About this episode
Bob Birdsong, the 1974 IFBB Mr. America winner, shares his experiences in bodybuilding and competition during the Golden Age.
Bob Birdsong, 1974 IFBB Mr. America winner, is the guest on this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. Bob was one of the best bodybuilders during the Golden Age and he trained at the original Gold's Gym in the early 1970's alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu and Kent Kuehn. Bob made a comeback to competition in the early 1980's and placed very high in the IFBB professional competitions. Bob talks about how he started bodybuilding, competing in the AAU Mr. America in the early 1970's, switching over to the IFBB in the mid-1970's and competing against Lou Ferrigno, Sergio Oliva and others. At the end of the podcast, host John Hansen reads the article "Bob Birdsong's Pilgrimage to Mr. America" written by Armand Tanny from the June, 1975 issue of Muscle Builder/Power magazine. Time Stamps: 3:00 - Emails to the Podcast 11:24 - Start of interview with Bob Birdsong 12:00 - When Bob started bodybuilding 18:37 - Bob's early competitions 22:50 - Moving to California 24:00 - Training at the original Gold's Gym 31:00 - Competing in the IFBB 36:00 - Taking a different path 45:15 - The 1974 contest season 47:35 - Returning to competition 53:00 - Steroids in the Golden Age…
People in this episode
Host: John Hansen
Guest: Bob Birdsong
Topics covered
- bodybuilding
- Mr. America
- Golden Age
- IFBB
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Gold's Gym
Keywords
- bodybuilding history
- competition
- training
- steroids
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Muscle Builder/Power magazine
Places: California
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