Most of them where seen as hero’s. And after the movie “Pumping Iron” the bodybuilding virus spread like wildfire. Nowadays you see that part of the present bodybuilding community would like to see those days returning. The other part of the community, mostly very young, likes the modern version of freaky physiques. On the forums you can read the pro and cons of the “Golden Era” of bodybuilding compared to modern bodybuilding. We all know that bodybuilding is an evolving sport. ![]() ![]() Franco Columbu; Frank Zane; Jay Cutler. Franco has won almost every important title in bodybuilding and power.
It didn’t start in the golden era, or the seventies, if you like. And in those years many people didn’t like what happened either. Fact is that many of the trainings protocols, the diets and yes the old drug protocols, originated from that era. And the face of those days of success was Arnold Scharzenegger, always together his friend and training buddy Franco Columbu. Franco Columbu never got the proper and full appreciation or the credit for his impressive achievements. In his autobiography “The Education of a Bodybuilder,” Arnold revealed the exact reason why he decided to train with Franco Columbo after he met him in Munich in 1. I did it because of something I’d seen in Franco, which was his incredible willpower. I knew he could go all the way. I knew too that he was the training partner who could weather the ferocious workouts necessary in the coming year. It was important for me to be with Franco during a time when I wanted to adhere to a grueling workout schedule.”Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously believed he would be more successful with a training partner pushing him to train hard. Winning Weightlifting and Powerlifting by Franco Columbu and Dick Tyler. The death of Milo of Crotona was almost more spectacular than his life. The tale goes that, while walking along in the woods, he happened upon a wedge. Doctor of Chiropractics. Nutrition; Chiropractic; Training; Gallery; Store; Training. Franco Columbu Biography Nickname: The Sardinian Strongman Born: August 7, 1941 Birthplace: Ollolay, ITALY Height: 5' 5' Weight: 185 lbs He Born in Sardinia, Columbu first engaged in the sport of boxing. Franco Columbu Many people liked the way the bodybuilders from the seventies looked. Powerlifting; Drugs profiles. Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids. In fact, Arnold trained without Franco the first year after he arrived in California. But because he felt something was missing, he convinced Joe Weider to bring Franco to the USA in 1. Arnold and Franco also became very good friends outside the gym, a friendship even lasting today. They started a successful bricklayer business together, and Franco even served as the best man at Schwarzenegger’s wedding with Maria Shriver in 1. The two men complemented each other, a synergy that would push them to big heights. From his fairly humble birth in Ollolia, Italy he grew up and started his athletic career as a boxer in Italy. He soon rose to become the amateur boxing champion of his regional boxing club. He continued to box for a while but soon realized this wasn’t what he wanted. After a short and dominating boxing career, Franco went to power- lifting. Franco had huge success in this field thanks to his major self- motivation. He trained day in and out. He managed to become the strongest lifter in Germany, Italy, and eventually Europe. He claimed some world records for the time with a max bench press of 5. These records have since been broken but they’re still not bad for a guy who is only five foot five and a hundred and eighty pounds! He continued to power lift for a good deal of time but in mid- sixties turned to bodybuilding. He kept a good mind in power lifting regardless and kept his strength higher than most of the other bodybuilders who simply went for looks. This is proven that in seventy- seven he competed in the world’s strongest man competition and placed fifth due to him not completing the competition. He tore a muscle in his leg while doing the refrigerator carrying event, otherwise he would’ve no doubt placed first. After his illustrious power lifting era he decided to become a bodybuilder. He was driven to have the best physique on earth. He already had a great start from his power lifting career. He was already in great shape and only had to do minor changes in his training and diet to accompany fat loss with the muscle gain. He also garnered as much major success as a bodybuilder as he did with everything else he did earning many awards such as Mr. Olympia to name a few. On the picture: Franco with another Italian Champ Giuseppe Deiana. As you can imagine after this massive success people were always wondering how Franco worked out, what his diet was, his personal training preferences and things of those categories. This inspired a series of books Franco would write on training and proper nutrition for mass building over the next several years. In the early to middle seventies Franco wrote several pamphlets and articles for several gyms, major magazines, and in health clinics. The articles were huge successes especially coming from such an accomplished man. Soon the public craved more and Franco obliged in the form of books. In nineteen seventy- seven Franco wrote his first book entitled “Winning Bodybuilding”, within it he releases secrets to a monster physique which at the time had never before been exposed. The book sold well, men who thought their physique was inadequate bought the book like it was a necessary utility. He continued to write about the topic he knew most about. A year after his first book he released a second book that was relatively similar but focused on the female audience. At this time it still wasn’t widely popular for women to train for strength but Franco aided the wave that would soon come. Within a decade women were getting stronger and began to bodybuilding. We all know there are two parts to building muscle, diet & exercise. Franco knew this and took advantage of it by releasing “The Bodybuilding Nutrition Book” with cowriter Lydia Fragomeni. As you can probably guess it dealt with what a diet should consist of, good meals and foods for anabolism, fat- carb- protein ratios, unique body types and their diet needs, and such. Today Dr. Franco Columbu is a Los Angeles chiropractor, nutritionist, and trainer who has co- written several health and fitness books. But most people will recognize Columbu as the muscleman posing next to Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of the greatest guy flicks ever, the 1. Pumping Iron. That body- fetish classic followed these guys through daily workout regimens that included five hours a day in the gym, ballet classes for posing techniques, and humongous mounds of ground beef and egg- and- tuna omelets. A lot of cholesterol went into the making of that film. Even now, it’s not uncommon for serious weight- training programs to include as much as 2. As a key figure in the culture since the seventies (he won Mr. Olympia titles) Columbu has seen the 2. Mostly, he avoided all of it. We used to eat things in front of people and they say, “You eat that???” He didn’t do the high carb, he didn’t do the low carb, and he didn’t do the “food combining” diet, either. Don’t eat protein with carbohydrates. Food combining was so bad; I thought, these people are really out to lunch. How do you separate protein from string beans, pasta, potatoes, and rice? All these foods are half carbohydrate, half protein. Then there was the egg- white craze. I had guests come to my house, bodybuilders, Frank Zane, Arnold, all the guys from Pumping Iron. Arnold didn’t care about egg whites. Arnold said, “Give me the protein and let’s go to the gym.” So I would separate the eggs because the other guys only wanted the whites. We ended up drinking the yolks. In the . Frank Zane and Lou Ferrigno, a lot of those guys believed in low carbohydrates. But we realized that some of these guys had very low energy as a result. So we went with our instincts, which was that you need protein for the body and the stored glycogen and stored fat in the body for energy. The brain needs carbohydrates. Columbu and Schwarzenegger were roommates during that time. Backstage before a competition, Schwarzenegger would announce, “Franco, it’s time for pizza.”They did it for the energy and also to psyche the other guys out. Their grocery bills were huge. Columbu recalls, “Joe Weider paid us $8. We’d go to the market, and three days later all the money was gone. We’d work construction to make extra money.”Schwarzenegger, Columbu reveals, never ate a fad diet. But he was jealous of Columbu’s even less- exclusive menu. I could eat sweets, and this would make him angry. You can make muscle if you eat wood.” Franco is married and has a daughter, Maria. And she is in the best shape of all of her friends. What I’m saying is, to put a kid on a diet is devastating, in my opinion.”Eggs are the highest quality protein, he points out, and still the most important to any fitness program. He notes that most dietary guides were wrong when they said eggs cause cholesterol problems. In fact, egg yolks contain enough of the fat emulsifier lecithin to neutralize cholesterol in other foods. Columbu cites a study: “In a group of 1. The second group drank only milk. The third drank milk and ate eggs. And people thought, that third group is really going to have high cholesterol. But the eggs lowered the cholesterol, even in the group drinking milk.”Much of Columbu’s information goes against conventional wisdom. Breakfast isn’t important. Bread and eggs is perfect. Lunch is when you eat a big meal with carbohydrates. Because you can’t go to the gym without energy. But if you eat that for dinner and you don’t burn it, it will store as fat overnight.? He stresses eating smaller meals and more frequently and that high- protein diets require extra Vitamin B6. Also, check the labels for sulfur dioxide, prevalent on fruits and vegetables. People say they can’t eat grapes. It’s the sulfites.”But the biggest tip for anyone who is looking for a flatter stomach and smaller waistline is that many folks on high- protein diets require hydrochloric acid and enzyme supplements. The body just doesn’t make enough on its own, especially past age 2. As to diet, he pretty much eats the same way he did when he was competing, except that he eats less (about 1. He recommends eating high- quality proteins. In order of importance, these are: eggs, fish, dairy, and meat (including poultry and pork). The two- time Mr. Olympia has become a respected expert in nutrition, sports medicine, and kinesiology.
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