Is Arnold the GOAT ?

[Corbi]

I think Lou Ferrigno would argue the point as he likes to proclaim he always gives 110% and he was The Mighty Hulk whereas Arnold just a lowly Conan.

[HumblyMuscles]

I just finished reading Arnies latest Bio "Total Recall" I can say he was absolutely dedicated in the 60s and 70s to developing his body to it's maximum. Sure he was genetically gifted, but he was 100% focused on his goal and his determination was something else. He is also extremely clever and learnt to develop his mind as well. His ultimate goal was to escape Austria and the humdrum drudgery he expected in his life if he remained there. Bodybuilding for him was a way of getting out of there. Underneath it all though, he really wanted to get to America and be in movies. It's a shame he didn't keep up his physique as well as some of the other bodybuilders from the 70s, but hey at least he's not fat!
He still keeps in shape, and looks 95% better than many his age. As other posters have said, he never turned his back on bodybuilding, he has done more to promote the sport than any single individual in the history of it.
Some of the stories he tells about how he and Franco would try all these crazy ideas in the gym to shock their bodies into growing is quite a read!
He is/ was beautifully developed, along with that other brilliant 60s, 70s bodybuilder Frank Zane ( who was ROBBED of the 80 Olympia IMHO ) Although having recently watched "The Comeback "as well, which documents Arnies 1980 comeback, Arnie did actually look very good in 1980 and did deserve a top 3 spot, although most agreed he shouldn't have won. In the book, Arnold even says he was very lucky to win in 1980 and certainly doesn't gloat over his victory there.
Despite his faults, I certainly still admire Arnie and his work ethic greatly!

[HumblyMuscles]

Zane's physique blew everyone away. And the guy destroyed everyone with a body less than 200lbs.

Beautiful physique , much respect here!!

[Brackneyc]

Yes he is.

[Health45]

Humbly are you sure ?
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/...old_709131.jpg

I 'd prefer he'd could be in this kind of shape though. again the heart surgery had an effect on him too.
http://www.onrembobine.fr/wp-content...zenegger-I.jpg

[HumblyMuscles]

[QUOTE=Health45;1069711031]Humbly are you sure ?
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/...old_709131.jpg

Ha! Yeah I'm sure, not even sure these photos are real- some one did do some fakes a couple of years ago. ..
I did see some recent video of him ( this year ) training in a private gym and he looks pretty good, lean and muscular
Besides- in Australia, this IS better than 95% of the population!!

[2nd_chance]

Arnold is the King. IMO, if you dropped Arnold, in his prime, into the 2000s, with all of the gear, equipment and nutritional advancements, he would hand Ronnie and Jay their arse. Conversely, I believe that if you took all that away and dropped Ronnie and Jay into the early 70s, the result would be Arnold the King.

[Health45]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdh351Y7wxQ
that video ?
lost everything.
I hope he can repack 25lbs even at 65.... if Stallone can do it he should.
but he seemed bigger on Piers Morgan a few days ago though ??

he's trying to relaunch his movie career but The Last Stand crashed at the BO (same for Sly)
these guys need to do multi-star cast movies like the Expendables to still gather the public.

at least John Wayne for instance managed all alone to attract the public till the end. but the movie industry
was different.
today it's almost entirely the 6-24 public and that's it.

he looked great in the red Lacoste in Predator or Last Action Hero. cool outfit. jeans, santiags and a cigar
if you can make a Lacoste tight with visible traps, arms, chest and floating around the waist (ie, small waist),
that's plenty enough


not sure many know about THE DEEP with Earl Maynard (on the left). good old days (1977)

amazing how small waist helps overal perceived look
here in the middle. like Arnold had, low shoulders, nice traps. I'm gonna get back to heavy shrugs

[HumblyMuscles]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdh351Y7wxQ
that video ?
lost everything.
I hope he can repack 25lbs even at 65.... if Stallone can do it he should.
but he seemed bigger on Piers Morgan a few days ago though ??

he's trying to relaunch his movie career but The Last Stand crashed at the BO (same for Sly)
these guys need to do multi-star cast movies like the Expendables to still gather the public.

at least John Wayne for instance managed all alone to attract the public till the end. but the movie industry
was different.
today it's almost entirely the 6-24 public and that's it.

he looked great in the red Lacoste in Predator or Last Action Hero. cool outfit. jeans, santiags and a cigar
if you can make a Lacoste tight with visible traps, arms, chest and floating around the waist (ie, small waist),
that's plenty enough


not sure many know about THE DEEP with Earl Maynard (on the left). good old days (1977)

amazing how small waist helps overal perceived look
here in the middle. like Arnold had, low shoulders, nice traps. I'm gonna get back to heavy shrugs

Funny, I just watched the Deep again a few weeks ago, and was quite surprised to see a couple of muscle men in that- ah the good old seventies!!

[HumblyMuscles]

In that video he's STILL better than 98% of Aussies! ( And 34.6% of my statistics are totally made up )

[GuyJin]

You'll get your arguments pro and con, but I'll state that Arnold in his heyday and even after, put bodybuilding on the map as a 'respectable' thing to do. He made it fun. Before him, the image of a bodybuilder was of a sexual deviant, someone who was narcissistic, stupid, and thought only of the next day's sets and reps, was incapable of doing anything else than lifting weights, and...the list goes on.

Arnold, for all his personal failings (and they're not worth going into here) presented an image of a guy who enjoyed what he did, enjoyed being onstage, showing off what doing something athletic could translate into aesthetically. He broke the old stereotypes--shattered them, in fact--and helped, along with Joe Weider, Frank Zane, and Lou Ferrigno among others--turn bodybuilding a bit more mainstream. It will never be, I feel, one hundred percent mainstream, but he played a huge role if not THE biggest role in popularizing weight training.

Leaving aside his successful foray into movies and politics, in terms of bodybuilding alone, he stands at the top of the hill. Ronnie and Lee Haney may have won more titles (and, of course, there were no Grand Prix contests in Arnold's day) but they never came across to me as having the charisma that Arnold had and still has. They were ambitious to win, yes, but always came across as less charismatic than Arnold. I respect both men for what they achieved--and I'll leave aside which physique I'd prefer to have--but Arnold sought the spotlight more and yes, it focused on him.

In my mind, no one else since then has displayed the same kind of appeal. Shawn Ray is a very bright guy, but in his competitive days, he came across as a whiny little suck because he never won the Mr. O, a guy with a fabulous physique and an over-opiniated big mouth. Wheeler acted like a jackass much of the time, Levrone usually referred to himself in the third person for some obscure reason, and while Yates always seemed like a decent bloke, he came across as a rather quiet sort and not charismatic IMO at all. These days, Cutler, Heath, Greene, and all the others are interesting to listen to and glean tips from, but in terms of charisma...they just don't got it. Arnie did...and still does.

[HumblyMuscles]

Great comments GuyJin, I think you nailed it, Arnie just had the X factor- along with a few other characters from the 60s and 70s. No one has captured the publics attention as much since Arnie. He transcended the sport like Ali in Boxing, Pele in Soccer or Tiger Woods, to a lesser extent in Golf. There may never be another like him!

[Health45]

Yep, Robert Tessier on the right. (RIP)
both were professional wrestlers too, strong men.

Yes Arnold clearly had a big personality, it shows so clear in PUMPING IRON. he's balsy . liked to tease, to mock.

It's really the late seventies early eighties that saw bding and gyms and supplements started to explode. when Arnie started
stopping competing (1980) and Conan (1981). Stallone probably had an effect too (Rocky III, 1982), then a few years
later Van Damme. these 2 movies have had enormous impact on the BB industry regarding the public.
and female bding/fitness in the early nineties. these two movies imho had a trigger effect.

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of...rt?&id=1488514

[pharmamarketer]

GOAT, yes if you consider what he did overall for BBing and bringing noise around it. Just pure BBing I would say no.

[tmonkey]

[Juggertha]

We all know that bodybuilding is a subjective sport. Heck, most people can't agree with placings at recent shows... it's almost insane to ask for comparisons across decades.

But as for impact on the sport, yeah, I'd give it to Arnold. I can't think of anyone else that's inspired more in this area.

[Widgeteye]

I'm positive the Roman Empire started falling because of its overuse of abbreviations. It took me five or six views of this thread to decode what GOAT was.

I just saw another thread in another forum where a woman wrote she was recovering from ED. If I hadn't opened the thread, I'd never know she meant something other than Erectile Dysfunction.

I despise abbreviations.

Me 2. The. E D one got me too. And what's brb, thought that meant be right back. I give up. :-)

[dvmac]

As far as impact on a sport. He is the babe Ruth of of body building.If he had the same
Drugs and nutrition benefit of the modern day bodybuilder I have no doubt he would be on top.

[ArchAngel'73]

I think Lou Ferrigno would argue the point as he likes to proclaim he always gives 110% and he was The Mighty Hulk whereas Arnold just a lowly Conan.

Ferrigno can argue all he wants and as soon as he shows me his Sandow I might consider listening.
He'd probably charge me $20 though.

[pharmamarketer]

Ferrigno can argue all he wants and as soon as he shows me his Sandow I might consider listening.
He'd probably charge me $20 though.

[ArchAngel'73]

^^^^
charges crippled kids $20 for an autograph.

[GuyJin]

^^^^
charges crippled kids $20 for an autograph.

--

He always has. Then again, so did the Mentzer brothers, and I'm sure a lot of other bodybuilders did or still do the same. While it seems rather crass, most builders don't make a lot of cash, and when you figure in what they eat, drink, and have to pay for the "special supps" it comes out to be a losing proposition for many of them, endorsements and work aside. If I were famous--even if I weren't rich--I wouldn't charge for an autograph or picture, but that's just me. (Since I'm neither famous nor rich--yet--it doesn't really matter.)

Cowboy Biker, you can have my autograph. Please send your Kindle to Japan to this address:

StarvingwriterGuyJin
FeedMeLane
1-1-11-Iwannasellamillionnovels
333-7777



NOW REP ME!!

[Whiskeyjack]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do9Z2...e_gdata_player

[Health45]

don't forget this fella (which a big box office comeback, Rambo V in the making btw)

[ArchAngel'73]

BOSS

[Health45]

Arnie should get back in shape...now... Stallone is in amazing shape at same age
no secret, like Robbie Robinson: you have to keep training and dieting

[Whiskeyjack]

BOSS

Yes. Athletic, not a huge roid waist.

[scullin]

Arnie should get back in shape...now... Stallone is in amazing shape at same age
no secret, like Robbie Robinson: you have to keep training and dieting

dat peak

[Whiskeyjack]

dat peak

Great photo!

[GuyJin]

Guy in the background is doing angel wings.

Just sayin'...



(Yeah, I know how much everyone hates this saying).