Faster vs Slower Approach

[thethinker48]

Because I'm an asshole; I came up with another rather interesting discussion I was having in my own head regarding the topic of growth

The modern age of bodybuilding has brought one thing to the forefront; information. Go back a few decades, and the "secret" to getting really big was only known by a few circles or individuals who were competing or trying to get to the highest level of bodybuilding. If you lived in Montana and read Flex Magazine as your source of info; you probably didn't know much about AAS, training o), GH, Insulin...etc

Nowadays however, with the internet we have so much free flowing information (shit info, but lots of Good Info as well) that has allowed guys to skip that gap or learning curve, and progress at a rate much faster than we've seen before.

Cody Montgomery, Justin Compton, Dallas (RIP), Nick Trigili...tons of guys who grew a LOT faster than many champions of the past, but who also retired or are done with bodybuilding a LOT sooner than one would expect.

Do you think the health, and mental (burnout state) complications we see now in guys are in part due to guys growing at such a rapid rate? The 90s did bring a sort of ironclad mindset into the last decade of the 1900s; where guys had to fight tooth and nail for that pro card vs today.

5-7 years vs 10-12 (with a slower, and moderate drug and training approach)?

Anybody that has grown rapidly can tell you the toll the poundages took on the tendons and ligaments, fast growth also came with a bigger cocktail of drugs in many of these guys, more health issues and faster retirement.

Do you think if guys were a bit more patient, they could use less, and be in it for longer? Some ain't making it regardless, but many want to make it too fast IMO

 

[little slice]

i feel like guys would last longer if they stopped trying to b the biggest and instead focused on developing their physique's natural strengths

 

[manilla]

I think the drugs involved and dosages in the golden years into the 90's weren't as high so the guys had less to fear. Now when 20iu of GH and 3-5g gear is common...it's an eye opener to alot of guy's. It's a riskier sport these days due to the drug dosages involved and guys smarten up sooner rather then later.

Also there's more info on alot of these guys due to the internet. I'm sure there are alot of pros or amateur studs who disappeared out of the blue in the 90's....just wasn't forums and social media to speculate about it on. Once they disappeared they disappeared.

 

[rmtt]

Because I'm an asshole; I came up with another rather interesting discussion I was having in my own head regarding the topic of growth

The modern age of bodybuilding has brought one thing to the forefront; information. Go back a few decades, and the "secret" to getting really big was only known by a few circles or individuals who were competing or trying to get to the highest level of bodybuilding. If you lived in Montana and read Flex Magazine as your source of info; you probably didn't know much about AAS, training o), GH, Insulin...etc

Nowadays however, with the internet we have so much free flowing information (shit info, but lots of Good Info as well) that has allowed guys to skip that gap or learning curve, and progress at a rate much faster than we've seen before.

Cody Montgomery, Justin Compton, Dallas (RIP), Nick Trigili...tons of guys who grew a LOT faster than many champions of the past, but who also retired or are done with bodybuilding a LOT sooner than one would expect.

Do you think the health, and mental (burnout state) complications we see now in guys are in part due to guys growing at such a rapid rate? The 90s did bring a sort of ironclad mindset into the last decade of the 1900s; where guys had to fight tooth and nail for that pro card vs today.

5-7 years vs 10-12 (with a slower, and moderate drug and training approach)?

Anybody that has grown rapidly can tell you the toll the poundages took on the tendons and ligaments, fast growth also came with a bigger cocktail of drugs in many of these guys, more health issues and faster retirement.

Do you think if guys were a bit more patient, they could use less, and be in it for longer? Some ain't making it regardless, but many want to make it too fast IMO

Unless you were Jethro!

But this is my opinion...and I alluded to this in another thread. Social Media has done so much for this sport. But I think it has also hurt it in a major way.

When you have a person (male or female) being told that they have the genetics to be a success in this sport by thousands of people who may have seen some pics...but do not know them personally...that person's mentality can and sometimes does change.

And if they think that taking massive doses of stuff is going to even the playing field.....I can bet that a lot would do just that.

But I was raised in a different era. Anything worth having was always the result of hard work and time invested....and if you happened to hear about some new method that negated that...then it was typically too good to be true. And most of the time that was exactly how it played out.

 

[psychor]

Good Topic! I think that today's mindset of trying to get as "big" as fast as possible is the wrong approach. It shows in the physiques also of today also.

Today you rarely, if ever see that dense, grainy muscle that you used to see in the bodybuilders of the 90's. It takes time to build that dense look.

No matter how much gear one takes, you can only speed up protein synthesis and the body's ability to build new muscle tissue to a certain extent. It still going to take a certain amount of time to build and develop "mature" muscle.

"Bigger" doesn't necessarily equate to "BETTER"!

 

[Explorerspl]

Good Topic! I think that today's mindset of trying to get as "big" as fast as possible is the wrong approach. It shows in the physiques also of today also.

Today you rarely, if ever see that dense, grainy muscle that you used to see in the bodybuilders of the 90's. It takes time to build that dense look.

No matter how much gear one takes, you can only speed up protein synthesis and the body's ability to build new muscle tissue to a certain extent. It still going to take a certain amount of time to build and develop "mature" muscle.

"Bigger" doesn't necessarily equate to "BETTER"!

I constantly see people saying this, but who are their favorite bodybuilders?

Arnold
Lee Haney
Dorian Yates
Ronnie Coleman
Jay cutler

What do all of them have in common? They were the biggest in their respective eras and considered the best. Coincidence I'm sure.

 

[danieltx]

I constantly see people saying this, but who are their favorite bodybuilders?

Arnold
Lee Haney
Dorian Yates
Ronnie Coleman
Jay cutler

What do all of them have in common? They were the biggest in their respective eras and considered the best. Coincidence I'm sure.

I agree. The term 'bodybuilding' itself implies bigger than average and that's what people want to see. It's not called bodyshaping, bodycontouring, classic physique, etc.

 

[Cinder]

Compton has a tear in his asshole....
Dallas had a previous condition that was ignored...
Nick was into party drugs...

 

[Bobby Light]

I think the mental well being aspect is often overlooked with some of these decisions as well. Guys are being pushed by coaches (or themselves) to use more and more and grow bigger and bigger and I think they get to a point where they truly ask if its worth it. They may have a health scare or just hate what they're doing. I mean revolving your day around sticking yourself with needles isn't exactly a happy life for most people despite the way some may make it seem. Don't get me wrong I'm not against anything, but I can also see how it really becomes a chore or job more than anything at a certain point.

You can't lie and say there haven't been times when you're in the midst of a tren cough and ask "what the fuck am I doing this for?!" lol

I think the same general thoughts will apply to guys that have made it to the top or close to it. I mean Lee Haney was what like 30 when he stopped or something? You can look at something like that the same way, he just had the genetics to get to the absolute pinnacle of bodybuilding. Some guys just realize that isn't going to happen and decide to stop or change what they're doing.

 

[buck]

In the old days guys trained for years in obscurity. And trained because they loved to. Now I think many are looking fame and instant gratification.

 

[zee-man]

Personally I liked Serge Nubret more than Arnold, and Bob Paris.

I think the concept of building a signature physique as opposed to just the biggest physique possible will much better stand the test of time and cause you to stand out amongst your peers.