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Random Thoughts
For once I thought it might be nice not to worry about theme, pacing, and sentence structure in an article and, instead, just spit out thoughts, observations and ideas. So, here goes… • Someone should promote a bodybuilding show where the standards reflect the old school style of bodybuilding. Aesthetics would be a judged criteria and receive as much weight in the final decision as definition and mass. • Danny Padilla had no weak bodyparts. • Mike Mentzer may have been a bit dogmatic, but he was a revolutionary thinker, and had the potential to be the greatest ever. • Lou Ferrigno did the right thing by taking "The Incredible Hulk". The way judging was turning in the late 70's he probably would not have won the Olympia then either. • Harold Poole and Rick Wayne are two very underrated bodybuilders. • To this day I still consider Arnold the best. He had just the right combination of mass, cuts, structure, and muscle shape. I think one could make a very accurate comparison between Arnold and Ali. Ali was the best heavyweight ever. But what makes him, and Arnold, so memorable had less to do with their physical abilities and more with their mental ones. That's why, in addition to both being the best at what they did, they were also both "The Greatest." • As big as Sergio was, he looked MUCH bigger standing alone than he did when standing next to others. • Dave Draper and Rick Wayne are my two favorite writers of the Iron Age.
• Boyer Coe probably made the most out of the least, even more so than Larry Scott. Almost every muscle group on Boyer was oddly shaped. His rectus abdominus was almost nonexistant, his outer triceps pencil thin, his biceps oddly split, his thighs angular rather than curved, yet, he was one of the great champions of all time. Good work Boyer! • Ron Teufel and Tim Belknap always intrigued me. Both were very popular amateurs, each receiving loads of coverage. Then, as soon as they turned pro, they disappeared. • The 1981 Mr. Olympia was a bigger debacle than the 1980. I love Franco. His contribution to bodybuilding has been amazing and his combination of bodybuilding and powerlifting prowess may never be equalled. However, Tom Platz, Chris Dickerson, Roy Callender, Danny Padilla, and Jusup Wilkosz all should have been placed ahead of him in 1981. I'm still not sure who I would have given the 1980 to, but it's wouldn't be Arnold. • Robby Robinson is the last of a dying breed. I don't know if he's oficially retired from competition, but he was the last remaining pro who competed in the 1970's. Let's see any of the guys around today compete at an elite level for 30 years. • I'm tired of the robot-moonwalk-popping-dipping-pseudo posing that many of today's guys perform. When John Brown first did it 20 years ago it was fresh. When Albert Beckles started spontaneously dancing onstage in 1983 it was fun. Now it's derivative, unimaginative, and silly-looking. Give me heroic posing again. Or powerful posing. Or exciting posing. But the last thing I want to see at a bodybuilding show is bumping and grinding. • If it looks like synthol- it is. For 90+ years guys' bodies got progressively larger as they increased their training, eating, supplementing, and steroid use. But the muscles still resembled the muscles of old. They were just larger. Now there are "muscles" on guys that look like they came off an alien- biceps, triceps, shoulders which stand at attention like an erection. Don't fall for the lies.
• I wish I could have seen Ed Corney pose in person. • Lee Haney, with today's cocktail of drugs, could beat anybody around now. • Sometimes I wish bodybuilding weren't as popular as it is today. Sometimes I'm glad it is. • I have as much respect for female bodybuilders as I do male. I know many and support their efforts. I think Bev Francis should go down as one of the greatest bodybuilders in history- regardless of sex. She is the epitome of an Iron Age bodybuilder. • I still don't understand how Tom Platz's thighs got so big. • Over the last 30 years or so legs have improved tremendously. Backs and shoulders have improved quite a bit too. But the chests of Arnold, Franco, Sergio, and Ferrigno have yet to be surpassed. • I hope I live long enough to see a guy under 250 pounds win the Olympia again.
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