Originally Posted by
nelson montana
I may very well be the only guy old enough to have been around long enough to personally know people who knew Arnold. I never met Arnold but if I did the first thing I'd say to him is that he and I may be the only people alive who were at the 1969 Mr. Olympia show!
At any rate, I've also interviewed dozens of champions form the 60's thoughout my tenure writing for the various Muscle mags. I trained with guys who trained at Golds in Venice Beach. I've spoken to most everybody who is anybody in the industry. Back when I was a kid I was going to hard core gyms and learning the ropes from the old timers. I didn't do steroids back then, but it was apparent who did, and how they got them and how much everyone used. My friend Lydia was the wife of Zabo Koszewski (for those who even know who he was). Arnold was best man at their wedding! Zabo trained with Arnold and was not afraid to be very open about his recreational drug use. He like to smoke weed before his workouts! So I got to know who was open about this stuff and who wasn't.
There was still a stigma with some of the old guys where they felt that had to live up to the ideal presented in the magazines. Drug use conflicted with that. They were presented as heroes in the magazines and steroid use was "cheating." I don't know Frank Zane well but I know him well enough to not be surprised that he wouldn't want to talk about drugs. To him, it was such a small part of the overall approach. It's disappointed because Frank was a hero of mine as a kid. He was a thinking bodybuilder. He had the perfect physique and since both he and I shared the same genetic trait of not being particular massive but having good aesthetics, I related to him. But he's a bit of an eccentric as well. A friend of mine who also wrote for the magazines tells a story of when he taped a seminar Frank gave and Frank threatened to sue him for recording it! He seems like a bit of a control freak and I'm not surprised he'd consider his drug use as "private." Having said that, I understand he had an affinity for Winstrol and Armour Thyroid. Being the "thinking man" that he was, he took Vince Gironda's concept of stimulating the thyroid to facilitate fat loss to the next level but adding thyroid hormone. It worked.
A lot of guys at that time also used "injectable aminos" but that's a topic for another time.
As for Arnold...
As difficult as it is for a lot of guys today to believe, Arnold only used gear pre-contest. And he, like the champs of today, had a fantastic affinity for them. He responded amazingly well and very, quickly. In fact, back in 1970, a bunch of bodybuilders put on a exhibition at the Whitney museum and Arnold was between shows, and frankly, he didn't look all that special. In fact, Frank Zane looked the best. Arnold was naturally big with big arms and he trained like a fiend, so when he added AAS -- BOOM! So...what was his magical "cycle?"
I've spoken to several people who knew Arnold and even went to the same doctors. (Remember, steroids were legal at this time). And the consensus was that 8 weeks out from a show, Arnold would take a shot of Primobolan a day along with 50 mgs of D-bol, which was considered OUTRAGEOUS for the time! I know...I know...according to message board geniuses steroids don't "kick in" for 6 weeks. LOL
Sure, that's a hefty stack but Arnold was going to do whatever it took to win. And it's not that far off from what some 15 year old 175 pound jerk off today who's been traning for 6 months might take to look good on the beach.
There was no testosterone available and no AI's. Proviron may have been invented but honestly, I never saw it or heard of it or knew of anyone who used it or mentioned using it at that time.
Almost every old timer I've interviewed who admitted freely about using drugs, used mainly D-bol. In some cases that was ALL that they took. I guess they didn't know that D-bol only cycles don't work. LOL
This is why I just have to laugh when I hear some people commenting on steroid use. They really have no idea what they're talking about. Their perspective is that of someone who depended on drugs from the start so they haven't a clue as to what it takes to build pounds of solid muscle drug free. And then to hear them say that the old timers used this and that non stop when I know for a fact it isn't true, I have to just shake my head and let them languish in their ignorance. It's just a shame there are so many gullible people who listen to these morons. At any rate, that's the way it is and it's up to the individual who they choose to listen to.
So there you have it. That is the REAL Arnold cycle from the horses mouth so speak. 700 mgs of Primo a week and 50 mgs of D-bol a day for 8 weeks twice a year to create one of the greatest body's of all time. No clomid. No nolva. No GH. No clen. No tren.
You too can try the infamous "Arnold stack." But results may vary. : )
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