The bodybuilders of today have nothing on the guys from the Golden Era of Bodybuilding. Amazing physiques such as Arnold, Frank Zane, Franco Columbu and more.
These guys went for the greek god look with awesome proportions and perfect symmetry. They were lean, chiseled and athletic.
Nowadays these bodybuilders are bloated, out of shape and look like freaks. There seems to be a trend coming back to the golden era in the physique shows. But overall the sport is nothing like it was before.
Go watching Pumping Iron which is a documentary around that time. You will see everyone training together, laughing, hitting the beach and having a good time. Now go watch a newer movie called Generation Iron. Everyone seems depressed, barely smiling and in general look un-happy.
You can’t really blame bodybuilders. Even Jay Cutler said he started to hate how monstrous he was getting but he was almost forced to in order to compete and stay at the top.
The biggest issue? Drugs. There has been such improvement in medicine that it has given bodybuilders the possibility to increase their physiques to levels otherwise unheard of. Sure the guys in the past were on stuff and they admit it, but they didn’t over abuse anything.
This is causing a lot of the bodybuilders of today to have severe health problems. Lifting weights their body really cant handle, causing spine and knee problems. The list goes on and on.
I think there needs to be a shift back to the old days. Which I believe is underway.