I think the main reason why people are getting excited about Matt’s progress is because he is a world record holding powerlifter, and it would be cool to see him jump into bodybuilding to see how he does there.
Good luck to him.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Rek wrote:
Well at least he is going for it. Good for him. Maybe he could have prepared some more and waited longer but at least he tried. Maybe he’ll be last, but he’ll have still beat anyone who didn’t step on the stage.
Instead of going for it, some people around here are preparing themselves right into into the seniors competitions. I’m sure 20 more years of growing will help then dominate. I love how they incorporate walkers into the routine now.[/quote]
Gee, who is this aimed at?
There is no money in bodybuilding comps unless you are one of the top 6-8 in the entire country/world. Also, even if you do make it to that point, the average length of time for their careers is about 5 years. Maybe, just maybe staying in school is the better option for many even if they do want to be huge.
Victor Richards is my hero in that regard. I can be perfectly happy without ever actually jumping on stage.[/quote]
Maybe it was aimed at myself. Really it was aimed at any of us who have made significant gains but never took that final step.
Switching to bodybuilding training just makes you unfunctional.
[quote]Cprimero wrote:
Switching to bodybuilding training just makes you unfunctional.[/quote]
he is looking jacked!
haha, I recorded that video!
7.5 weeks out
…
Another
I deeply respect Kroc. This is not a critique but an objective assessment of his physique for bodybuilding purposes.
STRONG POINTS
- Very good shoulders and traps
- Very good chest
- Great back
- Very good shoulders to waist ratio and overall structure
- Probably great legs (hard to say from the pics) but from the pics doesn’t seem to know how to flex it to bring out the separation.
WEAK POINTS
- Biceps and triceps (the triceps are kinda surprising for a powerlifter… the problem is the length of the tendon and the short muscle belly)
- Large head and thick neck… while this is often a plus, it can also make the individual look more narrow especially when in competition shape
- Despite being super lean in the legs, doesn’t seem to be able to bring out the separation of the various muscles (this is mostly a posing thing).
MORE…
-
I assume that he will have very good conditioning. He is already pretty dry, Shelby is one of the best to diet someone down and Kroc is a VERY focused individual.
-
If anything my worry would be that he would diet too hard and end up flat. Kroc is an extremist like I am and I have overdieted myself for that reason. But he has Shelby in his corner.
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Posing… it’s one thing to know how to hit the poses, it’s another to be able to flex in such a way that all the muscles pop out. This is especially true for the legs. I know a lot of guys with really lean legs can’t bring out the separation simply because they don’t know how to flex the legs properly when posing.
WHAT I THINK…
- I believe that Kroc can qualify for nationals with that physique. He has some VERY strong points and at national qualifiers having some outstanding bodyparts is often enough.
But I don’t think that he can make a top 3 at the Nationals right now. Like it or not, arms are often given bonus points compared to other body parts (heck we had a multiple-time Mr.Olympia who won only because of his biceps and chest!). At the national level, someone cannot afford to have lagging arms. All his other bodyparts are National level though.
Hmnnn yeah, the MM and Side Tri, while showcasing his strong chest/delt/trap area also bring attention to the ‘lagging’ arm dvelopment. Not that they’re weak,… but in comparison. Hell, people criticized Levrone’s chest because his delts were so dominant.
S
I wonder how Kroc’s arms look in a front/back double biceps pose? They do look comparatively smaller in all these contest run up pics, it would be interesting to see them in a biceps pose though.
There is this image from a while a go of Kroc in a back double bi though.
Really lacking in tri sweep/long-head… He won’t be able to fix that with traditional skulls etc due to his tri tendonitis…
His pressing strength seems to be way down right now, too.
PJR’s kroc, PJR’s! 
Still, his arms have come a long way in the last year or so… If I remember right, then they were only a bit over 18 or so before he decided to pay more attention to them again via dedicated direct training.
They’re now close to 20 (or were before he started dieting).
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Really lacking in tri sweep/long-head… He won’t be able to fix that with traditional skulls etc due to his tri tendonitis…
His pressing strength seems to be way down right now, too.
PJR’s kroc, PJR’s!
Still, his arms have come a long way in the last year or so… If I remember right, then they were only a bit over 18 or so before he decided to pay more attention to them again via dedicated direct training.
They’re now close to 20 (or were before he started dieting).
[/quote]
The size is not the problem. In fact, plenty of guys had 18" in contest shape and their arms looked very good. When it comes to arms, shape and separation is at least as important as size.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Really lacking in tri sweep/long-head… He won’t be able to fix that with traditional skulls etc due to his tri tendonitis…
His pressing strength seems to be way down right now, too.
PJR’s kroc, PJR’s!
Still, his arms have come a long way in the last year or so… If I remember right, then they were only a bit over 18 or so before he decided to pay more attention to them again via dedicated direct training.
They’re now close to 20 (or were before he started dieting).
[/quote]
The size is not the problem. In fact, plenty of guys had 18" in contest shape and their arms looked very good. When it comes to arms shape aand separation is at least as important as size.
[/quote]
What would you suggest to him for the next off-season, then?
Tricep-sweep is something he can bring up “easily” enough with the right exercise selection… At least to some degree.
Perhaps more brachialis due to hammers/pinwheels and whatnot…
But really major changes in shape beyond that?
To be honest, since he’s stated that he’ll be going for a pro-card, he’ll eventually be facing people who are doing their share of site-injections in hopes of out-running their genetics.
If he doesn’t want to go that route (I’m guessing that’s not something powerlifters usually do? Might clash with his mentality), then I just don’t see him going pro. (though I hope that he can make it anyway, but yeah.)
He’s got the determination/work ethic, intensity…
And yet doesn’t have the genetic shape.
Should do well enough at his first show though, I’ll be rooting for him from the other side of the world
CC: What are PJRs?
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
CC: What are PJRs? [/quote]
It’s the 2nd vid posted in the triceps thread that SteelyD started (at least I think it’s the 2nd one).
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
CC: What are PJRs? [/quote]
They are like a regular DB pullover but mixed with a tricep extension at the end of the movement.
Tricep pushdowns with a V bar? As far as I know they work the long head good, at least for me.
[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
Tricep pushdowns with a V bar? As far as I know they work the long head good, at least for me.[/quote]
They may activate it well enough, but there is not much of a stretch (for the long head which attaches to the shoulder blade) there… Activation is only one piece of the puzzle.
You could turn them into pull+pushdowns with retracted shoulder blades to improve on that, but imo unless you have great long-head genetics, I don’t think you’ll manage to really bring the long head out without something like Scott Extensions, Pullover+extensions, seated/standing overhead extensions (don’t like those personally, but whatever… Can’t really add much of a pullover motion there either).
Then again, you get guys like Levrone who do pushdowns and have insane tris all-around. Lucky bastard.
[quote]jrl41090 wrote:
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
CC: What are PJRs? [/quote]
They are like a regular DB pullover but mixed with a tricep extension at the end of the movement.
[/quote]
+retracted shoulder blades and stopping the movement with upper arms at an incline, not perpendicular.
Just plopping down and doing a bent-arm pullover, even with an extension, makes it too much of a lat exercise without the above imo.
They work with an EZ bar or some such, too. Easier to get into position and easier for guys who have small hands and short fingers.