Perfection? Or Just Small by Today’s Standards?
February 8, 2009 | Posted by billspaced 
Samir Bannout is one of my favorite bodybuilders of all time. While he won only one Mr Olympia (1983), he was at or near the top of the sport for a long time. He didn’t dominate like Schwarzenegger, Haney, Yates, or Coleman, but his body, in my humble opinion, was the standard by which other bodybuilders could be judged.
Perfect symmetry, good size, great cuts, very good separation (see those quads!). Steeve Reeves, only bigger and better.
But by today’s standards, Bannout might finish last in the “O.” He’s not big enough. Nor does he have the thin-skin vascularity that today’s best possess.
What is your take on all this? Is today’s bodybuilder better or just bigger and more vascular?
Too freaky big? Cartoonish?
Or, is today’s superstar bodybuilder just an evolution of the sport?
Tell me in the Comments (by the way, I’m giving “do follow” free backlinks for thoughtful comments).
SamirBannout1.jpg (JPEG Image, 300×450 pixels)
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Categories: bodybuilding | 
Tags: Samir Bannout | 
4 Comments »
Bannout was a great bodybuilder, in my opinion he had the perfect physique. symetery, seperation, everything is spot on. Today however like you say, he probably wouldnt even qualify for Mr Olympia, compare him to the likes of Ronnie Coleman! Now don’t get me wrong, I much prefer Bannout’s physique, but Ronnie is an absolutel monster, in comparison Bannout is small compared to the sheer size of Coleman. If you look at how Mr O has evolved you can see that the competitors are gradually getting bigger and bigger and that is the name of the game nowadays.
Call it evolution, or call it a freak show, but it is what the sport has become.
Personal fitness and training tips’s last blog post..Fast effective weight loss
Amatter of taste me give me the former evertime.
Samir, Zane, Makkaway, those guys were awesome! Not sure any of them would place today in the “O.” Maybe not even in a state championship. Everybody seems so huge nowadays.
Here’s the question – how much of it is improved training, nutrition, and – gotta ask it – DRUGS?
I just read an article in MuscleDevelopment (the mag, not online, though the story might be online, too) by a doctor (if memory serves) talking about the prevalence of drugs in the sport today. It’s become VERY scientific.
What do you think?
Bill’s last blog post..Instinctive Training Is Using Bio-Feedback to Guage Bodybuilding Results
I think it’s a little of both, better and bigger. There has been so many advances in nutrition over the last decade.