Right off the bat I must admit that I was wrong about Jay Cutler, the guy did what no other bodybuilder in history has or could ever do—he came back and won the Mr. Olympia after losing as the defending champion.

The guys back was up against the wall—and you know what—he nailed it.

You have to hand it to him.

O.K.

But what about the rest of the field.

Well the biggest shock to me was Dennis Wolf, the guy finished in sixteenth place!

Which I believe from looking at the score card is just another way of saying that he was tied for last place.

What a disaster for Dennis, I mean the guy came out like a house-of-fire and took the bodybuilding world by storm and now this.

Second biggest shock to me was Branch Warren.

To finish in second—in a lineup as loaded as this—that speaks volumes about the Mr. Warren’s work ethic and dedication.

I really like Ronny Rockel and I am glad he managed seventh—he should be very happy with that.

And it shows that the judges don’t automatically ignore smaller guys—or guys that don’t get massive exposure either on line or in the magazines.

Also, Melvin Anthony he slipped out of the top ten, but I still like that guy’s physique.

I was disappointed to see that Troy Alves finished tied for last place (at least I am assuming that what sixteenth place is) because Troy has a nice physique and nice lines, but maybe he will get them next year.

CONCLUSION

The Mr. Olympia is the biggest bodybuilding contest in the world and once again you have to give it to Jay Cutler.

The guys back was to-the-wall and he did what he needed to do.

And won the whole show.

Congrats.

Jay.

Until Next Time

KEEP WORKING

With the Mr. Olympia contest less than a week a way I wanted to express all of the respect I have for each and every contestant—from the guy who will win—to the guy who will finish last—they are all winners in my book.

I mean I love to train, I love bodybuilding, but, I could NEVER imagine standing up on stage—basically naked—I mean I KNOW they have posing trunks on—but come on!

That would basically freak me out completely.

Of course, I realize that most of the people competing in this years contest have been competing for a number of years—especially guys like Dexter Jackson and Jay Cutler—but still I would be too freaked out to even try it.

While I feel that the Mr. Olympia is fantastic, I feel sorry for the guys that no one talks about—I mean they bust their buts just as much as the top guys—and deserve some time in the spotlight for all of their work and effort.

That leads me to my next point—people can say what they want about bodybuilding—but you don’t stand up on THAT stage unless you have put in some serious time in the gym and have worked your but off—for a long time.

And here is the thing, you’ve got one shot—if you blow it, all the work you put in for months and months could be wasted.

That’s why you have to feel for Dennis Wolf—he lost a lot of muscle shortly before last years contest—I cannot imagine standing up there—knowing in my heart that I looked so much better a few weeks out—that had to be seriously tough..

Also, looked what happened to Jay Cutler last year—yes he dropped a ton of weight in between the two days of the contest—but even for him it was not enough—he ended up taking second which is great for most people, but when you are the defending champion—you might as well have taken last—because anything less than a win just won’t cut it.

Finally, I will say this, it is going to be interesting to see if we stay on this new path—with guys like Dexter (who have better shape and conditioning) winning continually or are we going to see a return of the mass monsters—guys like Dorian (whom I must admit is my favorite Mr. O of all time) and Ronnie.

We will see.

CONCLUSION

The Mr. Olympia Contest is the biggest and best bodybuilding contest in the whole world and really when you consider all of the greats who have competed in the contest over the years—it really has to be an honor just to be up there competing in the contest.

And for me personally, anyone who competes in the show is a winner—as I cannot imagine having to diet for months and do everything else that needs to be done to compete.

To me you guys are all winners.

Try and relax and enjoy your time on stage.

You’ve Earned It

Until Next Time

KEEP DREAMING

We’ve all had those times in our lives when people told us that we just were not good enough—or you want to be a bodybuilder—you’re way to skinny—you’ll never make it.

I’m a firm believer in the power of belief—the power of your mind.

How much do you truly want to achieve you dreams—are you willing to put one-hundred and ten percent effort into making them reality.

So it was with great interest that I read the article on the current Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson in this month’s copy of Muscular Development.

Now, I know what your thinking—what can I possibly learn from a Mr. Olympia winner, after all his genetics are probably so much better than mine—it is not even close.

Well, according to the article Dexter weighed all of one-hundred and thirty seven pounds at his first contest—and this was after six months of training.

As you can see he was not exactly a young man who was always very muscular and strong.

But he kept at it and has added one-hundred pounds of muscle to his frame over the years.

I won’t spoil the article for you, if you haven’t read it, but needless to say, Dexter went through some lean times—and I am sure he felt like quitting at various times during his move up the professional bodybuilding ladder.

However, he did not, and now he is the current Mr. Olympia.

Besides believing in yourself when nobody else does, there is one more thing you can take away from the article on Dexter Jackson and it is this—

Dexter has a very fast metabolism and hence he does not have to diet too long to get into contest shape—however I am sure when he was younger this made it all the more difficult for him to put on mass.

But as you can see, it can be done, five solid pounds gained per year for ten years adds up to fifty pounds of new muscle on your frame—and a completely changed frame it will be—from the one you started with.

So to all of you hard gainers out there with super fast metabolisms, do not give up, keep eating just a little bit more, and giving it your all in the gym—and remember every pound gained (no matter how hard you had to work for it) puts you one pound closer to achieving your goals.

Until Next Time

NEVER QUIT

I know I just recently posted my top ten for the upcoming 2009 Mr. Olympia, however, I wanted to add some additional thoughts about the up coming contest.

First, I must admit that I am curious—can last years surprise winner (at least to me) repeat and become a two time champ.

Or.

Are we going to see a return to the days of yore when the giants ruled the stage—meaning former and two time champ Jay Cutler and eight-time champ Ronnie Coleman.

That brings up another point—when Ronnie was winning it year after year he was dominating the sport, so it will be interesting to see if he can recaptured that same form and grab number nine.

Same goes for Jay, can he also reclaim his past form and become a three time champ.

On an aside—I think Evan Centopani is making the right choice in opting out of this years Mr. O.

The young man has massive shoulders and arms—however he needs to bring up certain areas like his pecs and back—and after reading an interview he did in the recent issue of Muscular Development he seems like he has his head on straight and is determined to make his mark in this sport.

Looking forward to seeing what he brings the next time he competes.

CONCLUSION

Those were some of my thoughts regarding the upcoming 2009 Mr. Olympia.

I will end by saying this.

With two former champs competing—I read the Ronnie is competing—along with Jay, it is going to be one heck of a contest.

I CAN’T WAIT.

Your opinions are very welcome.

Until Next Time

KEEP-AT-IT

With the Mr. Olympia exactly a month away I figured now would be a good time to put my crystal ball (actually it is made out of newspaper) to work and make my predictions.

WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN—MY TOP TEN

1^st Dexter Jackson

If he plays the size game he will lose, but if he comes in his usual super sharp self he will win.

2^ND Phil Heath

Young guys got loads of talent—great arms and super in the calf area—and to be honest I think he beats Dexter in the back department.

But he is a little narrow across the shoulders.

3^rd Kai Greene

Came on like a house-of-fire and won the Arnold Classic—has plenty of muscle and can really pose.

I feel good for Kai, he has had to work for it and now he is a very good pro.

4^th Dennis Wolf

Just a massive guy, wide shoulders and a small waist.

Weak calf development and we will have to see if he brought up his back.

5^th Victor Martinez

Victor has the shape, everything you need to be Mr. Olympia

Question is—can he come in spot on and take advantage of all of his potential?

6^th Branch Warren

Tons of muscle—but I don’t know if he can hang with the guys above him.

7^th Melvin Anthony

Wonderful shape, great physique, small waist—but can he come in with absolutely stripped glutes?

8^th Joel Stubbs

Massive back just absolutely awesome—if only he could bring those legs up.

9^th Dennis James

Thick dude, been around, good to see him back on the Olympia stage.

10^th Ronny Rockel

Nice physique needs to come in right on the money.

O.K.

That is what I think will happen; now here is what I HOPE will happen.

1^st Dennis Wolf or Toney Freeman

Both of these guys epitomize what I think bodybuilding is all about; they are tall have broad shoulders and small waists.

As far as the rest—well I like Dennis James so I hope he places high and Troy Alves has a great physique so I hope he is up there as well.

O.K.

As long as I am on my soap box I will say this—please put Ronny Rockel closer to the top—great physique.

I welcome your comments and opinions

Until Next Time

STAY SMART.

I little while back I read a training article about current Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson and in the article he said something very important.

He said that whenever he feels a little twinge when training he takes a week sometimes two weeks off from training and he never has had a major injury.

Please don’t quote me on the above statement as I am doing it from memory so I doubt that is EXACTLY what he said. However it is what he does when he feels a twinge somewhere:

HE TAKES OFF FROM TRAINING!

Yes, I know most of you can’t even think of taking a week off from training (I agree as I can’t imagine it either) let alone two—however think about this for a minute, Mr. Jackson has been a professional bodybuilder for a long time and has steadily moved up the ladder and now he is Mr. O.

So I think he is worth listening to.

Plus, consider the alternative—if you continue to “push through it” and boom you tear something—I think your training will be disrupted for way more than two weeks.

So the next time you just ground out ten hard reps in the squat and something in your right quad just does not feel right—consider ending your workout right then—you might just prevent a minor ding from turning into a major injury.

STAY SMART