I’m surprised to not see more discussion of Daryl’s progress in this forum.
For those of you who haven’t been following Daryl Gee’s training, check out http://www.T-Nation.com/strength-training-blog/daryl-gee-project
I’ll see if we can get Daryl to contribute to this thread as well.
Me and Shugart were talking about Daryl today on his blog.
I watched the videos over the past couple days. Great stuff.
Oh and also tell Shugart I want credit for that picture of Daryl from his 175 lb comp days. I posted that today on said blog. ; )
Wow such a great improvement. He has a very aesthetic physique.
Daryl is a beast. Im also surprised that there wasnt a thread started on him earlier. To me he’s the most impressive of the guys in the live spill… Awesome!
Is Darly a natty?
That 175 pic compared to his now pic is incredible. I just showed my girlfriend and she said “woooooooooooooow!”
No ways he’s natty lol but the thing is i cant believe how THICK his “upper shelf” is! Shoulders, chest and traps are insane! looks like he’s gonna split his skin apart! Hope he gets an Olympia qualifying position! He would bring some mayhem to the 202 showdown!
Thats what I thought! He could easily keep up with Lewis, Henry, Jackson and Correra in the 202 class.
Forearms are crazy thick, would love me some of those!
Daryl has made great strides in the last year.
Reserve judgement until he gets on stage with these guys. Not to take anything away from him as he’s a fantastic bodybuilder with a promising future but it’s extremely difficult to compare guys until they stand next to each other under the same conditions.
On a random note according to MD his birthday was just a few days ago (8/29)
Hey every bit helps. He has good asthetic size, I look foward to seeing him do very well in competitions.
[quote]Scott M wrote:
Daryl has made great strides in the last year.
Reserve judgement until he gets on stage with these guys. Not to take anything away from him as he’s a fantastic bodybuilder with a promising future but it’s extremely difficult to compare guys until they stand next to each other under the same conditions.
On a random note according to MD his birthday was just a few days ago (8/29) [/quote]
True that…I just thought he wont look totaly outta place against these guys.
At the very least, he’s gonna do better than 15th place this time at the Olympia if he qualifies (which I think he has a good shot at).
DOes anyone know the heights of guys like Dave Henry, Kevin English, Daryl etc… I know that Henry and English drop insane amounts of weight to come in under 202 lbs, but if Daryl is shorter in stature, he may indeed beat them in the thickness game.
S
Daryl’s 5’5"…
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
DOes anyone know the heights of guys like Dave Henry, Kevin English, Daryl etc… I know that Henry and English drop insane amounts of weight to come in under 202 lbs, but if Daryl is shorter in stature, he may indeed beat them in the thickness game.
S[/quote]
I think Kevin English is about 5’6"…and a 270lbs Keven English who has big trouble even dropping the muscle it takes to hit 202 (who claims he usually hits the stage at nearly 215-220 after carbing up) will doubtfully be easily beaten simply because someone is shorter…unless they too swell up to over 250+lbs with abs.
Daryl has made a lot of progress… hey I was there the whole time 
It is hard to compare him with other 202s because its a hard class to judge.
Kevin English: Is obviously the guy who has the most muscle in that class, although Jose Raymond is now pretty close. As PX mentioned, Kevin is contest ready at roughly 220 and squeeze into the 202 by using “various extreme methods to drop weight” (kinda like a boxer who drops 20lbs for the weigh-in). So he is not a “real” 202. He is probably the same size as Hide, who competes (and places well) in the open class. As the defending champ, Kevin is obviously a favorite. I personally do not care for his physique. I’m not saying that he isn’t good, hey he IS the most muscular guy in that class. But he doesn’t have much muscle separation or striations and his shape is not the best.
Mark Henry has always been one of my favorite ever since I saw him in Vegas about 4-5 years ago winning the Olympia Showdown (it was open, the 202 didn’t exist). He is a true 202 in that he is probably 190-195 in contest shape, and never really gets much heavier than that. Heck, he was probably his best at 187. I love his muscle separation, especially his back (which can stand with anybody in the open class) but he has some flaws like narrow quads, lack of hamstrings hang and a weird chest. But overall he has one of my favorite physique in the class.
I could say the same thing about Jose Raymond as I did about English: tons and tons of muscle, but not much separation. But the guy is immensely thick and because of all the muscle he added the past 2-3 years, he is very popular with the judges who seem to reward improvement, not only the package you bring up.
Correa has the physique I like the most out of all the top 202 contenders… well, let me rephrase that: his upper body probably is the best in the 202s. Good balance, size and separation… a lot of “wow” poses. His legs could be better, but it seems to be a common theme with the 202.
As far as I can remember, Mark Dugdale always had why I consider to be my PERSONAL ideal physique. Meaning that if I could pick one pro physique, it would be Mark’s. However if we look at him objectively, with IFBB judge eyes he has flaws: his biceps are a liability at this level. Well his whole arm is… not just because of a lack of mass or peak, but because his arms are very short and choppy (I’m the same way, which might be why I like his physique so much) and it makes his front double biceps pose look weird. He used to have the best wheels of the 202s and the best conditioning. But he seems to have regressed in both regards since he turned pro. He was basically his best, the year he turned pro. And sometimes judges don’t like stagnation.
Flex Lewis is not competing, but I really love his physique. Great legs and overall balance from the front.
Amit Sapir is a guy I trained for many years (posted a few pics of him in the past) and he will be competing against Daryl in Detroit, which will either be cool or weird! He is VERY thick and probably one of the strongest IFBB pros. GREAT hamstrings and glutes (maybe the best in the 202s) . He has great triceps, but flat biceps which ruins the front double biceps pose. His back is thick, but not that wide, but that is due to his skeletal width. He seems to have decreased his waist width this year, but doesn’t seem as full either.
James Llewlyn from the UK is a physique I really like, mostly because I’m a conditioning guy and he gets absolutely peeled. He has good stand-out bodyparts and some wow poses, but he is lacking in some areas to be a top contender IMHO.
Tricky Jackson has amazing lines and structure. One of the most aesthetic physique in the 202 when he gets his conditioning down. But he doesn’t have the wow factor and size to compete with the top guys if they are at their best.
I wont make any comments about Daryl because as his coach and from living with him 24/7 for the past 8 weeks I can’t say that I would be 100% objective. I will say this though… I doubt that any of the 202s trained harder than he did. He averaged more than 14 workouts per week during those 8 weeks; and none of those where easy sessions. He pushed the prowler ever single day, sometimes twice per day and his training probably has him at the same level of work capacity as any top level athlete/MMA fighter! I always loved hard work, especially from underdogs. I know that Amit Sapir is also a workhorse because when I trained him he lifted twice a day and did cardio twice a day and I have no doubt that he did the same this year.
With all the progress we made in the back I don’t see any weakness on Daryl’s body except maybe for shallow abs. He has no weak pose. If I have one knock on him is his self-perception: the guy doesn’t know how good he is. In fact it’s almost like the guy doesn’t realize that he is a pro, much less feel on par with the top guys in the 202 (which he is). From living with him, the impression I have is that he is more like a bodybuilding fan than a pro. Heck, he is a fan of all the top guys. In a sense that’s good because he is down to earth and doesn’t take himself too seriously; but on the other hand it prevents him from walking with the confidence that he should have considering how good he is.
And I challenge anybody to find better arms in the 202 class (even if Lee Priest would be competing, it would be very close.
Hard class to judge, all the top physiques are different and it will really depend on what the judges are looking for.
[quote]Diluted56 wrote:
No ways he’s natty lol but the thing is i cant believe how THICK his “upper shelf” is! Shoulders, chest and traps are insane! looks like he’s gonna split his skin apart! Hope he gets an Olympia qualifying position! He would bring some mayhem to the 202 showdown![/quote]
I call that the “shoulder pad area”… everything covered by football pads: shouldes, traps, chest and upper back. He is amazingly thick in that area. But we worked hard on it. At one point he was having 6 back sessions a week and over the past 2 weeks he was having 6 shoulder sessions per week.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Daryl has made a lot of progress… hey I was there the whole time
It is hard to compare him with other 202s because its a hard class to judge.
Kevin English: Is obviously the guy who has the most muscle in that class, although Jose Raymond is now pretty close. As PX mentioned, Kevin is contest ready at roughly 220 and squeeze into the 202 by using “various extreme methods to drop weight” (kinda like a boxer who drops 20lbs for the weigh-in). So he is not a “real” 202. He is probably the same size as Hide, who competes (and places well) in the open class. As the defending champ, Kevin is obviously a favorite. I personally do not care for his physique. I’m not saying that he isn’t good, hey he IS the most muscular guy in that class. But he doesn’t have much muscle separation or striations and his shape is not the best.
Mark Henry has always been one of my favorite ever since I saw him in Vegas about 4-5 years ago winning the Olympia Showdown (it was open, the 202 didn’t exist). He is a true 202 in that he is probably 190-195 in contest shape, and never really gets much heavier than that. Heck, he was probably his best at 187. I love his muscle separation, especially his back (which can stand with anybody in the open class) but he has some flaws like narrow quads, lack of hamstrings hang and a weird chest. But overall he has one of my favorite physique in the class.
I could say the same thing about Jose Raymond as I did about English: tons and tons of muscle, but not much separation. But the guy is immensely thick and because of all the muscle he added the past 2-3 years, he is very popular with the judges who seem to reward improvement, not only the package you bring up.
Correa has the physique I like the most out of all the top 202 contenders… well, let me rephrase that: his upper body probably is the best in the 202s. Good balance, size and separation… a lot of “wow” poses. His legs could be better, but it seems to be a common theme with the 202.
As far as I can remember, Mark Dugdale always had why I consider to be my PERSONAL ideal physique. Meaning that if I could pick one pro physique, it would be Mark’s. However if we look at him objectively, with IFBB judge eyes he has flaws: his biceps are a liability at this level. Well his whole arm is… not just because of a lack of mass or peak, but because his arms are very short and choppy (I’m the same way, which might be why I like his physique so much) and it makes his front double biceps pose look weird. He used to have the best wheels of the 202s and the best conditioning. But he seems to have regressed in both regards since he turned pro. He was basically his best, the year he turned pro. And sometimes judges don’t like stagnation.
Flex Lewis is not competing, but I really love his physique. Great legs and overall balance from the front.
Amit Sapir is a guy I trained for many years (posted a few pics of him in the past) and he will be competing against Daryl in Detroit, which will either be cool or weird! He is VERY thick and probably one of the strongest IFBB pros. GREAT hamstrings and glutes (maybe the best in the 202s) . He has great triceps, but flat biceps which ruins the front double biceps pose. His back is thick, but not that wide, but that is due to his skeletal width. He seems to have decreased his waist width this year, but doesn’t seem as full either.
James Llewlyn from the UK is a physique I really like, mostly because I’m a conditioning guy and he gets absolutely peeled. He has good stand-out bodyparts and some wow poses, but he is lacking in some areas to be a top contender IMHO.
Tricky Jackson has amazing lines and structure. One of the most aesthetic physique in the 202 when he gets his conditioning down. But he doesn’t have the wow factor and size to compete with the top guys if they are at their best.
I wont make any comments about Daryl because as his coach and from living with him 24/7 for the past 8 weeks I can’t say that I would be 100% objective. I will say this though… I doubt that any of the 202s trained harder than he did. He averaged more than 14 workouts per week during those 8 weeks; and none of those where easy sessions. He pushed the prowler ever single day, sometimes twice per day and his training probably has him at the same level of work capacity as any top level athlete/MMA fighter! I always loved hard work, especially from underdogs. I know that Amit Sapir is also a workhorse because when I trained him he lifted twice a day and did cardio twice a day and I have no doubt that he did the same this year.
With all the progress we made in the back I don’t see any weakness on Daryl’s body except maybe for shallow abs. He has no weak pose. If I have one knock on him is his self-perception: the guy doesn’t know how good he is. In fact it’s almost like the guy doesn’t realize that he is a pro, much less feel on par with the top guys in the 202 (which he is). From living with him, the impression I have is that he is more like a bodybuilding fan than a pro. Heck, he is a fan of all the top guys. In a sense that’s good because he is down to earth and doesn’t take himself too seriously; but on the other hand it prevents him from walking with the confidence that he should have considering how good he is.
And I challenge anybody to find better arms in the 202 class (even if Lee Priest would be competing, it would be very close.
Hard class to judge, all the top physiques are different and it will really depend on what the judges are looking for. [/quote]
I’ll admit that I’ve not paid a lot of attention to the 202 class in the past, but that write up has got me excited to see them this year.
Yes, and it’s funny that CT mentioned Hidetada. He does hold his own pretty well, dude is massive. But I think Daryl could hang with him. His upperbody looks better than Hidetada in my opinion…and Hide is one of my favorites.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Mark Henry has always been one of my favorite ever since I saw him in Vegas about 4-5 years ago winning the Olympia Showdown (it was open, the 202 didn’t exist). He is a true 202 in that he is probably 190-195 in contest shape, and never really gets much heavier than that. Heck, he was probably his best at 187. I love his muscle separation, especially his back (which can stand with anybody in the open class) but he has some flaws like narrow quads, lack of hamstrings hang and a weird chest. But overall he has one of my favorite physique in the class.
[/quote]
David Henry… he has trouble as well making the 202 cutoff these days, his training partner thinks he ends up losing muscle in the thighs(obviously his weak point) in order to get down that low. He was competing a few years ago at around 210.
Mark Henry is 6’1 350+ lbs, he won’t be competing in the 202s anytime soon 