Kevin Levrone: “Bodybuilding was more dangerous in my era”

The bodybuilding legend says athletes in the 1990s pushed conditioning to dangerous extremes, with ambulances parked outside venues and oxygen tanks backstage

By Gary Chappell

KEVIN LEVRONE believes bodybuilding in the 1990s was more dangerous than it is today – revealing how competitions saw ambulances parked outside and oxygen tanks on site.

The two-time Arnold Classic champion and one of the greatest bodybuilders never to win the Mr Olympia, opened up on the extreme measures athletes used to take in pursuit of conditioning during his era, revealing competitors would collapse backstage, suffer severe cramping and require medical assistance after stepping off stage.

Levrone was speaking at a seminar appearance at Crayford Weights in Kent as part of his UK Together We Rise tour, when asked by FrontDouble about comments by the gym owner Paul Knights that he could still win the Mr Olympia if he competed today.

“When I hear Paul say that [he could probably win the Mr Olympia now], that’s his opinion,” said Levrone. “But when I hear him say that, my brain can’t even process what it would take to be on stage today compared to the guys now.

“The sport has progressed. The guys are much bigger now. When I was competing at the Olympia, my heaviest was 243 pounds. Today, the average guy is probably walking on stage at 280.”

Yet while modern bodybuilding is often criticised for its emphasis on sheer mass, Levrone believes competitors of his era frequently pushed conditioning to more dangerous extremes.

“If you look at their physiques, I think I was able to walk out on stage at that weight with maybe 2.7 per cent body fat,” he said. “We had more overall conditioning. My face would look like a skeleton – bones sticking out – because all the water was drained out of my body. I only had enough in me to make it through prejudging.”

'We were collapsing backstage'

The American described a backstage environment far removed from what fans see at modern competitions.

“It wasn’t just me,” he said. “The majority of us were pushing ourselves to the absolute edge. We were collapsing on stage, cramping up badly or being carried off backstage. It was borderline dangerous.

“I remember we had meetings where the officials told us: ‘You guys can’t keep coming out here completely ripped and shredded like that'.

“There were ambulances parked outside and oxygen tanks backstage. Medical people were there for us.”

Levrone also reflected on the deaths of competitors who pushed dehydration and conditioning to dangerous levels.

“There were guys who died,” he said. “One competitor tried to beat me so badly – he stopped drinking water for a whole week, only ate apples and sat in the sauna every day. He dried out his organs.

“Andreas Munzer [above] was another. He was so shredded after the Arnold Classic.”

Levrone admitted the physical effects of contest preparation could become frightening.

“My body fat was around 2.7 per cent,” he said. “Sometimes people would talk to me backstage and it would take three or four seconds for my brain to even register what they said. That’s how depleted I was.

“If it wasn’t for Robbie Robinson giving me applesauce, sugar and Coca-Cola backstage, I don’t think I would have made it through.”

Why Kevin Levrone believes bodybuilding is safer today

Despite often being nostalgic about the so-called golden eras of bodybuilding, Levrone believes one major improvement in the modern sport is the reduced emphasis on life-threatening conditioning.

“Thank God that’s not happening today,” he said. “You don’t see guys putting their lives at risk just to win a show. It’s not worth it.

“When I walk backstage these days, the guys are healthy. They’re in a good mood, talking to each other. There are no oxygen tanks or people laid out on the floor.”

The 60-year-old said modern competitors should not feel pressured to sacrifice their long-term health in pursuit of trophies.

“Why kill yourself just for a trophy?” he said. “Let’s be healthy, let’s be happy and let’s make it to the next show.”

The brutal diet that got Kevin Levrone stage ready

Levrone also detailed the brutal approach he personally used during contest preparation at the peak of his career.

“To give you an idea of what I did to get in 100 per cent shape: I’d wake up at 4am and do one-and-a-half to two hours of fasted cardio with nothing in my stomach,” he said.

“For months I’d eat only fish and egg whites – no meat, no chicken. Just fish, rice and broccoli.

“I’d drink only water with lemon for three or four months. Nothing else. Two hours of cardio a day. It was insane.”

He admitted he would never willingly put himself through that level of physical stress again.

“If I had to do today what I did back then, there’s no way in hell I would,” he said. “I was young and a little crazy. I had no son, no real responsibilities, so I didn’t care. Now I think about what’s best for me long-term.”

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