1. History of bans and underground activities
In 1973, the USSR State Sports Committee officially banned bodybuilding, calling it “narcissism” and “alien to Soviet ideology” 38. Officials believed that bodybuilding promoted individualism, while sports should cultivate collectivism and functional strength for labor and defense (the GTO system included grenade throwing, but not weightlifting).
Despite the ban, gyms went underground. They were organized in basements, bomb shelters, and abandoned buildings. For example, the first gym of Dmitry Golubochkin, a bodybuilding champion, was located in a bomb shelter, where enthusiasts welded exercise machines from pipes and rails.
2. Equipment and homemade exercise machines
There were no modern exercise machines in the USSR. The main equipment was homemade barbells, dumbbells, and weights from industrial equipment. For back exercises, a “vertical block” was used: a cable was thrown over the horizontal bars, and weights or pieces of rails were used as weights.
Bench presses were welded from metal pipes, and instead of chest exercise machines, dumbbell flyes were used. Squats were performed without racks, lifting the barbell to the chest manually.
3. Training methods and nutrition
The programs were based on books like “Athleticism” by Georgy Tenno, a former Gulag prisoner who adapted Joe Weider’s methods to Soviet realities 38. Popular exercises were:
Barbell squats (15-20 reps to stimulate mass growth).
Barbell curls are a symbol of masculinity, although experienced athletes knew that without basic exercises like deadlifts, the biceps will not grow.
French press for triceps, popularized by Vader.
There was almost no sports nutrition. Protein was smuggled through the Baltics, and the basis of the diet was cottage cheese, eggs, oatmeal and baby food.
4. Iconic figures and the influence of the West
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the main idol. His photos from Muscle & Fitness magazines were reshot on film and secretly distributed. Arnold was inspired by the Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov.
Steve Reeves is the actor who played Hercules. His V-shaped figure became the standard for Soviet bodybuilders.
Gojko Mitic is a Yugoslav actor who played noble Indians. His muscles motivated teenagers to take up iron.
5. The Baltics — a window into the world of bodybuilding
Amber Prize tournaments were held in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and black-and-white magazines from there were the only source of information about competitions and training. The Baltics also served as a channel for smuggling protein and magazines.
6. The atmosphere of the gyms: between brotherhood and danger
The basement gyms united people of different professions: from workers to scientists. The spirit of equality reigned here, but not without extreme. In the 1980s, bandits appeared in the gyms, and fights over exercise machines were not uncommon. Training was accompanied by heavy rock from cassette recorders, and respect was earned only by strength — a bench press of 180 kg was considered the norm.
7. Legalization and legacy
In 1987, the ban on bodybuilding was lifted, and the first official USSR championship was held in Lyubertsy. However, the spirit of the “old school” has survived: many modern gyms in Russia still imitate basement aesthetics with minimalist equipment and an emphasis on basic exercises.
Conclusion:
Pumping chairs in the USSR became a symbol of resistance to the system, where iron and will were transformed into a form of protest. This was an era when muscles were pumped not for Instagram, but to prove to oneself and the world that even in conditions of shortages and prohibitions, one can be strong.