https://fitnessvolt.com/14482/history-mr-olympia/ I've never been into the steroid scene, but why anyone would want to look bigger than, say, Frank Zane baffles me. These guys look "husky" at best when not flexed and posing, and look downright fat in street clothes. If the bigger-is-better phenomenon continues, one day these guys are going to start bursting like zits. WTF?
They were all on steroids but based on the video above, you can really tell when GH and Insulin came into the picture around the Dorian Yates era. Their muscularity increased substantially but unfortunately, it brought with it the bubble gut phenomenon. And it's the extreme bubble gut that Phil Heath had this time around that ultimately caused him to lose the Olympia this year. I'm glad the judges finally wised up and started taking points away from competitors that looked pregnant.
But even without the mega-gut, the size of these guys is hardly anything anyone reasonable would aspire to. It doesn't look athletic. It just looks...exaggerated. And cumbersome. I think the entire enterprise has lost its way and its sight of the big picture. And, yes, of course they were all on steroids but, geez, when is enough enough? I read a while back that there was a natural bodybuilding contest somewhere or other and that audience members were shocked by the relatively small size of the participants. It seems the wider audience has grown immune to steroid use among bodybuilders such that it is the absence of steroid use that raises eyebrows. That's unfortunate because it's probably what keeps the entire enterprise on the fringes, relatively speaking. Comparatively limited drug use in the earlier days gave the field some oomph, but I think the current trend will destroy it. It's unfortunate that drugs entered the scene at all, because I imagine there would have been far more mainstream involvement and participation were it not for the drugs. It would be more real.
They have a new class called Classic Physique which aims to reward the Zane-like physiques of today. The first 8 or 9 pictures on this page have the top people in that class: https://www.oldschoollabs.com/2018-mr-olympia-results/
Yes, they seem more humanoid than the rest, to be sure. And a small waist goes a long way. No amount of muscle can compensate for a fat gut. But if drugs were taken out of bodybuilding (hypothetically, of course, since it will never happen), then it would really come down to genetics, proper training and diet, and discipline. Not that there is none of it presently; just that drugs gives such a wide margin of error that people can get away with improper training and diet and still make a good showing if they get their chemistry right and maybe "better" than the next guy. So there is not much to learn from them or to aspire to, unless someone is willing to go down that bumpy and treacherous road. It really ought to be about health, fitness and all the other good stuff we associate with exercise, good diet, and clean living. Yeah, I'm bored. Not much going on right now.
If the goal of the competition is to be the biggest and thickest then let them use steriods and suffer all the health risks. If it is for the best fitness/physique then they need another format like Crossfit Competition. At least they would stop pretending to be something they are not...clean.
Showing a pic of someone falling.. also what does the middle picture have to do with CrossFit The top pic is a type of high volume pull up. For those who think it does not develop muscle, I say go try it but for the most part strict pull ups are the most common form used.
Are you saying you don’t think the CrossFit pros are using PED’s? You ever see some of those elite women? Thighs bigger than Arnold ever had and shoulders like a middle linebacker. That isn’t from Training and diet.