Bodybuildings Changed

Bodybuildings Changed

Back in the 1960's guys like John Grimek, Steve Reeves and Clancy Ross were still being mentioned and written about in magazines such as Ironman. The articles were content rich with little in the way of advertising like we find in today’s magazines.

Larry Scott, famous for the Scott Curl, won the Mr. Olympia in 1965 and 1966. He set the bar high for arm development, particularly with his softball sized biceps and huge forearms. He was a handsome guy so he appealed to the opposite sex also.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. America in 1967 and things changed. His rugged good looks, accent and sense of humor appealed to a much broader audience. He dominated bodybuilding culture for years while chalking up an impressive seven wins in the Mr. Olympia. He also captured wins in the Mr. Universe five times!

Arnold’s friend and workout partner, Franco Columbo, also had a heavy accent. Franco was powerful and would entertain people by blowing up a hot water bottle with his lungs until it burst.

Joe Weider was promoting guys like Arnold, Frank Zane and Dave Draper (of Muscle Beach fame) in his magazine Muscle and Fitness. Joe was a very savvy businessman and made a fortune from bodybuilding. He made household names out of many of the bodybuilders of the time. His empire grew as well as his influence. He said he wanted to get bodybuilding to the masses so it would become self-sustaining and thrive after he was gone.

The current assortment of bodybuilders keep getting larger and larger. Guys like Jay Cutter, two time Mr. Olympia, appear behemoth on stage. Natural bodybuilders can also achieve some size given the benefit of good genetics but it doesn’t rival what the chemical bodies do. Guys like Sean Nalewanyj, Lee Hayward and Vince DelMonte have bodies that are the envy of natural bodybuilders. Steroids promise more of everything and are becoming a plague, even at the High School level.

In doing research to refresh my memory I came across a site that has lots of interviews, photos and wonderful content on bodybuilding history. David Robson’s site is http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson61.htm. This guy spent years in the inner circle of bodybuilding greats.

Seeing how far bodybuilding has evolved in the last half-century, I am looking forward to watching how this new culture will affect bodybuilding. Chemical enhanced bodies seem to have no limits as to the what they can achieve. What we used to think was humanly impossible has become almost mainstream. Sites such as Elite Fitness supply information as well as availability of the different forms of Steroids.