It’s hard to decide which era of action stars maxed out the testosterone scales: the 1980s heyday of Arnold and Sly, or today’s Marvel superheroes, contractually required to rip their shirts off at least once to flaunt their impossibly jacked physiques.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s He-Man muscles in the sword-and-sorcery (and loincloth) classic Conan the Barbarian (1982) didn’t just swing swords—it reshaped Hollywood fitness goals almost overnight.

Suddenly, Sylvester Stallone went from pleasantly dad-bod buff to absolutely chiseled for ’80s action staples like First Blood II: Rambo and Rocky IV (both 1985). Meanwhile, ’70s hunky heartthrobs like Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, and Clint Eastwood quietly opted for more layers instead of bare chests.

The era of shredded had officially arrived

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