Old School Bodybuilding vs Modern Diet

Diet has always been one of the most important assets in the bodybuilding arena. Phil Heath, 5 times Mr. Olympia, in the movie Generation Iron quotes, “Tell me any single sport where you have to eat like this?”. A bodybuilder’s daily diet plan includes 6-8 meals keeping all macros in mind.

Let’s take a deep dive into the current diet structure and compare it with the era of Arnold Schwarzenegger, 7 times Mr. Olympia winner and considered as the greatest bodybuilder of all time, irrespective of the number of titles he won.

Old School Bodybuilding

The 1970’s was considered a Golden Era for bodybuilding. Bodybuilding as a sport had its glory - it was a game of respected and humble sportsmen. The modern era too has big names and the show has grown more. The science has grown too much and so does the food.

Let’s compare what a 1970’s bodybuilder had on his daily plate with the present day. The 1970’s diet had more protein and less carbohydrates and fats.

Supplementation

The modern era has all that money can buy, or whatever your sponsorship can get for you. The current supplements range from pre-workout to post workout and from protein to nitric oxides to testosterone boosters - you name it, it's available. In the Golden Era the supplement industry was minimal, whey protein was a recent term and research on developing new products was happening. There were multivitamins though the supplement range was much less - old school bodybuilders totally relied on their food to reach nutrient goal.