In the event’s Q & A, when Schwarzenegger was asked what he thought about today’s Mr. Olympia competitors – this is what he had to say:

“Although bodybuilding is now held in 189 countries world-wide, I do think professional bodybuilding is going in the wrong direction and losing that classic “aesthetically pleasing” look to the stage that Reg Park and Steve Reeves had. I am trying to get points back into the posing stages and how they are judged but I do also think that the new era of bodybuilders need to take less medication!”

Arnold wants to see a return to the classic days of bodybuilding. But what exactly does that mean? Is he stating that supplementation and other means of muscle growth should be abandoned in favor of an all natural approach? If that’s the case there are many who would agree with him, though some would say that the past is the past and that bodybuilding has moved on from the days of Steve Reeves and Reg Park. This is a new era with a new direction and as such we have to look to explore the limits of what the human body can achieve. Perhaps it’s time to return to the past or maybe it’s time to move on to the future. It’s a question that only time will answer.
 

2000ib

Registered User
Jun 17, 2013
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" Aesthetically pleasing" is...1. In the eye of the individual beholder and 2. Changes with the times. I personally think bodybuilders of today look much better than those in Arnold's day.....but then again I think huge relaxed traps are aesthetically pleasing.
 

chicken_hawk

AnaSCI VIP
Feb 2, 2013
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I have to agree as while I believe whether a mass monster or more sleek physique that genetics are key. This makes the main difference as we all know, chemistry. So, today mass monsters require much larger amounts of supplementation as well as other things that enhance muscle fullness. This just does not seam right to me.

I would simply take points away for massive guts and deformed muscle bellies.

Hawk
 

GastrocGuy

Registered User
Dec 28, 2012
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Durrty South
Aren't Physique Contests more for classic/sleek looks? I think they just need to cut those swim trunks about 3 inches so people can see the sweep, but there are a lot of v-tapered, small-waisted competitors.

Let there be Mass.
 

srd1

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Feb 19, 2013
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I feel like its just been a natural progression (pardon the pun) the body builders goal is to get bigger, more cut, more vascular. So the guys from the 70s and 80s were competing and winning at 200 to 230 the progressive way of thought is that the same guy would want to be "bigger" the next year to remain competitive (most body builders dont say i wanna be exactly the same size this time next year). The mass monsters are simply a product of body builders wanting to be "better" and as nutrition science and chems advance so does the body builders mass and ability to achieve it
Then again people are really starting to see the adverse health effects of the way alot of pro body builders have to do things to remain competitive so who knows what the future of the sport will bring in the coming years weve lost a lot of brothers in iron the last couple years so maybe that will change the direction of the sport only time will tell.
 

Alinshop

Registered User
May 20, 2013
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I feel like its just been a natural progression (pardon the pun) the body builders goal is to get bigger, more cut, more vascular. So the guys from the 70s and 80s were competing and winning at 200 to 230 the progressive way of thought is that the same guy would want to be "bigger" the next year to remain competitive (most body builders dont say i wanna be exactly the same size this time next year). The mass monsters are simply a product of body builders wanting to be "better" and as nutrition science and chems advance so does the body builders mass and ability to achieve it
Then again people are really starting to see the adverse health effects of the way alot of pro body builders have to do things to remain competitive so who knows what the future of the sport will bring in the coming years weve lost a lot of brothers in iron the last couple years so maybe that will change the direction of the sport only time will tell.


Agree. Time will tell. I just think it's going to hard to change the "freak factor" that a lot of bodybuilders like these day's, but it would make the sport a little bit healthier.