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Arms
and The Man:
Iron Age's Best Bodypart
Winners Up until the mid-80's or so it was commonplace for bodybuilding competitions to award athletes with best bodypart trophies. By doing so, a competitor who didn't place in the show still had the chance to take home a trophy– and an extra feeling of accomplishment. Traditionally, the bodypart categories contested were arms, chest, shoulders, back, abs, and legs. "Most Muscular" was another common division as was "Best Poser." Tom Platz was a frequent "Best Legs" winner during his amateur days and Pete Grymkowski often swept not only the "Best Shoulders" category but the "Most Muscular" as well. But these contests within contests have all but gone the way of subtle posing music and synthol-free lineups. Well, IRON AGE has decided that it's high time best bodypart awards were brought back. After all, it's fun to compare bodyparts. Comparing entire physiques can often be an arduous and highly subjective endeavor as so many subtleties unrelated to muscle size or definition come into play. But judging bodyparts is relatively straighforward. Aesthetic considerations can be thrown out the window because all you're really looking for is mass and cuts in a particular muscle group. So, now that we've laid down the ground rules, we are very proud to present, IRON AGE'S BEST BODYPART WINNERS BEST SHOULDERS 60's:
LARRY SCOTT - The term "cannonball
delts" was coined to described Larry's shoulders. So large
were they, that he managed to create a V-shape to his torso despite
70's: PETE GRYMKOWSKI - Close runnersup were Sergio Oliva and Mike Mentzer, but Pete's shoulders really set the standard in the 70's. Incredibly wiiide! 80's: RICH GASPARI - Even against today's pros, Rich's delts could take top honors. Only Kevin Levrone may have better shoulders than Rich's at their peak. BEST BACK 60's: DAVE DRAPER - This was Dave's best bodypart. Tremendous lat width with the kind of lower back thickness years of deadlifts bring. 70's: FRANCO COLUMBU - Robby Robinson dubbed him "Franco the Bat" in Pumping Iron due to his incredibly wide and deep lats. Plus he had a lower back that could deadlift 750 lbs. at a bodyweight of 185. 80's: LEE HANEY - Not even close. Some would say he still has the best back ever. Almost perfect. BEST CHEST 60's: REG PARK - Arnold idolized Reg and for good reason. His combination of rib cage size and pec depth was unbeatable.
70's: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER - Arguably, at their peak, the greatest pecs ever. Perfect shape, incredible width, depth, height… everything. MIKE KATZ is very close with an even bigger ribcage than Arnold's. 80's: BERTIL FOX - Bertil's pecs may have even been larger than Arnold's, just a little rounder. BEST ARMS 60's: RICK WAYNE - Surprise! This was a close one with Larry Scott, Freddie Ortiz, and Bill Pearl all being in close contention. But Rick's arms were near perfect; big, cut, vascular, proportioned. Way ahead of his time. 70's: SERGIO OLIVA - Why not Arnold? Why not Lou? Arnold was somewhat lacking in the forearm department and Lou in the triceps. Sergio's combination of huge tri's, massive forearms, and long biceps takes the cake. Mentzer is right behind. 80's: GUNNAR ROSBO - The guy was supposed to be "The Next Big Thing" in the early 80's. At least his arms were. Bertil Fox is a close second.
BEST ABS 60's: ZABO KOZEWSKI - Zabo showed everyone in the 50's and 60's what abs were supposed to look like. 70's: PIERRE VANDENSTEEN/ SERGE NUBRET - I can't decide. Pierre's midsection looked to be carved from stone. There is a Muscle Builder/Power cover of him that is astounding. Serge's abs were so deep you could hide a dime within them. 80's: RICH GASPARI - He made the front double biceps look like an ab shot because his abs were always perfectly visible.
BEST LEGS 60's: REG PARK - This was a tough one because no one had truly outstanding legs in the 1960's. But Reg's calves were the best by far and his thighs were massive. 70's: MIKE MENTZER - Possibly a greater travesty than Mike not winning the 1980 Mr. Olympia was his loss to Kal Szkalak at the 1977 Universe. Mike's legs were the best ever to that point, each seemingly as big as Kal's two put together. 80's: TOM PLATZ - I've heard others argue to the contrary but to me their point is moot ; there never have been, and may never be, legs like Tom Platz's. MOST MUSCULAR 60's: BILL PEARL - He was incredibly thick and massive- rugged to the core. 70's: SERGIO OLIVA/ MIKE MENTZER - Sergio from 1971 on redefined the term "Massive." Mike circa 1978 met Sergio's standard. Look at the beach shots of him taken after the '78 Universe. To me, that was his best condition, not 1980.
80's: RICH GASPARI - Yeah, Haney was unquestionably the best bodybuilder of the 80's (some would say ever) but his appeal had as much to do with his beautiful lines as his mass. Rich was just the epitome of pure muscle density. I saw him take 2nd at the 1985 NOC and still to this day have seen few guys with as much muscle per inch as Rich. BEST POSER 60's: ? - I've seen very little footage of posing from the 60's and wouldn't be qualified to make a decision. For those who have let me know here. 70's: ED CORNEY - Just watch the master ply his trade in "Pumping Iron." Why aren't there more Ed Corney's around?. 80's: MOHAMED MAKKAWAY - Grace and power. His transitions were as important as his actual poses and each pose he hit seemed to be angled just right for his structure.
Of course all of these awards are the sole opinion of IRON AGE and, as such, are open to debate. Feel free to let us know your opinions and we'll publish them in an upcoming "Letters to the Editor" section. Email your thoughts to: contact@ironage.us
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