Eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney explained why bodybuilders of his era were always in shape, regardless of whether they were in the off-season.

In a conversation with Simone Generali, Hanye explained how bodybuilders in the Golden Era never, never really put on massive amounts of weight during the off-season, like today's pros.

He said, “You never saw Arnold's fat. You never saw Lee Haney fat. You never saw the guys of those past eras out of shape because the phone could ring anytime.”

That's because during that era, opportunities like guest posing and sponsorship appearances used to arrive at any time from different corners of the world.

“You had to be in Germany. You had to be in Italy. You had to be in Japan. You had to be somewhere around the world, and you had to be in good shape when you showed up,” Haney told Simone Generali.

However, that era has changed, and with the advent of the mass monster era, the approach has changed too. "Guys, now, there'll be 40 pounds over contest weight, 80 pounds over contest weight. We never did that. So I felt we had a different level of discipline," added Lee Haney.

However, bodybuilders today start increasing calories and training even heavier during the off-season to put on as much muscle as possible. Unlike the Golden Era or the 80s, the appeal of aesthetics in open bodybuilding is not what it used to be.

That's not something the record-setting Mr. Olympia is thrilled about either.

Lee Haney's critical view of today's bodybuilding

On a post by the Muscle Discord podcast about Nick Walker, Lee Haney commented that today's bodybuilding has lost its way.

He said, “Bodybuilding has lost its way and appeal to the general population. No longer is it being showcased as it was in times past. This is apparent to the teenage athlete that I'm greeted by in my travels," said Haney.

"There needs to be a reset before our sport comes crashing down. However, let’s keep hope alive by making the necessary changes to save our sport," said Haney.

Not only that, in June 2024, he appeared on Ron Harris's muscle YouTube channel and highlighted the distinctiveness of eras, praising his time.

He said, “It’s not pleasing to the eye, and I say eye, I mean the general public. The thing that made bodybuilding attractive. It made everybody, from the office guy to the attorneys, everybody wanted to look like a bodybuilder."

And Haney is not alone. 7x Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger isns't a fan of the mass monster approach either. Back in 2015, even Arnie said that bodybuilders today are only interested in "size, size, size."

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi