27 Mar Bodybuilding legend Joe Weider dies at 93

It would be hard to imagine someone who’s ever lifted a weight not knowing the name Joe Weider, or at least having been influenced in some way by the legendary fitness pioneer.
If you’ve ever enjoyed an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, the body building icon turned film star and even politician, well he’s part of the Weider empire, too.
A one-time weakling who used weights to develop himself into a bodybuilder during the great depression, Weider even helped launch the career of Schwarzenegger.

A one-time weakling who used weights to develop himself into a bodybuilder during the great depression, Weider even helped launch the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger and built a fitness empire.

Joe Weider died Saturday in Los Angeles at age 93.
Weider’s empire also included Muscle & Fitness, Flex and more magazines, fitness equipment, dietary supplements and Olympic-style contests.
As a teenager in Montreal, Weider discovered bodybuilding in a magazine and the lifestyle would never leave him.
He built himself into a man with huge biceps, a V-shaped back and stayed muscular into his 70s and 80s.
Weider (pronounced WEE-dur) moved to the U.S. as a young man and founded magazines such as Muscle and Fitness, Flex, Men’s Fitness and Shape, for women. The magazines had a reported 25 million readers in their heyday.
Along with his brother, Ben Weider (died in 2008), they founded the International Federation of Body Builders, which sponsored the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests and other competitions for men and women.
Joe Weider discovered a young Austrian named Arnold Schwarzenegger in the late 1960s and brought him to the U.S., where he paid him the incredible salary of just $100 a week to write articles for his magazines that promoted Weider products.
Schwarzenegger crafted his own legend by winning numerous Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia titles.

A young Joe Weider shows off his physique. He would continue to lift weights well into his 70s and 80s.

“Joe didn’t just inspire my earliest dreams; he made them come true the day he invited me to move to America to pursue my bodybuilding career,” Schwarzenegger wrote on his website. “I will never forget his generosity.”
And countless people around the world will never forget Weider, who helped popularize weightlifitng and bodybuilding and teach us how to do it properly.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com