Building

Hamilton, New Zealand
​September 2024

"Stimulate, don't annihilate."
- Lee Haney.

Back in high school, I strongly admired many of the old-school bodybuilders from the 1970s.

At the time, my personal favourite was undoubtedly Arnold Schwarzenegger, a 7-time winner of the Mr Olympia title, which represents the zenith of bodybuilding (1). I loved his approach to life in general (and still do, with some exceptions), which he embodied when he said, “For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” Many years later I read his book, Total Recall, and was influenced by another one of his quotes, stated as “Forget plan B. To test yourself and grow, you have to operate without a safety net” (2). More recently, I read his latest book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, and largely agree with his advice - have a clear vision, think big, work hard, communicate directly, be a resilient problem-solver, be open-minded and curious, and be committed to giving back (3).

​Schwarzenegger's priority during his workouts was "the pump," or the feeling of the blood rushing into the muscles (4). To achieve the pump, Schwarzenegger's workouts were high frequency - he lifted 3 or more days a week, twice daily. He also favoured high volume, performing an average of 10-20 reps per set. Moreover, Schwarzenegger favoured supersets, during which he worked out opposing muscle groups, back to back, with little rest in between (5). He once mentioned, “Supersets let you work out faster and get better pumps.” Due to the high frequency, volume, and superset nature of his lifting, Schwarzenegger tended to lift only moderate weight, rather than extremely heavy weight.

Schwarzenegger, bodybuilding king of the 1970s.

Now, at age 77, Schwarzenegger is still doing ok. He has undergone a couple of shoulder and hip surgeries, but since these occurred over 20 years after he won the last Mr Olympia, and he has been quite active since then, it is difficult to place the majority of the blame on his lifting for the injuries (4). Let's look at how some of his colleagues have fared over the years.

Building Legends

Since Schwarzenegger, there have been several other top-tier bodybuilders. It can be informative to compare their different training approaches and goals, as well as how they are doing now.

​The bodybuilding king of the 1980s was Lee Haney, 8-time winner of Mr Olympia (6). Haney's approach when it came to lifting was encapsulated by three words, "Stimulate, don't annihilate." His goal was a smooth, full-ranged positive contraction followed by a controlled negative contraction (5). Haney's perfect workout was the one where he attained full perfect contractions for every rep of every set. Due to this approach, he never lifted high volume, topping out at 6-8 reps per set, and never lifted as heavy as he could. In fact, Haney constructed his workouts to minimize the amount of metal lifted. Importantly, he did not perform deadlifts, which damage the intervertebral discs in the spine (7). Haney also prioritized adequate recovery between his workouts. Now, at age 64, he remains essentially injury-free.
​
Dorian Yates, a 6-time winner of Mr Olympia, ruled the 1990s. Yates trained for sheer mass, and ushered in what is now called the "mass monster" era (8). He lifted insanely heavy weight, with maximal effort. After a couple of warm-up sets, Yates would perform 1 set per exercise, which he would push to absolute failure and beyond, utilizing forced (assisted) reps. He also trained 5-6 days a week. Now, at age 62, Yates has suffered at least half a dozen muscle and ligament injuries in his shoulders, biceps, triceps, and thighs (5). 

Then there is Ronnie Coleman, 8-time Mr Olympia winner, emperor of the 2000s, and a man whom many consider to be the greatest bodybuilder of all time (9). Coleman was so huge that many people described him as an alien (10). He prioritized muscle size and strength, and lifted ludicrously heavy weight to achieve those goals (9). He often trained twice a day. Now, at age 60, Coleman has suffered from so many spinal injuries that he has needed over a dozen surgeries to correct his intervertebral discs, leaving him significantly disabled (10). 

Haney, king of the 1980s.

Yates, ruler of the 1990s.

Coleman, emperor of the 2000s.

Building Principles

Although Schwarzenegger was influential at a young age, I am now more impressed by Haney's approach to bodybuilding - aim for physical control of the weight, stimulate rather than annihilate the muscles, and execute a proper recovery period.

I am somewhat less impressed by the mass monsters, such as Yates and Coleman. Partly by the fact that they used far higher dosages of anabolic steroids, growth hormone, and insulin than the bodybuilders of the 1970s and 80s did, which lead to metabolic consequences (11). Partly also by the fact that, largely due to these drugs, their mass monster physiques do not seem to be as aesthetic as those of their predecessors. Yet perhaps I am least impressed by their training approaches and goals, which prioritized mass and strength over technique and resiliency. All may be important, but if a long-term, healthy life is the goal, the latter are more so.

Lastly, it seems to me that Haney's approach can also be applied to the brain - aim for cognitive control of the task, stimulate rather than annihilate the brain, and execute a proper recovery period. Beyond bodybuilding, lies brain-building.

​Both may be important, but if a long-term, worthy life is the goal, the latter is more so.

Solace.

References
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger.
(2) Schwarzenegger. 2012. Total Recall. Simon and Schuster.
(3) Schwarzenegger. 2023. Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. Penguin Books.
(4) Muscle and Fitness website. https://www.muscleandfitness.com/flexonline/training/it-worth-it/.
(5) WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/how-to-superset-exercises.
(6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Haney.
(7) Ramirez et al. 2023. Trunk muscle forces and spinal loads during heavy deadlift: Effects of personalization, muscle wrapping, muscle lever arm, and lumbopelvic rhyth. Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng 39, e3680.
(8) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_Yates.
(9) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Coleman.
(10) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq0Sm4kAp4Y.
(11) De Girolamo et al. 2024. Metabolic consequences of anabolic steroids, insulin, and growth hormone abuse in recreational bodybuilders: Implications for the world anti-doping agency passport. Sports Medicine - Open 10, 28.