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I was recently watching some classic Arnold videos, and it got me thinking.
Obviously, Arnold had a very high quality, timeless physique. He had a certain look that has been rarely matched. He had more strength and body-mass than most of the competitors of his day, with a higher quality appearance overall.
However, by 2015 standards.... at 6'2", 245, Arnold would be a relatively "small" pro today. If people today criticize Arnold, it's usually due to a lack of mass, or for certain lagging body parts, such as legs, back, or triceps. I've seen a lot of people exclaim things like "Arnold would have to gain 35 pounds to set foot on the Olympia stage today!"
It is true today that pros are much larger...... probably due primarily to advances in drugs, supplements, and nutrition. The obvious trend over the years is that bodybuilders have had to get bigger and bigger to stay competitive.
While today's pros obviously eat more, and probably take more drugs (at least hGH and insulin) if not more steroids, the training does not seem to have significantly advanced. If anything, it may have regressed. The pros today seem to train far less frequently and with far less volume, and only sometimes with heavier weights. I don't know of any single pro today that is in the gym daily for hours and hours like Arnold claimed to be, or who trains their body-parts 3 times a week.
Arnold was able to row 315 for reps, squat 500 for reps, deadlift upto 700, and bench 400 for reps, and curl 225+ for reps. While he did not always train this heavy, he was capable of it. He supposedly trained 30+ sets, upto 3 times a week per bodypart.
In Arnold's defense about size.... there are 3 factors:
1) Arnold said, in more words or less... that after a certain point he never cared about gaining more mass. In other words, he stopped trying to gain weight. He was more interested in chiseling the perfect physique, and dialing in specific details about his look. The only places he wished he had slightly more mass were on his thighs, and triceps... but he retired to pursue acting and other pursuits. After all, even at 245lbs in his prime (28), he was one of the largest professional bodybuilders of his era. He didn't "need" more mass to win titles or gain fame.
2) Arnold did not have access (as far as I know), to hGH, peptides, insulin, and certain other steroids that were invented later. Nor did he have access to creatine, high quality protein powders, or other anabolic supplements that are also helpful. As far as I've heard: hGH and insulin alone are responsible for a lot of the sheer size of today's pros.
3) Arnold did not "eat" specifically for mass.... as he routinely ate 5-6 meals per day with normal portions, according to him. They did not live to routinely gorge themselves with food, nor did it never occurred to them to try to be 300lbs+ as bodybuilders.
This all may be true, I just wonder... "What approach would Arnold take towards bodybuilding in 2015?"
In Arnold's day, where everyone had a level playing field at the time... he was the dominant pro. We can argue about why he was the best, but to me it comes down to his work ethic and/or genetics. They all trained at similar gyms, and had access to the same food and drugs.
We can argue whether he took more drugs than anyone else (maybe, I don't know), or whether he trained MORE than everyone else (most likely), or whether his genetics contributed to his success (probably), or whether he had a better diet than everyone else (unlikely). Whatever he did, yielded him better results than his peers.
I just wonder what approach Arnold would have taken today, if he needed to be 290+ to be a dominant Mr. Olympia? Arnold was known for having a "do whatever it takes" type of mentality.
I am sure that if the sport required him to be 280, or 300lbs, then he would somehow achieve that size... albeit with perhaps a different look.
Obviously.... at the very least, his food intake would have had to increase.
Would he continue to train 3-5 hours a day with high volume?
Would he lower his volume, and aim to lift heavier weights?
How much would insulin and GH have helped a pro of his era, everything else being constant?
This is just meant for insightful discussion, not a bash of him or anyone else.
Obviously, Arnold had a very high quality, timeless physique. He had a certain look that has been rarely matched. He had more strength and body-mass than most of the competitors of his day, with a higher quality appearance overall.
However, by 2015 standards.... at 6'2", 245, Arnold would be a relatively "small" pro today. If people today criticize Arnold, it's usually due to a lack of mass, or for certain lagging body parts, such as legs, back, or triceps. I've seen a lot of people exclaim things like "Arnold would have to gain 35 pounds to set foot on the Olympia stage today!"
It is true today that pros are much larger...... probably due primarily to advances in drugs, supplements, and nutrition. The obvious trend over the years is that bodybuilders have had to get bigger and bigger to stay competitive.
While today's pros obviously eat more, and probably take more drugs (at least hGH and insulin) if not more steroids, the training does not seem to have significantly advanced. If anything, it may have regressed. The pros today seem to train far less frequently and with far less volume, and only sometimes with heavier weights. I don't know of any single pro today that is in the gym daily for hours and hours like Arnold claimed to be, or who trains their body-parts 3 times a week.
Arnold was able to row 315 for reps, squat 500 for reps, deadlift upto 700, and bench 400 for reps, and curl 225+ for reps. While he did not always train this heavy, he was capable of it. He supposedly trained 30+ sets, upto 3 times a week per bodypart.
In Arnold's defense about size.... there are 3 factors:
1) Arnold said, in more words or less... that after a certain point he never cared about gaining more mass. In other words, he stopped trying to gain weight. He was more interested in chiseling the perfect physique, and dialing in specific details about his look. The only places he wished he had slightly more mass were on his thighs, and triceps... but he retired to pursue acting and other pursuits. After all, even at 245lbs in his prime (28), he was one of the largest professional bodybuilders of his era. He didn't "need" more mass to win titles or gain fame.
2) Arnold did not have access (as far as I know), to hGH, peptides, insulin, and certain other steroids that were invented later. Nor did he have access to creatine, high quality protein powders, or other anabolic supplements that are also helpful. As far as I've heard: hGH and insulin alone are responsible for a lot of the sheer size of today's pros.
3) Arnold did not "eat" specifically for mass.... as he routinely ate 5-6 meals per day with normal portions, according to him. They did not live to routinely gorge themselves with food, nor did it never occurred to them to try to be 300lbs+ as bodybuilders.
This all may be true, I just wonder... "What approach would Arnold take towards bodybuilding in 2015?"
In Arnold's day, where everyone had a level playing field at the time... he was the dominant pro. We can argue about why he was the best, but to me it comes down to his work ethic and/or genetics. They all trained at similar gyms, and had access to the same food and drugs.
We can argue whether he took more drugs than anyone else (maybe, I don't know), or whether he trained MORE than everyone else (most likely), or whether his genetics contributed to his success (probably), or whether he had a better diet than everyone else (unlikely). Whatever he did, yielded him better results than his peers.
I just wonder what approach Arnold would have taken today, if he needed to be 290+ to be a dominant Mr. Olympia? Arnold was known for having a "do whatever it takes" type of mentality.
I am sure that if the sport required him to be 280, or 300lbs, then he would somehow achieve that size... albeit with perhaps a different look.
Obviously.... at the very least, his food intake would have had to increase.
Would he continue to train 3-5 hours a day with high volume?
Would he lower his volume, and aim to lift heavier weights?
How much would insulin and GH have helped a pro of his era, everything else being constant?
This is just meant for insightful discussion, not a bash of him or anyone else.
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