How the sport has changed in the last 20 years or so...

[chris250]

I think it can all be summed up by looking at 1993 Chris Cormier..the year he won the usa. Then look at our recent usa winners...or take a look at jr nationals pics from saturday. I dont understand why the level of physiques has dropped so much from the 90's. You just dont see any cormiers, flex's, Tom Princes ect coming up the ranks anymore. Today you have guys who get shredded but dont have the mass,guys who are huge but always too soft ect. Where is the total package???!!!

I agree there isnt a guy who won a national level show that could stand next to a 93 flex or 94 cormier, or hell how about when Newman won in 95 or 96 those guys are what bodybuilding is all about...IMO

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

I assume we aren't counting Phil Heath? I say that because you would be nuts to believe he couldn't hang with a young Flex or CC.

I will admit that the 90's may have been the best pack of bodybuilders in history but to so quickly forget about Kai, Phil, Dex (he is better now than he was in the 90's)

I think we have to remember that the 90's was a special time in the sport. I don't see a group matching those years depth but I can still point out some real freaks and more will come along in years to come.

 

[SZona]

I remember

a day when everyone squatted, deadlifted, heavy presses etc. That was what you did at the "gym". These days.... not so much.

Z

 

[joshbarnett]

maldorf-once again, show me the studies. your as bad as the govt doctor during the baseball hearings spouting unfounded BS. how is it any different than the general population of people in their 30's who drink/smoke/rec drugs/eat like shit/dont work out??? i want one long term study showing this. i know guys who have been using for 25yrs off and on and are perfectly healthy...i agree if you abuse it it can be harmful just like anything else.


sorry to be off topic guys but i get tired of hearing this

 

[chris250]

I assume we aren't counting Phil Heath? I say that because you would be nuts to believe he couldn't hang with a young Flex or CC.

I will admit that the 90's may have been the best pack of bodybuilders in history but to so quickly forget about Kai, Phil, Dex (he is better now than he was in the 90's)

I think we have to remember that the 90's was a special time in the sport. I don't see a group matching those years depth but I can still point out some real freaks and more will come along in years to come.

Actully what I was talking about was comparing national level winners today vs. national level winners back then ...So no I dont believe, Phil of 2005 would beat Flex of 93 or Cormier of 94...

chris

 

[Ironraider]

I started working out and buying bodybuilding magazines in 1983...I turned 40 this year. One of the things that seemed to change over the years was the comradery. In the 70's there seemed to be a real brotherhood. In the 80's it was still there but slowly declining. In the 90's and the early part of this decade some of the personalities and ego's seemed to cast bodybuilding in a negative light(aside from the ongoing steroid issue). Now, I feel like the sport is going back to a better time as far as attitudes and ego's are concerned.

When I began researching steroid use, way back when, PCT didn't exist. Nolvadex was around for gyno then HCG came into play.

Drug use seemed to be simpler...more basic. Now basic seems to include GH, Slin, IGF.

I agree with Bio...I've been doing this since the early 80's and it seems the "local" brotherhood of the sport is nothing like it was in the past. Forums like PM are refreshing...but this is on a global scale. PCT for the most part was unheard of...you cycled on and off and took the losses of being part of the system.

You didn't have the designer supplements, but you could go to your local doc to get a script and walk into your local pharma and pickup whatever you needed at a good price.

I enjoy PM, because it is almost like the old days of guys and gals sitting around shooting the breeze about everything, and everyone sharing their input.

 

[BIG-D]

Actully what I was talking about was comparing national level winners today vs. national level winners back then ...So no I dont believe, Phil of 2005 would beat Flex of 93 or Cormier of 94...

chris

Exactly...the future of the sport looks pretty dissapointing right now is all im saying. I train at Golds Venice and they have a wall of all the USA winners. Every day it motivates me...and makes me kind of sad because those physiques is what bodybuilding is all about. Something is missing. Its not like the genetic capabilities dont exist...so why does no one look like that anymore?

On another note...basically what the poster above stated too. The comraderie is gone. There is so much trash talk and backstabbing in this sport today. Everyone used to be friends. It seems more like every man for himself now.

 

[maldorf]

maldorf-once again, show me the studies. your as bad as the govt doctor during the baseball hearings spouting unfounded BS. how is it any different than the general population of people in their 30's who drink/smoke/rec drugs/eat like shit/dont work out??? i want one long term study showing this. i know guys who have been using for 25yrs off and on and are perfectly healthy...i agree if you abuse it it can be harmful just like anything else.


sorry to be off topic guys but i get tired of hearing this

Nothing anyone shows you is going to convince you that there are risks involved. You have already made up your mind and Im not going to waste my time here.

 

[maldorf]

One link I found, didnt take me long to find.

maldorf-once again, show me the studies. your as bad as the govt doctor during the baseball hearings spouting unfounded BS. how is it any different than the general population of people in their 30's who drink/smoke/rec drugs/eat like shit/dont work out??? i want one long term study showing this. i know guys who have been using for 25yrs off and on and are perfectly healthy...i agree if you abuse it it can be harmful just like anything else.


sorry to be off topic guys but i get tired of hearing this

This bit of info makes reference to several studies and lists the sources so if you want to take the time you can look them up. Facts 1 and 2 on the page show some good http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/report_dangers_anabolic_steroids.shtmlevidence. Fact 2 mentions the stiffness of the left ventricle seen after using steroids. This will decrease your ejection fraction and leads to cardiomyopathy if it goes on long enough. Ask Pekkerwood about his experience. Once the users go off of AAS the function returns, but never gets back to the level it once was before use. I know Pekkerwood can attest to this. i hate to keep mentioning him, but hes a good example since he did not have a heart attack but had cardiomyopathy.

 

[bigfatandugly]

i think drugs, especially the broad availability of GH, and the widespread usage if insulin allows guys to build massive physiques in short time frame using minimal effort in the gym.

you can bet the physiques you speak of in the early 90's were built thru hard work in the gym in their early years, and not solely upon the reliance of the chemicals.

in short, guys dont have to train as hard these day to build the physiques you see, which is why the lack that 'quality' look.


BFU

 

[chris250]

One more thing now...and this could be changing...Was back in the early 90's or so...It was a big deal to get over 250 lbs if you were around 5-10 or so...I mean I remember reading in musclemag about Flex and Cormier hitting that "magic" 250lbs mark in the offseason...Then it was about hitting 300lbs in the mid to late 90's...(early 2000's) now...I dont think people worry about offseason weight as much as they use to (or people just dont talk about it as much) ... Now it seems that offseason conditioning instead of just weight is more important...Which IMO is a good thing

chris