Arnold Schwarzenegger has been vocal about making improvements to bodybuilding to prevent deaths.
Over the last few months, there has been an increase in deaths in the sport of bodybuilding. This is something that many have spoken out about and that includes the best bodybuilding of all-time Arnold Schwarzenegger.
During the 2021 Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger stated on the broadcast that he believes Classic Physique is the future of bodybuilding. This is because of the preparation being different. Now, Schwarzenegger made a recent call to action in his newsletter.
“You would think that the head trauma from MMA and football would outweigh the organ failure in bodybuilding, but bodybuilding is much, much worse. We need to fix that, because bodybuilding should be about promoting health and fitness. I don’t know if the answer is more testing or promoting the smaller divisions more. What do you guys think?”
Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for more testing in bodybuilding or the promoting of smaller divisions. Right now, Men’s Open is the pinnacle of the sport where competitors have to show great size and conditioning. Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay is coming off a victory at the 2021 Olympia. Prior to the competition, there was some devastating news.
George Peterson passed away tragically in Orlando just days before the Olympia. Peterson was in town preparing to compete in the Men’s 212 division. Peterson’s death came after a recent string that has hit the bodybuilding world.
Ronnie Coleman made comments in September that lineup with those of Schwarzenegger. He believes that diuretics should be banned from the sport because of the danger that they bring. Coleman referenced a time where he nearly lost his life because of the use of diuretics.
“In the past 10 years, bodybuilding lost more competitors (14!) to early deaths than any other sport, including MMA and football. In fact, most football players that die from CTE problems die much older than bodybuilders, and with the exception of a tragedy this week, MMA fighters die at a much lower rate than bodybuilders,” Arnold Schwarzenegger continued in his newsletter.
The Mr. America competition is one with a great history dating back to 1939. To this day, competitors are still being drug tested before the event. This is an all-natural event that took place from Oct. 8-10. This is something that Schwarzenegger believes would benefit the sport of bodybuilding as a whole moving forward.
This is not an easy solution so it is hard to say what the perfect fix is. There is no quick-fix option for the sport. The popularity of bodybuilding continues to grow around the world but this recent string of deaths has caused some concern. The risks of some supplements and products are well-documented but athletes have been vying for victories and this is the reason they are being used.
This is not the first time that Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out about this issue. It does not seem like it will be the last either. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if any big changes are made to bodybuilding.
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