Katz was bullied in his youth for being Jewish and wearing glasses, which spurred him to become a pro football player; when his career with the New York Jets was ended by a leg injury, he became a bodybuilder.

The film then switches focus to the rivalry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, professional bodybuilders competing for the title of Mr. Olympia.

Schwarzenegger, at this point a ten-year veteran of bodybuilding, has won Mr. Olympia for five consecutive years and intends to retire after a final competition.

Ferrigno, who at a height of 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and 275 lb (125 kg) is the largest bodybuilder to date, is determined to be the man to finally dethrone Schwarzenegger.

A former boxer from the tiny village of Ollolai, Sardinia, Columbu returns home to celebrate a traditional dinner with his family, who still adhere to old world values and are skeptical of the overt aggression of boxing and bodybuilding.

Nevertheless, Columbu impresses his family with a display of strength by lifting up the back end of a car and angling it so it can escape a tight parking spot.

Schwarzenegger later attends the judging for the under-200 lb class to scope out who his competition will be for the overall Mr. Olympia title, jokingly disparaging Columbu.

Filming took place over 14 weeks in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montreal, Paris, South Africa, and a mountain village in Sardinia (Franco Columbu's childhood home).

In the years following the film's release, hundreds of commercial gyms began appearing across the United States as demand rose for access to weightlifting equipment.

[10] The website summarized the critics consensus by saying, "In addition to offering an enlightening early look into the world of future star/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pumping Iron provides a witty and insightful overview of competitive bodybuilding.

[11] Richard Eder of The New York Times called the film "an interesting, rather slick and excessively long documentary about the small but intensely competitive world of bodybuilding.

[15] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Directed by Butler and Robert Fiore, who is also the film's very adroit cinematographer, the witty and entertaining 'Pumping Iron' confronts what has been generally considered as a rather exotic subculture with the utmost sophistication.

Butler and Fiore regard the bodybuilders with neither compassion nor ridicule but rather a steadfast, cool detachment—even when they themselves are being nakedly manipulative—which makes for a slick, shrewdly calculated, highly amusing and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

"[16] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "an amusing, buoyant documentary about competitive body building," and observed that "Schwarzenegger is the first personality since Bruce Lee who might become a unique and credible physical star, idolized in particular by kids but enjoyed and admired by a vast cross-section of the public.

"[17] Louise Sweet of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that Schwarzenegger "inspires envy rather than disgust at ostentatious musculature, and lures even the reluctant viewer into his unusual world.