@@NattyLifeYT I was worried you had stopped UA-cam entirely. I hadn’t seen a video in so long until your last video and now’s. It’s good to see you back.
@FelixMangrove Lol. Insulin, IGF-1, forced feeding. Tren was first synthesized in the 60s, so who knows how early bodybuilders were using that. From my knowledge, it doesn't really in bubble gut. In fact, it's popular in the men's physique realm in addition to the DHT derivatives to give that "hardness" look.
There are. No significant relevant bodybuilders who compete who are not using drugs. None! you obviously have not been involved with this game.@@zdenekburian1366
@@covingtoncreek these are not kids but bots. This guy spams the same comment under every video I watch and has at least one bot replying with the exact same thing.
Back in the pre-internet era (the 80s, when I was a schoolboy) I used to look at these physiques in some books at the public library. I also found a copy of Hackenschmidt's 'How To Live...' book in an old bookshop. I was obsessed by old-time lifters and wanted to be like them.
The internet was invented in WWii in the 40's... evden in the 60's people were networking computers in universities and by the 70's there was forums and special interest groups using LAN... So internet was in your era whether you used it or not... But back then only geeks used it and most people were luddites with a phobia for computers and technology til apple changed that in the early 80's when Apple 2 became a main stay in people's homes! My father used to network servers in his university in your day the eaerly 80's and they even would play simple D & D text based role playing games through their network of computers so internet was nothing new and used by a lot of people even in your day thats how i know about it from my dad he was a geek and still is so am i and now everyone is a geek too and use technology right :)
@@v4v819 As someone who was actually there in the 80's, there was no public knowledge or use of the internet as it was in it's infancy. I can assure you living in another country that was the number one leader at that time in telecommunications, No one was aware of the internet and it did not exist. It was only a platform between universities ( in only the United States- primarily California). Not even connections between government departments let alone the business or retail markets. Telephone lines were being adapted- sorry no fiber optic in that world at the time. These connections were woefully inadequate. The current internet is mostly now comprised of pornography, gaming, and gambling.-How marvelous for everyone. Apple 2 which you claim was a "mainstay" in peoples homes cost $3000 at that time in 1980's dollars by the way, a car or truck cost $7000 at the time! making your apple 2 the equivalent today at $ 35000!!! How many people do you think were purchasing one of these new machines that us "luddites" as you refer, didn't even understand? My school bought a total of 3 machines for the entire school and it was debated by the school board at the time due to cost and need. This provided students with actual access to the computers a grand total of only 5 min on them out of 60 min class time at 35 students per class. Anyone who had a computer at home was rich and it was purely a luxury item most people tried to convince themselves was for the benefit of their children's learning. I take issue with your father ( he sounds rather pompous or superior unless your making him sound that way) explaining to you how the internet was so "available" when that simply wasn't the case. By the way I have lived in the Canadian north and to this day there are plenty of places with no cellular service as well as no internet. As marvelous as the technology is and has helped, it's also a crutch. I'm not sure how your Snowflake generation will function the Minuit the internet or electrical grid fails you and it will. Having lived the before and after internet arrival, This " Luddite" knows how to get by without technology as well as with it. Something many of you have no knowledge of
I’m 84. Been training since 1953. Now writing from a gym. Right rotator cuff is shot and hurts - so I’m only curling and doing ab work today. I’m 100% natural. I’m afraid of ANYthing-that might help me maintain mass - even creatine - due to type 2 diabetes. I’ve lost 20 lbs since age 80. I will never stop weight training. Keep on pumping, brothers and sisters!
@ thanks! I’m not bragging - I’m a skinny old man with sore joints. But I’m much than I would be without weight training. Met a man in the gym who told me he was a WW2 vet ! He was 96. Reckon I’ll keep training. 😎
@@joeboyle5864 I am 63 ,training since I am 17.. 5 times a week,45 minutes..each workout. I can't do without it. Its part of my daily life.. I hope to be like you when I am 84,and stay fit and healthy like you... Keep up the good work and I wish you to still be pumping at 100 years of age...
Billy Ralph’s biceps are insane! Pandour is amazing as well! Please make a video about Victor Delamarre, and the giant McCaskill!! I love your channel.
To me Billy Ralph take the gold . To be honest all of these legends are gifted with extraordinary genes Great video and thank for your time and efforts 💪
I have an idea for a video. How about you create one on the history on the cable machine? I think it would be an interesting concept. You could talk about the first bodybuilders who employed it in their workouts.
Charles Earnest - takes the title for me by far. Stunning Physique without having any of today's bodybuilding standards to compare to or to even copy. Staggeringly beautiful muscular structure, depth, thickness, shape and all of that other stuff. You know this guy was strong too. His hips and thighs show the potential of his in person strength and power. This is a powerful man, and wonderfully proportioned. Yes, I have a wife and love women, LOL.
Almost had us worried something happened to the channel. Glad to see you back man! I have learned a lot from your channel and look forward to learning even more.
Our pictures and records only go back 130 years or so. Imagine if we could go back 2,000 years. I'm sure there have been even more ridiculous physiques.
@@mikea5205I doubt it. Men back then either trained for strength or atletism. Those type of training most probably won't look like this. I mean some will if they combine both. But I doubt any of them would bother having low body fat percentage
I think it was their life style not many comforts or convinces. A hard life with a mix of lifting and isometrics will give you one hell of a good body.
Honestly all of them had impressive quads, abs, arms and body's. I wish more about their training and nutrition was known. As in did they eat a lot of boiled eggs daily, how often did they train and how long did they live? William Gerardi's quads were so defined. I also wish more pictures of all of them were available. They should be remembered for their accomplishments. Also shout out to the 0.5% of Czech Republic viewers.
Given peoples food options at the time and many of them being german or baltic, east european etc(Hackenschmidt was estonian i think) Alot of their protein likely came from eggs and dairy products: quark (which is a very high protein soured milk product) cottage cheese, kefir etc..Carbs would be have been stuff like rye bread and barley porridge as well as potatoes (very typical) Likely they ate 2-3 meals a day and minimal sugar obviously. When it comes to their training it was likely based around gymnastics and wrestling (keep in mind gymnastics got its modern start in germany and the czech republic) So parallel bars, climbing ropes, the rings was already a thing at this time.
@@NicolaiTschenow7530that's actually more information than I had previously. I'm impressed by your knowledge. Do you know how often they would have trained per week? As someone that doesn't do well when I take days off. If I take a day off then I'm tempted to take another one and so on. So to avoid that I generally prefer to do some kind of exercise or movement daily. I've wondered if others have the same issues? And that includes those that trained during that era. Plus tracking apps are fairly recent. I've wondered if they made the correlation between consuming protein and building muscle? It's ok if you don't have the answers to my questions. I've just really wondered how we came to figure out the part that protein, carbs, vegetables and fruit plays in our fitness routines. Even now I feel like we don't know enough about the benefits of seed oils. I've also wondered when it was decided that being as tanned as chemically possible was the best way to show muscle definition? So this is why I appreciate this channel. It's given me information on people who didn't have access to the information that we have. Yet they buildt some impressive bodies.
no this isnt , this is physique of guys over 100 years ago where even the bench press didnt exist . elite natty potentinal is someone like alex leonidas or samuel hartmann(insane genes tho)
Excellent research! Amazing physiques for that time period with the limited equipment they had for weight training. I'll have to go with Billy Ralph as #1 with those big pipes 💪Again great video.👍🙌
An amazing era of bodybuilding. my dad had a book written by Bob Hoffman that had pictures of all of these amazing strong men, he lifted weights, and he got my brother and I into weightlifting when it wasn't as popular back in the 50's and 60's. I'm 75 and still train 3 days a week.
Great video, by the way, you might be interested in the life of William Hope Hodgson, today he is remembered for his literary work, but I was also a pioneer of bodybuilding.
If you compaire ay 'claiming to be natty bodybuilder' of today with bronze/silver age bodybuilders, you must be on something to not see the difference. These men look like what could be atained with proper training, dedication and some decent food.
Nice video, subscribed - I remember as a teenager i went down the rabbit hole of pre-steroid era physiques and lifting, wanting to understand what was actually achievable without steroids. One thing that did crop up in one of the books (i think Super Strength but could be wrong) is that a lot of these photos are kind of staged as people will today. By that i mean, good pump, a lack of comparable scale, good lighting/shadow, even make-up or charcoal to exaggerate the contours and shadows of the muscles. I think that there was even some beef, just like today, between weightlifting clubs etc, accusing certain athletes of using more charcoal etc in their photos. That's not to take anything away because they will still be incredibly impressive physiques. I imagine most day-to-day would look similar to lower to mid weight boxers/mma and gymnasts or Olympic weighlifters we have today. Maybe a bit squarer and broader in the shoulders from all the overhead work.
I practice the Maxalding method. 3 weeks in and I am making gains, no doubt. The 2nd image of Billy Ralph is the image if the exercise J of the system. You pull the arms apart and flex the abs, pecs and pull the neck a little back and flex the traps. This seems to be one favourite pose of the bronze age! Cool video! I can share the exercises to anyone who wants it. I have the PDFs of every drill
Awesome video. Honestly, the Silver Era guys weren't much bigger when you consider that they were typically less conditioned. These guys are all sub-10% bodyfat I think, or right around there, whereas I've never seen a picture of Steve Reeves or a lot of the Silver Era guys with under 12% or so. That makes a big difference when it comes to fullness, just a few % difference in bodyfat for a natural can take you from looking full and dominant to stringy and sinewy. It's incredibly impressive they were able to maintain that level of leanness, because I doubt they had peaking protocols for photoshoots back then lol.
I don't think They had sub 10% body fat. Those photos were carefully staged, with good lightning, and I think They were (like Pandour during His shows) covered with some white powder, or paint. So They are looking very leaned (although Pandour was definitely ver very lean, look at His buttocks).
I think it would be cool if you did a video on the equipment that old school lifters used like the Chest Expander. That was a fun video and I really want to know about more old school equipment
This proves what I've been telling humans for 21 years, you don't need steroids to build a great body. You just need hard work and great genetics. TERRANCE OUT
He was later than this, but as a kid in the 80s, I was very impressed with John Grimek (1940s-50s) and I loved the story of how he disproved the accusation of being muscle-bound.
One thing to consider though is that training has evolved a lot since then too, so training naturally with modern training methods can most likely garner better results then those from this era
wow, what a surprise! when i started this video i recalled gustav frištenský, that he would fit here but definitely will be missing. i was thinking about making some comment about him. and boom, first mentioned guy. i really didn't expect this. he was kinda classic bronze/silver era strongmen and wrestler. similary like sandow he also built his physique to be pleasing for eye and used it during his shows, because he was also circus guy where he performed his stunts. and as sandow, women even paid to touch his body 🙂
Billy Ralph and Bobby pandour have always stuck out too me. What I particularly find interesting about Billy Ralph is that if he was at 12-15% he would look massive when compared too the two pictures of himself
Great physical shapes natty, much healthier mentally and physically and keeps you in overall great health 👍 very inspired by these natty bodies and very motivated to achieve more myself.
Archieved with suboptimal training and nutrition as well. Take this as a basis for a top tier natty physique that could (almost) be archieved nowadays with proper training and nutrition naturally
BILLY RALPH stands out as the most impressive for me. Did you see those biceps!? and overall very well developed with good balance and shredded in a way that looks so natural.
I was hoping you would mention indian bronze age bodybuilders. Many studies shows lengthened/ streched muscule position would accelerate growth & them practicing yoga and bodybuilding together makes sense
Not only they look good, they were also very strong and athletic, most of those guys were wrestling, weightlifting and doing some sort of strenght sport. So I think that every natural lifter should aim for getting stronger if they want to build their physique as much as possible without steroids.
A really nice and interesting video, but in my PERSONAL opinion not including Eugen Sandow (considered by many to be the father of modern bodybuilding who not by chance gives his name to the Mister Olympia trophy) not even among the honorable mentions is a crime 😅.
That 1895 photo is insane..he was a whole 3 DECADES ahead of all the others shown here💀💀💀 Also...with no machines all these guys had to do tons of squats to get those massive quads 🏋♂️
Władysław Kucharczyk, always #1. Hard to find better physique even nowadays. Its a pity he didn't left any exercise manual, but as far as we know he was circus gymnast, so I suppose his training routine was very similar to calisthenics. I wonder what do you think.
Yup 👍🏻. I gotta a lot of deep feelings about that. I was stronger in high school than I am here. I just didn’t know what I was doing or how to sculpt it. I could easily have outdone my personal best quantifiably accumulatively under proper guidance which approx 15lb more lbm. It’s a tutelage & biology anatomy of musculoskeletal takes wisdom & experience. It’s not always easy, but once you find your cure, which might be painstaking getting to, you’re back & in potential position to reforge greater.
I’d say a most impressive physique of that era (and with astonishing further potential) was Louis Uni, known as Apollon. Primarily a lifter/strongman rather than physique star he nevertheless looked amazing, and at around 6’3” was tall too, as well as just plain big & massive…
4:00 ~ this is unreal! This body is beautiful, and one can only hope he put that pieces of it which are blurred out in the video to use to propagate his genes! Zyzz has nothing on him, and he, Billy Ralph, was _completely effin' natural!_ Yes, you could drop him on a natural bodybuilding stage today. He'd probably win.
Check out my new documentary about the first bodybuilding competition: ua-cam.com/video/CoJRJXhwu9E/v-deo.html
MAN You're back!
Glad to see u ok and back posting
Bodybuilders really went from this to looking like a pregnant ninja turtle
🤣🤣
@@NattyLifeYT
I was worried you had stopped UA-cam entirely. I hadn’t seen a video in so long until your last video and now’s. It’s good to see you back.
Insulin and tren in a half shell.
@FelixMangrove
Lol.
Insulin, IGF-1, forced feeding.
Tren was first synthesized in the 60s, so who knows how early bodybuilders were using that. From my knowledge, it doesn't really in bubble gut. In fact, it's popular in the men's physique realm in addition to the DHT derivatives to give that "hardness" look.
😆😆
*What "Men's Health Magazine" SHOULD have on their covers. These bodies are beautiful because they are healthy, fit, and strong. No drugs needed.*
And also because, you know, taking anabolics is inherently unhealthy. Hypocritical for a health magazine.
Exactly.
Charles Earnest was awesome. Thats a physique. Billy Ralph too.
@@mwbeck They aren't inherently unhealthy that is nonsense. It depends on the situation.
Their physiques look 100 times better than modern bodybuilders IMHO.
I still think Bumstead looks better than all of them. The Open bodybuilders don't represent bodybuilding as a whole.
@@MR12AMAZING and Chris is using gobs of 'roids
today there are drug free bodybuilders significantly better than these, centuries did not pass in vain
There are.
No significant relevant bodybuilders who compete who are not using drugs. None! you obviously have not been involved with this game.@@zdenekburian1366
and very natural
Lifetime natty here! Been training hard for 40 years..Still pushing it to the limit at 54 years old!!!
Just checked your channel garageman brutal training keep it up grandpa 🔥
WAIT ITS YOU, I watch your videos a bunch, I hope I can be as strong as you when I get older, can't believe you're 54 honestly
LOL listen to these kids like 54 is ancient. Rock on, brother, from another 54 year old workout fanatic. 54 years young.
@@covingtoncreekwell it’s not young is it 😂
@@covingtoncreek these are not kids but bots. This guy spams the same comment under every video I watch and has at least one bot replying with the exact same thing.
Back in the pre-internet era (the 80s, when I was a schoolboy) I used to look at these physiques in some books at the public library. I also found a copy of Hackenschmidt's 'How To Live...' book in an old bookshop. I was obsessed by old-time lifters and wanted to be like them.
The internet was invented in WWii in the 40's... evden in the 60's people were networking computers in universities and by the 70's there was forums and special interest groups using LAN... So internet was in your era whether you used it or not... But back then only geeks used it and most people were luddites with a phobia for computers and technology til apple changed that in the early 80's when Apple 2 became a main stay in people's homes! My father used to network servers in his university in your day the eaerly 80's and they even would play simple D & D text based role playing games through their network of computers so internet was nothing new and used by a lot of people even in your day thats how i know about it from my dad he was a geek and still is so am i and now everyone is a geek too and use technology right :)
@@v4v819 As someone who was actually there in the 80's, there was no public knowledge or use of the internet as it was in it's infancy. I can assure you living in another country that was the number one leader at that time in telecommunications, No one was aware of the internet and it did not exist. It was only a platform between universities ( in only the United States- primarily California). Not even connections between government departments let alone the business or retail markets. Telephone lines were being adapted- sorry no fiber optic in that world at the time. These connections were woefully inadequate. The current internet is mostly now comprised of pornography, gaming, and gambling.-How marvelous for everyone. Apple 2 which you claim was a "mainstay" in peoples homes cost $3000 at that time in 1980's dollars by the way, a car or truck cost $7000 at the time! making your apple 2 the equivalent today at $ 35000!!! How many people do you think were purchasing one of these new machines that us "luddites" as you refer, didn't even understand? My school bought a total of 3 machines for the entire school and it was debated by the school board at the time due to cost and need. This provided students with actual access to the computers a grand total of only 5 min on them out of 60 min class time at 35 students per class. Anyone who had a computer at home was rich and it was purely a luxury item most people tried to convince themselves was for the benefit of their children's learning. I take issue with your father ( he sounds rather pompous or superior unless your making him sound that way) explaining to you how the internet was so "available" when that simply wasn't the case. By the way I have lived in the Canadian north and to this day there are plenty of places with no cellular service as well as no internet. As marvelous as the technology is and has helped, it's also a crutch. I'm not sure how your Snowflake generation will function the Minuit the internet or electrical grid fails you and it will. Having lived the before and after internet arrival, This " Luddite" knows how to get by without technology as well as with it. Something many of you have no knowledge of
The last one at 4:42, legitimately looks like a statue from the Greeks.
Exactly what I thought. Greek god physique.
I’m 84. Been training since 1953. Now writing from a gym. Right rotator cuff is shot and hurts - so I’m only curling and doing ab work today. I’m 100% natural. I’m afraid of ANYthing-that might help me maintain mass - even creatine - due to type 2 diabetes. I’ve lost 20 lbs since age 80. I will never stop weight training. Keep on pumping, brothers and sisters!
Respect
@@PillemannOtze-n9c many thanks!
inspiring
@ thanks! I’m not bragging - I’m a skinny old man with sore joints. But I’m much than I would be without weight training. Met a man in the gym who told me he was a WW2 vet ! He was 96. Reckon I’ll keep training. 😎
@@joeboyle5864 I am 63 ,training since I am 17..
5 times a week,45 minutes..each workout.
I can't do without it.
Its part of my daily life..
I hope to be like you when I am 84,and stay fit and healthy like you...
Keep up the good work and I wish you to still be pumping at 100 years of age...
More! So happy you're coming with a new full length documentary soon.
These pre-roid physiques are incredible!
Thank you bro for the shout out 🎉 Well done on another awesome 👌 video 📹
Oh. My. God. 😮 Buddy, you're back?!? Good to see a new post! 😀 Hope you're doing well, my friend.
I'm back 😈
Hope you're well mate 💪
@@NattyLifeYT I'm doing great, thanks buddy.💪😁 I hardly ever upload now but I'm still hitting the gym and training Eskrima.
Billy Ralph’s biceps are insane! Pandour is amazing as well! Please make a video about Victor Delamarre, and the giant McCaskill!! I love your channel.
To me Billy Ralph take the gold .
To be honest all of these legends are gifted with extraordinary genes Great video and thank for your time and efforts
💪
Waiting for your physique update
Harry Houdini had a incredible physique. It needed to be for all those physical escapes. His quads and neck really stood out.
I have an idea for a video. How about you create one on the history on the cable machine? I think it would be an interesting concept. You could talk about the first bodybuilders who employed it in their workouts.
You mean a "pulley system?"
Charles Earnest - takes the title for me by far. Stunning Physique without having any of today's bodybuilding standards to compare to or to even copy. Staggeringly beautiful muscular structure, depth, thickness, shape and all of that other stuff. You know this guy was strong too. His hips and thighs show the potential of his in person strength and power. This is a powerful man, and wonderfully proportioned. Yes, I have a wife and love women, LOL.
I think that he could rip someone in half and still have some change left over.
Almost had us worried something happened to the channel. Glad to see you back man! I have learned a lot from your channel and look forward to learning even more.
Billy Ralph impressed me the most. His physique is very balanced, and Ralph's pec development is exceptional for his era.
He really was exceptional, I was totally undecided between him and Pandour for #1
Bronze era is the best imo
it should be called Balls era, the time when men with such physique had big balls
Our pictures and records only go back 130 years or so. Imagine if we could go back 2,000 years. I'm sure there have been even more ridiculous physiques.
@@mikea5205I doubt it. Men back then either trained for strength or atletism. Those type of training most probably won't look like this. I mean some will if they combine both. But I doubt any of them would bother having low body fat percentage
I think it was their life style not many comforts or convinces. A hard life with a mix of lifting and isometrics will give you one hell of a good body.
Honestly all of them had impressive quads, abs, arms and body's. I wish more about their training and nutrition was known. As in did they eat a lot of boiled eggs daily, how often did they train and how long did they live? William Gerardi's quads were so defined. I also wish more pictures of all of them were available. They should be remembered for their accomplishments. Also shout out to the 0.5% of Czech Republic viewers.
Given peoples food options at the time and many of them being german or baltic, east european etc(Hackenschmidt was estonian i think) Alot of their protein likely came from eggs and dairy products: quark (which is a very high protein soured milk product) cottage cheese, kefir etc..Carbs would be have been stuff like rye bread and barley porridge as well as potatoes (very typical)
Likely they ate 2-3 meals a day and minimal sugar obviously.
When it comes to their training it was likely based around gymnastics and wrestling (keep in mind gymnastics got its modern start in germany and the czech republic) So parallel bars, climbing ropes, the rings was already a thing at this time.
@@NicolaiTschenow7530that's actually more information than I had previously. I'm impressed by your knowledge. Do you know how often they would have trained per week? As someone that doesn't do well when I take days off. If I take a day off then I'm tempted to take another one and so on. So to avoid that I generally prefer to do some kind of exercise or movement daily. I've wondered if others have the same issues? And that includes those that trained during that era. Plus tracking apps are fairly recent. I've wondered if they made the correlation between consuming protein and building muscle? It's ok if you don't have the answers to my questions. I've just really wondered how we came to figure out the part that protein, carbs, vegetables and fruit plays in our fitness routines. Even now I feel like we don't know enough about the benefits of seed oils. I've also wondered when it was decided that being as tanned as chemically possible was the best way to show muscle definition? So this is why I appreciate this channel. It's given me information on people who didn't have access to the information that we have. Yet they buildt some impressive bodies.
So great to see truly how the body looks without chemical cheating. Nice to see the way things assemble themselves; it was about definition, not mass.
no this isnt , this is physique of guys over 100 years ago where even the bench press didnt exist . elite natty potentinal is someone like alex leonidas or samuel hartmann(insane genes tho)
@@angerisdiscipline3913 "Elite natty potential is fake natties from youtube" delusional zoomer
Love your videos
Really good video !
Awesome sir, will definitely be checking for the next one, thanks and peace and positivity to everyone.
glad to hear you again
Missed your videos a lot, waiting to see your physique evolution
Welcome back
Thanks brother! 💪
Thank you for your good work. ❤
Excellent research! Amazing physiques for that time period with the limited equipment they had for weight training. I'll have to go with Billy Ralph as #1 with those big pipes 💪Again great video.👍🙌
OMG! I want those Gerardi's quads so bad!
Really love this topic, I do hope that all the bodybuilders could go back to this!
An amazing era of bodybuilding. my dad had a book written by Bob Hoffman that had pictures of all of these amazing strong men, he lifted weights, and he got my brother and I into weightlifting when it wasn't as popular back in the 50's and 60's. I'm 75 and still train 3 days a week.
Great u get these guys on list. Awesome work. Shocked how these guys could do this body in those times.. Fantastic
Bobby was nuts!!
Great video, by the way, you might be interested in the life of William Hope Hodgson, today he is remembered for his literary work, but I was also a pioneer of bodybuilding.
Very good 👏👏
If you compaire ay 'claiming to be natty bodybuilder' of today with bronze/silver age bodybuilders, you must be on something to not see the difference.
These men look like what could be atained with proper training, dedication and some decent food.
Honorable mention also to Alan P Mead who had an incredible physique and was also 6 foot+, not to mention he only had one leg after losing it in WW1.
Nice video, subscribed - I remember as a teenager i went down the rabbit hole of pre-steroid era physiques and lifting, wanting to understand what was actually achievable without steroids.
One thing that did crop up in one of the books (i think Super Strength but could be wrong) is that a lot of these photos are kind of staged as people will today. By that i mean, good pump, a lack of comparable scale, good lighting/shadow, even make-up or charcoal to exaggerate the contours and shadows of the muscles. I think that there was even some beef, just like today, between weightlifting clubs etc, accusing certain athletes of using more charcoal etc in their photos.
That's not to take anything away because they will still be incredibly impressive physiques. I imagine most day-to-day would look similar to lower to mid weight boxers/mma and gymnasts or Olympic weighlifters we have today. Maybe a bit squarer and broader in the shoulders from all the overhead work.
Began Raj looks number 1 to me
I practice the Maxalding method. 3 weeks in and I am making gains, no doubt. The 2nd image of Billy Ralph is the image if the exercise J of the system. You pull the arms apart and flex the abs, pecs and pull the neck a little back and flex the traps. This seems to be one favourite pose of the bronze age! Cool video! I can share the exercises to anyone who wants it. I have the PDFs of every drill
Yeah I have maxicks book I downloaded it very cool stuff
I honestly would take any one of these bods any day. Noticeably, what Steeve Reeves brought to the game was the V-taper.
Great video
Nah bro is getting too consistent now I'm sus
No youtuber has ever uploaded this many videos in a row before 🤣
Billy Ralph could win today
Awesome video. Honestly, the Silver Era guys weren't much bigger when you consider that they were typically less conditioned. These guys are all sub-10% bodyfat I think, or right around there, whereas I've never seen a picture of Steve Reeves or a lot of the Silver Era guys with under 12% or so. That makes a big difference when it comes to fullness, just a few % difference in bodyfat for a natural can take you from looking full and dominant to stringy and sinewy. It's incredibly impressive they were able to maintain that level of leanness, because I doubt they had peaking protocols for photoshoots back then lol.
I don't think They had sub 10% body fat. Those photos were carefully staged, with good lightning, and I think They were (like Pandour during His shows) covered with some white powder, or paint. So They are looking very leaned (although Pandour was definitely ver very lean, look at His buttocks).
Very impressive indeed. We should inspire to reach that, so to replace "enhanced" standards.
I think it would be cool if you did a video on the equipment that old school lifters used like the Chest Expander. That was a fun video and I really want to know about more old school equipment
@@51909relapseminem i watch Forgotten Fitness and those (among others) are expanded upon (pun intended)
Definitely. Check out my video on the chest expander, I will make more similar ones. (history of the barbell? 👀)
@@NattyLifeYT I did see that video, and I really liked it! That's why I'm asking you to make more.
great video ty
Wow!! Yes, Pandour was incredible but #2 blew me away!
Bronze era and this channel are so underrated
Cudos for pronunciation of Frištenský's name. He was real beast!
This proves what I've been telling humans for 21 years, you don't need steroids to build a great body. You just need hard work and great genetics.
TERRANCE OUT
He was later than this, but as a kid in the 80s, I was very impressed with John Grimek (1940s-50s) and I loved the story of how he disproved the accusation of being muscle-bound.
It's so relaxing to listen to stats...
These shapes looks very realistic and useful.
Silver era bodybuilders were natural, and if they were not, their physiques are achievable
Good video
nice job....really interesting...
Based on the first photo of Gustav, he could, if transported to today could after 9 months training, compete in Men's Physique at the highest level.
One thing to consider though is that training has evolved a lot since then too, so training naturally with modern training methods can most likely garner better results then those from this era
wow, what a surprise! when i started this video i recalled gustav frištenský, that he would fit here but definitely will be missing. i was thinking about making some comment about him. and boom, first mentioned guy. i really didn't expect this. he was kinda classic bronze/silver era strongmen and wrestler. similary like sandow he also built his physique to be pleasing for eye and used it during his shows, because he was also circus guy where he performed his stunts. and as sandow, women even paid to touch his body 🙂
Look who's back
Now that’s motivating ❤
Great to see what natural bodybuilding actually looks like and what can be achieved without steroids.
Billy Ralph and Bobby pandour have always stuck out too me. What I particularly find interesting about Billy Ralph is that if he was at 12-15% he would look massive when compared too the two pictures of himself
Is there any information available for their diet and training methods?..Thanks
Great physical shapes natty, much healthier mentally and physically and keeps you in overall great health 👍 very inspired by these natty bodies and very motivated to achieve more myself.
Archieved with suboptimal training and nutrition as well. Take this as a basis for a top tier natty physique that could (almost) be archieved nowadays with proper training and nutrition naturally
Esses merecem aplausos 👏👏👏
BILLY RALPH stands out as the most impressive for me. Did you see those biceps!? and overall very well developed with good balance and shredded in a way that looks so natural.
Thanks bro
What sort of programs were these guys using at the time to obtain their physiques?
I vote for all 5. They are much more impressive than the modern steroid monsters.
I was hoping you would mention indian bronze age bodybuilders. Many studies shows lengthened/ streched muscule position would accelerate growth & them practicing yoga and bodybuilding together makes sense
These photos hit so much harder when you realise they had to hold these flexes for minutes while the camera worked
Motivation is unreal!!!
Not only they look good, they were also very strong and athletic, most of those guys were wrestling, weightlifting and doing some sort of strenght sport. So I think that every natural lifter should aim for getting stronger if they want to build their physique as much as possible without steroids.
A really nice and interesting video, but in my PERSONAL opinion not including Eugen Sandow (considered by many to be the father of modern bodybuilding who not by chance gives his name to the Mister Olympia trophy) not even among the honorable mentions is a crime 😅.
I just love to hear your voice.... From India with love..,
Secret Sauce Bulls balls
Now this is true bodybuilding. Beautiful physiques.
That 1895 photo is insane..he was a whole 3 DECADES ahead of all the others shown here💀💀💀
Also...with no machines all these guys had to do tons of squats to get those massive quads 🏋♂️
holy shiit 5:21 looks like a sculptor made by a roman artisan
Everybody, he's back!
nice guide. sanju approves
Step 1: Be a simple man
Step 2: Natty Life uploads
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit
OMG! Ralph and Pandour!!!!!!
Wow, thanks a lot, amazing presteriod natty
Billy is my favorite.
Władysław Kucharczyk, always #1. Hard to find better physique even nowadays. Its a pity he didn't left any exercise manual, but as far as we know he was circus gymnast, so I suppose his training routine was very similar to calisthenics. I wonder what do you think.
The natural bodybuilder was truly
displaying the masterpiece of nature.
Doing it all the only way it should be done. These guys prove it's possible.
Are you sure 26 inches is correct? My legs were 26 inches at 5ft8 and under 200lbs with no lower body training
billy ralph and bobby pandour!
Yup 👍🏻. I gotta a lot of deep feelings about that. I was stronger in high school than I am here. I just didn’t know what I was doing or how to sculpt it. I could easily have outdone my personal best quantifiably accumulatively under proper guidance which approx 15lb more lbm.
It’s a tutelage & biology anatomy of musculoskeletal takes wisdom & experience. It’s not always easy, but once you find your cure, which might be painstaking getting to, you’re back & in potential position to reforge greater.
I’d say a most impressive physique of that era (and with astonishing further potential) was Louis Uni, known as Apollon.
Primarily a lifter/strongman rather than physique star he nevertheless looked amazing, and at around 6’3” was tall too, as well as just plain big & massive…
John lemm was a wrestler from switzerland
Billy ralph has a crazy physique for being so old. Looks modern.
4:00 ~ this is unreal! This body is beautiful, and one can only hope he put that pieces of it which are blurred out in the video to use to propagate his genes! Zyzz has nothing on him, and he, Billy Ralph, was _completely effin' natural!_ Yes, you could drop him on a natural bodybuilding stage today. He'd probably win.