Pre-steroid era Old School Bodybuilders?

ironyogi

ironyogi

Member
Anyone know much about this, if it's even a thing? I've seen black and white photos of really old school body builders. I just wonder what they're training/diet programs looked like. I'm guessing this would have been before anabolics were even around.
 
Yea I've seen them. They look nothing like today's bodybuilders. Pre 1960's they did not have access to oral or injectable steroids . The Mr. Olympias of that era are very average looking. Looking at those bodybuilders gives you a good idea of what can be achieved naturally. And no...they look nothing like any of today's so called "natural" bodybuilders and there is a reason for that. Today's natural bodybuilders simply aren't natural. Here's a cool website

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I wonder what they were eating. I'm reading a lot about high protein, high fat - low carb type diets in the old days. Mostly reliant on foods because there weren't really many supps out there aside from liver pills. I'd love to find some kind of training guide from the 50's or earlier.
 
I understand this, but I'm looking for information on the era. Old magazine articles, training guides, diet programs et cetera.
 
First. Steroids were made near the 30s and before the 50s there wasnt much thought on food , they just ate to gain and didnt to lose , plus meat was cheap as **** so they ate a lot of it
 
It is a common notion that Serge Nubret was natural; although I've never read anywhere that he himself stated that.

I found it hard to believe but if so, that's damn impressive and in no way what I consider average looking.

I'm speaking even on the photos you can find of him in the late 50s.

Clearly by the 1970s he was on gear.
 
supaslowdx said:
It is a common notion that Serge Nubret was natural; although I've never read anywhere that he himself stated that.

I found it hard to believe but if so, that's damn impressive and in no way what I consider average looking.

I'm speaking even on the photos you can find of him in the late 50s.

Clearly by the 1970s he was on gear.
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I dont no its a hard thing to say but you could buy roids at a pharmacy in that era so who wouldnt use is?
 
supaslowdx said:
It is a common notion that Serge Nubret was natural; although I've never read anywhere that he himself stated that.

I found it hard to believe but if so, that's damn impressive and in no way what I consider average looking.

I'm speaking even on the photos you can find of him in the late 50s.

Clearly by the 1970s he was on gear.
Click to expand...

I dont no its a hard thing to say but you could buy roids at a pharmacy in that era so who wouldnt use it?
 
jaces said:
I dont no its a hard thing to say but you could buy roids at a pharmacy in that era so who wouldnt use it?
Click to expand...

Anabolic steroids were classified as a controlled substance in 1990, although the NFL "banned" steroids in 1983, MLB in 1991. The Olympic Committee banned them in 1967. This was because at the 1956 Olympic games, the Soviets performed really f***ing well and it was eventually discovered that they were using anabolic steroids.

A synthetic form of testosterone was created in the 1930's to help treat men who were unable to produce enough for healthy growth. There are known cases of artificial testosterone being used during WWII to help malnourished solders gain weight and improve physical performance. From what I've read, it was between WWII and the 1956 Olympic games that anabolic steroid use was utilized to increase muscle mass in the bodybuiding/figure arena. It wasn't illegal to buy so I'm sure if you could buy it at a pharmacy, you had people experimenting. I mean, heroin and crack were still legal just a few decades before (1914 if I remember) and meth/lsd/ecstasy were still legal until 1971! We forget that it was a different legal world back then. But young adults, like now, were probably still experimenting with legal things (and illegal) to see how far they could push the human body mentally and physically.
 
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JeremyNG25 said:
Yea I've seen them. They look nothing like today's bodybuilders. Pre 1960's they did not have access to oral or injectable steroids . The Mr. Olympias of that era are very average looking. Looking at those bodybuilders gives you a good idea of what can be achieved naturally. And no...they look nothing like any of today's so called "natural" bodybuilders and there is a reason for that. Today's natural bodybuilders simply aren't natural. Here's a cool website

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Click to expand...

To be fair we are privileged with a lot more knowledge about diet, nutrition, exercise and modern training methods , healthy lifestyle factors and even natty supplements play large role, perhaps as high as 70% IMO. I mean what equipment were they using back? Basic at best. We've got protein, creatine, fish oil and other staples most of which they knew nothing about in those days

Steroids give you an edge but only if you have a great foundation of the above

I think today's natural bodybuilder has progressed way beyond the early days, Like in any sport athletes of today are generally quicker, stronger, fitter and more conditioned. Cant explain all progress in physiques as being purely down to steroids
 
There's the old legend of Arnold washing down a WHOLE roasted chicken with a pitcher of beer as his post-workout meal...guys eating dessicated liver pills like candy, by the handful. NO MILK, also according to old school arnold.

I watched pumping iron almost religiously when i first found it on netflix. I just dig the era man. I know they were doing something different, I just wish there was a more candid version of the story written by those who lived it. There's got to be a training, eating, supplement journal or guide from one of those guys out there somewhere.

* downs handful of liver pills with pint of raw egg puree*
 
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