When I watched Pumping Iron with my wife (before we were married...I wanted her to know what she was in for. I plan on training for another 40 years!) she was impressed with Ken Waller. She also thought Franco Columbo should have beaten Arnold, and I can't say I disagree, Columbo looked awesome. I like the scene where Waller is playing some (American) football with Robby Robinson (another awesome build). It was also cool to see Columbo boxing and skipping. The bodybuilders of the 70's were a lot more athletic and there seemed to be more comraderie.
That said, this arguement is somewhat silly in the sense that so very few people even have the genetics to become as big as an Olympia competitor.
A lot of people who consult me about personal training will say "I don't want to get as big as the guys in the magazines, I just want tone".
Yeah, okay Arnie. We wouldn't want to have you lifting heavy weights because I'm sure you'll just explode overnight into 250 pounds of shredded muscle.
Hey bruiser, how about we try to get your arms over 15 inches then we can start worrying about getting "too big"
I do believe that one must strive for mass, because you can't carve a statue from a pebble. You need a large slab of rock to work with.
That said, once you have a descent, natural base you can go for even more mass, lots of cuts, or a combo. Athletic endevours should be considered as well, but keep in mind that it wasn't long ago that weightraining was seen as something that would adversely effect performance in sports. Now, every top athlete in every sport trains with weights to some degree. Weightlifting is the basis of any well-constructed fitness program. I always tell my clients that I am going to train them like bodybuilders, because bodybuilding is about shape, proportion, balance, muscle size and low levels of bodyfat. If they have a problem with that then I know a good yoga instructor looking for a few more clients
