2014 Arnold Classic Results

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1
  1. Dennis Wolf
  2. Shawn Rhoden
  3. Cedric McMillan
  4. Victor Martinez
  5. Evan Centopani
  6. Branch Warren

Now for a change, I wasn’t able to watch everything play out live over the day, and I certainly need to sit down and pour over the comparison photos before I make any comments, but I’m definitely curious to hear other people’s thoughts.

Was this truly Rhoden’s show to lose?
Did Wolf finally manage to fill in his weaker areas (high lats, poor calves)?
McMillan actually brought top level conditioning?!
What’s the deal with Branch, is he done, did he deserve the top 6 or was it a little backstage voodoo?

S

2

It was wolf’s show to lose, imo he looked awesome but was slightly better at the olympia, rhoden definitely brought it, and it was close but shots like the most muscular, wolf just over powered him. Surprisingly the rear double bicep was a pretty close shot betweencthe two imo.

Cedric most certainly brought it, so did Evan and victor…
Evan would of been tough to be beat if he had bigger quads

I thought b.pak looked not near as good as last year…

3

I probably would have had:

  1. Wolf
  2. Rhoden
  3. Centopani
  4. McMillan
  5. Martinez
  6. Pakulski
4

5

6

Ced looked amazing IMO. Should have gotten the nod over Wolf according to the video posted above.

Glad to see him put everything together, I always liked his physique.

S

7

I was personally hoping for Rhoden to take it, but that’s my opinion. Cedric looked like a freakin tank. And Pak-Man dropped off the map. From getting 2nd last year to not getting in the top 6 this year had to be disappointing for him

8

I had Cedric in first, Wolf second and Rhoden third, though i wouldnt have complained if Rhoden and Wolf switched places.

I actually thought that Centopani shouldve been 4th. Vic’s aesthetics and proportions have gotten weird since he bulked back up after his prison stay, hes gained all that size back but looks very top heavy and definitely not as pleasing to the eye as he was before all that shit happened.

Also, in the 212 this was an easy paycheck for Flex. The only person who looked even close was Aaron in my opinion, but his arms, legs, and calves especially have sooo far to go before he can threaten flex.

9

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Ced looked amazing IMO. Should have gotten the nod over Wolf according to the video posted above.

Glad to see him put everything together, I always liked his physique.

S[/quote]
I agree Stu,i way prefer Ced’s physique to Wolf’s.Everyone is banging on about x frames and flowing lines etc…I think that whilst wolf is ultra wide the differential between his upper and lower legs is ridiculous-and not in a good way.his left calf makes him look like he has polio its so skinny.
ceds legs are way better balanced as is his overall physique(IMO).

10

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
I had Cedric in first, Wolf second and Rhoden third, though i wouldnt have complained if Rhoden and Wolf switched places.

I actually thought that Centopani shouldve been 4th. Vic’s aesthetics and proportions have gotten weird since he bulked back up after his prison stay, hes gained all that size back but looks very top heavy and definitely not as pleasing to the eye as he was before all that shit happened.

Also, in the 212 this was an easy paycheck for Flex. The only person who looked even close was Aaron in my opinion, but his arms, legs, and calves especially have sooo far to go before he can threaten flex. [/quote]

agreed.

11

I had Ced barely edging Rhoden for the win with Wolf third. Not Wolf’s best but still solid. Rhoden probably has my favorite physique out of the crop of current pro’s though and I was routing for him. I really like all three of these guys though.

12

[quote]mntnbiker wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Ced looked amazing IMO. Should have gotten the nod over Wolf according to the video posted above.

Glad to see him put everything together, I always liked his physique.

S[/quote]
I agree Stu,i way prefer Ced’s physique to Wolf’s.Everyone is banging on about x frames and flowing lines etc…I think that whilst wolf is ultra wide the differential between his upper and lower legs is ridiculous-and not in a good way.his left calf makes him look like he has polio its so skinny.
ceds legs are way better balanced as is his overall physique(IMO).[/quote]

Wolf’s legs look like drum sticks, the way his huge upper legs taper into those stick figure calves.

That combined with his super high lats just make him look awkward as hell when he hits FDB.

13

Surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Flex has announced after this years Olympia he will be moving up to the open class. Thought that would be the talk of the thread, especially from Stu.

Thoughts?

I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and if Flex’s claims of being near 260 and contest ready are true, we could see one of the freakiest physiques of all time when he competes in the open class Olympia. His physique is already so insanely filled out its hard to imagine where he would put 20+ more lbs and still be in contest shape. Really excited for this.

14

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
Surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Flex has announced after this years Olympia he will be moving up to the open class. Thought that would be the talk of the thread, especially from Stu.

Thoughts?

I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and if Flex’s claims of being near 260 and contest ready are true, we could see one of the freakiest physiques of all time when he competes in the open class Olympia. His physique is already so insanely filled out its hard to imagine where he would put 20+ more lbs and still be in contest shape. Really excited for this. [/quote]

It is interesting, especially when you see competitors like David Henry, Former 212 winner Kevin English, and Marc Dugdale, all who formerly competed in the open classes, making the switch in hopes of better placings.

At this point though, what else is there for Flex to prove? There was a great comparison photo on another site of Lewis a few weeks out, side by side with the famous '93 pre-olympia gym posing pics of Yates. Lemme tell ya, if height weren’t an issue, the guy would certainly put up a fight with the Shadow himself in terms of sheer muscle mass and density.

While I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the entire video of the contest, I can’t imagine anyone really giving Flex anything in the way of a serious fight. While I used to be a huge David Henry fan (back when he was an open competitor), I just don’t think he’s comparable despite having a truly amazing build.

Now, would Lewis fare well in the open? This is going to come down to two very important factors IMO. First, height. The guy is not tall, no other way to phrase it. I’ve heard tales of him being anywhere from 5’6, all the way down to 5’2. Of course when you’re as thick and wide as this guy is, I’m sure it can throw a bit of distortion into some people’s thinking. So, have there been any really short competitors in recent years who haven’t been overlooked? Shawn Ray was about 5’6 if I recall correctly, and Priest is 5’4, but they also came up during an era where the average open Olympia contestant wasn’t over 250 lb onstage.

Not sure of Haney’s height (but he was a large man overall), Yates was about 5’10, and Coleman was 5’11. Cutler was 5’9, Dexter 5’6 (I think)… actually, if you consider Dexter’s winning form, the judges not having any issues with Lewis isn’t really far fetched at all.

The second factor, is that of name recognition. Just the story of such a dominant 212er being in the open, is most certainly going to ensure a quality looking over by the judging panel. The guy not only brings way too many fans to the table, but his physique isn’t one of smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that, is that he’s not one of those guys who relies on their posing to carry them in the comparisons. His physique is just too damn good to ignore onstage.

S

15

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and[/quote]

I watched the comparison vid and I actually didn’t find him impressive. His arms and legs looked really small compared to some of the others. Probably shows that I’m not good in judging contests.

16

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and[/quote]

I watched the comparison vid and I actually didn’t find him impressive. His arms and legs looked really small compared to some of the others. Probably shows that I’m not good in judging contests.
[/quote]

His arms and legs both need bringing up, but he has improved at such an incredible rate that if he can put some more mass onto his arms and bring his lower body up to match he will be hard to beat without Flex around. His conditioning is always top notch as well.

17

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and[/quote]

I watched the comparison vid and I actually didn’t find him impressive. His arms and legs looked really small compared to some of the others. Probably shows that I’m not good in judging contests.
[/quote]

Also, were you looking at the prejudging or the second night? He looked significantly better the second night in my opinion.

18

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
Surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Flex has announced after this years Olympia he will be moving up to the open class. Thought that would be the talk of the thread, especially from Stu.

Thoughts?

I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and if Flex’s claims of being near 260 and contest ready are true, we could see one of the freakiest physiques of all time when he competes in the open class Olympia. His physique is already so insanely filled out its hard to imagine where he would put 20+ more lbs and still be in contest shape. Really excited for this. [/quote]

It is interesting, especially when you see competitors like David Henry, Former 212 winner Kevin English, and Marc Dugdale, all who formerly competed in the open classes, making the switch in hopes of better placings.

At this point though, what else is there for Flex to prove? There was a great comparison photo on another site of Lewis a few weeks out, side by side with the famous '93 pre-olympia gym posing pics of Yates. Lemme tell ya, if height weren’t an issue, the guy would certainly put up a fight with the Shadow himself in terms of sheer muscle mass and density.

While I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the entire video of the contest, I can’t imagine anyone really giving Flex anything in the way of a serious fight. While I used to be a huge David Henry fan (back when he was an open competitor), I just don’t think he’s comparable despite having a truly amazing build.

Now, would Lewis fare well in the open? This is going to come down to two very important factors IMO. First, height. The guy is not tall, no other way to phrase it. I’ve heard tales of him being anywhere from 5’6, all the way down to 5’2. Of course when you’re as thick and wide as this guy is, I’m sure it can throw a bit of distortion into some people’s thinking. So, have there been any really short competitors in recent years who haven’t been overlooked? Shawn Ray was about 5’6 if I recall correctly, and Priest is 5’4, but they also came up during an era where the average open Olympia contestant wasn’t over 250 lb onstage.

Not sure of Haney’s height (but he was a large man overall), Yates was about 5’10, and Coleman was 5’11. Cutler was 5’9, Dexter 5’6 (I think)… actually, if you consider Dexter’s winning form, the judges not having any issues with Lewis isn’t really far fetched at all.

The second factor, is that of name recognition. Just the story of such a dominant 212er being in the open, is most certainly going to ensure a quality looking over by the judging panel. The guy not only brings way too many fans to the table, but his physique isn’t one of smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that, is that he’s not one of those guys who relies on their posing to carry them in the comparisons. His physique is just too damn good to ignore onstage.

S[/quote]

Agreed on all counts.

And ive seen the pics you are talking about, if he can bring that kind of density, roundness and fullness onto the Olympia stage, he is certainly a threat to Heath.

19

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
Surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Flex has announced after this years Olympia he will be moving up to the open class. Thought that would be the talk of the thread, especially from Stu.

Thoughts?

I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and if Flex’s claims of being near 260 and contest ready are true, we could see one of the freakiest physiques of all time when he competes in the open class Olympia. His physique is already so insanely filled out its hard to imagine where he would put 20+ more lbs and still be in contest shape. Really excited for this. [/quote]

It is interesting, especially when you see competitors like David Henry, Former 212 winner Kevin English, and Marc Dugdale, all who formerly competed in the open classes, making the switch in hopes of better placings.

At this point though, what else is there for Flex to prove? There was a great comparison photo on another site of Lewis a few weeks out, side by side with the famous '93 pre-olympia gym posing pics of Yates. Lemme tell ya, if height weren’t an issue, the guy would certainly put up a fight with the Shadow himself in terms of sheer muscle mass and density.

While I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the entire video of the contest, I can’t imagine anyone really giving Flex anything in the way of a serious fight. While I used to be a huge David Henry fan (back when he was an open competitor), I just don’t think he’s comparable despite having a truly amazing build.

Now, would Lewis fare well in the open? This is going to come down to two very important factors IMO. First, height. The guy is not tall, no other way to phrase it. I’ve heard tales of him being anywhere from 5’6, all the way down to 5’2. Of course when you’re as thick and wide as this guy is, I’m sure it can throw a bit of distortion into some people’s thinking. So, have there been any really short competitors in recent years who haven’t been overlooked? Shawn Ray was about 5’6 if I recall correctly, and Priest is 5’4, but they also came up during an era where the average open Olympia contestant wasn’t over 250 lb onstage.

Not sure of Haney’s height (but he was a large man overall), Yates was about 5’10, and Coleman was 5’11. Cutler was 5’9, Dexter 5’6 (I think)… actually, if you consider Dexter’s winning form, the judges not having any issues with Lewis isn’t really far fetched at all.

The second factor, is that of name recognition. Just the story of such a dominant 212er being in the open, is most certainly going to ensure a quality looking over by the judging panel. The guy not only brings way too many fans to the table, but his physique isn’t one of smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that, is that he’s not one of those guys who relies on their posing to carry them in the comparisons. His physique is just too damn good to ignore onstage.

S[/quote]

Agreed on all counts.

And ive seen the pics you are talking about, if he can bring that kind of density, roundness and fullness onto the Olympia stage, he is certainly a threat to Heath. [/quote]

I know these guys are competitors and want to win above all else but what do you think a good outcome for Flex moving up would be? Mr. O Top 10, 5, 3, or win?

20

[quote]jbpick86 wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:
Surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Flex has announced after this years Olympia he will be moving up to the open class. Thought that would be the talk of the thread, especially from Stu.

Thoughts?

I think this time next year Aaron Clark is the best 212 bodybuilder in the world, and if Flex’s claims of being near 260 and contest ready are true, we could see one of the freakiest physiques of all time when he competes in the open class Olympia. His physique is already so insanely filled out its hard to imagine where he would put 20+ more lbs and still be in contest shape. Really excited for this. [/quote]

It is interesting, especially when you see competitors like David Henry, Former 212 winner Kevin English, and Marc Dugdale, all who formerly competed in the open classes, making the switch in hopes of better placings.

At this point though, what else is there for Flex to prove? There was a great comparison photo on another site of Lewis a few weeks out, side by side with the famous '93 pre-olympia gym posing pics of Yates. Lemme tell ya, if height weren’t an issue, the guy would certainly put up a fight with the Shadow himself in terms of sheer muscle mass and density.

While I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the entire video of the contest, I can’t imagine anyone really giving Flex anything in the way of a serious fight. While I used to be a huge David Henry fan (back when he was an open competitor), I just don’t think he’s comparable despite having a truly amazing build.

Now, would Lewis fare well in the open? This is going to come down to two very important factors IMO. First, height. The guy is not tall, no other way to phrase it. I’ve heard tales of him being anywhere from 5’6, all the way down to 5’2. Of course when you’re as thick and wide as this guy is, I’m sure it can throw a bit of distortion into some people’s thinking. So, have there been any really short competitors in recent years who haven’t been overlooked? Shawn Ray was about 5’6 if I recall correctly, and Priest is 5’4, but they also came up during an era where the average open Olympia contestant wasn’t over 250 lb onstage.

Not sure of Haney’s height (but he was a large man overall), Yates was about 5’10, and Coleman was 5’11. Cutler was 5’9, Dexter 5’6 (I think)… actually, if you consider Dexter’s winning form, the judges not having any issues with Lewis isn’t really far fetched at all.

The second factor, is that of name recognition. Just the story of such a dominant 212er being in the open, is most certainly going to ensure a quality looking over by the judging panel. The guy not only brings way too many fans to the table, but his physique isn’t one of smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that, is that he’s not one of those guys who relies on their posing to carry them in the comparisons. His physique is just too damn good to ignore onstage.

S[/quote]

Agreed on all counts.

And ive seen the pics you are talking about, if he can bring that kind of density, roundness and fullness onto the Olympia stage, he is certainly a threat to Heath. [/quote]

I know these guys are competitors and want to win above all else but what do you think a good outcome for Flex moving up would be? Mr. O Top 10, 5, 3, or win?
[/quote]

The best outcome is obviously a win. Normall for a dominant 212 moving up i would say top 6 but in Flex’s case, i honestly thing that if he isnt a contender for the throne that itll be disappointing.