While I can’t compare how they train I definitely feel this is the case for dieting, seems like they are all so confident that they can just get the right ‘stack’ to look stage ready that they don’t actually get lean enough.
So often you hear the criticism (or excuse from the competitor) that they got their ‘peak’ wrong and looked ‘watery’. It was used a lot for Roelly a the olympia this year, but to me it just looked like he wasn’t lean enough. That wasn’t ‘water retention’, it was fat. If he’d dieted a bit harder, or for a bit longer, hed have looked much less ‘watery’ for sure.
Perfect example of the perfect candidate. He has the mass, if he’d just come in leaner, a lot leaner, he’d have been big enough to compete on mass, with a conditioning level above the rest.
I was thinking the same thing. I’d actually say that was the strongest of the 3 lifts, lol. In the only powerlifting meet I ever did, I squatted like 520, deadlifted almost 600 and my bench was like 385? And based on powerliftingwatch rankings, my bench was the best lift of the 3 in my class.
Hmm, never though of it that way.
I have always had strong shoulders and triceps - maybe that helped a bit.
Hopefully I will get back to those numbers soon.
Dorian’s muscle separation is crazy in that pic. I knew he is considered the first of the “Mass Monsters” but I never knew that his conditioning was on that level.
From this pic comparison Bonac should have won the O if the same judging criteria was applied.
I like him better for second but I think his blocker waist (likely due to genetics) put Bonac ahead of him. Looking forward to what he brings next year though.
Kevin Levrone at his first ever Mr. Olympia, placed 2nd behind Yates
Probably the best quality physique to ever touched the stage in terms of conditioning, symmetry, proportions and flow. Look at those separations in the arms and shoulders from the back (clear separation from brachoradialis and the bicep heads as well as 3 shoulder heads) as well as those hamstrings. Those hamstring lines are crazy. 1:02 is what bodybuilding should be
Sadly, from this on judge decided to take the size route. It is a shame because in 80s 90s there were a lot of great physiques that are trying to be mass monster and they lost certain quality to their physiques. Kevin didn’t look this good 30 lbs bigger. Unfortunately, it may be hard to see this kind of quality physique on the Olympia stage again
The legs are the last to lean out for most people. (I actually had the reverse when I got shredded with my legs being ready more than a month out.) I don’t think there’s a wonder why legs are less shredded now if that’s what you noticed.
Back then the top pros really did look carved out of stone,… serious granite looking physiques. Nowadays we get veins everywhere and skin that looks like the individual should see a doctor, and it gets referred to as conditioning… not to anyone who knows how good the top pros used to be.
I wonder (legitimate question because I have no idea) it the differences in camera quality have anything to do with it. Does the more HD cameras of today make people look just a little less impressive than older cameras? Or hell, is it vice versa? I’ve never seen any of these guys in person, so I would be the last person to have input in this, just a thought that came through my head looking at these photos
This is a family friend of mine, who Stu knows. @The_Mighty_Stu He never became pro. But this right here goes to show the sort of condition that was expected even in the NPC back in the day!
