I was just surfing around on the net looking at old photos and it just amazes me how great arny looked when he was competing. What's amazing is he was so much lighter than ronnie coleman and on top of that, he was about 4 inches taller. However, he doesn't seem to look that much smaller.

Here's a cool link for pics of him in his heyday. popups though.
http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/ronniecoleman.html#1

His competitive weight was around 260 at 6'2 while coleman is about 285 at 5'9-5'11 depending on source. his off season is like 320.

I know with modern science, everyone has gotten a lot bigger, but does that really mean better?

what's all of your opinions?

Okay, let's look at this from a stat standpoint... Even though Arnold has him by 3" in height, Ronnie has TWENTY-FIVE lbs of competing weight on him with less body fat. Say what you will about drugs or technology difference but no matter how you slice it, Ronnie is much larger than Arnold and is simply a genetic freak. Arnold was my hero growing up but I if they are on the same stage side by side at their peak, I give it to Ronnie as he would be more impressive side by side.

SicShift said:

I know with modern science, everyone has gotten a lot bigger, but does that really mean better?

what's all of your opinions?



In my opinon it is hard to compare to two directly because of the above stated reason.

I think a better way to compare them is to compare them to their peers and see how much bigger and better they were compared to the people they compeated against in their time.

That and Contest wins.

In my opinion, Arnold is still the greatest.

Funny you should bring this up cause I was just looking at this last week. I found a web site that photochopped them all together and made comparisons on many of the greats.

Here's the site: Virtual Pose Down (http://ironage.us/virtual/index.html)

http://ironage.us/virtual/champs.jpg

Gixkid600 said:

SicShift said:

I know with modern science, everyone has gotten a lot bigger, but does that really mean better?

what's all of your opinions?



In my opinon it is hard to compare to two directly because of the above stated reason.

I think a better way to compare them is to compare them to their peers and see how much bigger and better they were compared to the people they compeated against in their time.

That and Contest wins.

In my opinion, Arnold is still the greatest.



Well... then the same could be said in reverse then. What if you could put someone of Ronnie's genetics in Arny's time. Who would have won then? Or, visa versa, you bring Arnold to the future (he's a pro with time travel.. probably wouldn't even get jet lag) and give him the same drugs. I would say that in either case, Ronnie would win. Especially the latter as Arnold claims that he used the juice because at the time they weren't aware of the possible side effects. If that were true, given what we know today, he wouldn't touch the stuff to start with. So, as much as I looked up to Arnold as a child, I still have to say that Ronnie is the winner. Look at his legs. Look at his pecs. Look at his lats. Look at his stomach and how much muscle he carries through his mid section/trunk. Ronnie has more mass and not only that.... Arnold wouldn't even come close to Ronnie's strength while maintaining size and that is all there is to it.

As much as I love bodybuilding, I'm having more and more trouble respecting a sport where the participants must spend in the tens of thousands of dollars every year on Insulin, Growth Hormone, Diaretics, and mass quantities of gear to stay competitive.

All this bullshit about who's the genetic freak... In my opinion alot of it has to do with how much you're willing to risk to win. Looking at Ronnie's Growth Hormone ridden gut compared to some of the other pros of today, I'd say he's in the lead because he's willing to take greater risks with his health.

Very well said marchman.

Jer said:

Gixkid600 said:

SicShift said:

I know with modern science, everyone has gotten a lot bigger, but does that really mean better?

what's all of your opinions?



In my opinon it is hard to compare to two directly because of the above stated reason.

I think a better way to compare them is to compare them to their peers and see how much bigger and better they were compared to the people they compeated against in their time.

That and Contest wins.

In my opinion, Arnold is still the greatest.



Well... then the same could be said in reverse then. What if you could put someone of Ronnie's genetics in Arny's time. Who would have won then? Or, visa versa, you bring Arnold to the future (he's a pro with time travel.. probably wouldn't even get jet lag) and give him the same drugs. I would say that in either case, Ronnie would win. Especially the latter as Arnold claims that he used the juice because at the time they weren't aware of the possible side effects. If that were true, given what we know today, he wouldn't touch the stuff to start with. So, as much as I looked up to Arnold as a child, I still have to say that Ronnie is the winner. Look at his legs. Look at his pecs. Look at his lats. Look at his stomach and how much muscle he carries through his mid section/trunk. Ronnie has more mass and not only that.... Arnold wouldn't even come close to Ronnie's strength while maintaining size and that is all there is to it.




Correct. (I like that time travel part http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/spit.gif) But, my point is you have to look at advances in the sport of body building. Even if you compare Dorian to Arnold the same thing can be said. It's not just the advancement is suplements but the advancment of knowlege. The guys today know a more about how to build a great physique thanks to the pioneers. Both Ronnie and Arnold are/were prototypes for their time. If you compare any of the top bodybuilders of today to those of yesteryear you will see a consistent trend. They will all tend to be bigger and more defined. However, I understand what you are saying. If you compare the two side by side, Ronnie would win handsdown, no questions asked. But in the big scheme of things I think Arnold is still the greatest. His physique and level of greatness are what many bodybuilders aspired to. If it wasn't for Arnold I don't think the sport would be what it is today. One think that can be said in ronnies defence is that the compitition today is fiercer than it was when Arnold was compeating. But then again you can tie that to what I just said above.


I copied this from the link above:

'"In the second-to-last scene of Pumping Iron Arnold is wearing a t-shirt with the words 'Arnold is numero uno' screened on the front. Truer words were never written. Arnold, more than any other bodybuilder, has transformed the image of bodybuilding from that of a sideshow activity to a mainstream avocation. While the arguments continue today as to whether he or Sergio or Haney or a more recent competitor had the best physique ever one thing is for sure– Arnold, by sheer force of will, made himself into the greatest bodybuilder ever ."'

I agree that he is the greatest as far as what he has done for the sport as well as himself. I could be wrong, but I don't think that is what this debate is about considering the person who started it posted pics and height and weight which would lead me to believe that he was going for the superficial and not the deeper comparison.

[QUOTE]
Jer said:
I agree that he is the greatest as far as what he has done for the sport as well as himself. I could be wrong, but I don't think that is what this debate is about considering the person who started it posted pics and height and weight which would lead me to believe that he was going for the superficial and not the deeper comparison. [/quote



Yeah, in retrospect I realze that. Kinda a pointless comparison. Good conversation anyway http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

i gotta say ahhhhnold....i like the "classic" form....not big on mass...i like the balance and the perportions that ahhhhnold have....ronnie is a lot bigger but i think ahhhhnold is a lot better