WHY ARE BODYBUILDERS BIGGER TODAY THAN THE PAST?

[qbkilla]

lots of reasons, some that weren't mentioned

1. you don't have to be anyone special to obtain AAS now a days, back then you had to know someone. now your grandmother can google and order AAS and HGH, so more guys can access them and see what they can do

2. mental illness is increasing. guys are not afraid to push the limit, be a freak, they want to be on IG, they want attention. they are more Obsessed with this stuff than in the past, they will do anything even sacrifice health and pump oil into their body

3. population increase. just look at how many humans are on earth now, everything will get more extreme

4. sharing of knowledge due to the internet. you don't have to know anyone to get a protocol, you just have to know how to use the internet

5. cheaper drugs, more supply is lower prices, higher dosages can be used and afforded, competition for customers has suppliers lowering prices

6. as stated, insulin

7. increase in medical, guys can get a torn pec or torn bicep repaired and come back, its not a career ender or something you have to train around the rest of your life. better doctors. get it repaired, hop on the juice, blow up to your same size in no time

 

[Biggerp73]

Pretty sure steroids were basically legal until 1990ish and the bodybuilders before then were all able to get massive amounts of legit human grade AAS no problem

Either way, the only difference is GH and slin

Training, diet, and AAS havent changed to any significant degree

 

[maldorf]

Pretty sure steroids were legal until 1990ish and the bodybuilders before then were all able to get massive amounts of legit human grade AAS no problem

The only difference is GH and skin

Training, diet, and AAS havent changed to any significant degree

I don't think they had quite as many steroids widely available back then, vet stuff like EQ was probably a bit harder to get. Human grade though like you said wasn't outlawed early on as far as I know but still not easy to get I think. Maybe a bodybuilder on here from the 70s can speak up. I took some in the 80s when I was in high school, around 1987, and it was hard as hell for me to get. I paid a big premium and there was only 2 or 3 things I could get.

Even if some of it was legal for human use in the 70s, the guys did not take the massive doses they do now. There weren't guys taking 2 or 3 grams a week or more of testosterone. They just didn't do it, at least from all of the reports I have read by guys during the 70s. So today's bodybuilder does have a wider array of steroids to chose from, easier to get overall I believe, and takes much higher doses. I think part of the high dose issue comes from the fact that steroids are so cheap today as compared to back then. Guys today can buy 100 grams of test cyp powder for like $150, Even if they take 1 gram a week, that is 100 weeks (almost 2 years of test!)

 

[Geardepot]

As already stated, GH, slin, IGF.

IMO Arnold would still win today, but not as easily as back in his era due to much more competition. When these " time machine" topics come up, I actually like to do a flip-flop and instead of just looking at how Arnie would do today, I like to imagine if we took a Coleman, Yates, Jay or Phil and make them born in 1947 - growing up with all the same available tools as others back then, and see how they would do against Arnold in the early to mid 70's. Would they win, or be competitive? Would Yates or Ronnie still have an insane back, considering back then, backs weren't such a dominating preclude to win shows? Would Jay or Coleman still have insane quads bcoz "sick legs" back then weren't in vogue, and not even close to being so heavily judged as today? I think this would be very interesting.

While on this topic, imagine if a prime Sergio Sr were around today with all the current tools at his disposal? THAT would be a sight to behold.

Dawgpound...this is interesting! How would the mass monster's of today look if they had grown up during the era of Arnold? It's obvious they wouldn't appear as they do today, for the many obvious reasons that have been stated in this thread. But would they still be competitive? I believe so. Primarily due the genetics being such a large factor. There probably is no other sport where genetics plays such an important role! There are many of you out there (myself included), that no matter how hard we train, how on point our diet/nutrition is, and no amount of anabolics, etc., is going to allow us to step on the Mr. Olympia stage. That's why since the inception of Mr. Olympia in 1965, only 14 individuals have won the coveted title!

 

[Geardepot]

Thanks guys for all the feedback! From what I'm reading, the consensus appears to be GH and slin playing a major role in the development of the "mass monsters". Which brings me around to another correlation. How many bodybuilders have died over the past 20 years, versus bodybuilders of the "Golden Era"? There is a debate over what is occurring in bodybuilding that is leading to the high rate of catastrophic health events. Some are quick to point to steroid abuse, while others theorize that insulin and diuretics are to blame. I believe the answer isn’t so simple – extreme diets, drug use, and high body mass over a long period of time can contribute to health problems, and they’ve all become more and more essential to bodybuilding at the elite levels. However, every bodybuilder’s story is different and it’s important to look at each case individually while looking for patterns.
GD

 

[B Ware]

As others stated. Gh, slin and having more education at our disposal.


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[b-boy]

I think there is no question that Arnold would have won the Olympia today just as he did back in the day. As far as limits to how big guys can get, I would say we are fast approaching that. If something like Follistatin that really works is developed then it may push ever further. I don't see it being much more though because organs like the heart cant sustain it.

Every one has their genetic weak point and I believe Arnold''s may have been the ability to put on a great amount of mass on his legs? Would he be able to build the kind of legs to hang with the top 5 in today's olympia?

 

[MR. BMJ]

Yea, it's hard to speculate on whether one of the greats from the past would have the genetics to put on muscle like the pros today, it's impossible to know. It's fun to discuss though...at the end though, it's anybody's guess. I too wonder about Arnold's legs being the limiting factor. I don't think people realize how big some of these guys today really are. I don't have any doubts Arnold would have made advancements and took advantage of todays options, but whether he would have grown and stayed asthetically pleasing is anybody's guess.

In regards to the initial post question....

Everything has got easier and better.

-Drugs more accessible.
-Variety of drugs more accessible
-Insulin for those who respond well to it, or just as an anti-catabolic and recovery agent.
-HGH accessibility (compared to 70/80's), and the price is WAY cheaper than it was even in the 90's....Pharm or Generics.
-Better training techniques, and understanding of the body.
-Better advances and knowledge in nutrition.
-Peptides for those who do well on them....
-More calories eaten and better knowledge on protein and healthy fats.
-Better supplements
-More gym accessibility....well, for some.

As a comment on training. I think the guy's from the "golden Era" trained just as hard, if not harder, than people today. I think they may have excelled in that aspect. However, training for hours and hours every day I think was more of a disadvantage for them, than a advantage....but from what I've seen and read, the battle between who was the best just wasn't on the stage, but who could outdo who in the gym. Nobody was going to quit 1-2 hours after training and let some other guy brag he was there longer and outworked everybody. I think Dorian really changed that view in the 90's (okay, probably Mentzer too).