Remember when bodybuilders looked like this?

[Alex23]

Jay looking pretty good with brown retro hair.

[RZA]

What a fucking shame...its guys like the ones above that inspired the current generation of guys to hit the gym and bodybuild.  What kid growing up these day is going to look at the "new standard" of zombie-looking pregnant dudes wearing thongs and with gyno and be like "wow, I want to get oiled up in a thong and fuck myself up with GH and insulin to pose for A POSSIBILITY of winning $5K".  Gay-themed "posing routines" like Kai's or Kamali's (well at least the Atlantic video guy was gay) certainly don't help things, and any bodybuilder with a classic look (waist less than 40 inches, no synthol) is deemed as way too small.  Sorry for the meltdown, but seeing these pics pisses me off and reminds me of what got me into bodybuilding when I was a kid.  I know if I were a kid today I'd say fuck hitting the weights and I'd probably be swimming my ass off to be like Mike Phelps.     

X10

[m8]

What happen to that Tom dude? Looks pretty good.

[Monster81]

bodybuilding is dead

[donrhummy]

Exactly. Who wants a physique that is 100% dependant on drugs? I know the guys in the pics I posted are obviously not natural, but you don't need to take out a second mortgage on your house to pay for your cycle.

You missed his point. It's not that the old physiques used fewer drugs, it's that they looked better. Sure we all want to have huge arms and pecs but if you had to have a pregnant stomach to get that, would you? There are very few physiques in the IFBB today to aspire to.

[njflex]

What happen to that Tom dude? Looks pretty good.

TOM T had great build awesome poser,good shape ,competed till 91/92 ,didn't feel size game was his fortay.was in musclemag few yrs ago about 20 lbs lighter still had good build,good spokesman for bbing,musclesport usa was good show he mc'd with steve stone.

[S_Samuel]

You missed his point. It's not that the old physiques used fewer drugs, it's that they looked better. Sure we all want to have huge arms and pecs but if you had to have a pregnant stomach to get that, would you? There are very few physiques in the IFBB today to aspire to.

I should've put "And" after "Exactly."... I was making another point. None of the pro's today would be close to their physiques with the mass amount of drugs they take... the 70's and 80's weren't as bad in alot of cases.

[The_Punisher]

Jay looking pretty good with brown retro hair.

that's not Jay cutler. that's Mel Gibson

[Bobby]

What a fucking shame...its guys like the ones above that inspired the current generation of guys to hit the gym and bodybuild.  What kid growing up these day is going to look at the "new standard" of zombie-looking pregnant dudes wearing thongs and with gyno and be like "wow, I want to get oiled up in a thong and fuck myself up with GH and insulin to pose for A POSSIBILITY of winning $5K".  Gay-themed "posing routines" like Kai's or Kamali's (well at least the Atlantic video guy was gay) certainly don't help things, and any bodybuilder with a classic look (waist less than 40 inches, no synthol) is deemed as way too small.  Sorry for the meltdown, but seeing these pics pisses me off and reminds me of what got me into bodybuilding when I was a kid.  I know if I were a kid today I'd say fuck hitting the weights and I'd probably be swimming my ass off to be like Mike Phelps.     

YEEEEEEEES!!! a 1000 times

[freespirit]

Bump for truth.   

[jaejonna]

 

[Zach Trowbridge]

Relevent but slightly off-topic, what are the odds that we will ever refer to today's bodybuilders as the Golden Era the way we do these guys?

[pellius]

Padilla back in the day:

[timfogarty]

that pic of Danny is not the best for this thread.  it's probably from the early 90s, when all the pros were already using GH and starting to use insulin.   here is one from much earlier in his career

[donrhummy]

Padilla back in the day:

That's not back in the day. That's 1990 when he competed in the NOC against Dorian.

[donrhummy]

that pic of Danny is not the best for this thread.  it's probably from the early 90s, when all the pros were already using GH and starting to use insulin.   here is one from much earlier in his career

  WOW.

Now who's more impressive? Padilla in that gym pic or Jay Cutler in his gym pic (the 2 weeks out one)? Padilla DESTROYS the current Mr. O.

[FreedomFighter]

yep those days are GONE

[timfogarty]

yep those days are GONE

but you can relive them:  yes to dianabol, no to gh and insulin.

[QuakerOats]

but you can relive them:  yes to dianabol, no to gh and insulin.

and unfortunately say hello to 15th place, it sucks but that's the way it is these days.

[NarcissisticDeity]

 

[MuscleMcMannus]

Well these guys were amazing but they weren't even close to natural.  Lots of test, deca, dbol etc.  It's the GH, Slin, wanting to be 300lbs ripped that gives the pros nowadays their look.  Don't think for a second the guys in Arnold's era and up were just taking a few dbol here and there.  They weren't all drugs, but they wouldn't look anything like they did without the drugs. 

[johnny1]

Bob paris looked like a Modern day steve reeves, outstanding balance, lines, etc..Certently looked like the start of a New era when Bob hit the ranks in the early 1980s...guess he didn,t hit his full potential or it may have been Bob who dominated the 80s and not big LEE.

[dustin]

Well these guys were amazing but they weren't even close to natural.  Lots of test, deca, dbol etc.  It's the GH, Slin, wanting to be 300lbs ripped that gives the pros nowadays their look.  Don't think for a second the guys in Arnold's era and up were just taking a few dbol here and there.  They weren't all drugs, but they wouldn't look anything like they did without the drugs. 

Who implicated that any of them were near natural? They were pioneering the steroid and hormone era. They just didn't use a ridiculous amount of GH or insulin, nor did they get so far out of shape that they became pregnant with alien children.

[timfogarty]

They just didn't use a ridiculous amount of GH or insulin, nor did they get so far out of shape that they became pregnant with alien children.

today's bloated stomachs are directly due to GH and Insulin, which causes an increase in visceral fat, the fat between the organs in the abdomen

[Oldschool Flip]

When bodybuilding was bodybuilding...

Would have loved to have seen Leidelmeyer compete as a pro, but after his loss in the Nationals, he just disappeared. Classic physique.