Freak Fitness

As I was preparing diet and training programs for my clients who will be competing at the upcoming Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, I began to think about how the sport of bodybuilding has evolved since the days when Arnold was making a name for himself  in the industry.

Gyms & Equipment 

When Arnold first started out, bodybuilding gyms were few and far between. Major cities had only one or two gyms where all of the bodybuilders trained, and those gyms were ill-equipped by today’s standards—just barbells, dumbbells, a pull-up bar, and a few benches. Today, we have fully equipped commercial gyms everywhere that have free weights like gyms of the past did, but we now also have access to weight machines that are engineered to isolate specific muscles and, in some cases, even select where in the range of motion the most resistance is applied. 

Coaches

It’s fair to say that Arnold didn’t become successful on his own. He had friends such as Franco Columbu and mentors such as Joe Weider who supported him along the way. But Arnold never hired a coach to help him prepare for his competitions. Just like other bodybuilders of his time, Arnold learned everything on his own, mostly through trial and error. Today, most bodybuilders— from novice to Mr. Olympia—hire coaches to oversee their nutrition, training, or both. Top-level coaches like me have made it our profession to become experts in the art and science of contest preparation, and bodybuilders can now take advantage of having someone like me in their corner to give them a definitive edge over their fellow competition.

Weight Training 

In 1970, on his way to his first Mr. Olympia title, Arnold trained for five hours a day. Eventually, he would have to split up his workouts into two sessions a day so that he could still have time during the day to run his construction and mail-order businesses. In 1974, then-newcomer Lou Ferrigno was known for training six hours a day in preparation for his Mr. Olympia debut. Don’t get me wrong, these guys trained hard, but by today’s standards, most would consider that overtraining. Today’s most widely accepted research shows that weight-training workouts should not go beyond 60 to 75 minutes. Today, we look for ways to increase intensity rather than increase volume to build more muscle.

Nutrition & Supplements

In 1967, in preparation for his first Mr. Universe win, Arnold knew he would have to come in bigger and stronger. For months leading up to the competition, Arnold focused on eating as much protein and calories as he could handle. His protein shake of choice was a combination of brewer’s yeast, whole milk, and raw eggs. Nutrition and supplementation science is much more advanced now. Today, it’s widely accepted that all-out “bulking” isn’t necessary for most bodybuilders to gain mass. Further, today we have access to higher quality proteins such as whey isolate and branched-chain amino acids to help us build more muscle and ergogenic aids such as creatine and pre-workout nitric oxide boosters to increase our performance in the gym. 

The sport and industry of bodybuilding has come a long way since the “Arnold Era.” Thanks to scientific evolution, there's never been a better time to be a bodybuilder!

To read more from Darren Mehling, click here.

Muscle Beach photo: Thinkstock