The biggest draw in bodybuilding is no longer the Mr. Olympia, but the “Classic Olympia”.
Fans of the sport seem to have grown tired of the bulky, CGI-looking mass monsters who dominated the scene between 1985-2015, and now prefer physiques which hark back to the so-called “golden era” of bodybuilding which ran from 1970-1985.
Man, they were just built differently in those days, weren’t they?
Modern day icon Chris Bumstead has been crucial to this pivot, and has racked up no less than four consecutive Classic Olympia titles so far with his unique combination of size and definition – a feat which has led many (including me!) to label him one of the best to ever grace a boybuilding stage.
However, we have to draw the line somewhere.
You see, after his most recent victory, a fabulous photoshop mockup began circulating online which stood Chris Bumstead alongside the great Arnold Schwarzenegger, and asked the question on everybody’s lips:
“Who wins?”
As you can imagine, the fitness community fucking melted.
For almost four days, I sat back and scrolled through hilarious comment sections on social media, as strangers berated and threatened others who happened to disagree over which picture of a man in their underwear looks better.
But what do I think?
Well, there can only really be one winner here and it’s Ah-nuld.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually think CBum has a slightly better physique than Arnie overall, but I believe that the differences between the two aren’t big enough to justify 50 years of advancements in all things relating to training, recovery, nutrition, supplementation, posing, and (eek) drugs.
Let’s face it, it’s fucking incomprehensible that Schwarzenegger was able to achieve a physique which pretty much rivals the “best of the best” from half a century later, during a time good information was so hard come by, and gym setups were as basic as it could possible be.
There aren’t many people in the world who can say they inspired more people to hit the gym than Rocky, am I right?
But Arnold can say it.
And when we take into consideration the overall impact which he had – not just on the sport of bodybuilding but on celebrity culture as a whole – the gap widens further. Arnold was quite literally the face of fitness for five decades, and George Bush even appointed him Chairman of the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports.
It’s a level of fame which we don’t really see anymore (perhaps only The Rock has come close to it).
And all of this is why, in my humble opinion, there will never be another bodybuilder who can top what Arnold Schwarzenegger really did – not just in the sport, but for it.
Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this blog, then you’ll probably also like reading these.
>> How To Use Periodization Like A Pro
>> Full-Body Training Totally Rocks
>> How Sylvester Stallone Has Adapted His Training Over The Years
Leave a Reply