Is Muscle Beach a Has-Been? : The city-owned gym looks better than ever after a face-lift, but critics say it’s a lightweight facility.

Twenty years ago, Muscle Beach Venice was a mecca of body building where tourists strolling the boardwalk could see muscle-bound competitive weightlifters--Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbo among them--pumping iron.

In those days, many serious bodybuilders worked out much of the time at the surfside weightlifting arena known as “The Pit.”

The Schwarzeneggers of today, however, are found almost exclusively at Gold’s, World and Powerhouse--private indoor gyms in Venice that boast weight machines, aerobic equipment, free weights, fitness programs and all the comforts typical of health clubs.

Muscle Beach, a city-owned facility that offers less equipment than the indoor gyms and none of the amenities, has become more of a tourist stop, a film and television production site and a workout area used mainly by recreational weightlifters.

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There are too many tourists, complained Jason Kozma, 23, a Venice resident who won several teen-age bodybuilding titles and is training for others. “I’m not an animal in a zoo,” he said.

Fans of Muscle Beach stress that the venerable outdoor gym is a symbol that should make Los Angeles proud.

“It still represents the heart of international bodybuilding and, for that, I consider Muscle Beach Venice a 100% success,” said Steve Ford, a former competitive bodybuilder.

Indeed, Muscle Beach Venice looks better than ever. The place got a face-lift in 1990 when the city of Los Angeles completed a $500,000 reconstruction project--new equipment, a bigger workout area, fresh paint and a towering concrete sculpture that looks like a barbell.

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Last month, Muscle Beach was outfitted with $35,000 in donated benches, pullup bars and weightlifting equipment.

But the money spent on Muscle Beach Venice has not revived the popularity of Schwarzenegger’s day. Today there are only about 140 paid members, half the number the gym attracted in the years before the renovation project, said Darlene Galindo, recreation director for the facility.

He blames the declining membership on higher annual fees, which rose from $30 to $75 after the renovation. More people--mostly tourists--are instead buying $3 day passes to use the weight equipment, she said.

As for complaints about the limited selection of equipment, Galindo pointed out that Muscle Beach is part of a city-funded recreational facility and said it is not competing with the private indoor gyms.

But Muscle Beach is not enough for some.

“There isn’t any specialized equipment, which is what a big guy needs,” said Bill Howard, who was a competitive bodybuilder in the 1960s and ‘70s. “They want to get four or five more angles on the same muscle.”

And today’s bodybuilders, who are more concerned about keeping their body fat low than competitors did years ago, do extensive aerobic workouts--hopping on stationary bicycles and stair-climbing machines as a regular part of their routines. They can’t do that on the beach in Venice, where salt air would corrode such machinery.

At Gold’s and the other local gyms, some bodybuilders are given free memberships. In exchange, gym owners expect the bodybuilders to wear T-shirts, sweat shirts and other gear that bear the gym’s logo--especially when posing for magazine layouts. But the commercialism of today’s bodybuilding industry is lost on Bassey Ironbar, a 27-year-old who grimaced his way through a set of bicep curls at Muscle Beach one recent Sunday afternoon.

When he was finished, Ironbar breathed deeply, gestured to the shoreline and wondered aloud why anyone would want to work out at another gym.

“And if tourists want to take my picture, I don’t care--I just ask them to wait until I finish my set,” he said.