One of the most controversial Mr. Olympia competitions was held in 1980, when Arnold Schwarzenegger’s surprise appearance on stage after a 5-year gap remains one of the most polarizing moments in bodybuilding.

On November 27, 2025, the Instagram account of MichaelD. Bryson posted a backstage photo of Schwarzenegger, where he wrote, “Arnold Schwarzenegger backstage at the 1980 Mr. Olympia, where he won his 7th and final Mr. Olympia. Regardless of what you might think of the results of this contest, do you believe that Arnold is the greatest Bodybuilder of All Time?"

Many still think that despite winning his 7 titles, Schwarzenegger's physique at the 1980 Mr. Olympia lacked the necessary conditioning and was below that of Mike Mentzer, Frank Zane, and Chris Dickerson. However, with the help of his legendary poses, the Austrian Oak hid his weaknesses.

During that time, the Austrian Oak was training for his movie Conan, and no one thought he would participate in Mr. Olympia because his last appearance and title win were in 1975. That training had definitely helped the bodybuilder, because after being away from bodybuilding for so many years, he proved that the stage was his second home.

When asked about the sudden decision, Schwarzenegger revealed how this came to fruition.

“We're going to start shooting the first few scenes (of Conan) in October, and so I really wanted to be muscular because the idea was that Conan was a very muscular, heroic-looking guy, and that I should be in top shape," said Schwarzenegger. "The closer I came to this competition, the more people started speculating on the idea that I would be competing, and the more I started thinking about the possibility."

He also talked about the moment he knew that he was going to compete.

"And so around 3 weeks or 2 weeks ago I decided, well, I think it would be a kind of an interesting challenge to do something in 8 weeks that most of the guys do, preparing a year or two years in advance.”

Now, coming to the question in the Instagram post, “Do you believe that Arnold is the greatest Bodybuilder of All Time?”, the fans of Schwarzenegger reacted perfectly to the post.

Fans reacted to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1980 physique

Although the 1980 Mr. Olympia has some controversies, Schwarzenegger’s fans and the bodybuilding world wasted no time reacting to the legend’s backstage photo from the event.

One fan echoed the sentiments of thousands of other fans, saying, “No question, he is the greatest.”

Arnold’s bodybuilding trajectory highlights the same sentiment. Coming from a low-income family in Austria to ruling the bodybuilding world for decades, even after retirement, requires the greatest qualities.

Schwarzenegger has them all: dedication, hard work, consistency, and the ability to handle failure with patience and groundedness. His influence is so intense that a bodybuilding competition bears his name, the Arnold Classic.

“Probably the most significant figure in the sport, and I credit him more so than anyone else for pushing and promoting the sport to the heights that it’s reached today.”, another fan said, “Without him, BB would be a side note still”.

Schwarzenegger transformed bodybuilding from a niche subculture into an international phenomenon during his era by combining his stage presence and massive physique. The bodybuilding legend took it to TV talk shows and finally crossed over into Hollywood hits.

While one fan said, “King🔥👏”, another said, “Arnold is the greatest bodybuilder of all time. It's not even up for discussion. Arnold was the one with the most incredible physique in history. It was Arnold who made Bodybuilding popular.”

Another fan gave his take on Arnold's physique in the Golden era.

"For that era, physique wise? Absolutely. Without a doubt."

"So here is that body what made arnold a star," said another fan, complimenting the physique that launched Arnold into stardom.

So, no matter what others think, for his fans and millions of bodybuilders, Schwarzenegger is the source of motivation, an institution from which they still learn, and the best bodybuilder.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi