FLEX mag top 20 aesthetic physiques.

[bailey]

Well Dennis james looks freakin great here.

[NarcissisticDeity]

I think it was Shawn's goal to get a lot of talk about this article and free publicity for FLEX.

Goal achieved.   

Its no differant than you starting threads on sites and trying to get traffic to your site. 

[sculpture]

Its just a shame flex magazine has rotted to pure shit. Top twenty this, top twenty that, how arnold built his chest (the majority of the content was utter bullshit with regards to the poundages claimed and the author knew it yet wrote it anyway), how arnold built his arms etc etc. Oh my word, not another arnold front cover.

McGough + Perine = garbage.

[LuciusFox]

Well Dennis james looks freakin great here.

 Looks great!

[bailey]

Ok : Back to what this thread was really about. I think everyone's Idea of what aesthetics Is, seems to be different. It however should not be about body weight at all.
I think you can be aesthetic at 150 lbs or 350 lbs ! It Is about your structure and the way an Individual has distributed muscle throughout his or her frame. For example, wide
clavicles and narrow hips should be the basis of good aesthetics, but in my opinion if the amount of muscle one has is not evenly distributed, to me that person Is not aesthetic. For example, I think Derek Farnsworth, albeit very small Is much more aesthetic than say Arnold ! ( I know ill hear sh...t from the Ironage guys ) A better example of what to me is pretty close to perfect aesthetics would be an In-shape Chris Cormier ! Wether you like him or not, he was far more aesthetic than Arnold and even more than what seems to be the poster boy for aesthetics  " Steeve Reeves " Good looking does not make you aesthetic. I also think that having your arms, calves and neck be the same size is not very aesthetic. To me It doesn't look right. Once again, just because Chris Cormier is 45 pound heavier and 4 inches or so shorter does not make him any less aesthetic. To me it is the Ideal standard for what aesthetics should be !  You Ironagers will have to just deal with It !   **** AESTHETICS ****   The perfect  X frame not Y frame !

[NarcissisticDeity]

Ok : Back to what this thread was really about. I think everyone's Idea of what aesthetics Is, seems to be different. It however should not be about body weight at all.
I think you can be aesthetic at 150 lbs or 350 lbs ! It Is about your structure and the way an Individual has distributed muscle throughout his or her frame. For example, wide
clavicles and narrow hips should be the basis of good aesthetics, but in my opinion if the amount of muscle one has is not evenly distributed, to me that person Is not aesthetic. For example, I think Derek Farnsworth, albeit very small Is much more aesthetic than say Arnold ! ( I know ill hear sh...t from the Ironage guys ) A better example of what to me is pretty close to perfect aesthetics would be an In-shape Chris Cormier ! Wether you like him or not, he was far more aesthetic than Arnold and even more than what seems to be the poster boy for aesthetics  " Steeve Reeves " Good looking does not make you aesthetic. I also think that having your arms, calves and neck be the same size is not very aesthetic. To me It doesn't look right. Once again, just because Chris Cormier is 45 pound heavier and 4 inches or so shorter does not make him any less aesthetic. To me it is the Ideal standard for what aesthetics should be !  You Ironagers will have to just deal with It !   **** AESTHETICS ****   The perfect  X frame not Y frame !

Reeves is considered the benchmark for aesthetics because he was way ahead of his time and he was leaps & bounds above his contemporaries and his overall structure in my opinion hasn't been seen since

And aesthetics cover the weight extremes from a 160lb Makkway all the way up to a 260lb Cormier , I've personally said that aesthetics doesn't have a weight limit , however we just haven't seen a guy who is over lets say 260lbs and retain their aesthetics , perhaps in the future we'll see it but thus far the limit seems to be with Cormier & Haney

And I don't know why you're trying to turn this into an Ironage/modern age debate , Cormier is on the list and rightly so , I think very highly of Cormier's phsyique and maintain that given the right condition he could beat Coleman , but aesthetics have taken a backseat to freaky size

And the arms , neck and calves all the same size is the Greek Ideal , its very hard to achive this and it looks much better than 23" arms 20" neck and 18" calves , one of the aspects of aesthetics is muscle balance & proportion , to negelct this is to neglect the whole .

[alexxx]

how do you get your neck bigger. my calfs and arms are 18 and my neck is a 16..

[bailey]

NarcissisticDeity : I couldn't agree with you more. I made the Ironage comment only because It is usually them who turns it Into a Ironage vs Modern era debate. I said that to do just the opposite and not turn this Into that. I have great respect for the bodybuilders of that era. Who wouldn't. It's just to me that ( And you said it yourself )
that It is not about bodyweight, It is about the Individual, regardless of era.
Peace.

[bailey]

A few more of CC and great aesthetics.

[Oliver Klaushof]

Padilla?? That's a joke and a half.

Most aesthetic lawn gnome maybe.



Where is Arnold? What a joke.

[MCWAY]

LMFAO at Mendenhall being blocky , Ronnie isn't anywhere hear him , this is the guy Lee Haney feared .

Let's see!!

Haney won the Nationals, the Universe, the Night of Champions, placed 3rd at his first Olympia appearance and won at every other one since then.

And he fears Mendenhall (who never turned pro) because..........

[MCWAY]

Padilla?? That's a joke and a half.

Most aesthetic lawn gnome maybe.



Where is Arnold? What a joke.

At least, they didn't include the mushrooms  .

What I don't understand is why Schwarzenegger is not on that list but Matt Mendenhall is. I thought this was an "all-time" list. You would think that means those who'v competed at the highest level. Every other competitor has competed at the Mr. Olympia (except Reeves, who retired long before the Olympia came into existence; but Reeves has the Mr. Universe under his belt). Even if you don't make him #1, The Oak belongs on in that company of aesthetics physiques, especially if you're going to include Sergio Oliva.

To leave Schwarzenegger out yet place a guy who didn't even win the Nationals on that list is a bit screwy.

[Bear]

Reeves is considered the benchmark for aesthetics because he was way ahead of his time and he was leaps & bounds above his contemporaries and his overall structure in my opinion hasn't been seen since

And aesthetics cover the weight extremes from a 160lb Makkway all the way up to a 260lb Cormier , I've personally said that aesthetics doesn't have a weight limit , however we just haven't seen a guy who is over lets say 260lbs and retain their aesthetics , perhaps in the future we'll see it but thus far the limit seems to be with Cormier & Haney

And I don't know why you're trying to turn this into an Ironage/modern age debate , Cormier is on the list and rightly so , I think very highly of Cormier's phsyique and maintain that given the right condition he could beat Coleman , but aesthetics have taken a backseat to freaky size

And the arms , neck and calves all the same size is the Greek Ideal , its very hard to achive this and it looks much better than 23" arms 20" neck and 18" calves , one of the aspects of aesthetics is muscle balance & proportion , to negelct this is to neglect the whole .

Numbers shmumbers, Cormier has a prettier bod than Reeves' skinny ass. A million guys these days can match up to Reeves. Respect for starting the trend so long ago and everything, but subjectively judging the actual physiques of these men shows that Cormier, Flex and Ray have better lines AND some actual muscle!!!!!!

[SteelePegasus]

Numbers shmumbers, Cormier has a prettier bod than Reeves' skinny ass. A million guys these days can match up to Reeves. Respect for starting the trend so long ago and everything, but subjectively judging the actual physiques of these men shows that Cormier, Flex and Ray have better lines AND some actual muscle!!!!!!

I would tend to agree with you. I have looked at the list over and over again. I think the top 5 is BS, those guys are living in the past and give it too my importance. You have to look at the pictures objectively. I am not diminishing the accomplishments of the past....

To me this is perfection!!

[LuciusFox]

I would tend to agree with you. I have looked at the list over and over again. I think the top 5 is BS, those guys are living in the past and give it too my importance. You have to look at the pictures objectively. I am not diminishing the accomplishments of the past....

To me this is perfection!!

 Certainly better proportioned than Flex Wheeler ever was, and more muscular.

[GMCtrk]

Certainly better proportioned than Flex Wheeler ever was, and more muscular.

That would explain why Flex beat him every time they went head to head

[LuciusFox]

That would explain why Flex beat him every time they went head to head

 Flex beat him, but he was never as well proportioned, or as large. What part of that do you dispute?

[MCWAY]

That would explain why Flex beat him every time they went head to head

Except for one instance: The 1995 Mr. Olympia. Cormier placed 6th; Wheeler placed 8th.

[dontknowit]

Two things;

first of all, Bob Paris is gay,
all the talk about equel rights and stuff, nice, but being gat is not normal, and shouldn't stand as a rolemodel. He should be placed second.

Second,
I think weider is feeling the pressure of commerce and slowly is pushing there opinion to BBfans. Athletes should have a better physique. It started it out with guidelines for women, the can't come in dry as in the past, and know it's slowly the men's turn.
Monster exit, enter physique.

If we want swimmers, we will follow the Olympics. This is BB, the biggest with the best physique wins. Not a dwarf with muscles, or a swimmer with a sixpack.

 

[MCWAY]

Two things;

first of all, Bob Paris is gay,
all the talk about equel rights and stuff, nice, but being gat is not normal, and shouldn't stand as a rolemodel. He should be placed second.

Second,
I think weider is feeling the pressure of commerce and slowly is pushing there opinion to BBfans. Athletes should have a better physique. It started it out with guidelines for women, the can't come in dry as in the past, and know it's slowly the men's turn.
Monster exit, enter physique.

If we want swimmers, we will follow the Olympics. This is BB, the biggest with the best physique wins. Not a dwarf with muscles, or a swimmer with a sixpack.

 

First of all, this isn't a role model list, per se. It's a list of most aesthetic physiques. Based on that (and that alone), Bob Paris belongs on this list, regardless of his homosexual lifestyle.

Second, where on Earth do you get this "swimmer" stuff. A guy who's six feet tall and 230 lbs ripped is FAR from a swimmer. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at his peak, was 240 lbs, at 6'2". I certainly don't consider him a "swimmer". I doubt you'll find many who do.

Need I remind you that Frank Zane, who is much smaller than Paris, has three Mr. Olympia titles to his credit. So the "biggest" part of your "biggest with the best physique" statement doesn't quite work.

There's room in bodybuilding for all types of physiques. Part of the reason, bodybuilding has suffered as of late is because of this brazen insistence that its participants be either all "monsters" or all "aesthetic". That's part of the reason why steroid abuse has gone wild in bodybuilding. Some people think that a 6', 230-lb. ripped bodybuilder is a "swimmer".

Bodybuilding is about balance, size plus proportion; mass plus symmetry. This list that FLEX compiled reflect those, who bring more than mere mass to the bodybuilding stage.

[dontknowit]

First of all, this isn't a role model list, per se. It's a list of most aesthetic physiques. Based on that (and that alone), Bob Paris belongs on this list, regardless of his homosexual lifestyle.

Second, where on Earth do you get this "swimmer" stuff. A guy who's six feet tall and 230 lbs ripped is FAR from a swimmer. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at his peak, was 240 lbs, at 6'2". I certainly don't consider him a "swimmer". I doubt you'll find many who do.

Bull,
Bob Paris was around 200 in his early years, and gradually beefed up during Lee Haney era, he never reached 230 during a contest.
And where did you find the guts to compare Arnold who competed 10 years earlier with this Bob.

Need I remind you that Frank Zane, who is much smaller than Paris, has three Mr. Olympia titles to his credit. So the "biggest" part of your "biggest with the best physique" statement doesn't quite work.

There's room in bodybuilding for all types of physiques. Part of the reason, bodybuilding has suffered as of late is because of this brazen insistence that its participants be either all "monsters" or all "aesthetic". That's part of the reason why steroid abuse has gone wild in bodybuilding. Some people think that a 6', 230-lb. ripped bodybuilder is a "swimmer".

Bodybuilding is about balance, size plus proportion; mass plus symmetry. This list that FLEX compiled reflect those, who bring more than mere mass to the bodybuilding stage.

Frank Zane was during his time the greatest. He wasn't the greatest in overall mass, or the heaviest, yet onstage he looked the biggest. Try to find a tape of a olympia during that time.

And can I finish with the statement that Bob Paris achieved jackshit during his career.
http://www.musclememory.com/
The only thing he achieved in his life was as a gay-"activist". There are so many who achieved more for the sport, and you can find them in al sizes you want, but in the end they have put a gay-man on number 1 ?

Come on, be serious. There's got to be more behind this choice.

And Frank Zane swimmer, yeah, but also BB;

[onlyme]

At one time this guy was awesome

[MCWAY]

Bull,
Bob Paris was around 200 in his early years, and gradually beefed up during Lee Haney era, he never reached 230 during a contest.
And where did you find the guts to compare Arnold who competed 10 years earlier with this Bob. Frank Zane was during his time the greatest. He wasn't the greatest in overall mass, or the heaviest, yet onstage he looked the biggest. Try to find a tape of a olympia during that time.

And can I finish with the statement that Bob Paris achieved jackshit during his career.
http://www.musclememory.com/
The only thing he achieved in his life was as a gay-"activist". There are so many who achieved more for the sport, and you can find them in al sizes you want, but in the end they have put a gay-man on number 1 ?

Come on, be serious. There's got to be more behind this choice.

And Frank Zane swimmer, yeah, but also BB;

This post of yours makes absolutely NO SENSE. You have no problem with Frank Zane, a "swimmer" by your standards, being on this FLEX all-time list. Yet, you're beefing about Bob Paris, a larger bodybuilder, being on this same list, or at least, being #1?

Your assessment of Paris' accomplishments is equally bizzare. From the very link you provided, we find that Bob Paris won the NPC Nationals and the Mr. Universe. He qualified for the Olympia several times, placing in the top 10 on three occasions.

There are IFBB pros who would kill to boast a resume like that. You're blubbering more about Paris than a guy like Matt Mendenhall who, unlike Paris, did not win the Nationals (or the USA, or the North American) to earn his pro card. If anyone on that list deserves your "achieved jack----" award, it's Mendenhall, not Paris.

The comparison with Arnold was to make this point. If a guy 6', 230-lbs is a "swimmer", then so would be a 6'2, 240-lb. guy also be a "swimmer".

Lastly, this issue is STRICTLY about aesthetic bodybuilders physiques; so, I give Paris his due for what he's accomplished in building his physique. As for his homosexual lifestyle, that's another subject for another time. Truth be told, I was a bit surprised that he was #1. But, I'm certainly not shocked that his physique, aesthetically speaking, is ranked up there with the best of them.

[LuciusFox]

 This "swimmer" stuff is getting out of control.  I hope people 30 years from now are not talking about how Ronnie and Jay were swimmers.

[GMCtrk]

Except for one instance: The 1995 Mr. Olympia. Cormier placed 6th; Wheeler placed 8th.

forgot about that one good call...

but you gotta cut Flex some slack, he was big ballin in his 500 doing 170 and crashed and broke his neck