2015 Olympia Overview

Olympia Overview

Well the Olympia weekend is done and dusted and I want to go over the placings for the open bodybuilding and give my take on the event.

Firstly, we all know that Kai Greene didn't compete in the Olympia this year. We don't necessarily know the full story with what happened but at the press conference Bob Chic did clear up that the reason he was not competing was simply because for whatever reason he didn't sign his contract. Apparently that's what it comes down to so really Kai is the only one who let his fans and himself down in that situation.

I have seen various comments all over social media following the Olympia. Many of them have said that Kai Greene would definitely have won the Olympia had he entered. I find this interesting considering (a) we really don't know what Kai would have looked like on stage this year and (b) the top four competitors this year all brought their A game and it was very close. So considering the reality is that for the past four years Kai was unable to bring really crisp conditioning to the Olympia, I think what is more likely is that Kai would have placed outside of the top four. Of course that is just opinion and speculation but whatever the case it certainly doesn't make sense to claim that he would definitely have won the Olympia. In fact I think I enjoyed the Olympia more this year without Kai because there was less drama, more comradery and it allowed us to focus on some of the other top competitors.

Now that is covered let's get into the placings. The top six places this year were:

1. Phil Heath
2. Dexter Jackson
3. Shawn Rhoden
4. Dennis Wolf
5. Ramy
6. Branch Warren

Now as I mentioned above the top four were very competitive this year. After prejudging I had the top four as: 1. Phil, 2. Dennis, 3. Shawn, 4. Dexter. I think Phil was a little smaller and less "freaky" than he usually is. However he definitely had a tighter mid section this year. Overall he was the most complete though. Dennis Wolf I had in second because he was conditioned, full and freaky looking. His rear double bicep looked crazy. Shawn Rhoden appeared to have made some size gains since last year. From the front he looked great. From the rear of course his back was the area that was lacking. Dexter looked better than he usually does (which is always good anyway). He was conditioned and the only reason I had him in fourth at the end of prejudging was because he was a bit smaller than the other three.

Final call out at prejudging

At finals I felt Phil came in better than he did at prejudging. He looked fuller and his muscles popped more. Dennis and Phil had both improved their tan/colour. I'm not quite sure if Dennis had faded slightly compared to prejudging. Regardless he still looked really good. Shawn looked similar to prejudging but his mid section did look a little watery relative to the previous day. Dexter I would say looked equally good to the way he had looked on Friday.

Top call out during finals

Anyhow it obviously turned out that Dexter ended up placing second, Shawn third and Dennis fourth. I think you could have even mixed and matched those placings and it would have been valid just because it was so close. However the placings as they stand do make sense to me and here is why. Firstly all of the top four had a great combination of conditioning and fullness so that isn't something that could really separate the placings. Phil and Dexter are the only two competitors out of the top four that have complete and proportionate physiques so it makes sense that they are the top two. Phil is bigger than Dexter so of course he was first and Dexter was second. Shawn and Dennis both had weak body parts (Shawn's back and Dennis's calves) which pushed them into the third and fourth placings. Dennis is also probably a little bit less proportionate than the others when you look at his total physique.

Fifth place was a lot more difficult to pick. I actually had Roelly in fifth after prejudging based purely on the call outs. However of course we saw Ramy place fifth and Branch place sixth. Branch does have a fairly ugly physique with a few "battle scars" but he was very conditioned. Ramy has a tremendous amount of size but is always (and was this year) too soft. So in this case the judges went for size and structure over condition which I can understand. But I don't personally agree with that decision as I would never place a soft pillow over a hard, grainy physique.

I think the most overlooked competitor both last year and this year was William Bonac. He is a little bit smaller than some of the other competitors but he really does bring a great overall package - full, conditioned, separated, symmetrical, proportionate. He's got it all and I think he really should have gotten a look into the second call out. He did end up moving up to eighth but I think he could have been as high as sixth if the judging were a little fairer.

So that is my take on the Olympia this year. Before I wrap this up I am going to address a few of the common objections I have seen recently.

Typical objections:

1. It's politics, the IFBB is corrupt and it's all about money

This comment I find typically comes from fans who are disgruntled that their favourite competitor didn't win (or perhaps their least favourite competitor did win). I think what these people need to do is start judging the actual physiques that they see, rather than just thinking the bodybuilder that they like the most should win. I can say that when I judge the line ups during prejudging I can usually get pretty close or spot on where the placings actually happen. If you aren't getting close and you are blaming it on "politics" then chances are it's not politics, you just suck at analysing and comparing qualities of physiques. So to those people I would suggest to start learning about what things you should be looking for when comparing physiques in a line up. As much as it is subjective there are actually clear details that you should look for.

Additionally if it is "politics" that determines placings at the Olympia then I would ask this question. Why did Nicole Wilkins place second in figure to a relatively unknown newcomer? Nicole is amongst the most well known and popular figure competitors and is a four time Olympia champion. So if it were all about politics surely she would have won. But hold on, she didn't win. You can't have a double standard where it's all politics for men's bodybuilding but it's somehow not politics for figure at the same show.

2. Dexter should have won

No. There was never a point where Dexter was going to win this show. He did deserve to be in the top two this year. However since him and Phil were both equal in terms of condition, structure, symmetry, proportion etc it really just left muscle mass and Phil has more muscle mass than Dexter. There is no thing that I can see that would have justified Dexter placing first ahead of Phil at this show. So no, Dexter should not have won the Olympia.

3. Dennis or Shawn should have won

As I mentioned previously. Both have weak points. Phil and Dexter do not have any (at least not any glaringly obvious ones that I can see).

4. Phil Heath has a huge gut

Last year Phil was a bit bloated and specifically watery through his abs (very unusual and atypical of the guts you usually see on pro bodybuilders). Anyhow he specifically addressed it this year and didn't show any signs of a gut. In fact he drew deliberate attention to his mid section multiple times during prejudging as if to say "that's right, no gut!".

The thing I find most ironic about this kind of commentary is that it is usually expressed by Kai Greene fans and Kai Greene has a chronic, huge gut that is present every single year. So again a double standard where a gut is apparently ok for Kai to have (or ignored) but when Phil shows up once with a bloated stomach people never let him forget it.

 Kai sporting that nice trim waistline

5. Phil Heath is a big arrogant meany and Kai Greene is black Jesus so Kai should be Mr Olympia

I think the thing that people need to understand here is firstly we don't really know what Phil Heath is like or what Kai Greene is like in reality (in terms of personality). All we see is a limited view of them via social media and via the various bodybuilding media outlets. Secondly a bodybuilder's attitude isn't really relevant for a competition that is all about the person who has the best physique. That's right, it is called BODY-building for a reason!

That's it for this week. If you agree, disagree or have anything to add let me know in the comments.

Muscle Academy contact details:

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- Evan

ANB Newcastle Overview and Olympia Predictions

ANB Newcastle Overview

Before I go into my 2015 Olympia predictions I would like to go over the ANB Newcastle Classic show which was held last weekend (Sunday the 6th).

Firstly I want to congratulate the ANB on a well run event. The venue had enough space for competitors to tan/prepare/pump up. The officials made sure that ample time and warning was given for competitors ie when exactly they should be back stage preparing etc. For the most part I think the judging was of high quality also. As a coach it is always good to have your clients enter shows that are run smoothly and efficiently because it just makes things easier for me and for my clients that way.

I had two clients entering the show - Aaron who is a personal trainer at North Sydney Fitness First and Jonathon who runs a fitness oriented, healthy meal service called My Fitness Kitchn. Both of them were competing for the first time.

Aaron entered the Novice Short and under 70 kg divisions. Unfortunately he didn't place largely just because he lacked in size compared to others in his classes. However he did display some good conditioning and his presentation, posing and colour were all on point. Aaron will now be rounding out his season by competing in the INBA NSW in two weeks time which we are trying to come in harder and more conditioned for.

Aaron on stage hitting a rear double bicep

With Aaron backstage

My other client Jonathon went in the under 90 kg and Novice Tall classes. The under 90 kg division was the first up for him and perhaps the most competitive class he was in but he ended up coming out on top. He won the Novice Tall class fairly easily. Jonathon also managed to come away with the overall title. Needless to say I was very happy with the result considering it was Jonathon's first ever show and considering we were really just treating it as a warm up for shows later in the season. 

Jonathon in the overall line up
 

With Jonathon backstage

At the end of the day both boys put their all into their prep for this (and upcoming shows). So a big congratulations to them both.

Jonathon (left) and Aaron (right)

Olympia Predictions

With the Olympia just days away I think I will make my predictions for the top five (open bodybuilding). It can be really hard to predict who will place where because people can come in off, others can come in improved. Small changes in physiques can make a big difference at that level. So without further ado here we go:

5th Place

This one has probably been the hardest one to pick since numerous guys could jump in and take this spot - Ramy, Juan, Victor, Branch, Roelly. I think there is a chance that Branch will take this position because he will come in good condition. Ramy has a chance too but he has to be in good condition and we just haven't seen that high standard of conditioning from him yet. I think Roelly tends to struggle with condition and his gut and Victor can be very hit and miss. Despite his freaky upper body I just don't think Juan has the completeness in his lower body in particular to make it into the top five at this stage. So I'd say the most likely candidates for fifth are probably Branch and Ramy. As much as I'd like to see Ramy sneak in there I just don't think he's going to nail the condition so I'm going to go with Branch because we know he will be very hard and for the judges I think that might be enough to bypass his treestump reminiscent proportions.

4th Place

Dexter Jackson - We all know Dexter looks phenomenal. With the exception of maybe the 2011 Arnold Classic he has always compared really well in top line ups. The 2008 Mr Olympia won the Arnold Classic this year, setting the record for most Arnold Classic wins (five). So he's going into this show with a lot of momentum behind him. Whilst I predict that he will be fourth I can see him challenging for second or third place.

3rd Place

Shawn Rhoden  - I have Shawn in third because he has a great physique which compares quite well in a line up. However he never really seems to change much. He's kind of like Dexter Jackson, he just looks good every year but he never gets bigger and seems to get out-massed to a degree by some of the bigger guys. I think if he's on he could be as high as second (and I think he will be battling for that place) but I think more likely he'll be third. He's unlikely to be a danger for first place because he has no freaky wow factor.

2nd Place

 Kai very upset that he is unable to compete

A recent photo of Kai that gained a lot of hype a few weeks back

Originally I had Kai as my pick for second place. However as you may or may not know Kai has announced that he is officially out of the 2015 Olympia. As for the reason, in a video he posted on Facebook today he said "there's more going on than I'm able to say". But it looks like he didn't sign the contract to compete by the due date. So my pick for second place is....

Dennis Wolf - Dennis has been placing consistently well the last few years. He appears to have found the formula for nailing his condition which had been a bit off and on in the past. Of course his main weaknesses are his calves and also his high lats. However with his huge frame he really compares well with the top guys, especially when he is on. He is one of the only guys left with the size and potential condition to be comparable with that of Phil Heath. So I'm hoping that will be the case this year and so I am putting Dennis in second.

1st Place
 

Phil Heath - Phil may be called a lot of things cocky, arrogant, an asshole etc. But whether or not that is true is irrelevant because bodybuilding is not a personality contest. As you might be able to tell from the name "body-building" is about who has the best BODY. And it's quite clear that Phil currently has the best physique of everyone - freaky, popping muscle bellies, fullness, condition, proportionate, symmetrical, aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It's all there. 

Phil was a bit off last year (a mistake I don't think he will make this year) and he was still the clear winner. I just don't see anyone beating him unless he's very off and someone else is looking exceptional. But the way things have been going I doubt anyone is really going to challenge him for the top spot. Especially now that Kai is out of the race Phil is set to win without a doubt. He would have to come in soft and bloated to not win.

There has been some speculation that Phil won't place well because he said in a comment on social media that Arnold had small legs. I don't think that Arnold really cares since he is one of the most successful people in the world. He probably hasn't even read the comments because he has better things to do with his time. Even if he has what is he going to do? Walk up the Olympia judges and say "excuse me please make sure Phil Heath doesn't win because he said mean things about my legs on facebook"? Sorry Arnold isn't much of a girly man and that's just not going to happen in this lifetime.

So Phil Heath number one, that is what I expect to happen this year!

Those are my predictions for the top five. Let me know if you agree or disagree and why in the comments below or on social media. Either way we will find out for sure by the end of this week!

Thanks for reading. I will catch you guys again soon.

Coaching/Contest Prep

For those who are looking to get lean for Summer now is your last chance if you want to be ready in time. Also those who are competing in seasons A and B of 2016 I urge you to contact me soon as places for contest prep coaching are limited and will be filling fast.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan