7x Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger has seen the sport of bodybuilding evolve through decades, and he recently highlighted a factor that makes him feel that the sport has lost its essence.

Schwarzenegger was smaller compared to the modern open division Olympia champions, who often weigh 20–50 lbs more than Arnold at lower heights. 'The Austrian Oak' stressed how modern Open bodybuilding prioritizes maximum mass, which often leads to larger waists and less V-taper.

He highlighted the flaws of this practice, stating, "So many of the bodybuilders are having a difficult time putting in their stomachs, and they have a difficult time having the energy. Then they are wiped out, and their stomach is hanging, they are walking around [mimics panting]. How can I vote for this guy to be the winner of the Arnolds Classic?"

Many analysts suggest that if Schwarzenegger had access to modern training, nutrition, and pharmacology, he would have likely been much bigger, perhaps closing the mass gap.

However, the stats and pictures tell us that Schwarzenegger weighed around 235 pounds, and modern-day bodybuilders  often weigh over 280–300 lbs in contest shape

Schwarzenegger, who has set examples of championed symmetry, posing, and overall aesthetic appeal, the inability to maintain control on stage directly undermines what bodybuilding is supposed to represent: complete physical mastery, not just scale.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Warns Modern Bodybuilding Is “Dangerous”

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t just complaining about aesthetics; he’s critiquing the direction modern bodybuilding is led toward.

A myriad of deaths within the bodybuilding community in recent years has pushed Schwarzenegger to describe the sport as “the most dangerous” in the world.

Speaking to Insider, he pointed to the extreme demands placed on athletes chasing size on stage.

“The more extreme it gets and the more competitive the top athletes get, the more they are lifting weights that the body was not meant for,” Schwarzenegger said.

For him, the issue goes beyond heavy lifting. The widespread use of performance-enhancing d**** and steroids in elite bodybuilding has become a major point of concern, with long-term risks including heart complications, infertility, and hormonal damage.

“Sometimes they are taking d**** that are damaging to their health and are making them so strong that the tendons and bones were not meant for that weight,” he added. “So then it gets into a really dangerous situation.”

Research supports his concerns. A 2014 paper from Harvard University found that anabolic steroid use has steadily increased since the 1980s.

Experts in the field have also linked prolonged use to psychological conditions like “bigorexia,” where individuals develop an unhealthy obsession with muscularity.

At its core, Schwarzenegger’s warning reframes the conversation. This isn’t just about how bodybuilders look—it’s about the cost of pushing the human body beyond its limits in pursuit of perfection.

Do you think modern bodybuilding is pushing athletes too far, or is this just the price of evolution in the sport?

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Souvik Roy