Why is conditioning so bad these days?

[Devilshoulders]

A current trend I've come to notice is that conditioning seems to be lacking these days. Like even Phil couldnt beat out Ronnie or Dorian conditioning-wise in their prime (imo). And Heath is a faaaar stretch from the usual big boys, Jay, Kai, Vic, and Wolf (our current elites) all looks out of shape at major contests compared to the conditioning of those guys in the 90s. Even the contenders back then are shredded to the max in those days like Flex, Sean or Levrone. There's a lot of talks about how the aestheticism getting loss with time, but it seems the conditioning, seems to be lacking as well. So is it just a matter of diet and hard work that these current pros lack as opposed to the gut wrenching workouts and crazy diets in the 90s( Levrone actually called them out on youtube on this he also claimed back in his days he'd ate fish and veggies for 2 straight months leading up the a contest, while still training with maximum weight) ? or is it some kind of side-effects from the current arrays of drugs?

[xStevenx]

I listened to an interview with Levrone. And he said back in his day they would suffer on low carbs to get that really shredded look...and look at diets of a lot of the top pros today, pretty high carbs for pre contest, well for anything.

Almost relying on drugs more than diet to get them into shape it seems.

[MAX.MAREK]

OP, i srsly hope your kidding. most look out of condition? LOL common now.

[RC2008]

OP, i srsly hope your kidding. most look out of condition? LOL common now.

He just means they're not as diced as they used to be. And he's right.

It's mostly the mid and low tier guys that come in looking watery and smooth. And especially in the smaller pro shows.

For example, the newest pros Kucklo and Morel look terrible conditioning wise.

But op, I definitely don't agree about Phil Heath. He comes in looking more conditioned than even Ronnie would in some instances. If there's anyone who is conditioned enough to stand in the 90s and not look out of shape, it's Phil Heath. I mean, did you see the Olympia?

[warbird00]

He just means they're not as diced as they used to be. And he's right.

It's mostly the mid and low tier guys that come in looking watery and smooth. And especially in the smaller pro shows.

For example, the newest pros Kucklo and Morel look terrible conditioning wise.

But op, I definitely don't agree about Phil Heath. He comes in looking more conditioned than even Ronnie would in some instances. If there's anyone who is conditioned enough to stand in the 90s and not look out of shape, it's Phil Heath. I mean, did you see the Olympia?

and how do you know mid-lower tier pros didnt come into shows watery back then? It's not like there are threads called "Check out this random dude who got 8th place at the tampa pro in 1995!!"

Also didn't they use more diuretics back then?

[DavisForman]

Conditioning is fine...

[trulyhuge1]

I do agree the conditioning is lacking compared to the 1990's athletes. The look was a lot more hard, dry. Take Dorian for example. Looks like he was chiseled out of granite. Muntzer was as damn shredded as one could be. Could Levrone be right about suffering and whatnot? Who knows. I know all bodybuilders suffer but maybe to a lesser degree now? To me, the 90's guys has paper thin skin. Now, while their skin is thin, it doesn't seem as dry. I still like todays athletes though!

[bartosh]

I do agree the conditioning is lacking compared to the 1990's athletes. The look was a lot more hard, dry. Take Dorian for example. Looks like he was chiseled out of granite. Muntzer was as damn shredded as one could be. Could Levrone be right about suffering and whatnot? Who knows. I know all bodybuilders suffer but maybe to a lesser degree now? To me, the 90's guys has paper thin skin. Now, while their skin is thin, it doesn't seem as dry. I still like todays athletes though!

Centopani at the flex pro 2011 would like a word with you

[trulyhuge1]

Centopani at the flex pro 2011 would like a word with you

Umm, ok?

[yaldish]

With Phil Heath as our new Mr. Olympia, who always comes in great shape. No one is able to beat him unless they are in shape, and they are all aware of it. Which means one thing, I hope. That people will bust their asses off when it comes to conditioning, and that the standard is much higher than a few years ago.

[DPNZ]

I don't know about this thread...

[flangmasterj]

Nah just the quality of the pics and vids have gotten better since the 90's. Take away film grain, whacky contrast and poop loads of noise and you'll see that the pros of the 90's are in the same condition as the pros of today.

[yaldish]

Nah just the quality of the pics and vids have gotten better since the 90's. Take away film grain, whacky contrast and poop loads of noise and you'll see that the pros of the 90's are in the same condition as the pros of today.

Im glad you said that. This is a GREAT example.

[zmcdole]

Nah just the quality of the pics and vids have gotten better since the 90's. Take away film grain, whacky contrast and poop loads of noise and you'll see that the pros of the 90's are in the same condition as the pros of today.

You took words from my mouth. Negged.

[Big Slim DaDDy]

That narrow son of a bitch was crisp as corn flakes you're talking out of your ass. Actually go and look at pics from the 2011 Olympia and specifically look at his conditioning compared to the other guys and you will see why he took his clavicles and rode them to Olympia glory.

[FAN0FdaSport]

What the hell is wrong with people trying to use the best bodybuilder during an era to prove that an entire era of bodybuilders comes in conditioned. Of course they're conditioned... they're Mr. Olympia. They better be sure to make everyone else look soft...

Now if we wanna critique overall conditioning use the whole top 10 at the O or 2-3 smaller shows and look at the top 5. I know 7th place Tony Freeman was soft and the guys after him too.

INb4 but but branch, phil, kai are more conditioned than shawn, kevin and flex therefore todays pros are better... Taking the debate in that direction doesn't address the issue and is pointless.

[lee4]

wow at the yaldish comparison above :0

[DPNZ]

You took words from my mouth. Negged.

Seriously?

[flangmasterj]

Seriously?

He's being sarcastic. Down bro, down.

[DPNZ]

He's being sarcastic. Down bro, down.

Good coz I like Zmcdole.

[mpelto]

I don't know about this thread...

[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/bigdpizzle/hmmm.jpg[/I]

He looks like ****!

Did he even ****ing diet?

-_-

[PresidentChoice]

agreed with higher res pics at fault. Also i'd say there is less reckless drug use among the top guys.

[zmcdole]

Seriously?

He's being sarcastic. Down bro, down.

[AnarkyLost]

lol Kevin acts like he was on at every show..you could count on one hand how many times he was truelly peeled.

Most guys achieve this conditioning today and then some.

[pulltheplug]

^^ exactly Levrone sucks. He either came in big n soft or tiny and sharp. overrated bodybuilder..

[ltrrtl218]

Nah just the quality of the pics and vids have gotten better since the 90's. Take away film grain, whacky contrast and poop loads of noise and you'll see that the pros of the 90's are in the same condition as the pros of today.

So this

[rebel25]

A current trend I've come to notice is that conditioning seems to be lacking these days. Like even Phil couldnt beat out Ronnie or Dorian conditioning-wise in their prime (imo). And Heath is a faaaar stretch from the usual big boys, Jay, Kai, Vic, and Wolf (our current elites) all looks out of shape at major contests compared to the conditioning of those guys in the 90s. Even the contenders back then are shredded to the max in those days like Flex, Sean or Levrone. There's a lot of talks about how the aestheticism getting loss with time, but it seems the conditioning, seems to be lacking as well. So is it just a matter of diet and hard work that these current pros lack as opposed to the gut wrenching workouts and crazy diets in the 90s( Levrone actually called them out on youtube on this he also claimed back in his days he'd ate fish and veggies for 2 straight months leading up the a contest, while still training with maximum weight) ? or is it some kind of side-effects from the current arrays of drugs?

I think it's more of a HARDNESS factor then a conditioning factor by this I mean the look of the muscle when the fat is stripped away. Does it look like a slab of GRANITE or a BALLOON that's been blown up????? I don't think that today's bodybuilders are dieting any less than that of the 90's in fact you could argue with all the knowledge these athletes have at their fingertips they are not only dieting AS HARD but SMARTER than those of earlier eras. BUT the question still exist HAS CONDITIONING AND/OR HARDNESS WORSENED AND WHY. I believe YES there is a major difference in HARDNESS which could come from a couple different places. ONE would be the use of different and/or more drugs today specifically insulin which causes visceral fat storage (intramuscular). TWO would be the use of oils to "PLUMP" up the muscles, if you don't believe TOP pro's are using oil now more than ever I've got a secret bunker to sell you for the 2012 doomsday preparation (I'LL GIVE YOU A GREAT PRICE). My last idea would be just that the pro's are so consumed with coming in full rather than hard,dry and striated that they come in bloated all the time (relatively speaking).

[valiantmiller16]

conditioning is twice as good now retards, the difference is guys don't get close to as dry as 90's

[kosworth]

...Also didn't they use more diuretics back then?

1. Diuretics (hardness & dryness).

Nah just the quality of the pics and vids have gotten better since the 90's. Take away film grain, whacky contrast and poop loads of noise and you'll see that the pros of the 90's are in the same condition as the pros of today.

2. Video quality (hardness & dryness).

I think it's more of a HARDNESS factor then a conditioning factor by this I mean the look of the muscle when the fat is stripped away. Does it look like a slab of GRANITE or a BALLOON that's been blown up????? I don't think that today's bodybuilders are dieting any less than that of the 90's in fact you could argue with all the knowledge these athletes have at their fingertips they are not only dieting AS HARD but SMARTER than those of earlier eras. BUT the question still exist HAS CONDITIONING AND/OR HARDNESS WORSENED AND WHY. I believe YES there is a major difference in HARDNESS which could come from a couple different places. ONE would be the use of different and/or more drugs today specifically insulin which causes visceral fat storage (intramuscular). TWO would be the use of oils to "PLUMP" up the muscles, if you don't believe TOP pro's are using oil now more than ever I've got a secret bunker to sell you for the 2012 doomsday preparation (I'LL GIVE YOU A GREAT PRICE). My last idea would be just that the pro's are so consumed with coming in full rather than hard,dry and striated that they come in bloated all the time (relatively speaking).

3. Synthol & dryness.

conditioning is twice as good now retards, the difference is guys don't get close to as dry as 90's

4. Dryness.

These are the most likely explanations...

[Chuwey]

I agree. My understanding is that use of diuretics was out of control until Munzer died (I'm not sure he even died of diuretics, but that was the impression). I don't know what Levrone is talking about regarding low carbs; just ask Shawn Ray, he ate tons of carbs and came in shredded.