Veteran bodybuilder Frank Zane epitomized bodybuilding to be this perfect display of shape and symmetry. His belief that bodybuilding should be an art of creating something new, falls in direct contrast with the modern era of bodybuilding. It’s more mass-driven and that’s the kind of body he would hate to have for himself.

In an interview from 2015 with Artemis Dolgin for Golden Aesthetics, Frank Zane shared his views on modern-day bodybuilders and why that’s something he would have never aspired for himself. He also suggested that several of his clients do not want that kind of physique and Zane would also never advise anyone to go for it.

Frank Zane opines about modern bodybuilders and why he doesn’t like it

Dolgin enquired Zane about his thoughts on modern-day bodybuilding, its difference from the Golden Era, and what has specifically changed. Zane replied, “Well bodybuilding, I like the process of creating something new, developing your body, changing it, having it look the way you would really like to look”, giving a brief idea as to how everyone viewed bodybuilding back then.

He continued, “Maybe some of these people today in bodybuilding really wanna look like that because that’s the look that is portraying. Personally not to my taste. I don’t like it. I don’t wanna be like that”. His clear views on most bodybuilders today are in direct contradiction with what bodybuilding was once about. But what is the main aspect of today’s bodybuilding that most veteran bodybuilders including Frank Zane?

“It’s overdone, it’s mass-produced, it’s like an assembly line. Just crank out those machines, and they all look the same”, said Zane. He mentioned how the focus on mass and big muscles were in direct contrast with when he did bodybuilding. Zane was one of the pioneers in bringing the focus of the bodybuilding world into shape and symmetry instead of mass.

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Frank Zane started bodybuilding during the so-called Golden Era. Competing with the likes of bigshots like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbo, Zane had to wait it out before he could win his first Olympia. Zane doesn’t believe in the idea of instant gratification, whose allure has trapped most present-day bodybuilders. He believes the idea of quick reward is making these bodybuilders gain immense mass in a short span of time, without caring about its true long-form process.

How bodybuilding has evolved, and other veterans sharing same ideals as Zane

While bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney brought the focus back on mass with their highly muscular physiques, they also balanced it out with near-perfect symmetry. However, the axis has tilted, believes Zane, somewhere around the last decade when mass production became the focus again.

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Other retired bodybuilders have also criticized this modern-day process in past interviews. Robby Robinson also said that bodybuilding is an art and shouldn’t be brought down to mere muscle-gaining and the idea of being big. What are your thoughts on the difference between modern-day bodybuilding and yesteryear bodybuilding? Let us know.