Modern Bodybuilding vs Golden Age Bodybuilding

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Technology and Bodybuilding

by Alan Palmieri

Frustrated with the way things are progressing at work I came home to find my two grown kids and my two just about grown grandkids talking about and asking questions related to technology... computers, various software programs, hardware issues, ipods, etc. Naturally I was not part of the discussion as they all know how I get upset with such things. I left the room completely frustrated as my son was trying to resolve a couple of issues with his laptop. Technology frustrates me beyond belief. I know we must have it - I know it is only going to become more complicated for us seniors who are not very technology inclined... I know it's here, it's going to get more complicated, but I just don't like it... and never will.

What did I do after becoming so completely frustrated... what any good and loyal bodybuilder would do - I retired to my garage and started my workout. Still frustrated I began to stretch and warm up, my mind still in a buzz over what had taken place. It was shoulder day and my first movement was light dumbbell presses. I completed my first set and sat down to take a breath, my mind drifted back and forth from my workout to technology. My very being is that of a bodybuilder. Back "in the day" we were called weightlifters more often than bodybuilders. I personally liked and still prefer the term bodybuilder to weightlifter. The term weightlifter brings about images of extremely strong individuals who carry large amounts of bulk on their frame and good size waists as well. When I hear the term bodybuilder, I associate it with a physique more sculptured, proportionate and defined.

All that has changed over the years; my workouts were a combination of heavy work coupled with sweat and torture. Routines titled as "scientific" were basically marketing hype as it was simply - "pick the weight up and put the weight down"... add more weight and pick it up and put it down. The movements were not high tech or anything special. Diet was meat and milk for protein, fruit for carbs as well as rice and baked potatoes. Added in were some supplements to protect any possible shortage we might have had for the day. Blair's or Weider protein powder was my choice. I also consumed Weider's Super Pro "101" chocolate flavor when it came out and loved it. A vitamin mineral tablet, Vitamin C, B-Complex, and Vitamin E to round out the protection we needed. That's it... then workout after workout. Give me those good ole days back again when the most complicated issue was lats, glutes, delts, bi's, and tri's. Hi-Tech equipment was a homemade smith machine or an incline bench.

Advancement in bodybuilding has driven me to a point in time that I no longer get much enjoyment from it. I don't understand the magazines - the point they are trying to make, the ads, or the articles. I don't understand the words or scientific jargon. Technology and advancement has moved beyond my simplistic brain. I am content to perform straight sets, super-sets, and giant sets in the privacy of my garage gym while leaving the super technology terms and questions to those who enjoy such. Heavy weight and focused workouts of the "olden days" are more technology than I need.

I still use good ole egg and milk protein as a supplement. I've added whey protein. Amino's have been on again off again supplement for many years. A vitamin mineral tablet along with a few other supplements does just fine for me. I've never used or tried steroids. I don't use any of the new "super duper hi-tech muscle building" products. Lots of water and attempts to stay on a so - so diet with a pizza thrown in on a regular basis is okay with me. But, I'm not competing and I don't feel it necessary to lift more or faster than anyone else. I'm not concerned with being the biggest, the strongest, or the fastest. I've discovered enjoyment with what I do and how I do it. It's just like it was in the beginning for me - I do it for me and no one else. My garage gym is a no tech place to bang the iron. Peace within my own skin.

It brings me peace and comfort to know I can find a place so close to home that brings such enjoyment.

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