How Bodybuilding Has Changed
By Ross Erstling
Bodybuilding has changed--drastically! In fact, just about everything in bodybuilding has changed; from training, to diet, to supplementation, the sport that was once defined by beauty and aesthetics, is now defined by drugs and deformity.
So let's talk about what
BODYBUILDING actually is. Is it an art? Is it a science? Is it a lifestyle? Is it a sport? Yes, it's actually all us these things, and much, much, more. Bodybuilding can be defined as the deliberate and methodical reconstruction of cells and tissues in the human body, in an attempt to maximize lean muscle mass while minimizing body fat levels. This is not an easy task at all, and requires an intimate and extensive understanding of biology, chemistry, and human physiology. Therefore, a great bodybuilder must also be a great thinker.
The Golden Age bodybuilders were big thinkers; there was a mental aspect of their bodybuilding philosophy that is unfortunately almost completely overlooked today. This mental dimension of bodybuilding is ultimately what separates an average bodybuilder from a champion bodybuilder. Bodybuilding requires an UTTER BELIEF in yourself, and without that confidence and ego strength, you will never be motivated enough to look your absolute BEST.
I hate to say this, but most modern bodybuilders are not very big thinkers. They often just do what they are TOLD to do by someone who supposedly "knows what they are talking about". Rather than investigating the SCIENCE of the human body themselves, they would rather entrust their physique to someone ELSE! To me(and the Golden Era boys) this is absolute insanity. This is precisely why that sometimes KNOWING LESS is actually KNOWING MORE. Allow me to explain..
The fundamentals of nutrition will always remain static, the human body is not going to change. Any basic textbook will thoroughly explain the roles of fats, carbohydrates, and protein in metabolism. That's how the Golden Age bodybuilders such as Arnold and Franco knew how to BULK and CUT PROPERLY, because they relied on the most BASIC and FUNDAMENTAL nutritional information. They kept it simple! There was no Ketosis diets, they never eliminated Carbohydrates, and they knew that 45 minutes of training was not sufficient for maximum muscle growth!
So this brings us to TRAINING. Once again, knowing more is knowing LESS! Modern bodybuilders, on average, train for 45-60 minutes, performing around 12-15 sets per muscle! This is what the AVERAGE person should be doing! Did you know that most PRO's don't even work their ABS in the offseason?! The Golden Age bodybuilders were training for 2-3 hours per session, sometimes TWICE PER DAY! Not to mention, they did this all with MINIMUM drug use! The reason that modern pro bodybuilders train for such short durations of time is because they are completely misunderstanding or misinterpreting the scientific data available! They
truly believe(because SOMEONE TOLD THEM!) that anything more than 45-60 minutes is over-training and counterproductive, which is completely false, especially if you are using significant amounts of anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, and other bodybuilding drugs! Like I said, there is such limited data on bodybuilding methodology, that ANY data based on a natural, non-enhanced male is entirely irrelevant. Ronnie trained for HOURS, SET AFTER SET OF HEAVY WEIGHT, just like the Golden Age guys. Jay trains the same during the off-season when trying to add muscle, and that's why these two guys are still the two biggest freaks in the world, and probably will remain so for a long time.
The utter reliance on DRUGS has been the final strike to bodybuilding as it once was. Not only are there dozens of new anabolic steroids that are far stronger, there are also entirely new classes of drugs like Human Growth Hormones and various other Peptide hormones. Even worse, modern bodybuilders even use INSULIN now, which is extremely dangerous. All of these drugs have lead to the production of massively disproportionate and imbalanced physiques, because many of these new drugs don't just cause MUSCLE GROWTH, they cause EVERYTHING IN THE HUMAN BODY TO GROW! ALL CELLS AND TISSUES, including organs, bones, and even potentially cancerous tissues! That is ESSENTIALLY WHY the modern bodybuilders look like MUTANTS with GIANT DISTENDED BELLIES, and the old school bodybuilders looked like the epitome of masculinity. It's insane to think that Arnold competed at 220lbs at 6"2 and now we have guys that are 5"5-5"7 and weight that much. Old School bodybuilders did not have access to these drugs that create the type of massive and disproportionate physiques that we see today. Although let's be honest, if Arnie had access to HGH I am sure he would have jumped right on!
It has been the OVEREMPHASIS on muscle mass and the subsequent abuse of drugs that has ultimately led to the downfall of Bodybuilding.
