Lee Haney Criticizes What Bodybuilding Has Become – IronMag Bodybuilding & Fitness Blog

by Christian Duque

8x Mr O Lee Haney has earned some blowback for recent comments he made about where the sport of bodybuilding finds itself. It’s kind of curious to me that he would be getting any kind of negative attention for stating the obvious. Over the years we have seen where contemporary bodybuilders do not really want to hear from their predecessors unless it is to sing their praises. Modern day bodybuilders must be aware of the fact that the sport has not advanced but rather has retrograded in the time since the 90’s and early 2000s.

Back in those days even the mass monsters had far better aesthetics and symmetry than the top guys do today. That just cannot be argued. You can’t argue symmetry or balance. All you have to do is look at it and you will see. The reality of the matter is that we have allowed ourselves to become fixated on one of the many attributes involved in bodybuilding. Unfortunately, we did not pick condition or vascularity or proportions as the distractions that obsess our very existence. Of course what we decided to fix it on was size. One of the things that really, honestly, we could all live without. Size does not represent the qualities of an aesthetic physique. Size is really for the freak factor of it all. And Lee didn’t say this, Christian Duque is saying this, but I really believe bodybuilding has become a freak show.

I mean let’s really analyze why the sport went wrong. And I would blame the supplement industry in large part. I know that that’s probably going to get me a lot of negativity but the supplement industry is what makes the money. They are the ones that are responsible for all the advertising on all the various formats. The supplement companies used to dominate the magazines. Maybe that’s a historical factor that a lot of writers do not want to agree with, but it is the case. As writers, they probably had to be mindful of being expressive but without ruffling the feathers of big sponsors.

The magazines made their income through advertising and it was through that advertising that they paid for their roster of athletes. It’s that same advertising money that provided writers, photographers, and editors with the ability to make great livings. That’s how they got their paychecks. That’s also how the owner(s) got his cut. The reality of the matter is that these supplement companies needed to reinvent the wheel not every once in a while, but almost every month. Because when there was no internet that’s all there was. The internet replaced the magazines, but that’s even worse news for the sport. Whereas the supplement companies had to reinvent themselves every month for the magazines, now they have to reinvent themselves almost every day. They have to constantly put out cutting edge graphics to capture the engagement of the supplement-purchasing public.

Capturing that engagement has become such a fascination that it’s no mystery that size became the culprit in the death of bodybuilding. Vascularity and definition should have been a direction they went with but I think that that is so much more attainable that it’s somehow less marketable. What is not attainable is gaining the size of a Nick Walker or a Hadi Choopan. It’s about walking around with so much muscle that it would take the Lord Jesus Christ to find a way to add more. While that particular look may not do well on a competitive bodybuilding stage right now, it does have an indelible impact on the direction of the sport. The federation knows what’s popular and what’s popular has an undeniable impact on everything. It’s wild to me that we are even talking about a guy that looks like Nick Walker as being this year’s Mr. Olympia. That’s totally not what bodybuilding was meant to be.

I mean if it was any clearer it would be water. That’s how clear it is to me. That’s how clear it probably is to you as well. The problem is where do we go from here? How do we save the sport? The way that we do it is sort of what happened back when Phil Heath won his first Olympia. And this is with nothing but respect to Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman but I think the sport was trying to take control of its destiny and maybe turn the car ever-so-slightly away from the direction it was going in. Phil Heath brought in a whole new look to Mr olympia. It was a look that was missed. and after Phil you had Sean Road and Brandon Curry, and guys like that. they really honestly kept the torch going with regards to aesthetic and proportion of physics. Then this workout was hijacked again with big rummy, and here we are now considering whether Nick Walker is going to be the number one volleyballer in the world. I mean it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s preposterous. I mean I cannot believe that it is even happening but it is.

Now if you think I’m being melodramatic I assure you I’m not. At least I don’t feel like I am. And if we’re talking about how I feel, I should be the top authority in that regard. But I will tell you that I also feel for Lee Haney and guys like him because when you look at the sport as a sport, you can’t help but give back to those that came before. Arnold did a great thing with Pumping Iron, but I also believe the 1980s represented a building phase for what bodybuilding is as we know it today. I’m not talking about the bodybuilding of Larry Scott or the bodybuilding of Sergio, but I’m talking about where the sport is today.

In a very real way I believe that the guys in the 70s, the 80’s, and maybe arguably the 90’s had a very big hand in building the sport as we know it today. So you can imagine how much this must pain somebody like Lee Haney. He won eight Olympias and to see the title that he worked so hard for possibly go to a guy that looks like The Michelin Man – that’s a bitter pill to swallow. That’s enough to make anyone in that position feel like they’re on an episode of Punk’d!

I mean just look at Eugene Sandow, the man who inspired the Olympia trophy. Look at his physique. Does he not resemble Frank Zane, Robbie Robinson, or Bob Paris? Does he not resemble maybe more contemporary bodybuilders like Melvin Anthony or Chris Bumstead? Does he look anything like a Big Ramy? Does he look anything like Nick Walker? Does he look anything like any of these mass monsters? I mean it’s absolutely preposterous that somebody with no aesthetics is going to win the top title in a subjective-based sport. And why? Because he’s bigger than everybody else? Is that what bodybuilding is about? If so, then it should be bigbuilding not bodybuilding.

This is preposterous. If you’re reading this article and your blood is not boiling at the mere possibility of Nick Walker being Mr O, then I want you to stop reading it and physically slap yourself across the face. I want you to hit yourself. If you actually did that I’d laugh. I don’t actually want you to hit yourself, but the fact is, we are in a horrible era in bodybuilding. Nick will win. It is going to happen. As sure as I’m bald, he’s going to win. It’s abundantly clear that’s the plan. That’s the only reason Lee broke his silence. He knows what’s coming.

In any event, I think it goes without saying but I 100% support Lee Haney and what he’s saying. As always, I want to know what you think about my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It will definitely get lively conversation – and no one will be more dramatic than the Nick Walker fans.