I know everyone wants to be a big dude, but who really wants to look like that?
I mean, 5’2" 290 in the off-season, that’s a stubby man. I can imagine seeing him in person!
I doubt he gets that heavy anymore, his competitive days are long behind him… still, I’m sure part of his excessive blowing up was to get attention. Sure, all competitors love to indulge in foods they’ve been denying themselves during preps, but at some point, you reach the “I’m out of breath just walking up stairs” point and you step back a bit. When I hit 220 before I ever contemplated competing, my knees used to hurt.
S
I saw a guy who was 5’5" and like 245 and he was the most densely muscled guy I have ever seen. Looked like something out of a comic book. I wonder if anyone has seen Priest in person…
… Yeah I’d still take that physique who cares how short you are, just makes you look more ridiculous. And ridiculous is a good thing.
I’m 5’6. I would like to be 290 lb. Although, I’d prefer to be 7’3, 450 lb. Does that answer your question? 
Getting insanely fat during the off season is sort of a thing of the past. Most guys stay within 5-15 lbs of contest shape year round.
LOL @ staying within 5 pounds of contest weight.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LOL @ staying within 5 pounds of contest weight.[/quote]
Which IFBBs pros do you prep again?
Which do you speak with on a first name basis?
right…
If I can read correctly he said they were staying 5-15 pounds, not 5 pounds of fat from, whats the problem?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve been under the impression that the famous pics of Priest (the glasses, pot belly, I think eating KFC??) was a publicity stunt. He obviously gets a tad soft in the offseason, if you watvh his training vids, but I never thought he realistically got THAT outta shape other then for that particular photo shoot…
While 5-15 lb is a bit low, most of the top pro’s don’t get too far off of contest shape.
Im in no way an expert on pro BB. However, I went through HS and continue in college being a huge fan of people like Big Ron, Trey Brewer, Jackson, ect.
Ive read in places that Ronnie used to get up to almost 330 off season, Jay even around 315. While of course these are just muscle mags or online forums I guess ive always believed they truly BULKED in off season a decent amount more than 5-15 lbs. Being that most of the BB on this site are natural I completely understand that youd have to stay close to competition weight, but if you are pro, have access to the good stuff, know what you are doing with it, and so on, I would imagine all these images you find on the web of them are more than 5-15 lbs off.
Any ways, please refrain from any “hate” responses, I am just giving my 2.5 cents of course you competitive natural BBers will know much more than I.
[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
Im in no way an expert on pro BB. However, I went through HS and continue in college being a huge fan of people like Big Ron, Trey Brewer, Jackson, ect.
Ive read in places that Ronnie used to get up to almost 330 off season, Jay even around 315. While of course these are just muscle mags or online forums I guess ive always believed they truly BULKED in off season a decent amount more than 5-15 lbs. Being that most of the BB on this site are natural I completely understand that youd have to stay close to competition weight, but if you are pro, have access to the good stuff, know what you are doing with it, and so on, I would imagine all these images you find on the web of them are more than 5-15 lbs off.
Any ways, please refrain from any “hate” responses, I am just giving my 2.5 cents of course you competitive natural BBers will know much more than I.[/quote]
Brewer is not a pro
Ronnie hasnt been relevant in 7 years.
Cutler is still competing and doesnt even get to 300 anymore.
Nostalgia is nice though, I guess. No one is saying the past didnt exist.
Before this conversation blows up because the usual suspect will have some 3rd or 4th hand opinion on the matter, Ill say this.
Growing into a competition is the norm in 2012. The drugs and more imporantly, science, allows for this in today’s world.
There is no reason to walk around carrying surplus fat when it is 1. uncomfortable. 2. unhealthy because of the year round drug use required to maintain the extra weight. 3. costly (food and drugs) 4. unnecessary - again because modern drug science allows muscle to be gained while bodyfat is stripped. (this could also play a role in why guys are no longer getting as lean as they did during Yates’s - early Ronnie’s reigns)
[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
Im in no way an expert on pro BB. However, I went through HS and continue in college being a huge fan of people like Big Ron, Trey Brewer, Jackson, ect.
Ive read in places that Ronnie used to get up to almost 330 off season, Jay even around 315. While of course these are just muscle mags or online forums I guess ive always believed they truly BULKED in off season a decent amount more than 5-15 lbs. Being that most of the BB on this site are natural I completely understand that youd have to stay close to competition weight, but if you are pro, have access to the good stuff, know what you are doing with it, and so on, I would imagine all these images you find on the web of them are more than 5-15 lbs off.
Any ways, please refrain from any “hate” responses, I am just giving my 2.5 cents of course you competitive natural BBers will know much more than I.[/quote]
I think what is becoming more common now is growing into a contest. It’s not that they are staying 5-15 lbs of fat loss away from contest weight it’s that they also gain a significant amount of muscle while dropping a significant amount of fat during the contest prep.
Basically they use less drugs and maybe don’t diet or train quit as hard as they do in the 16 or so weeks leading up to a contest. so a competitor that competes at 230 lbs at 3% body fat might end up at 240 lbs with 10% body fat during the off season since he lost muscle and gained fat.
Personally i think 5-15 lbs might be a bit of an exaggeration but with the whole method of growing into a show becoming more and more widely adopted your less likely to see huge weight fluctuations between off season and contest weights. That’s not to say they are staying within 5 lbs of contest level conditioning just scale weight.
Hopefully this helps clarify what some of the guys here are proposing.
^This.
Many guys do this.
Then offseason/what is beneficial and what isn’t changes drastically when you remove drugs from the equation and talk about offseason weights for natural competitors IMO.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LOL @ staying within 5 pounds of contest weight.[/quote]
Which IFBBs pros do you prep again?
Which do you speak with on a first name basis?
right…[/quote]
I’m sorry, I have to speak to pros on a regular basis to find 5-15lbs extreme if implying even most pros stay within that range of contest weight?
This thread began about Lee Priest…and Lee Priest at most hit around 270-275 in the off season, not 290. He always spoke about how he just liked to eat and didn’t care about staying lean in the off season.
Yes, many pros today do grow into shows, but implying that all of them do or that even most stay that close to contest weight year round is a stretch.
I’m sorry…how many pros have you prepped again?
Oh wait…none…which makes you questioning me like that a bit funny.
No one disrespected you. You brought that in all by yourself.
Kai Greene sure as hell didn’t get the memo…or Johnnie Jackson…
From Phil Heath’s own site:
[quote]Full Name: Phillip Jerrod Heath
Born: December 18, 1979, Seattle, WA
Height: 5?9"
Competition Weight: 240 lbs
Off-Season Weight: 275 lbs
Residence: Arvada, CO
STATS:[/quote]
Damn…he didn’t get that memo either.
Just to state it, many at that level do stay within about 20lbs of contest weight ONCE THEY ARE ALREADY HUGE. The average bodybuilder could lose that much in water alone dieting for a show.
You won’t find Dexter Jackson bulking up by 40lbs but you wouldn’t put it past guys like Kai Greene or Heath.
Branch Warren stays pretty close to contest weight but he also isn’t growing all that much at this point.
You’re asking who would like to look like a monster?
me.
Who wants to look like Lee Priest
Idoidoidoidoidoido.