It may be certain sign of old age when one starts to lament the present state of things and long for the old days, but in bodybuilding this seems warranted. Sure, some young and coming competitors may show aesthetic, great physiques, but as they age, they do not become better- they age prematurely, their muscle-bellies shortens, their mid-sections grow to grotesque proportions etc- the end point being full-blown palumboism. Look at Coleman, Flex Wheeler, Ruhl- they are broken- permanently so.
Contrast this with a gentleman such as Robby Robinson who still looks great- even in his 60s, although smaller than in his prime. In general, the physique of the 80s/early 90s were preferable to todays gut-monsters imo.
What has caused this sad state of affairs? The judging is partly to blame, but the general mechanism may be a short term vs long term reward imbalance. Short term, insulin, GH and site injections combined with oil gives tremendous advantage and quick results, but the long term result is inevitable. Site injections and oil leads to inflammation, scarring, even necrosis or at least atrophy and functional loss long term. Insulin and GH leads to general tissue growth, also for internal organs and to premature aging with skin changes and neanderthal-like facial features. Let me not start on cardiovascular side-effects and torn muscles etc.
Is this inevitable, or could a long-term thinking bodybuilder win a show today, avoiding site injections, oil, insulin and the excessive GH usage? E.g. could Lee Haney win today- or would he be to small?
NN
