THE GREEN AND THE GOLDEN

What do you get when you put green and golden together?

You get two of the most iconic legends of the Golden Age of the sport! That’s what you get.

Anyone who has ever had even a fleeting interest in bodybuilding can name these two guys in an instant.

One of them went on to become a legend portraying a scary green giant with a heart of gold.

The other became a legend for having the best developed legs of an era. Some say of all time – today’s behemoths included.

Whichever way you put it, it’s still just damn cool to see both of them together, doing what they do best.

Yes, then and now, the Eagle’s quads have always been a great conversation topic.

I grew up with these guys blowing my mind every time I saw them on a magazine.

They were the embodiment of the camaraderie and the beauty of the sport in a way that even today’s greats cannot seem to replicate.

A BodyForge salute goes out to both of these golden greats who we are still lucky to have around today.

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A TEACHER ON MOUNT OLYMPUS

Believe it or not, this guy used to be a math, physics and chemistry teacher.

That’s before he become known as the guy who defeated that dude called Arnold in the 1968 Mr Universe in Miami.

Just in case you’re from Mars, only three people in the history of this planet have ever done that.

He then went on to win the Mr. Olympia crown in ’77, ’78 and ’79.

That’s right. Three times.

An overall Olympia winner…under 200lbs.

The name is Zane.

Frank Zane.

This man built one of the most coveted physiques in bodybuilding history – a work of physical architectural perfection in a sport where it’s all about being massively overwhelming rather than idealistically symmetrical.

Indeed, this is a Lamborgini Miura SV in a field of Caterpillar bulldozers and John Deere tractors.

The Frank Zane physique has remained timeless, even in today’s bodybuilding arena.

Talk to any serious musclehead about the perfectly balanced physique and the first name to come up will invariably be Zane’s.

No kidding they called him “The Chemist”. His approach to getting into peak condition on the exact day of the contest was scientifically impeccable.

When they talk about having the body of a Greek God, it’s the Zane look they are talking about.

This is The BodyForge salute to one of bodybuilding’s golden legends.

Thank you Frank, for the Zane Experience.

The post BLAST FROM THE PAST first appeared on IamDonatello.

He used to be a Man With No Name.

Later on, he became Harry Callahan – otherwise known as Dirty Harry.

This is the one and only Clint Eastwood – an American actor, film director, producer and composer – as well as an enduring symbol of testosterone fuelled, no bullshit taking, gritted teeth tough talking masculinity the world over.

Not surprising that he has been pumping iron for a lifetime.

Even as a teenager, Eastwood preferred manual labor, working as hay baler and a lumberjack, in preference to easier jobs.

At 19, he started hitting the weights seriously, at a time when gyms were back alley sweatshops, filled with rusty bars and black iron plates, and when bodybuilding was still an activity of a select few, hidden from the world.

Remember the scene in The Dead Pool where Dirty Harry was knocking out dumbbell curls? Those were 40lb babies – and he was smoking 40 reps with them.

In fact, back in January 1991, the late Joe Weider thought Clint Eastwood was good enough to be on the cover of Muscle and Fitness.

In fact, at 6’4″ and 190 pounds of chiseled brawn, Clint was one lean, mean, fighting machine.

As lifelong ambassador of fitness, when it comes to pumping iron, the Man With No Name needs no introduction.

The truth is that The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of lifelong fitness and health, is to hit the weights Any Which Way You Can.

For some, this will be Heartbreak Ridge but there is no better way to test your mettle than to put yourself In The Line Of Fire down the Tightrope.

Every Which Way But Loose, that is, without question, The Million Dollar Baby.

The post BLAST FROM THE PAST first appeared on IamDonatello.

OF BARBARIANS AND GIANTS

Here is a great shot of three icons of an era.

From left to right, it’s Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger and André René Roussimoff, more affectionately known as Andre the Giant.

This pic is taken from the set of Conan the Destroyer, where all three starred in the epic tale of everyone’s favourite Barbarian as he hacks and carves his way along the journey to finding his kingdom.

There is actually a funny anecdote behind this picture, as told by Arnold himself.

According to the Austrian Oak, what both Andre and Wilt liked to do to keep Arnold in his place was pick him up like a rag doll and pass him around between them.

Just so he would remember that they could put Conan in his place whenever they liked. Barbarian or not.

Well, as it happens, one of their favourite things to do together was to go out and demolish a local restaurant’s kitchen, eating everything in sight.

Andre always insisted on paying for everyone (according to Arnold, Will always “counted pennies” but Andre was extremely generous).

However, on one particular occasion, Arnold decided he wanted to pay for their meal himself.

He therefore made arrangements with the establishment so that they would bill him directly and not allow Andre to pay.

When Andre found out that Arnold had already paid the meal, he was so aggravated that he asked Wilt to grab Arnold and together, they both hoisted him up, carried him out of the restaurant in front of all the other open-mouthed patrons, and deposited him unceremoniously on the roof of his car.

Can you imagine two giants hoisting out Conan like a limp doll out of a restaurant?

The stuff of legend.

I hope you aficionados out there enjoy this pic as much as I do.

The post BLAST FROM THE PAST first appeared on IamDonatello.