Is Bob correct about Mike Mentzer?

[Vince B]

Everyone is entitle to their opinion. Just wonder how tactful it is to have the officially appointed pro athletes rep bag other bodybuilders.

Mike and others felt he was better than Arnold in 1980.

Two cover photos I took at the 80 Olympia.

[GoneAway]

Everyone is entitle to their opinion. Just wonder how tactful it is to have the officially appointed pro athletes rep bag other bodybuilders.

Mike and others felt he was better than Arnold in 1980.

Two cover photos I took at the 80 Olympia.

Vince, you do realise that the Arnold cover shot is flipped, right? He's actually posing his right arm.

[Vince B]

Look at the two covers and the people behind the guys. Same crowd. The images were not reversed.

[GoneAway]

Both are reversed. Any doubts, simply re-view the pics and footage of the '80 Olympia. Besides, Arnold NEVER poses a single-arm shot with his left arm.

[Dr Kincaid]

Menzer needs his own radio show, should get Demayo on as a guest. 

[mossel]

No matter what... Mike's books always were great to read...
His books made me think about routines and motivated me...

no other Bodybuilder ever came close writing this good... sometimes I grab one of his books to refresh my memory...

For me Mike's one of the greatest.

[mossel]

Any chance you are gonna write a book Bob? and if you would... what would the topic be?

[gh15]

again the wizdom of some of the getbigers is unmatched,,

first of all mentzer wasnt even in the sphere of arnold when they both were at their prime,,
secnd mentzer was NARROW,,he wasnt wide at all,,,wideness is very important to win the big one,,especially propotional widness in relashion to waist,,mentzer was a strong fella that blew up well on aas and that where it ended ,,with out aas he would be just another ymca construction guy with thicker than average arms,,

you fellas compare arnold and ron and dorian and haney to some no ones,,are you out of your mind?? have you ever stood next to ron or arnold? have you ever stood next to dorian or hainey ,,,at their best they were so wide you tjhought they were 20-30 lb bigger just from this widness

there is no big champions especially now days with out widness ,,widness is extermely important ,,either get your waist to a female size or simply be wide,,hell jason right now win o ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS WIDNESS HE GOT NOTHING ELSE GOING FOR HIM BESIDE THAT WIDNESS AND THE QUADS all of his other bodyparts resemble a a washed 40 year old bodybuiklder,,

WIDENESSI S WHAT MENTSER LACKED INORDER TO MAKE BIG DAMAGE AND WIN O

[mossel]

how about Zane?

[RZA]

Well, from what I've seen (pics), Mentzer had unmatched muscle density at the time. That might not be the most spectacular thing when you see a guy on a podium from a 10-feet distance. But frankly his pics were a lot more inspirational to me than any of Arnold's. Of course, he had flaws. But he definitely helped in bringing a new perspective to bbing. And when it comes to an activity so often criticized for beeing mainly a cosmetic one and mostly fueled by drugs, that's invaluable.

[gh15]

zane was not wide but his build was so thin and his waist was so feminine that his widness was enough togive the illusion needed,,take a good look at zane vaccums and his midsection in general and you will see that this guy meant to be 150lb in a good wet day ,,,he took it to 185lb and adding that symetric proportional 35 lb of pure lean muscle was enough to win the o and very justified too

[mossel]

point taken

[mossel]

[Tombo]

i dunno i reckon mike looked a million bucks, just not standing next to arnold

[Trev]

Arnold was gifted the '80 Olympia. 1980 to 1982 inclusive was THE worst period in Mr Olympia History. Mentzer should hev won in 1980 and if he had, he would have been 3 time Mr O.

[Lord Humungous]

Both are reversed. Any doubts, simply re-view the pics and footage of the '80 Olympia. Besides, Arnold NEVER poses a single-arm shot with his left arm.

Exactly, Arines right arm  was at least an inch bigger than his left.

[hipolito mejia]

On last weeks probodybuilding weekly, Bob inferred that Mike Mentzer was very overrated and possessed "child bearing hips, no chest and a big ass." Is Bob correct in his evaluation of the Mentzer physique?

Yes he is.

[GoneAway]

Exactly, Arines right arm  was at least an inch bigger than his left.

his arms were pretty symmetrical in terms of size. sometimes his posing accentuated his right bicep more, thus making his left arm seem a bit smaller.

[Lord Humungous]

his arms were pretty symmetrical in terms of size. sometimes his posing accentuated his right bicep more, thus making his left arm seem a bit smaller.

Bob Kennedy pointed out years ago that arnolds right arm has a much higher peak than his left. Arnold never does a true flat footed double bi shot, he almost always twists a little. From the rear the peak of a bi cant be seen nearly as well.

[GoneAway]

Bob Kennedy pointed out years ago that arnolds right arm has a much higher peak than his left. Arnold never does a true flat footed double bi shot, he almost always twists a little. From the rear the peak of a bi cant be seen nearly as well.

right, he rarely does a straight on fdb, but in the one i showed you, that's pretty straight and the difference in size isn't very noticable. here's another one, where his arms look 99% symmetrical. if u look closely, u can see the difference in the peak. it became more evident as he got more conditioned.

[Lord Humungous]

right, he rarely does a straight on fdb, but in the one i showed you, that's pretty straight and the difference in size isn't very noticable. here's another one, where his arms look 99% symmetrical. if u look closely, u can see the difference in the peak. it became more evident as he got more conditioned.

Do you think that could be because this picture is so early on in his career before he started to exaggerate his arms?

[GoneAway]

Do you think that could be because this picture is so early on in his career before he started to exaggerate his arms?

as shown by these two pics, Arnold's arms when viewed straight on are very symmetrical. one bicep did have the peak, but it wasn't as noticable as when he did twisting shots. some can be confused with a direct straight on and a twisting shot, or one arm slightly raised, etc. all of those alignment changes throw off the natural shape and aren't good comparisons when judging symmetry. there's a screencap from the 1975 Olympia of Arnold hitting a fdb when announced the winner that shows how symmetrical his arms where, even towards the end of his career.

[Moosejay]

I think Goneaway is correct in that it was a metter of conditioning....the more refined he became, the more pronounced the difference became apparent

[gh15]

Arnold was gifted the '80 Olympia. 1980 to 1982 inclusive was THE worst period in Mr Olympia History. Mentzer should hev won in 1980 and if he had, he would have been 3 time Mr O.

mentzer couldnt win the o because he was narrow and compact,,when you are narrow and compact you better have very big mesurments on the muscle and mentzer did not have it ,,he had a physiqe that reponnded very well to drugs but he tried to play the astetic game when in reality he was same as branch ,,thos guys look like local bodybuilders if they are not very big ansd thick ,,,,take the widness away and youll never win the big one or most likley any top pro show

[Chick]

mentzer couldnt win the o because he was narrow and compact,,when you are narrow and compact you better have very big mesurments on the muscle and mentzer did not have it ,,he had a physiqe that reponnded very well to drugs but he tried to play the astetic game when in reality he was same as branch ,,thos guys look like local bodybuilders if they are not very big ansd thick ,,,,take the widness away and youll never win the big one or most likley any top pro show

agreed 100%