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* This article by Strength Oldschool was initially written on Dec 3, 2016. It has now been updated as of 8 March 2021. * Please watch the video first before reading the article - The video only goes up to 2016 and does not contain footage of later Mr Olympia winners. In these modern times the ‘Mr Olympia’ is considered the KING of ALL bodybuilding contests. Who ever wins the Mr Olympia is simply known as the best bodybuilder on the planet. It’s a title that every single heavyweight competitive bodybuilder hopes to win. Before the Mr Olympia contest was created, bodybuilders back in the early days entered the ‘Mr America’ and ‘Mr Universe’ contests which were highly respected. If a bodybuilder won those contests you were considered the best. However in 1965, Joe Weider decided to create a contest that would bring together Mr America and Mr Universe winners to determine the greatest bodybuilder in the world. That contest became known as the Mr Olympia and to date, there have been only 16 winners. When it comes to ‘How to Judge a Physique’, everyone is different. But you need to ask yourself what are you looking for when it comes to an Olympian Physique. In my opinion, I’m looking for mass with aesthetic appeal i.e. Broad Shoulders, V-Taper, Tiny Waist, Big Arms, Medium to larg-ish legs (not too big), Big Chest & Back and no glaring weaknesses. If a lifter has an extremely poor body part, i.e. their calves…they do NOT deserve to be awarded the title of Mr Olympia. Everything needs to be in proportion. I have included a list of all the winners below – have a read and see if you agree with my own thoughts. Please respond back with any comments you have. Thank you. 1. Larry Scott Larry Scott (12 Oct. 1938 - 8 March 2014) won the contest twice (1965 & 1966). Tremendous physique. Arms and shoulders were out of this world and would even do damage still in today's contests. Larry was the first ever winner of the Mr Olympia contest. He unfortunately passed away back in 2014 but right up till his death, he continued to train and maintain a fantastic physique and still had incredible arms. He was genetically blessed with god given muscle insertions. His only real weakness was his clavicle length which he managed to overcome by developing one of the greatest shoulders in history. Superb at posing, he created many distinct artful poses. He carried mass with class as he developed and maintained an aesthetic physique. Larry Scott at 70 years old training... 2. Sergio ‘The Myth’ Oliva Sergio Oliva (4 July 1941 - 12 Nov. 2012) was known as "The Myth" for good reason – He was scary big with full, long muscle bellies all over. He had no weak points. It’s common for black bodybuilders to have poor calf development but Sergio’s calves were huge, taped at 20″!! Sergio won the Mr Olympia three times (1967, 1968 & 1969). It could be argued that he deserved to win a lot more times given his god given physique. Personally I think he could have easily won the contest another two times i.e. 1970 and possibly 1972 in my opinion. Maybe 1971 as well but not sure as Arnold looked massive in ’71. Sergio was definitely robbed of his prime bodybuilding days by Joe Weider as Joe banned him from competing at the 1971 Mr Olympia and then again in 1973 onwards! The battles that Arnold and Sergio could have had would have been tremendous. Sergio began as a weightlifter in Cuba but soon went AWOL to become a bodybuilder in Chicago. His proportions were out of this world with arms bigger than his head!! He oozed perfection and combined HUGE MASS with AESTHETICS. His forearms were bigger than most people’s legs! Larry Scott retired after winning the Mr Olympia in 1966 after seeing the rise of Sergio – Sergio was that good. He was incredibly wide, massive arms, huge chest and back, gigantic thighs but had the most tiny waist ever for a man of his proportions. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated that Sergio Oliva had the better physique. Sergio in my opinion will go down as the Top Two Greatest Bodybuilders Ever! Check out these fantastic videos on the legend... Sergio also had to battle serious injuries throughout his life from a bad tricep tear to being shot! Check out this footage... Check out the following article links on Sergio Oliva: 2001 Interview with Sergio Oliva By Brian D. Johnston How Sergio Oliva and Victor Richards Built Their Physiques by Jeff Everson Biscuit Oliva - Baki the Grappler - Based on Bodybuilder Sergio Oliva 3. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Schwarzenegger (30 July 1947 - Present), even from a young age, was simply destined to become one of the greatest bodybuilders ever. He was blessed with the right genetics for bodybuilding, especially in the arms and chest department. Some people will argue that he was top heavy and had no legs or calves but in my opinion that’s bulls**t! In his early days his calves were relatively poor but he later changed that by training them harder. His calves improved so much that some bodybuilders believed he got implants!! Utter nonsense. One famous bodybuilder who did get calf implants later in life and competed with them was Lou Ferrigno! (Why Joe Weider allowed Lou Ferrigno to compete with calf Implants I do not know!?) Arnold always enjoyed life to the full but was extremely driven and focused and had his mind set on becoming the best bodybuilder in the world. If he had weak areas, he worked hard on those to bring them up. He had the mindset to do that, which not many people have. Arnold built a HUGE physique which at one point amassed over 250 lbs but still had a relatively tight, small waist which you don’t see in bodybuilders today. Even though he carried a lot of mass, he still looked athletic and graceful on stage while posing. Aesthetics is everything when it comes to bodybuilding but for some reason, in today’s contests, mass seems to be prevailing over aesthetics which is a shame. For more of my thoughts on "Old School vs Modern" click here. Arnold won the Mr Olympia seven times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 & 1980) which in those days was unheard of. He also holds the record as being the youngest ever Mr Olympia winner at 23 years old. In my opinion, if Arnold hadn’t retired, he could have easily won right up to 1980 and beyond. That would equate to TEN Mr Olympia titles!! He had the genetics and mind blowing physique to easily do so. There was no competition for him as Sergio Oliva had been banned from competing in the IFBB. Arnold has done more for the sport than anyone else and in my opinion, Arnold along with Sergio Oliva are the Top Two Best Bodybuilders of all time! Some days I consider Arnold to be the best ever, other days I think it’s Sergio. I always seem to change my mind because every now and again I’ll come across a rare photo online showing Sergio or Arnold posing and I’ll be blown away. Check out these fantastic videos on Arnold... For true information on how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained click here! 4. Franco Columbu Franco Columbu (7 Aug. 1941 - 30 Aug. 2019) was a powerbuilder. By that I mean he always trained heavy and was known for his strength. As a competitive Powerlifter he was much stronger than Arnold in the gym and pound for pound he became one of the strongest bodybuilders ever. It was Arnold that convinced Franco to try his hand at bodybuilding as that was where the money was to be made. Franco became one of the best bodybuilders ever winning the Mr Olympia contest on two occasions (1976 & 1981). He was extremely muscular, famous for his split upper chest development. For a short guy, his muscle insertions were unfortunately just as short. He did build an incredible physique but poor arm genetics meant that he was never going to have arms like Arnold. A well known and respected bodybuilder by the name of Danny Padilla also was short in height, probably was about the same height as Franco, maybe even a tad shorter. However Danny’s physique was miss-leading. Standing on his own, you would never think of Danny being so short. This was due to his long, full muscle insertions. But Franco on the other hand didn’t have these magical muscle insertions. However, he did build a solid, strong, muscular physique which in his prime, looked tremendous. His chest, abs, shoulders, especially his back were simply out of this world. His arms, even with his short muscle insertions, still looked fantastic as his biceps genetically peaked high. Franco Columbu demonstrated just how strong he was by competing at the 1977 World's Strongest Man contest which unfortunately resulted in Franco obtaining a serious injury which took many years for him to fully recover. His comeback at the 1981 Mr Olympia which resulted in him winning may have been controversial but given his serious "sport career ending" injury fours years earlier, in 1977, it was flat out amazing for Franco to be walking again, let alone training and competing! 5. Frank Zane Frank Zane (28 June 1942 - Present) was incredible. He won the Mr Olympia contest three times (1977, 1978 & 1979). Compared to the likes of Arnold and Sergio who were mass monsters (In a good way), Frank competed at a much lighter bodyweight and to this day he holds the record for the lightest man to ever win the Mr Olympia contest. Frank was like Greek sculpture, carved out of stone. His famous vacuum pose remains one of the most memorable classic bodybuilding poses ever. This is a pose that many current Mr Olympia competitors could probably not do due to the extreme mass they carry in the wrong areas i.e. belly and waist. Frank Zane really has inspired many millions of people across the world to get in shape. His physique signifies a body that natural lifters could aspire to achieve. 6. Chris Dickerson Chris Dickerson (25 Aug. 1939 - Present) is a one time winner of the Mr Olympia contest having won in 1982 at the age of 43. At that time, he became the oldest ever Mr Olympia winner. To date, that record was broken by Shawn Rhoden winning the 2018 Mr Olympia contest at the age of 43 years and 5 months. Chris Dickerson in my humble opinion, is not one of my personal favourites, but definitely not the least, to have won the Mr Olympia title. I do not believe he should have won in 1982 given his serious elbow problem. That's not to say he should never have won the title, he could have possibly won the Mr Olympia in 1980 or 1981 as I feel his physique was much better then. From an aesthetic point of view, Chris was incredible. He always had that V-Taper look and his legs were amazing especially his calves. Chris has said many times that he didn’t really need to do much for his calves as he was genetically blessed in that department. Some people are lucky that way. He was always conditioned for competition, never looked bloated and was very muscular. As I’ve said, his legs were one of the best back in the day but he clearly wasn’t blessed genetically in the chest and arm department. I always thought the shape of his chest looked odd. Compare his chest to that of Steve Reeves, and you'll understand what I mean. His arms were also too small for his frame. His biceps did not impress me one bit and I feel his arms in particular let him down. But what can you do with poor genetics? A Mr Olympia contender in my opinion must have great arms. If the arms are poor, their chances of winning should be minimum. Now I’m not saying that any competitor with great arms could be Mr Olympia - I believe that a Mr Olympia winner should not have any glaring weaknesses whatsoever. If a body part clearly stands out as a glaring weakness, then no, they should not be awarded the title. This is why Arnold and Sergio were so ahead of their time. They had no glaring weaknesses, if any, and every body part of theirs looked tremendous. Chris Dickerson had a superb lower body but unfortunately never had the upper body genetics to match. His back was tremendous no doubt but chest and arms were a major let down for him. I'd be curious to know what caused Chris Dickerson's elbow to become so large? I've read that's a side effect of abusing "Growth Hormone" but I'm not an expert. 7. Samir Bannout Samir Bannout (7 Nov. 1955 - Present) won the Mr Olympia title in 1983. He was simply the complete package. No glaring weaknesses and exceptional strong points such as arms, chest, back and legs. I always liked Samir’s arms, probably one of the best ever after Arnold, Larry and Sergio. His conditioning was exceptional in ’83 and he oozed aesthetics. Aesthetics is something that old school bodybuilders had in abundance. They carried so much muscle but still looked athletic and appealed to the public. They looked like athletes. I remember the first time I came across Samir, I was watching the DVD, ‘Arnold – Total Rebuild’ which was based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to competition for the 1980 Mr Olympia. Samir wasn’t as conditioned for the 1980 contest as he was for ’83 and sadly didn't place well. To read about the 1980 Mr Olympia and Mike Mentzer's comments regarding that contest click here. Overall, Samir Bannout developed an outstanding physique which will go down in history as one of the best ever. His back development was exceptional and has always been a focal point for Samir. 8. Lee Haney Lee Haney (11 Nov. 1959 - Present) was truly the last Mr Olympia to carry so much mass with great aesthetic appeal. Possessing wide shoulders with an even greater wider and thicker back, tiny waist with massive legs, everything in proportion (well mostly). Haney won the Mr Olympia eight times (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 & 1991). That was a record eight wins but not just eight wins….8 consecutive wins!! To this day, only one other bodybuilder has tied that record. However, Haney retired undefeated which remains a record itself. Does eight straight wins make Lee Haney the Best Ever Mr Olympia? Before Haney came along, Arnold held the record at six consecutive wins then retired undefeated (In Mr Olympia competition that is) to pursue Hollywood. If Arnold had chosen to continue to compete for the next several years up to 1980, he would have easily achieved 10 Mr Olympia wins as Sergio Oliva, his only real competition wasn't around to compete, due to being BANNED from the IFBB by Joe Weider. Haney’s record however was equaled back in 2005 by a bodybuilder called Ronnie Coleman. Unfortunately Ronnie did not manage to break the record in 2006 due to losing to Jay Cutler. Lee Haney competed at a massive 250 lbs bodyweight and developed one of the best physiques in history. He was known for his huge, wide back development. He always competed in superb shape, shredded to the bone. My only flaw with Lee Haney was his arms. I always felt his arms were genetically poor from a purely aesthetic point of view. If you were comparing Arnold’s arms with Haney’s, Arnold wins hands down, EASILY!! Haney’s arms were big and always looked great in photos when performing curls etc but when posing for a front double biceps shot, you could see the weakness lay in his arms. There was no good shock value when he flexed during a front double biceps pose, like you would see if Arnold flexed. Lee will forever remain one of the best bodybuilders to compete at the Mr Olympia. I do not see anyone beating Lee Haney / Ronnie Coleman’s 8 consecutive wins record for many years. I believe that record will continue to stand for years to come. 9. Dorian Yates With the arrival of Dorian Yates (19 April 1962 - Present) came ‘MASS MONSTER’ status!! Yates won the Mr Olympia in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1997 equaling Arnold’s winning streak. Dorian ended up retiring due to injuries, but winning six consecutive Mr Olympia titles had propelled him into the history books. He was known as a hard trainer and believed in the training method of H.I.T. (High Intensity Training) which was the complete opposite of how other bodybuilders trained at the time i.e. "Volume Training". Photo below: A young Dorian Yates. In his first couple of Mr Olympia wins he was big but still remained tight with a relatively small waist. It was during the last few wins that Dorian packed on the BEEF competing close to 260 lbs!! His waist though in my opinion looked big and bloated. It seemed aesthetics were slowly going out the window during Dorian’s reign and that MASS status was prevailing. Photo below: A bloated Dorian Yates! Dorian was known for complete development - Chest, Forearms, Legs, Calves, Back etc, you name it. He was big and shredded all over during competition (well most). He was known for his rock hard dryness like he was carved out of stone and developed one of the best backs in bodybuilding history. During the mid to late 90's bodybuilders were obviously taking advantage of newer drugs and consuming far more than what previous generations took. Insulin and Growth Hormone were key drugs taken by the likes of Yates to become even bigger but unfortunately so did the bellies! Physiques were changing in the late 90's moving into the 2000's and not for the better. Dorian's reign ended on a bad note due to retiring from injuries. He was actually fortunate (due to bad judging / possible fixed contests) to achieve six Mr Olympia wins as he won two Mr Olympia's with a physique that lacked aesthetics due to a bloated belly and torn muscles. Like Lee Haney, I always felt Dorian’s arms were weak from a front double biceps point of view. There was no WOW factor like Arnold’s. Sure Dorian had the mass and the "Pop-Eye" forearms but his biceps lacked any aesthetic appeal. 10. Ronnie Coleman Ronnie Coleman (13 May 1964 - Present) won the Mr Olympia in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005. An incredible eight consecutive wins tying Lee Haney’s record. This record will not be broken in my opinion for a long time, especially when bodybuilders these days aren’t maturing to Mr Olympia level status until close to their 30’s if not older. In comparison you have to think about how young Arnold was when he won his first Mr Olympia at only 23 years old! He almost won it at 22 but Sergio Oliva put a stop to that. So given today’s radical drug regime and the fact that bodybuilders who are competing in the Mr Olympia in this day and age are in their 30's compared to how young Arnold was – what's the likely hood of a competitor winning eight times or more? With the heavy drug regime and training, can bodybuilders really compete into their 40's and still win Mr Olympia shows?....Of course but will they break Haney's or Coleman's record....Highly unlikely. Ronnie Coleman didn't start out as a "MASS MONSTER", he grew into that status. Early 90's up to 1997, he built an incredible physique which resembled more of an "Old School Bodybuilder" than a "Modern Mass Monster". He had a crazy V-Taper, wide shoulders, massive arms and a tiny waist. The only exception was calves as he was genetically poor in that area but everything else above looked amazing. Ronnie's "Old School" physique though wasn't winning shows (for some crazy reason) and it definitely wasn't placing him high at the Mr Olympia contests each year. So for 1998, he added size and at this point it wasn't too much but was enough to make an impact on the bodybuilding world and take his first steps towards "MASS MONSTER" status. I actually preferred Ronnie's physique before he won the Mr Olympia contest in '98. A lot of fans regard Ronnie's physique that year as one of his best, however, photos show that he suffered bad gyno which makes it more amazing that he won the Mr Olympia that year. Only two bodybuilders in history have won the Mr Olympia displaying gyno and they are of course Ronnie and Franco Columbu back in 1981. From the early 2000's onwards, Ronnie just kept playing the size game and piling on the beef becoming a true MASS FREAK. His waist grew as a result. Ronnie was also one of the strongest bodybuilders ever as he had a passion for lifting ‘Heavy Ass Weights!’ It’s a shame to see the way Ronnie looks now. I think all the years of heavy lifting and steroid abuse has taken a massive toll on his body. You can see the damage done to his arms and more. Ronnie will forever go down in history as one of the greatest bodybuilders ever… but does owning eight Mr Olympia titles make him the greatest? 11. Jay Cutler Now we come to a bodybuilder whom I have never been a fan of….Physique wise. Jay Cutler (3 Aug. 1973 - Present) won the Mr Olympia contest in 2006, 2007, 2009 & 2010. In 2008, he lost to Dexter Jackson. Jay holds the record for being the only Mr Olympia winner to have lost the title and then regain it back. In my opinion Jay Cutler has always displayed a boxy, thick waist type physique. Like Ronnie in his later years, Jay played the size game to battle Ronnie on stage and unfortunately didn't display much aesthetics but rather produced an ugly type physique. But as judging standards were poor and rewarded the mass monsters with bloated bellies it's not surprising that he won a number of Mr Olympia titles given that Ronnie Coleman's body was already in the process of breaking down from 2005 onwards. 12. Dexter Jackson Dexter Jackson (25 Nov. 1969 - Present) won the Mr Olympia contest back in 2008. He is one of those competitors who maintains aesthetics over mass which is great to see but believe it or not I’m still not a fan of his physique although I do prefer it over the current bloated, Mass Monsters of today. Dexter came close to winning the 2015 Mr Olympia contest which was good to see. He has officially retired now as of 2021. Dexter was always consistent and showed up in great condition for contests. His physique overall was very pleasing and athletic looking but certain things about his physique always bothered me...His calf genetics were poor (nothing can be done about that). His biceps to me always looked suspicious of synthol abuse. They just had that unnatural, bloated shape about them. Hard to describe and I'll admit, I could be completely wrong. So I'll say this, his biceps were not aesthetically pleasing. Another thing which gradually got worse over the years was his stomach. No where near as bad as the likes of Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman etc but at several Mr Olympia competitions, it was clear he could not hold his stomach in which protruded at times. This is not something you would see from back in Arnold's prime years but obviously Dexter had been using different drug concoctions which were far more advanced compared to the drugs available in Arnold's day. Dexter's abs would later look like a "Turtle Shell" and unfortunately become the focus / distraction of his overall pleasing physique. Despite the negative comments regarding Dexter, he still led the way and promoted the "Old School" type bodybuilders body compared to anyone else. I just think the type of drugs he must have been using including his advanced age (mid to late 40's) would have been detrimental to his physique. 13. Phil Heath Phil Heath (18 Dec. 1979 - Present) won the Mr Olympia competition seven consecutive times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017) but narrowly lost to Shawn Rhoden in 2018 and thus wasn't able to tie the record for the most Mr Olympia wins with Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman. After taking a couple of years out he returned to the stage set for taking the title back in 2020 but lost, finishing 3rd place behind ex-champion, 2019 Mr Olympia winner, Brandon Curry. I've never been a fan of Phil's physique. He carries a lot of mass in his freakish arms and shoulders but for me overall, his bodyparts just don't flow nicely as early Mr Olympia winners such as Arnold and Sergio Oliva, etc. When Phil is relaxed, his arms look incredible. When you see him in the gym training, his arms are mind blowing but when flexed in competition on stage, his front double biceps pose for me provides no WOW factor at all. I can only describe this as similar to Serge Nubret whose arms looked magnificent when down and relaxed by his sides but once they were flexed overhead, nothing would happen. Photo below: Phil Heath most muscular at the 2020 Mr Olympia contest. Due to the immense size of Phil's shoulders he did have a nice V-Taper, but another pet hate of mine regarding Phil is his chest. His arms and shoulders seem to dwarf his chest. His chest actually reminds me of Chris Dickerson, it has a similar weird shape which isn’t aesthetically pleasing. But again, nothing can be done about that as its genetics. Phil's stomach in later years became a serious problem and that was why he lost to Shawn Rhoden back in 2018. Dexter Jackson was the same and if you don't believe me, feel free to check out the 2015 Mr Olympia online and watch the individual posing round. The whole point of bodybuilding is to build a beautiful physique in proportion, not have stomachs hanging out!! It’s disgusting to look at. Even when bodybuilders are back stage at a contest, they still need to control their abs as they are still being photographed and filmed. Heaths 2020 Mr Olympia comeback (photos below) proved unsuccessful and again, it was the result of his gut protruding! Heath was lucky to have finished in 3rd place. He also looked small compared to the winner, Mamdouh Elssbiay (big Ramy) and if Phil does decide to come back again in 2021, he'll need to pack on some more size to stand a chance against Big Ramy, but packing on more beef for Phil won't be a good thing if it goes to his stomach! 14. Shawn Rhoden Shawn Rhoden (2 April 1975 - Present) was the 2018 Mr Olympia champion defeating Phil Heath. It was a close contest but due to Phil's protruding stomach, Shawn was declared the winner which was heart breaking for Phil. Rhoden became the oldest competitor to capture the Mr. Olympia title last year at age 43 taking the record away from Chris Dickerson who won in 1982. Even Shawn Rhoden at past contests has had trouble holding his stomach in. However, in 2018, he brought back the athletic, classic lines of an "old school" bodybuilder displaying broad shoulders and a tight waist. Shawn winning in 2018 was a step in the right direction for the sport of bodybuilding as it promoted bodybuilders with classic lines and no protruding gut. Since winning the 2018 Mr Olympia, Shawn has been troubled with personal problems accused of raping a female bodybuilder in a Utah hotel room on Oct. 12, 2018. He was charged with felony rape, felony object rape and felony forcible sexual abuse. He has always denied this, pleading not guilty and allegedly passed two "Lie Detector Tests". He has since been banned from competing until the case is resolved. However, there are rumours that he may be preparing for a comeback at this years Mr Olympia contest but who knows? 15. Brandon Curry Brandon Curry (19 Oct. 1982 - Present) brought home the Mr Olympia title in 2019 at 36 years old. It was an interesting Mr Olympia as past winners Shawn Rhoden and Phil Heath were absent from the competition. Brandon in my book displayed an outstanding physique and was a worthy winner. Great arms, thin waist, excellent abs, no protruding gut at any time, he represented old school bodybuilding for me and easily was the clear winner. Unfortunately he wasn't able to retain the title last year in 2020 finishing in 2nd place. Personally I had him in first place. I just hope in the pursuit of more mass to compare better with Big Ramy, that he doesn't go down the wrong path and develop a "bubble gut" so to speak. He remains a definite contender to reclaim the Olympia gold in the near future. 16. Mamdouh Elssbiay (Big Ramy) Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay (16 Sept. 1984 - Present) is an Egyptian bodybuilder, known as "Big Ramy" who made history by defeating two past champions to become the 2020 Mr Olympia winner. I made the following video back in 2015 on Big Ramy... Big Ramy has always had the potential to win the Mr Olympia, he's just never showed up in condition until 2020 that is. Even at his massive size he still displayed a rather small waist which was controlled, no gut protruding. He dwarfed his fellow competitors so I think in 2021, if other bodybuilders such as Brandon Curry don't add more size and Ramy shows up conditioned still looking much bigger than his competitors, then I think it will be lights out and another easy win for Ramy. BEST MR OLYMPIA EVER? So who do I think is the best Mr Olympia ever?....It's a toss up between two bodybuilding legends... 1. Arnold Schwarzenegger 2. Sergio Oliva Their physiques from head to toe were perfection and they both easily dominated other bodybuilders within there era. Even to this day, their physiques would beat the current crop of bodybuilders in my opinion. The biggest bodybuilder should win but only if they still have aesthetics i.e. shapely lines, body parts which flow well together and no bloated gut! A Mr Olympia winner should not have any glaring weaknesses to his physique. Who do you think is the Best Mr Olympia Ever and why? Who didn’t deserve to win a Mr Olympia Title? Who should have won at least one Mr Olympia title? Here are some comments from people to the above questions... The Horror Kid stated... Big Bob stated... Mark stated... * Do you agree with the above comments? Voice your opinions below! * Please note: The "text content" of the above article is copyrighted and may not be used on another website! Readers do have permission to share this article (greatly appreciated) across social media by clicking the "share" button link. * Thanks for reading, Take care and happy training, Strength Oldschool

I have collected first-hand accounts on how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained including info on his diet. I'm a massive fan of Arnold, but let’s face it, there’s a ton of bullshit information out there online, in books, in magazines etc which makes it difficult knowing what to believe. Well here’s first hand accounts taken from people who have trained with Arnold and observed him training in real life. FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS David C New mentions: Dan Brillantino's response to David C New: For anyone who is not familar with Dr. Michael Walczak... Dr. Michael Walczak (photo below) was a sports nutritionist and helped bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger early in their career. He was a judge at bodybuilding competitions and had a front row seat on most competitions where he photographed the competitors. Jerry Brainum mentions: Dan Brillantino's response to Jerry Brainum: Jerry Brainum's response to Dan Brillantino: Dan Brillantino's response to Jerry Brainum: Jerry Brainum's response to Dan Brillantino: Some info on Rheo H Blair and his special protein mix by Montague: * Part of the article below displays information on bodybuilding legend Larry Scott taking Rheo Blair's protein supplements. More info on Rheo Blair's Protein. Nathan Pearl responds to Jerry Brainum: Ric Drasin (RIP) talked to Jerry Brainum to discuss how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained [The video could not be embedded - Click on Ric's name to watch the video]. Another video of Ric talking to Jerry about how bodybuilders like Arnold really trained back in the day. Arnold's Steroid Cycle If you have an opinion on how Arnold really trained, add your comments below. Take care, Keep training hard, Strength Oldschool

Walter Milner was an up in coming Canadian Bodybuilder back in the 1970's / 80's. He was known for his incrediable shoulders, triceps and traps as well as his tremendous strength in the gym. He was a powerbuilder so to speak. In 1983, tragedy struck as Walter who worked as a High Rise Window Cleaner, fell 12 floors to his death. Please note: The High Rise Window Cleaner footage (below) is not Walter Milner. Actual Birth Date of Walter is unknown, but according to art b (ex training partner of Walter's) In 1975 Walter was around 27 years old. That would mean Walter died around the age of 35 so his birth date was probably around 1948. Unfortunately there isn't much information out there on the web on this bodybuilder. The following information is from Ray Beck: The following information is from Igor Stein... Igor went on to provide Walter's Powerlifting Routine he was using at the time... Walter Milner's Powerlifting Routine: Walter trained four days a week on Tues, Wed, Fri and Sat. Tues and Wed are Heavy and Fri and Sat are Light Days. Every Second week he did his Deadlifting on a Monday. Tues / Fri LEGS Squats Leg Press Calf Raise CHEST Bench Press Incline Bench Press Dips Wed / Sat BACK Hyperextensions Chins T-Bar Rows Seated Rows Shrugs ARMS (Biceps) Barbell or Dumbbell Curls using Cheats and slow Negatives Preacher Curls Incline Curls (Triceps) Narrow Grip Bench Press using z/Bar Pressdowns on Lat Machine Standing or Sitting Tricep / Extensions DELTOIDS Heavy Lat Raise As Mentioned every second Monday he did Nothing but Deadlifts. Wally did All Exercises for 3 Sets starting with 10 Reps, 7 Reps and 5 Reps and does 5 Sets for Calves. This Routine is from the 1981 Iron Man Mag. The following info was provided by art b: The following info is from llewellRsA: The following info is from Dame Frances Yates Fan Club: The following info is from Kal Rasmussen: (Photo below) Ken Rivard, Walter Milner 1st, John Mikl - Most Muscular 1970. The following info is from Leah Beyette: In response to Leah Beyette, Brian Semple replied with the following: The following is from holyrunner100: If anyone has information on Walter or would like to share stories on the man, how he trained etc, please share them by commenting below. Thank you.

1981 Mr Olympia - The Greatest Booing Contest of All Time By Rick Wayne Edited by: Strength Oldschool * The following is from the book "Muscle Wars" by Rick Wayne. * NOTE by Strength Oldschool: Before proceeding to read this article by Rick Wayne, please watch the video below which graphically shows Franco Columbu at the 1977 World's Strongest Man contest competing in an event where his leg simply snaps! For Franco to be able to compete again, let alone just be able to walk again was simply an amazing feat. Tough as nails was Franco. On to the article... Arnold Schwarzenegger was keeping strictly to business. Which is to say, he avoided the Mr. Olympia contenders as much as possible, for fear any overt friendliness on his part might be misconstrued. When I tried to engage him in conversation, he replied in German. My questions about Franco Columbu’s chances in the contest fell on determinedly deaf ears. NOTE by Strength Oldschool: Watch this video on Franco Columbu preparing for and competing at the '81 Olympia... Oscar State brought the contenders out of hiding for the competition preliminaries. “Will the contestants in the Mr. Olympia event please line up onstage. We’re about to begin.” You got the feeling that when the Englishman wasn’t using his voice he kept it stored in his deep freeze. Just then Oscar’s voice hadn’t quite defrosted. The Veterans Memorial Auditorium had never seen a more high-powered Olympia lineup. The champions marched onstage, each clearly bent on proving that all men are not created equal: Johnny Fuller (England); Steve Davis, Danny Padilla, Ken Waller, Ed Corney, Franco Columbu, Tom Platz, Mike Katz, Dennis Tinerino (the United States); Roy Callender (Barbados-Canada); Roger Walker (Australia); Samir Bannout (Lebanon-U.S.A.); Jorma Raty (Finland); Hubert Metz, Jusup Wilkosz (Germany). The audience was quick to pay its respects with an ovation loud enough to be heard at the Sheraton, a mile away. (Perhaps they were also congratulating themselves for having ignored the dark prognostications that preceded the event.) From the very outset the onstage action sizzled. Whoever had been so reckless as to place Callender and Columbu side by side soon had cause to rethink the decision. Even before the contest got underway it was clear that the former was determined to force humble pie down the other man’s throat. Pointing to his massive left thigh, Callender, nostrils flaring and eyes ablaze, turned to Columbu and shouted loud enough to be heard at the back of the theater, “Look, man! Look! ” An excited roar rose from the belly of the thrill-thirsty auditorium. Nine thousand dilated eyeballs zoomed in on the finely carved chunk of ebony that Callender slid alongside Columbu’s much publicized bedeviled leg, the one obvious chink in the one-time Mr. Olympia’s armor. But the ex-Sardinian sheepherder was a veteran of these wars. “No, no, Roy,” he shot back. “You look! ” And with that he brought both arms overhead and down again into a dazzling most-muscular pose. He’d always been especially famous for his spectacular pectorals and deltoids, and no other pose showed them off better. Columbu went on. “Yeah! Take that and that and that! ” – three housebreaking back shots! Oscar State restored things to order and was roundly booed for his trouble. He was about to introduce the bodymen in the lineup when Callender again challenged Columbu, this time to compare abdominals. Then Danny Padilla stepped forward, intent on making his contribution to the onstage anomie. State barked; Padilla froze… and resumed his place at the left end of the lineup. The audience exploded in another round of boos. It was difficult to tell from the audience reaction who among the seventeen contenders was most popular. Initially Padilla, Columbu, Dickerson, Platz, and Callender seemed highly favored. But gradually the Dickerson and Columbu fans lost their voices. I’d received advance warning from my spies in Santa Monica to watch out for a new Tom Platz, but I’d dismissed that as the usual bodybuilding hyperbole. Imagine my surprise when Tom showed up with not only extraordinary thighs and calves, but also with arms, chest, and shoulders that brought the house down every time he displayed them. In previous competitions his biceps and triceps had been especially weak. Somehow, for this contest Tom Platz had acquired precisely the look Olympia fans live for. Of course, the Olympia had never been a showcase for ballerinas. It was a contest that only such marvels as Scott, Oliva, and Arnold could win. Franco Columbu had managed the feat once, but by then the gargantuas had disappeared. Frank Zane? Well yes, he’d won three times, that’s true – but always while Arnold slept. In the absence of cats, mice will rule. If Tom Platz wasn’t the most beautiful hunk you ever saw, he was – yes, count on it – freaky! There was no other word for it. But where Olympia fans were concerned, that was the winning look! Callender’s flaws originated in the mold. His calves both began and ended somewhere behind his knees, which gave an appearance of extraordinary length to his ankles. He was bowlegged. In those areas of his physique responsive to torturous exercise, however, the Barbados native was unbeatable. It was a toss-up between Callender and Platz as to who had the more impressive back. Callender imagined no contest. The fires of self-confidence raged in his dark eyes, hot enough to fry Olympia chickens. Then there was Franco Columbu. Save for his thighs, he was as stunning as he’d been-more so, perhaps-when he beat Frank Zane for bodybuilding’s premier title five years earlier. Danny Padilla’s face reminded you of a rabbit at the end of a long winter’s hibernation. His sunken cheeks and deep-set eyes bespoke torture in the months preceding the Olympia. At 150 pounds he was some thirty pounds under his regular competition bodyweight. But for once Danny was ripped to the bone, almost totally fat-free. And his symmetry was, as usual, perfect. Johnny Fuller had been a lot sharper for other contests. Mike Katz, too. And Jorma Raty had tried desperately to focus attention on the one thing he had going for him, enormous biceps. Hubert Metz had developed nipples that brought to mind nubile maidens at puberty’s front door. Every time Oscar State called him out to pose, the audience chorused, “Bitch tits! Bitch tits! ” - the price some modern bodybuilders pay for their chemically enhanced muscularity. Chris Dickerson was remarkable. He had not participated in the onstage shenanigans that started with Callender and Columbu. Rather, he comported himself as if he truly believed dignity counted in this war of Neanderthals. Ken Waller had entered the contest fully cognizant of the fact that he stood little chance of profiting from the ordeal. He and Arnold had been friends ever since Arnold first came to California. He’d been given a part in Stay Hungry largely because Arnold so ordered. Ever grateful, Waller was taking this occasion to let the world know exactly where he stood in the Schwarzenegger- Mentzer-Coe fracas. The first three men to be called out for comparisons were, Padilla, Callender, and Columbu. They strutted striations in their pecs and abs, in their quads and in their delts. They hoisted their scanty posing briefs to expose more thigh - to the squealing delight of susceptible parties in the audience - and smiled, smiled, smiled. Someone hollered, “Stand up, Danny. Stand tall! ” - a ridiculous demand to make of someone standing only five-foot-three. (Or was it another competitor’s fan adding his own dig at Danny’s lack of stature?) Of course there’s always more to an Olympia than the mere display of big muscles. The way a man behaves onstage and his public image for example, whether he was on the cover of the latest Muscle & Fitness - are deciding factors, too. There’s always an eager curiosity about who will lose his cool in front of the audience, and the audience isn’t above making its own contribution to the game. At one point in the proceedings a voice yelled out, “Hey, Waller, when you gonna give Katz his shirt back? ” - which was a house-breaker. (In the movie Pumping Iron, Waller had been made to seem something of a villain, in accordance with the script. While Mike Katz, competing in the South Africa-sponsored 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe, was onstage posing, George Butler had filmed Waller disposing of Mikes shirt. The fans were convinced Waller had maliciously played a trick on “the nice schoolteacher who never did anyone harm.) By the middle of Round Two, it seemed Platz was having his way, judging only by the applause. But Columbu, Callender, and Padilla were not about to be intimidated. If they went down to defeat, at least they had put up a helluva fight. Traditionally, it was during the free posing round that Chris Dickerson separated himself from the rest of the herd. His practiced posing ability had more than once pulled the judges’ eyes off others who boasted the kind of development that characterized a title winner. This time, however, it was too obvious Platz had better legs and a superior back-never mind that his symmetry left much to be desired. It seemed that the judges would have to choose between one man who had more than his share of muscle (Platz) and another who, though not gargantuan, displayed lines that were a joy to behold (Dickerson). That didn’t mean Callender wasn’t still dangerous as a cornered jungle cat. A consistent favorite, he struck poses reminiscent of the pre-Schwarzenegger Sergio Oliva. And then, despite shaky underpinnings, there was still a formidable Franco Columbu to consider. The judges’ evaluations would be followed with close attention. Well, most of the judges’ evaluations. During the earlier Mr. International warmup Oscar State had found reason to privately declare Mrs. Matuyama (pictured above) less than competent. However, in deference to her high IFBB position in her native Japan-not to forget her status as a purveyor of Weider products-she was permitted to retain her place on the judges’ panel. The old lady was allowed to go through the motions of judging both the Mr. International and Mr. Olympia contests, altogether oblivious to the fact that she’d effectively been bounced. At the end of the day, without one word to Mrs. Matuyama herself, her scorecards would be trashed. Although the prejudging engendered its own excitement, the real show came with the Olympia finals. And some effort had gone into making it a real show indeed. Dick Cooper had been a Member of the Olympia production team for nearly six years. A stage designer who’d worked in vaudeville for twenty-five years, he’d attended his first bodybuilding event in 1970 - Jim Lorimer’s Pro Mr. World, in which Arnold defeated Sergio Oliva for the first time - and come away disappointed by the show’s lack of window dressing. A man after Bud Parker’s heart, Cooper saw bodybuilding as “theater.” As far as he was concerned, Lorimer’s Pro World suggested a potentially great play murdered by actors appearing without makeup on a stage without decent lighting or sets. When Lorimer hired him as technical designer for the 1976 Olympia, the former vaudevillian saw a wonderful opportunity to dress up bodybuilding, to present the sport in its true light, as it were – ”as an exciting spectacle.” In 1981 Cooper outdid himself, with special backlighting and ingenious use of the stage curtains. The evening show opened with the Mr. International contenders blacked out and standing on strategically positioned steps, each man holding the pose for which he was best known, a Mount Rushmore of muscle in silhouette. Backed by the rousing theme from 2001, Cooper’s intro was enough to raise goosebumps on the most seasoned first-nighter. Not surprising that the audience rewarded the stage designer with a standing ovation. “I officially welcome you to the Mr. International and Mr. Olympia contests, ” intoned Ben Weider, beginning his ritualistic opening address. “My brother Joe created the Olympia as the biggest and best professional event on the IFBB calendar. The IFBB has set a criterion for the competition that’s very high indeed. To be eligible, a competitor must -” “Where’s Mike Mentzer? ” shouted a backseat spoilsport. “Yeah! ” another hollered. “And Coe? ” Other dissident voices joined in. “Where’s Albert Beckles? And Frank Zane? Who kept them out? ” Weider persevered. “To compete in the Olympia a bodybuilder must have been a Mr. Universe winner or have placed first or second or third in the IFBB’s grand prix events. It is my opinion that tonight’s will be the greatest of all Olympia contests …… “It had better be! ” said a voice to the left of me. “Especially after Sydney.” “This will be the sixth Olympia staged in Columbus,” Weider continued. “Columbus has seen more Olympias than any other city in the world. And with good reason.” The politician in Ben Weider was about to make his appearance. “In Columbus,” he said, “we have the great organizational ability of the best promotional team in bodybuilding history. I’m speaking of Jim Lorimer and Arnold Schwarzenegger." Equal measures of cheers and boos. “We live in a democracy,” Weider went on. “Everyone is free to express his personal opinion. But I’d like to remind you of one thing: Arnold Schwarzenegger has played a key, a critical role in the development of the sport we all love." He must have sensed touching the collective bodybuilding soul. The theater had suddenly gone quiet. “We love Jim, and we love Arnold,” affirmed the IFBB president to a now converted audience. “Yes, we all do. And we’re going to continue working with this wonderful team. Together with the IFBB, Jim and Arnold will go on presenting the best contests in this great city of Columbus.” What could possibly go wrong after that? Clearly the fans had been waiting for even the smallest indication that in Arnold there was much more saint than devil. After all, they had worshipped him for over a decade. They were not about to admit that in all that time they’d foolishly been cheering on a bodybuilder Beelzebub. They were eager to forget past misdemeanors. Now all that mattered was the future, the immediate future in particular. Ben Weider quit while he was ahead, making room at the lectern for emcee Len Boslin. For the next hour or so the action concentrated on the Mr. International. There was some disagreement in the audience over a tie between two California heavyweights, Rod Koontz and Larry Jackson, but peace was restored with the announcement that the overall winner was the popular Scott Wilson, also from California. And then it was time for the folks who brought you such great classics as 'Gone with the Wind' and 'King Kong' to show off their latest epic, 'Conan the Barbarian'. No, not the actual movie, but color slides of Arnold Schwarzenegger in what were evidently considered some of his best scenes. In a voice raised on hyperbole a Hollywood flack informed the audience that Arnold’s current movie adventure was scheduled for general release that November, with “all indications pointing to a major box office smash.” That may have puzzled those who’d read a New York magazine report entitled “Studio Brass Said to Cringe at Barbarian Movie,” in which Universal Studio’s advertising and publicity vice-president, David Weitzner, was cited as confirming that a decision had been made at the screening to postpone release of the movie until spring, because Conan “simply needs a lot of work.” And then Cine-fantastique magazine had devoted its September issue to the movie, noting along the way that it was tentatively set for release around Christmas but might not be seen until early 1982. (The movie was actually released in May of 1982 and earned a respectable $100 million worldwide.) * 1981 - Cinefantastique magazine - Vol. 11 / No 3: Conan The Barbarian. Vintage original cover art painting accomplished in acrylic and airbrush on 11 x 14.5 in. artists' board of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman, created for the cover of Cinefantastique magazine. The Columbus slide preview ended with a recorded introduction: “Ladies and gentlemen, the star of Conan, five times Mr. Universe, seven times Mr. Olympia -” Arnold! Arnold! Arnold! The spotlight picked him out at Len Boslin’s mike, smiling boyishly, a pampered, manicured, civilized Conan basking in the comfortable warmth of his welcome. If earlier the fans had seemed less than happy about his reported conduct in Australia, they were ready now to pretend the ‘80 Olympia had gone off as smoothly as a Buckingham Palace tea party. Arnold shared his experiences in making Conan the Barbarian, crowed about the new arts he’d mastered in the process-swordplay, horseback riding-then introduced his newest pal, movie director John Milius. He dished out bouquets, one or two of them booby-trapped. He praised Jim Lorimer for his contributions to their partnership; thanked Joe Weider “for all the publicity, some good, some not so good! ” (a veiled reference to Weider’s coverage of the Sydney controversy in Muscle & Fitness); and eulogized IFBB president Ben Weider. To those who wondered why the Olympia promoters had accepted sponsorship by Diet 7-Up, a drink with no known muscle- building properties, Arnold quipped, “Perhaps it contains a secret formula or something that’ll help your body to grow. Who knows what bodybuilders are popping into their mouths these days. I hear they’ll eat anything! ” But then Diet 7-Up had invested thousands in TV and radio ads starring Arnold and Loni Anderson, a project Arnold mentioned finding “most enjoyable.” And then the Reverend Schwarzenegger stepped into his pulpit. “We started out with high ambitions,” he said. “Thanks to your support we’ve been successful to a point. The Olympia is today one of the world’s most exciting sports activities. We’ve rescued bodybuilding from the basements and the comic books, put it on primetime TV. But there’s still a long way to go before we can command the popular respect given baseball and boxing.” Applause! Applause! Applause! If the sport was to advance further, bodybuilders would first have to learn to pull together like brothers, to work hard toward common goals, to stick together. “We must quit the backbiting and the senseless public attacks on each other,” enjoined the Reverend Schwarzenegger. “Our sport can leap forward, or it can die. It’s up to you and me! ” It was a time for unifying the House of Bodybuilding, for settling differences - but amicably. It was a time for celebrating the Brotherhood of Iron! The deacons of the Brotherhood followed the sermon. They came out one by one to offer a minute of free posing. Those who had been popular at the earlier preliminaries maintained their popularity. But some had clearly lost their nerve. Danny Padilla floated in on the strains of “The Theme from Exodus,” but he was clearly a canary among hawks. Johnny Fuller, maybe because he carried more weight than he was used to, walked like a somnambulist, as if unconscious of his surroundings. Samir Bannout seemed unsure of himself at first, but the crowd’s reaction to him restored his normal self-confidence. The heavy artillery cannonade began with Roy Callender’s display. The opera house decorum that had greeted the likes of Steve Davis, Hubert Metz, and Jorma Raty broke upon Callender’s appearance into thunderous awriiights and glass-shattering whistles- until his sixth pose, when suddenly the music stopped. For a second or two you could’ve heard a bedbug snore. Then the threats started coming, followed closely by shocking expletives. Meanwhile, Callender maintained a heroic pose, hands on hips, dark, glistening features lit up by a knowing smile. Ten seconds limped by before the music came on again, only to die a second time right in the middle of Callender’s next pose. This time he threw up his arms and rolled his eyes heavenward, as if to say, “Lord, what have I done to deserve this crucifixion? ” The audience also wanted to know. They started to boo. Suddenly it seemed a nasty odor had invaded the atmosphere, the smell associated with a particular strain of Australian rat. A dozen angry fans rushed the stage shouting, “Sabotaaage! Sabotaaage! Sabotaaage! ” Callender signaled the fans to cool it. Low-rent backstage behavior notwithstanding, he decided to pose without his specially recorded musical accompaniment. Wild cheers greeted the heroic decision. At the end of his presentation, dozens of overexcited supporters rushed the stage to acclaim him Mr. Olympia 1981. What an act for Franco Columbu to follow. The old warrior’s reception was lukewarm, but he plunged into his routine regardless, determined not to be put off by the crowd’s hostility or indifference, presumably counting on the judges to do their work without prejudice. When his turn came, Tom Platz turned on his own heat and soon had the fans scrambling over each other like zoo monkeys. There was no discernible drop in temperature when Chris Dickerson came on. His display climaxed the free-posing round. The officials wasted no time announcing the finalists: Padilla, Wilkosz, Callender, Columbu, Platz, Dickerson. No surprises here. The audience congratulated the judges. And now the high point of the contest, the last lap-the posedown! And mass hysteria! At last Len Boslin was ready with the final result: “In sixth place, Jusup Wilkosz of Germany…. In fifth place, Danny Padilla of the U.S.A. . . . In fourth place, Roy Callender! ” A full second elapsed before the penny dropped. When It did, the theater exploded in a barrage of boos. And worse! The fallout rained right through the further announcements that Platz and Dickerson had placed second and third respectively. “Oh no! Oh no! That sonofabitch Arnold’s done it to us again! ” Amidst the booing and hissing and cursing, it’s likely no one in the audience actually heard Len Boslin declare Franco Columbu winner of the 1981 Olympia. Certainly Joe Weider didn’t. Right after the announcement that Callender placed fourth, Weider rose from his front row seat, saying as he headed out of the theater, “I want no part of this…. No one’s getting me up on that stage.” So it was Ben Weider who finally did the honors, presenting the new Mr. Olympia his $25,000 and Sandow trophy while angry boos bounced off the auditorium walls. From his position at the right of the posing platform, Franco Columbu surveyed the bedlam, noted with concern that his wife, Anita, sat rigid in her seat, hands over her eyes, saw Joe Welder get up and walk into the churning sea of protesters. Backstage, bodybuilding’s new king talked with reporters. He said he’d underestimated the competition and was relieved that it was all over now. Then he flashed his famous mischievous grin and added, “What you sink? Maybe I try again next year? ” The saucy little devil. You couldn’t help admiring his chutzpah. * 1981 Mr Olympia Judges Scorecards... Arnold laughed and laughed and laughed. He called the ‘81 Olympia “the greatest booing contest of all time,” greater by far than that in Sydney the year before. But all he would say about the controversial judges’ decision was, “I am very happy for Franco.” Diplomacy had never been Chris Dickerson’s strongest point. When a reporter asked how Chris felt about the result of the contest, he replied, “Let the IFBB keep their damn title. I sure as hell can live without it.” A Dickerson victory, he said, might have relegitimized the Olympia after its loss of face in Australia. In his heart, Dickerson had never been an IFBB man. He had strongly resisted all attempts by the AAU’s National Physique Committee some years before to affiliate with the Montreal-based organization. By then it was clear the AAU had become the also-ran in bodybuilding promotion. At a 1977 meeting to discuss the prospect of affiliation, Dickerson had expressed the opinion that “we are being bluffed to go in and be taken over by the IFBB.” The AAU committee subsequently voted sixteen to thirteen not to affiliate. A whole year passed before that position was reversed. But that’s another story … Oscar State’s view of the Olympia outcome varied. At first he said outright that he didn’t like it. Later he said he wanted to “offer my congratulations to Columbu on a terrific comeback. ” And still later Oscar wanted to go on record as having said the judges’ decision should be accepted in good faith “for the sake of bodybuilding.” Roy Callender said the contest left him feeling like a lost sheep. “Right now,” he remarked wryly, “Mike Mentzer and Boyer Coe must be laughing their heads off.” He’d always held the view that he couldn’t be fooled twice, he said, but the 1981 Olympia had proved him wrong. Danny Padilla was furious and wanted everyone to know it. He said, “I wouldn’t have minded so much if they had fixed the contest but still given me a reasonable place. But fifth! ” The winner had but one leg, commented Padilla. Tom Platz had poor symmetry and Chris Dickerson had no muscles. Platz retained his cool. He told reporters he couldn’t wait to get to bed. He’d already made up his mind to win the Olympia “or die trying.” There wasn’t much else to be said; what was done was done. He felt no bitterness toward the winner nor, for that matter, toward Arnold. Two weeks after the event Padilla underwent a change of heart, singing a more reverent tune. “Franco was as impressive at the ‘81 Olympia as he’d always been. It was an honor just being onstage with the guy. He’s been my hero for years.” Of course, Arnold hadn’t stopped laughing. Between puffs on a cigar he informed me his personal favorite at the Olympia was Tom Platz. When I asked why, he replied, “Well, did you get a look at his thighs? All I thought about during Tom’s stage routine was how I’d have given anything for legs like he’s got! ” He didn’t want to talk about Platz’s symmetry, but he was happy to discuss the booing that had greeted the Olympia results. “In the sixties,” said Arnold, “Joe Weider promoted two stars at a time, maybe three. You had someone like Larry Scott, who was always featured in Weider’s magazines as a regular Mr. Nice fellow, and on the other hand there was Harold Poole, the Villain. At Olympia time you had the good guy versus the bad, the perfect gimmick for selling box office tickets." “Later we saw the emergence of Sergio Oliva as the great Big Bad Wolf, so Weider invented Schwarzenegger, the Great White Hope of bodybuilding. Oliva and I always had great admiration for each other, but the Weider magazines told a different story.” When he quit in 1975, said Arnold, bodybuilding took a dive. Weider no longer had a superstar, so he set out to create a replacement. After years of effort, however, all he had to show for his trouble was a group of “ministers,” each with his own fan club. Fans turned up at contests to root for their respective heroes. You ended up with a lot of booing and bitterness. “Then again", observed bodybuilding’s former Great White Hope, “you also hear a lot of booing at football matches, at boxing tournaments-even at rock concerts.” In Arnold’s opinion, bodybuilding had changed considerably since his Mr. Olympia days. He thought money was at the root of it. The stars depended on the contests for their livelihood. They did no other work. Day in and day out it was work out, lie in the Venice Beach sun, work out, sleep, work out … The rent, car payments, everything depended on the Olympia first prize or some grand Prix purse. All of which, by Arnold’s measure, accounted for the bitterness among the leading contenders. Much of the anger about Australia was rooted in that sad state of affairs. Bodybuilding was no longer pure sport. For too many, bodybuilding was now a matter of life or death. Winning was everything. It was Arnold’s considered opinion that Joe Weider had deliberately set him up as the target of the collective animosity of bodybuilding audiences. As a consequence of the way in which Weider had promoted him over the years, millions of fans the world over had come to see Arnold Schwarzenegger as the incarnated soul of bodybuilding, as nothing less than the spokesman for the bodybuilding establishment. He was the sport’s most visible representative, so when there was dissatisfaction, he was the one who had to pay. Joe Weider was “a clever manipulator”. When the 1980 Olympia blew up into a major controversy, Weider had nimbly sidestepped the issue, publishing article after article that subtly suggested Arnold had received help from friends on the judging panel. “He did a great job of directing the hostility in my direction,” Arnold told me. “In Columbus, Weider refused to show up onstage to present the winner’s check. He put on a great act, pretending he was disappointed by the judges’ decision. But only a few days earlier he’d expressed to me the view that Franco could win the contest. That’s why I call Weider the ultimate actor. Hollywood could use him." There had been talk that Arnold had persuaded Frank Zane to stay out of the ‘81 Olympia so as to make things easier on Columbu. Arnold denied the allegation. Things had cooled between him and Zane after The Sydney Affair, he said. However, when he’d returned from filming Conan in Spain, he’d invited Zane to compete in the upcoming Olympia. When Zane refused, he’d offered him a Guest shot on the show. Zane declined – he needed a break, he said. Zane later confirmed Arnold’s story, but he refused to go along with the suggestion that he and Arnold were once again “very good friends.” Said Zane, “Let’s just say we’re communicating again.” Ben Weider never imagined for one minute that his judges had been less than honest. But that didn’t mean the IFBB president wanted to go on record as having agreed with their verdict – or as disagreeing! On the question of Sven-Ole Thorsen’s (pictured above) reinstatement as an Olympia judge, Weider said that following Thorsen’s suspension the Danish federation had pleaded with the IFBB’s executive committee to reconsider. So the IFBB had decided to give Thorsen another try. He was allowed to judge the ‘81 European Championships in London and had “redeemed himself.” (Thorsen, the president of the IFBB’s Danish affiliate, insisted he’d never been suspended, and Oscar State confirmed that – someone, he said, was putting someone on.) Joe Weider wasn’t surprised at Arnold’s attempt to make him the scapegoat. He said he was flattered to find that Arnold considered him clever enough to be capable of fooling all the people all the time. “If the bodybuilding world has developed ill feelings toward Arnold,” said Weider, “that’s a consequence of Arnold’s own behavior. His derisive comments after the ‘80 Olympia made him unpopular with fans and contenders. Anyway, Arnold has always regarded me with ambivalence. I am his farther figure. He once told a mutual friend that the man he most admires is the man he also hates most: Joe Weider! " To buy the book 'Muscle Wars' by Rick Wayne, click here.

1991 Interview with Bodybuilding Legend Danny Padilla By Greg Zulak Ask your typical seven-year-old boy what he wants to be when he grows up and he'll probably say a fireman, a policeman or a professional wrestler like Hulk Hogan. When Danny Padilla (it is Pa-dill-a, not Pa-dee-a) was seven years old, he told his father, "I'm going to be Mr. America one day." He told his father that because his father wanted to know why Danny was always down in the basement lifting his older brother's weights. Yep! Danny Padilla started his bodybuilding career at age seven, doing basic moves like curls, presses and rows. Even at that young age, Danny had a dream - a dream to be a great bodybuilder and one day win the Mr. America title. "I'd lie in bed at night and dream about being Mr. America," says Danny now. "I knew it was going to happen." Danny made his dream a reality in 1976 when he won the IFBB Mr. America title and the IFBB Mr. Universe. The year before he had entered big-time bodybuilding a total unknown, but made a name for himself by winning the USA title. By the end of the 1970's and early 80's Danny Padilla was one of the best bodybuilders on the planet, and many felt that he would win the Mr. Olympia. Then came 1981 and the '81 Olympia in Columbus, Ohio, the contest that broke his heart, took all joy out of competition and caused him to retire from bodybuilding when he was at his peak. For several years Danny had been told by the experts that if he ever came in totally ripped he would win the Olympia. In 1981 he did just that (Photo below). He was so ripped that his eyes were sunk back in his head and his face looked like a mask. Even by 1990 standards Danny was ripped to shreds, but he was still massive and full-looking with his famous beautiful lines and his unmatched symmetry. He had trained and dieted for over half a year for the show. He pushed himself to the breaking point and beyond. He sacrificed everything for this one competition. Then disaster struck. The judges, to loud, vociferous booing, gave Danny only fifth place. Roy Callender, who was also in the best shape of his life that day and would also have been a worthy winner, was given fourth. Tom Platz was in his all-time best shape that day too and seemed the favorite to win, but was only given third. The two guys who weren't even considered by most to be in the top five, Chris Dickerson and Franco Columbu, took second and first. This was the greatest indignity to Danny. Franco Columbu, who had a bitch tit, absolutely no thigh cuts or size - without a doubt the worst legs of any competitor in the history of the Olympia - was boxy and bowlegged and only training something like eight weeks for the show was named Mr. Olympia?!! It was too much for Danny to take. It destroyed him, devastated him. He would never be the same and bodybuilding would never be the same for him. He would compete three more times in the 80's - at the 1982 Mr. Olympia, the 1984 Pro Worlds and the 1985 Mr. Olympia - but truthfully, it was a facsimile of the old Danny showing up for these events. His heart wasn't in it. He basically dropped out of bodybuilding and went back to his native Rochester to work in his father's grocery store and at Delco. While his good friend Arnold was off in Hollywood making millions, there was Danny, one of the greatest bodybuilders in the world, working away in anonymity in a grocery store and a factory. In 1989, goaded on by an amateur bodybuilder at his gym, Danny planned a comeback at the Night of Champions contest. He showed up in great shape but missed the competitors' meeting and was disqualified from the show. Vowing revenge, Danny trained like a madman to prove that, even at age 39 (1990), he wasn't washed up as a bodybuilder and that he could defeat the best of the current day. He did just that, taking second place at the Gold's Classic in Niagara Falls last spring and then, several weeks later, exacting sweet revenge when he took third at the Night of Champions (see photos below). He also went on to compete at contests on the European Grand Prix and took several top-five placements. He had done it. He had proved to the world and himself that he is still one of the top bodybuilders in the world. I recently spoke with Danny Padilla for over an hour and a half. We covered so much ground that I have enough material for several articles. In this interview, Danny talks about bodybuilding in the 1970's versus bodybuilding in the 90's, the old days at Gold's gym with Arnold and Zane and the greats of that time, and why he feels Arnold could defeat Lee Haney. It makes for interesting reading. Greg Zulak: Let's go back to the greatest disappointment of your career, the 1981 Mr. Olympia contest in Columbus, Ohio, when you were absolutely ripped to shreds. I was at that show and thought that either you, Platz or Callender should have won. Danny Padilla: I've always had bad luck. Something always went wrong. In 1981, I was in my best shape ever and a Weider magazine prints a photo of me saying, "This is how not to look. Don't look like this! " Geez! GZ: I remember talking to a judge after the contest, and when I argued that Franco didn't have any legs at all - as photos from the contest show - he said right to my face, "Legs don't count." So I said, "What about Danny? He was ripped and perfectly symmetrical." The judge said to me, "Well, he was too drawn in the face." I was incredulous. It seemed as if they were bending over backwards to give Franco a break and to ignore his faults while nitpicking with you and Tom and Roy. DP: Yeah, Franco had a bitch tit. He was blocky. He had no leg size or cuts. He was bowlegged. He was everything a Mr. Olympia should not be. The guy trained maybe eight weeks for the contest - and it showed - while guys like Roy Callender and Tom Platz and myself trained for months and months. But you know what really upset me about that show? If you asked the judges about the results after it was all over, they said, "We didn't have Franco to win - we put him second, but he got so many second-place votes that he ended up winning." Fine. But how did Chris Dickerson get second? Not to say that Chris isn't great when he's in shape, but that day he was off. How does he get second? How does a guy like Johnny Fuller not even make the top five? It was a sad day for bodybuilding. Take a guy like Tom Platz. That was his last best show. He was in the finest shape of his life that day and he didn't win. The next year he tore his biceps, and he never again had the opportunity to win the Olympia. GZ: Speaking of Tom reminds me of a funny story regarding Winston Roberts and Garry Bartlett. After the show was over, Winston said, "We couldn't give the title to Tom because his legs were too big," and Garry Bartlett replied, "Yeah, so you gave it to a guy with NO legs." DP: Exactly. Winston Roberts even made the statement that my biceps were not big enough. Okay, fine. At least I had legs. Franco didn't have one cut on his. GZ: I remember reading Weider's Muscle Builder back in the 70's and seeing pictures of you back in California training at the old Gold's Gym with Arnold and Zane and Draper and Waller and all those top bodybuilders. What was that like? DP: I think you'll never have another era like it again. I was blessed to have experienced that because I felt I was training with the best of all time. That's not to say that the guys today aren't great too, because they are - there are a lot of excellent physiques out there - but as far as characters and personality, there was much more to write about back then. It was incredible to have so many great physiques training together in one small gym at one time. If you check out the competition at contests today you'll find four or five really exceptional bodybuilders and that's it. From fifth place on down they have a lot of flaws, even at the Olympia. Back in the 70's we had some great physiques! There was Zane, who was not the heavy type but he was very symmetrical and rock-hard. He had certain weaknesses but he hid them well onstage. You couldn't really recognize them until you saw him in the gym by himself. Then you had Arnold, who was just overpowering, a big over-200 guy with maybe the greatest arms ever. You had Serge Nubret, who was great. He was hard. He was ripped. His legs were a little off, but he was there. Then there was Sergio Oliva, the greatest bodybuilder of all time in my opinion. There were so many great guys then. The list goes on and on. Robby was incredible. Mentzer was great. And you had Callender, Waller, Beckles, Coe, Szkalak, Makkawy, Ferrigno, Birdsong, Draper, Tinerino, Corney, Katz, Van Den Steen, Bill Grant, Paul Grant, Denny Gable . . . Roger Callard. These guys were characters as well as great bodybuilders. There were controversies. Things were happening all the time and people couldn't wait to pick up the magazines every month. GZ: I agree. Back in that period it seemed that bodybuilders, and the sport, had an aura of magic about them. Like Gold's California was some magic place you could never really get to. DP: Exactly. Now there are good bodybuilders all over the world. Great bodybuilders still train at the new Gold's, but the new Gold's isn't anything like the old Gold's. Not at all. Back in the late 60's and 70's everybody went to Gold's to train because it was the place to train. Now you go into the new Gold's and it's like a zoo. It's still good, but it doesn't have the atmosphere or the magic of the old Gold's. In 1975 we were the special elite - the best 10 or 15 guys in the world, period. The old Gold's was much smaller and more intimate. It was a very special place. It was like heaven in bodybuilding. You just had to go there; it drew you to it. It was in this weird area, but it was just awesome. Today, I don't know, it's all so commercialized. We trained for the love of it. And it seems that there are no great characters to write about now. They have to make stuff up or look for bad stuff - this guy is getting a divorce or that guy is beating his wife - because they're so bored with it, whereas back then there was always something interesting and positive to write about. GZ: The effect and influence of Arnold in the gym must have been incredible. DP: Yeah. Arnold had this great aura. When he walked into the gym, it would stop. Same for Sergio. When he walked into the gym they all stopped what they were doing. But you had 10 or 20 guys who were all great and in the gym at once. The energy and atmosphere were electrifying. There was respect for one another and friendship - even when we fought. When it was show time, you went all out to win and beat everyone, but when the contest was over we all sat down as friends. Today you don't have that. the guys today are weird. To me they're out of control. It's just not the same. We stuck together. The group always stuck together. GZ: You were one of the top bodybuilders in the world in the 70's and early 80's. What was the last show you did before your ultimate retirement. DP: Well, I showed up for the 85 Olympia and the 84 Pro Worlds in Toronto, but for me, really, the last show was the 81 Olympia in Columbia. I hit the Olympia in London in 82 (see photo below) also, but my heart just wasn't in it. That was my attitude: I'm going to London to see what it looks like. I went in soft and got crushed. Then I basically disappeared. GZ: Why? DP: I just had no interest in it any more. After the fiasco at the '81 Olympia I just had no more interest in competitive bodybuilding. It was like, if I was this great and I could barely make the top five at the Olympia, then the writing's on the wall. To me, it was time to think about my future, to change my priorities, because I wasn't good enough to make top three at the Olympia. GZ: So what did you do? DP: I just went back to Rochester and worked in the store, and I'd still go to the gym because I love training. I've always trained for me. Even when I did compete I always had the attitude that if I won a show, great, but if I didn't, I still went to the gym for myself. So I continued to train but not as long or as hard. GZ: How did you get the urge to compete again in '89 and '90? DP: When I was about 38 years old, I opened a bodybuilding magazine and flipped through it, because I hadn't even looked at a magazine for six or seven years. Everybody was asking me, "Hey, have you seen this guy? Have you seen so and so? " I'd say, "No, I don't really follow the sport anymore." Then one day I opened this magazine and I remember thinking, "These guys look pretty good," but nobody really impressed me. Lee Haney was this big, overpowering guy over 200 pounds, but to me he had certain flaws, like his arms. Yeah, he's great, but I always look to the under-200-pound guy because I'm a realist. I know I'm not going to walk in and crush Lee Haney. I don't care how great I am. So I tried to pick out lighter guys, like Lee Labrada (photo below), and I wondered how I'd do against him and the other smaller guys in the sport. That got me thinking about trying to compete against these new smaller guys. The main reason I did decide to make my comeback was because of a loudmouthed amateur at my gym. He had won a few small amateur shows, and he was walking around the gym as if he was a four-time Mr. Olympia. One day we got into an argument. He said to me, "Look, you're a nice guy and you were good in your time, but you're old and washed up. You can't possibly beat guys of today." I just walked away, but inside I felt like, "Oh yeah, you think so? Watch this! " So I started training secretly. I said, let me see what I have. I got into tremendous shape, but I told no one that I was going to New York to compete in the 1989 Night of Champions. I went to New York to compete - I know I would have made top five for sure - and they disqualified me for being late for the competitors' meeting. It was really upsetting because I had put in over six months of hard training and preparation for the show. I had paid all my own expenses. And then I was out before the show even started. GZ: How'd you miss the meeting? DP: What happened was we went out to dinner - I hadn't been to New York in a long time - and I made a wrong turn and went eight blocks in the wrong direction. By the time I got back I was out of it. And they gave me no chance to return. It really upset me because I had always been loyal to the IFBB. They had left it in the hands of the competitors and they voted me out. It was sad. GZ: Probably in the old days the competitors would have voted to keep you in. DP: Right. To me it was sad because guys like me made the sport and made it possible for them to compete today. And they just pushed me out as if I was garbage. I felt, this is how the IFBB repays my loyalty? Sure, rules are rules and they have to be followed, but there are exceptions to all rules and I didn't think I had been treated fairly. GZ: It must have really motivated you to want to come back in 1990 for revenge. DP: It created a fire in me that was incredible. It was like, don't worry, pricks. I'll be back next year and I'll sleep at the door if I have to to make the meeting. But I'll be there. So that was a big incentive for me to do well this year. At the same time the bigmouth amateur was back at home telling people that I hadn't really gone to the meeting because I really didn't want to compete, that I was afraid to compete. You know, "He was scared of the guys so he showed up late on purpose." Stuff like that. So that fired me up, too. I got crazy. Everyone knew I was back then because I was training like a madman. Then I had a buddy who phoned me after the show wanting to get together and train with me again. His name is Rick Benedetto, and he was a very good amateur 'way back. He had surgery on one knee, he was expecting to have surgery on the other knee and he had a torn biceps to boot. He said to me, "Why don't we train together and see what you're made of? " So here we were training together, one guy who was supposed to be too old and another guy who was half crippled. I trained for the Niagara Falls Grand Prix and he trained for the amateur Niagara show. I took second after not competing for over five years, and he took third in his class after not competing for about 15 years. GZ: Why didn't you go to the Olympia? Were you burned out? DP: I didn't go to the Olympia because, in all honesty, after the 81 Olympia I took a vow never to enter it again. Of course, a lot of people said it was because of the drug testing but that wasn't it at all. I could have got around that by just backing up a few months before the show. After the 81 Olympia I vowed that I would never put myself in that position again. I gave up too much for 81. To get jostled around to fifth place, to get beaten by a guy with no legs and a bitch tit who only trained eight weeks, it was like, "If that's what the Olympia is about, I don't want any part of it." GZ: You said before that in your opinion Sergio Oliva was the greatest of all time. DP: Sergio, to me, pound for pound, muscle for muscle, was the greatest bodybuilder of all time. I don't care what anybody says. Arnold was the greatest inspiration and a great spokesperson for bodybuilding, and he was close to Sergio, but I give Sergio the nod physically. He was just so incredible at his best. I really don't think there will ever be anything like Sergio again. GZ: You told me once a few years ago that you thought Arnold at his best could beat Lee Haney. DP: Yes, I still believe that. Arnold was the type of guy whose physique looked great in the magazines, but you didn't really appreciate it as much until you saw him in person. He had an incredible physique. When Arnold hit a double biceps pose from the back you couldn't touch it. His most muscular, you couldn't touch that either. And his legs, people say his legs were weak, but his calves were amazing and when he flexed his thighs they were there all the way. At his best, Arnold was untouchable. Lee Haney has an awesome thick chest and back, but to me his arms are weak, especially his biceps. His calves could be brought up more and he sometimes is a little soft in the low back and abs. I respect him and he is awesome, but look what he is beating today. Everybody talks about Mike Christian, but his legs are weak. Labrada's too small. Gaspari (photo below) is hard but boxy. Nearly all the top guys today have some flaws. There's nobody out there today who blows my mind the way Sergio did. In the old days Sergio was absolutely incredible. He didn't even have to pose, didn't even have to move, and he looked awesome. When he threw his arms up and the light hit him just right he was huge and hard. He was just awesome. Arnold and Sergio were like cartoon characters. They looked so unreal at their best. Serge Nubret - his upper body was amazing. A lot of people just don't realize. Rick Wayne (see photo below) back in his time was truly outstanding. Dave Draper - equally impressive. His legs were a bit weak but his upper body - magnificent! These guys had incredible bodyparts. I haven't seen much of that today. I look in the magazines, and I don't think it's because I'm getting older - I still have the eye, I still appreciate what I see - but it just doesn't make my jaw drop the way some of those guys did back then. GZ: The thing that I've noticed is that when I was a kid, I'd see pictures of Arnold and Draper squatting together, and they'd be doing sets with four plates, and they looked so impressive at the time. That was a really heavy weight and only bodybuilders of their caliber could handle it, but now you can go into any hardcore gym across North America and find a dozen guys with half their development squatting four plates and sometimes a lot more. DP: Yeah, you squat only four plates today and you're a wimp. You know, a lot of it is all the stuff these kids are on that allows them to do it that quickly. People come up to me and say, "How can you still look halfway decent at your age? " How? Because my body was built with a background. I had probably 15 years of solid training before I ever messed with the game, whereas a lot of kids today don't even want to walk into a gym unless they've got a bag full of stuff. For a lot of them their attitude is, unless I'm on steroids there's no sense training. We trained for the love of it. Danny Padilla Training Workout Routine (1977) Danny Padilla used the same basic workout for years. This was the workout he did for six weeks in 1977. During most of the year Danny trains 4 to 6 days a week. He always follows the same split. Day 1: Chest and Back Day 2: Shoulders and Arms Day 3: Legs Repeat If he misses a workout, which he often does, he doesn’t worry about it, he just does that workout when he returns to the gym. During this time he does 2 to 3 exercises per body-part for 5 sets of 12 reps. Danny uses the same weight in each set. When he can get 12 reps on all 5 sets, he’ll add weight during the next workout. His rest between sets is short. No longer than a minute. Even though the volume is high Danny completes these workouts in just over an hour… This is another way of keeping the intensity high which was taught by Vince Gironda, Bill Pearl and other great trainers of “the golden era” of bodybuilding. Chest and Back Bench Press: 2-3 warm-up sets then 5 X 12 Incline Bench Press: 5 X 12 Flys: 5 X 12 Dumbell Pullovers: 5 X 12 Chins: 5 X 12 Bent Barbell Rows: 5 X 12 Cable Pull-ins: 5 X 12 Once a week he does Deadlifts: 5 X 12 Shoulders and Arms Seated Presses: 2 warm-ups then 5 X 12 Supersetted with Cable Laterals: 5 X 12 Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises: 5 X 12 Front Raises OR Upright Rows: 5 X 12 Dumbell Curls: 5 X 8 Barbell Curls: 5 X 8 Concentration Curls OR Preacher Curls: 5 X 8 Lying Triceps Extensions: 5 X 12 Seated Overhead EZ Bar Extensions: 5 X 12 Pushdowns OR One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Extensions: 5 X 12 Legs & Abs Leg Extensions: 5 X 12 Squats: 5 X 12 Leg Presses: 5 X 12 Lying Leg Curls: 5 X 12 Standing Leg Curls: 5 X 12 Standing Calf Raises: 5 X 12 Donkey Calf Raises: 5 X 15 Seated Calf Raises: 5 X 15 Crunches or Leg Raises: 5 X 20 Contest Training Volume on body part is raised 20 sets per bodypart. Weeks 12-7 body parts are trained twice a week. During weeks 6-0 each body part is trained three times a week. Danny gains size right up to the day of the contest even on this high volume, high frequency routine. Weeks 12 to 7 Monday and Thursday -- Chest and Back Bench Press: 2-3 warm-up sets then 5 X 12 Incline Bench Press: 5 X 12 Fly’s: 5 X 12 Cable Fly’s: 5 X 12 Chins: 5 X 12 Bent Barbell Rows: 5 X 12 Cable Pull-ins: 5 X 12 Pulldowns: 5 X 12 Once a week he does Deadlifts 5 X 12 Tuesday and Friday -- Shoulders and Arms Seated Presses: 2 warm-ups then 5 X 12 Supersetted with Cable Laterals: 5 X 12 Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises: 5 X 12 Front Raises: 5 X 12 Upright Rows: 5 X 12 Dumbell Curls: 5 X 8 Barbell Curls: 5 X 8 Concentration Curls: 5 X 8 Preacher Curls: 5 X 8 Lying Triceps Extensions: 5 X 12 Seated Overhead EZ Bar Extensions: 5 X 12 Pushdowns: 5 X 12 One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Extensions: 5 X 12 Reverse Curls: 5 X 12 Wrist Curls: 5 X 12 Wednesday and Saturday – Legs -- Abs Leg Extensions: 5 X 12 Squats: 5 X 12 Leg Presses: 5 X 12 Hack Squats: 5 X 12 Lying Leg Curls: 5 X 12 Standing Leg Curls: 5 X 12 Standing Calf Raises: 5 X 15 Donkey Calf Raises: 5 X 15 Seated Calf Raises: 5 X 15 Crunches: 5 X 20 Leg Raises: 5 X 20 Weeks 6 – 0 Workouts are the same as above, rest between sets is shortened but days are split like this: Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Morning) -- Chest, Back Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Evening) -- Quads, Hamstrings Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (Morning) -- Shoulders, Arms Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (Evening) -- Calves, Abs

2001 Interview with Sergio Oliva By Brian D. Johnston Edited by: Strength Oldschool * At the time of this interview, Sergio Oliva was 60 years old. BDJ: How did you meet Arthur Jones; what lead to your involvement with him? SO: Jones initially contacted me from Deland, Florida. He wanted me to fly to Daytona Beach to check out what he was doing, and to give an opinion of his machines. So, I flew down and tested them, and I found them to be quite different from other, regular machines. He then asked if I wanted to go through one of his routines while under his supervision. And I said, "yes." It was very intensive... very powerful... and very different from other routines. BDJ: Provide an example of a routine you did at that time? SO: Jones would put you in a routine starting with legs. The exercises were carried to the point where you could not possibly do any more reps -- to the point of not being able to move the weight. A routine, for instance, would have you start with a squat to muscular failure. Then when you were finished, he would put you in the Nautilus squat machine and that combination would beat the hell out of you. By the time you finished, you would not have the energy to do anything. Then he has you immediately doing the regular free weight bench press, followed by a Nautilus chest machine... then more exercises for the remainder of the body. BDJ: So, Jones had you alternate between free weights and machines? SO: He would only recommend the machines, but I wanted to use free weights also. But when we started to get close to the competition, there was no way I could do both... no way. The machines alone would do it for me. If you don't use the machines the way we did, then it's a piece of cake and you can easily include other exercises in between. But with Jones's method, there is no way... you keep going until you can no longer move. And when you think you're going to rest, he has you going to another machine! By the time you get to the other machine, you feel like you're going to die, pushing yourself to the maximum again. When finished, all you can do is lay down on the floor. BDJ: Did Jones train in your presence, and if so, did he train that hard? SO: He had his own routine and method of using those machines. I saw other people use the machines, but it was not the same way that Jones used them. He had a machine for each muscle, and the way he used them and instructed people to use them, it felt like you were going to throw up. Sometimes he would get people to use machine after machine, and when you thought you were finished, he would get you to do a squat! It was unbelievable. BDJ: A legendary workout had you train immediately after Casey Viator, performing a full body workout. Reports indicate that you could not complete the workout very well and was reduced to using relatively light weights in order to complete it. Is that account very accurate? SO: Yes. That was my very first workout when I went down to Florida. Casey already lived there with Jones and was used to the workouts. I wanted to also workout, and I thought, "Jesus Christ! " I believed that I could not do it, even after having trained so hard for so long. That's when he put me through all the machines. By the time I got to the last one, I thought I was going to throw up on the floor. But as you continue going every day, your power, endurance, determination increases so much that you are able to handle that kind of routine. It was the way that he did it that was different. Too many people used them like they were using free weights pumping and resting. BDJ: I believe you may be the only person to officially develop a muscular arm with a height (from the top of the biceps to the bottom of the triceps) greater than the height of one's head. Did this phenomenon occur while training with Jones? SO: This occurred with Jones, around the time of the 1972 Mr. Olympia in Essen, Germany. You see, Jones tricked everybody. He would invite them down and pay for the trip to test his machines. Everyone went down... Columbu, Arnold, Zane... everybody. And as soon as you arrived he would start measuring your arms cold, then he would tell you how much you can increase in a couple of days, and nobody would believe it. All those Weider magazines claiming 21-22" arms would have everyone coming down to 18-19"... and the only 20.5" cold was my arm. After going through his workouts, my arm was almost an inch bigger, and that happened for everybody. Arnold's arm was 19.75", and Weider had him in the magazines with 22.5". It was ridiculous -- all their measurements came down when Jones measured them. It was during that time that Jones measured my arms and my head, and I couldn't believe that my arms were bigger than my head... I didn't pay attention up to that point. BDJ: I believe your initial meeting with Jones was around the same time that Arnold beat you during that very controversial Mr. Olympia in Essen, Germany? SO: Yes, it was around then that we started training together, but was actually about a year before when I started training with Arthur to prepare for the Mr. Universe in London. BDJ: The one picture I remember of you from Essen, Germany was when you held your arms up over your head -- it was very striking. You're also, perhaps, one of the few who can hold that pose and look good? SO: Ah, yes, the Victory Pose. A lot of bodybuilders try to do it, but the problem with the Victory Pose is that you have to have so much muscle. Your lats have to be tremendous, and the waist very tiny. Plus the lats have to be linked to tremendous triceps and the chest has to be huge; otherwise you look flat from the front when you raise the arms. And when you work your way up, the forearms have to be huge, otherwise they look small connected to the triceps. And that pose came out of no where; I did it, but don't know how or why. I was posing in a country in the 1960s, I lifted my arms up, and everybody went bananas! From that day on everybody started calling me the Myth, and named it the Victory Pose. And after that if I didn't hold that pose they wouldn't let me off the stage (laughter). BDJ: Judging from past photos, I believe you were your biggest while training with Jones. SO: No question about it. And it's too bad... I should have stayed with him. When I went to London in 1970 for the Mr. Universe, everyone knew I beat those guys, including Bill Pearl... I was given second place. NOTE by Strength Oldschool: I believe Sergio was referring to the 1971 Mr Universe as that's when Bill Pearl made his return back to competition and won against Sergio. SO: From there I was to go to the 1971 Mr. Olympia, in Paris. I spoke to Serge Nubret who asked that I go to the Mr. Olympia since Joe Weider wouldn't be there to fix the contest. I then flew to Paris, and while there Joe found out I was going to compete. And he refused... he would not let me compete. He said I was suspended for a year because I competed in the non-IFBB sanctioned Mr. Universe in London the year before. He used any kind of trick. He allowed me to do a posing exhibition, but not compete. In 1972, the Mr. Olympia promoter called everyone to go, and everyone did. But Joe didn't want Arnold to go, but Arnold wanted to compete. (I have nothing against Arnold, he has done very well; many people used him in the beginning, then he used them.) Arnold competed in Essen. By that time, the training I had with Jones allowed me to win the contest by miles. People are still talking about Essen '72. Even Arnold himself said that he didn't win, that it was nothing but politics... it was nothing but politics, but they gave it to him. After that contest Weider put the promoter out of the promotion business. Serge Nubret used to be the big man when it came to running contests. Weider also put him out of the business because Serge did not want to run the contests the way Weider wanted to run them his way with the placings predetermined. * How Sergio Oliva looked in 1971 at around 30 years of age... BDJ: After you left Jones's instruction and went your own way, did you continue training with a HIT approach, or did you return to volume training? SO: Well, I went back to free weights because I did not have access to his machines. I was definitely more powerful after the experience and was lifting more on the free weights than ever before. I did maintain the same intensity afterward, however. BDJ: The reason I brought that up is that previous issues of muscle magazines, and throughout various Weider encyclopedias and books, it suggested that you performed a much higher volume of training, up to 15-20 sets per muscle group. SO: I definitely did not do that many sets, but don't forget I didn't have the machines, which were much more intense -- requiring less volume in comparison to free weights. So I had to make up for the reduction in quality. It's politics, the Weider bullshit magazines. But they control everything. If you try and fight it they will do everything to get you out of the way. They control all the contests, equipment and bodybuilders. And bodybuilders have to go with Weider because where else are they going to compete? They have to bend and go with them. But me, I did not care. When I went to Weider I was already Sergio Oliva, so he could not say that he 'made' me. People already knew me from before and that I was with the AAU before going for the IFBB. He could not use me, perhaps to the point where he could claim that he took me out of my mamma's belly. BDJ: Well, Weider claims to be Trainer of Champions. SO: When he took Arnold under his wing, Arnold was already competing in London, England for Mr. Universe. He only trained a few people, but that's the propaganda. They also call him the 'Master', but I don't know the master of what... maybe the master of breaking your back and your brains. A lot of politics, and it's too bad. For the younger bodybuilders they have no choice. If you use the drugs, have the physique and want to make money, then you have to go with him. Otherwise, don't use the drugs because you won't have any other place to go. It's all Weider: the Mr. Olympia, Mr. Universe, Night of Champions. They have every body back and front. BDJ: What opinion do you have of Arthur Jones? SO: Anything I have to say about Jones is good. He is the only honest man I met in bodybuilding. If he says "I'm going to pay you so much", he does. If he says that he's going to train you a particular way, and next year you're going to look a certain way, then you will look that way. He's the type of person you like to be around; the type of person you like to deal with since he won't screw you or use you. Totally different from those other assholes. And everyone who went down to Florida knows that. And it's too bad... if Jones was the one running all the competitions, there would have been a lot of changes. He should have been the one to run the Mr. Olympia and other contests. BDJ: What is your opinion on the competitors of today, compared to your competition days? SO: When I see what they are going through, and what they have to take to be what they are... I wouldn't want it. You can even see how differently the muscle develops on bodybuilders of today versus those of the sixties. The amount of steroids that they use is way over the limit. And that's why you see those physiques... they're tremendous. * Photo below: Sergio Oliva in the late 1960s. BDJ: I find most of the physiques today look like one another; almost clone-like. Competitors of the sixties and seventies each had a special unique look or style. SO: Yes, they all look the same. And if they have a little bit of shape, they all have the same kind of shape! They all have the same look. And it's hard to differentiate one from the other. BDJ: What are your thoughts on some of the past Mr. Olympias, in regards to political tampering? How about the 1979 Mr. Olympia between Zane and Mentzer? SO: Mentzer all the way. There is no doubt about it. But don't forget, Mike came from the outside; Zane was with Weider. Don't let anybody fool you. Zane, Arnold, Columbu, Haney... all those guys were under contract. Now, Lee Haney is my friend and I have a lot of respect for him, but there is no way in the old days that Lee Haney would have won the Mr. Olympia. His physique is unproportional -- a man with a back, but no arms or calves. Then there's Dorian Yates. He has a belly like a cow and no arms. That is not a complete physique. That is not proportional or symmetrical. But being under contract.... Now, if they put Zane and Mentzer together in a contest that was not Weider dominated then Mike would have won. Zane knows that, and Zane is my personal friend. * Photo below: 1995 Mr Olympia - Sergio Oliva at 54 years old with Lee Haney BDJ: Do you think Haney deserved any of the Mr. Olympia wins? SO: He may have deserved some Mr. Olympias, but not all... not the guys he competed against. But, he knows. Everybody knows. BDJ: Could you relay your own experience with drug use? SO: This is an area of great interest for people. I don't care who wants to take steroids, because that's a personal choice... that's his life. Now, today, everybody has access to them. I even saw in one of the big magazines that Arnold denies having used them, but Arnold was one of the first to bring steroids over to America. And everybody in the old days used them: Zane, Columbu, myself, Arnold, Larry Scott, Harold Poole, Dave Draper, and even Steve Reeves. There's no way to deny it. It wasn't much, nothing like today. But the development of drugs is much different. I used decca and dianabol, and that was something really big at the time; and decca was not considered that bad. It was even prescribed by doctors to help make your bones strong. Today you have guys weighing 200 pounds, and six months later they weigh 250-300 pounds! So you know these guys are taking something unbelievable. When they say they haven't taken anything, you know that it's phony. BDJ: I could only imagine what you would look like if you have access to the drugs of today. SO: Geez... I wouldn't even want to think about it. My God... (laughter). We used to talk about the big deal of taking decca and dianabol. Now the talk is about growth hormone. I see what they are using... the way they look... I tell you, it's scary... I would pass on that. Anybody can go work out and get a physique without steroids, and that is what I recommend. The drugs today is not worth the money or the way it makes you look. The consequences later are going to be big. BDJ: I notice a lot of people take steroids because they are too lazy to train hard mostly teenage boys. SO: Yes that's what it is. But they're making a double mistake. When you take steroids you have to train even harder... otherwise the excess weight later turns into fat. If you train hard, eat well with quality protein, and take a good vitamin and mineral, then you can achieve a good physique. And a good physique comes from about 45% of your genes, whereas the rest is from training. So, if you're going to be something, then you're going to be something. If you're not, then you're not. But with all those steroids, you're going to be one of the group... you're not going to be different. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone... to my friends or any of my family. BDJ: You're still training to this day. Tell us about it. SO: I'm 60 years old and I go to the gym five days a week. I enjoy going to the gym very much. When I competed I trained 5 days a week, year round. I'm not like some of the competitors who only trained for six months for a contest then laid back. * Photo below: Sergio Oliva at 61 years old (2002) BDJ: Physique wise, who do you consider to be the best bodybuilder? SO: There are a few. One of the best right now is Flex Wheeler (photo below). I also like Shawn Ray and Ron Coleman. I compare myself to Flex Wheeler, a little bit. He reminds me of myself, with a tiny waist. My back was much bigger, though. He is the only one with a really complete physique. BDJ: Your last year of competition was 1985. I've heard from some spectators that they did not care whether you won the contest; it was worth attending just to see the legendary Oliva. Tell us about that. SO: I could have entered that contest much better, and much bigger... that night was not the same physique that I always carried. I felt sick, like a Zombie. I followed my wife's (Arleen Garrett) suggestion in changing my diet. I've always had a problem with my diet. Thank God I had good genes to be able to eat what I want. So it seemed everything that I ate, I turned it into muscle. Anyway, she wanted me to follow the diet that Frank Zane followed. But she made a mistake. The diet was all right for Frank Zane's metabolism, but for me, it was not doing the job. I had no power to train and I felt too weak to workout... it was a disaster. If I did it my way, I would have looked unbelievable. The second thing is, and I found this out, that even if I looked like King Kong and cut, they would have given me the same placing. Weider indicated no other placing for me but eighth. BDJ: A similar thing happened to Mentzer in Sydney, Australia, in 1980 when they gave him fifth place. SO: That's right, and believe it my friend. And I could not do any better than eighth place because all those guys on the stage are the same ones endorsing his vitamins, proteins, magazines, equipment... I didn't do anything for him, because he didn't do anything for me. As a matter of fact, he took away from me. But I decided to come back for that contest. And who picks the judges? Weider. So, how can you win? NOTE by Strength Oldschool: To read Mike Mentzer's thoughts on the 1980 Mr Olympia contest click here. * Photo below: Sergio Oliva from 1983 at 42 years old. * Photo below: Sergio Oliva from 1993 at 52 years old looking massive! BDJ: What projects and plans do you have for the immediate future? SO: I regularly do seminars and guest appearances. And I do my seminars different from everyone else. I tell it like it is and allow the audience to ask me questions. Other bodybuilders only talk about the good things. I talk about the good and the bad. People don't always want to hear about the blue and the red, but the black and the white. That is why I'm asked to do seminars all over the world, and people really enjoy them. I'm also working with someone (Francisco G Marchante) on a book about my life story and competition days. * Photo below: Sergio Oliva and Francisco G Marchante - at the 1995 Mr Olympia contest. I was supposed to do this book before, but I like to say things the way they are and it was difficult to get interested writers willing to put it all on the line. I don't push or drink protein powders and I won't endorse things I don't believe in. So, in a business sense, I was bad for the business. And this also affected some of the contests in which I competed. The book will discuss these things, but also my Olympic lifting days before bodybuilding, when I prepared for the Pan American games, when I prepared in Russia, all the sports I did in Cuba to escape... basketball, volleyball, boxing, running... I was doing everything, but the competition was too high. I did so much in life that it is not necessary to add or take away from my stories, but it is hard to find someone willing to print the truth. I will tell about the politics and the contests Joe fixed. A lot of people will be against it, and a lot of people are going to know a lot that they don't already know. Also, I'm still working on the police force with about 6-7 years to go. NOTE by Strength Oldschool: Sergio joined the Police Force in 1976. He would later retire in 2003. BDJ: Thank you for your time. NOTE by Strength Oldschool: Photo below shows Sergio Oliva at 69 years old attending the 2010 Mr Olympia. He would pass away just two years later in 2012 at the age of 71. But let's remember The Myth as the powerhouse he really was... Sergio from 1969! RIP Sergio Oliva (1941 - 2012) * If anyone has any stories on Sergio please comment below. It would be great to hear any Chicago Cop stories or training in the gym etc. If you have a rare photo of Sergio, consider adding it below. Strength Oldschool

Casey Viator Talks Arms By Doris Barrilleaux Doris: How big were your arms when you began training? Casey: When I started training I had about a 17 1/2 inch arm. Doris: Along with the methods you use today, what were some of the methods that worked for you in your early years of arm training? Casey: I used to use a lot of heavy, heavy movements, barbell curls, heavy lying tricep extensions, heavy dipping and chinning. Everything was done pretty strong. I moved slowly so I've never had elbow or knee problems. I did this without thinking. Arthur Jones later contributed because he brought all this to light. I now understand what it takes for intensity in each set. Doing high intensity sets in the beginning, I didn't quite understand what I was doing. I was doing multiple sets - 8 sets for my biceps in one movement. I was sacrificing my recuperative power, my ability to recuperate from one exercise period to the next. * Arthur Jones (Inventor of Nautilus) using his Nautilus Pullover Machine Doris: How powerful are your forearms, biceps and triceps? Casey: I'm doing 225 pounds on a wrist curl, biceps 225 pounds strict curl (see photo above), and triceps - I do 300 pounds lying tricep extensions. NOTE: * Casey Viator compares forearms with bodybuilding legend, Gunnar Rosbo Doris: How big do you think it's possible to build an arm? Casey: There is so much lying in the books. I think a 21 inch arm would be freaky and scare people. I don't think anyone in the field has 20 inch arms. Doris: On the stage one time they asked Boyer Coe (see photo below) what his measurements were and he said he didn't know what they were and he didn't care. He said people can lie. It is how you look that's important. Casey: That's exactly how I feel about it when people ask me about my measurements. I don't care what my measurements are as long as I look good. Doris: Who's arm impressed you most during your early career? Casey: Larry Scott all the way. I think Robby Robinson has a nice arm as far as peak. * Larry Scott at Robert Nailon's gym in 1978. Doris: What do bodybuilders do wrong in their arm training? Casey: They train too much. And they quit right when they are starting to warm up that muscle. They quit at 8 reps when they should go on. I personally think the maximum you can do is 6 sets for both biceps and triceps and still get maximum gains with intensity. 6 sets of 10 - 15 reps progressive. Repetition, you know, also contributes to all these injuries from doing many sets. Your elbows and knees just have so much lubrication. Doris: I read an article on a woman bodybuilder that said she does 20 or 30 reps. How do you feel about that? Casey: She can do that, but the thing is she has to save herself. If she'd do 2 sets all the way to failure, she'd accomplish a lot more. When you try to do too many reps, you're saving yourself for the next set. Doris: Do you have any comments on arms and overall physique symmetry? Casey: WOW! That's going to take some time. I think arms are my best asset. I think if you can display them right it is one of the basic things to win a physique contest. Proportions mean so much. You have to have everything balanced, that's what the problem is with professional bodybuilders today. There's not a balanced physique. Well, Zane has it but he's not big enough. * Frank Zane - 1966 Mr Olympia Contest Doris: Do you think size is that important? Casey: Definitely! If you're symmetrical. Zane has come as close as possible because his calves are proportioned to his thighs and he is cut up and can display his physique well. Doris: What do you think about women and bodybuilding? Casey: I think it is beautiful, a beautiful healthy sport. I just hope the money starts rolling in for you people and things start coming on strong. * Female Bodybuilder Lisa Lyon Doris: You say you think a man's arms are his most important part, right? On a female anatomy do you think the upper or lower body is more important? Casey: I think the lower body is more important as far as calves, buttocks, lower back and abdominals. I think the upper body is last. Doris: That's the way I feel. I think the lower part is most important and the rest should be in proportion. So many women are now going into the bulky look. Casey: I've never seen a woman's calves too big. The Europeans have a standard there that's very good. They keep their calves up. All the Europeans believe in the calves and lower body. Few own cars, so they get a lot of exercise. * Cory Everson Doris: Do you have any amusing stories from your training career? Casey: When I first came down from Louisiana to work with Arthur (see photo below) I was living at his house with his son Gary. Arthur was into making him protein milk shakes. He thought up one made with peaches and fried chicken livers. He mixed it up in a blender and handed it to his son and said; "Drink it." Gary sniffed it and said; "Dad, I just can't do it." Arthur became very obnoxious demanding that he drink it. They argued back and forth, and when Gary took a sip he gagged. Arthur snatched it from him saying; "Give me that damn thing! " He took a whiff of it and said; "WOW, that does smell bad! " and he poured it down the sink. He also used to make the same kid that we're talking about squat, (he had a squat rack in his living room) squat until he'd - how shall I say - put dropping in his pants and pass out! EDITOR'S NOTE Arthur Jones is a staunch realist in all things. He believes to grow fast, hard and strong --- that means training to failure. I've personally witnessed a bodybuilder retching from going to the maximum in a 'Nautilus' style leg routine under Jones' scrutiny. Jones can get a trainer to achieve more in one set that most men can get out of 4 or 5 workouts. To him, intensity is everything. The 70's were his - rather, the 'Nautilus Decade'. * Deland Florida - Arthur Jones [pictured centre] (1971) * Info on Nautilus Gym Equipment * "Jones patented the Nautilus machine and introduced it to the public in 1970 - First to a weight lifting convention in Los Angeles, California. He would hold demos on how the machine worked (The Blue Monster - pictured in Iron Man magazine Nov. 1970). This is the machine Arthur hauled out to California. In 1975 Dr. Michael O'shea opened his facility, Sport Training Institute in New York City, and offered only Nautilus Equipment. It was the advent of Nautilus machines that made resistance training appealing to the general public, fueling the fitness boom of the 70's and 80's and resulting in Nautilus gyms in strip malls across America. They could use the nautilus name for branding as long as they ran their business in an ethical manner and only offered nautilus equipment with the exception of utility benches etc. There were no franchise fees to use the nautilus logo all you had to do was buy the 12 piece circuit, this did get the nautilus name out across the country but it also posed a problem for Arthur to protect the rites of his brand. Jones sold Nautilus in 1986 and founded MedX where his aim was to perfect the testing of human strength, endurance, and range of movement." ~ CyberPump.com Casey Viator now lives in California and trains with Mike Mentzer. As this goes to press, he has just won his first IFBB Pro Grand Prix contest. Nine years after winning the AAU Mr. America, Casey Viator is finally getting the credit and publicity his greatness deserves. * Mike Mentzer - Samir Bannout - Casey Viator