The pro bodybuilder life, is it worth it?

The picture above was taken about 4 months before the 2005 Mr. Olympia and shows Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman, respectively. Considering most pro's start their diet 12-18 weeks out, it is unlikely they have started their diets at the time the of the picture.

It's amazing that these guys pack on so much bulk in the off-season. For some, these pictures may even make them rethink their decision to pursue pro bodybuilding as a career. Personally, I love to see this because it lets me see the reality of the sport. In magazines you only see these guys at their 100%, but the truth is no one can hold on to such a state for a prolonged period of time.

You also get to see the amount of dedication and love these guys have for the sport. It's not easy to put themselves through the endless struggles of weight gain/weight loss, intense training, etc. I also find it extremely unfair that most of this effort goes unrewarded... in most competitions if a bodybuilder is placed out of the top 5 they don't even get paid! Considering bodybuilding is a 24/7 sport, it deserves to be rewarded. It is very difficult to argue of any other sport requiring the same or similar amount of time, dedication, and infinite patience required to be successful. The Mr. Olympia, the premier bodybuilding competition in the world, pays out $100,000 to the winner. The worst baseball or basketball player probably doesn't get paid under $700,000 a year.

Is it worth it? If you love the sport, yes. If your in it for the money, no.

What happened to Chris Cormier?

Chris Cormier is known to all of bodybuilding as "The Real Deal". Just take a look at the picture above and you'll see why.

Last time I checked, Chris had the one of the highest, if not the highest first place pro wins of all bodybuilders. So, it is understandable why prior to this years Mr. Olympia, every magazine was promoting Chris as the new Mr. Olympia.

It saddens me that everyone hyped Chris Cormier for months prior to the Olympia, and because he doesn't come in 100% dialed in he gets dropped from the face of the earth. Chris Cormier deserves more than that. He has probably the best combination of muscle and symmetry of all the pros, yet, because he received a disappointing 13th placing he gets discounted. Amazing the hypocrisy of some people.

I guess some people missed that memo I mentioned in my previous post...

Aesthetics and the Mr. Olympia

First of all, Congratulations to Ronnie Coleman for capturing and equaling Lee Haney's 8 straight Mr. Olympia titles.

Bodybuilding is an extremely subjective and hard to judge sport. Every judge needs to observe and score each body part according to the primary three points: symmetry, condition, and muscularity/size. Then, based on the sum of points, a winner is selected. This, of course, isn't always the case. Sometimes judges are affected by the popularity of a competitor. Other times, a judge may let a competitors past contest results affect their decision. For whatever reason, some judges dont stick to the guidelines, and it hurts the sport.

I have only seen Ronnie Coleman in magazines and in the video Ronnie Coleman: The Unbelievable in which he looks incredible. There's no way you can deny he is the biggest competitor of on stage, he is truly inspiring. That being said, I believe his aesthetics have lagged in comparison to the amazing amount of new muscle he packs on yearly. Remember, size isn't the be-all end-all of bodybuilding, competitors need to have "the total package", which is the three points I mentioned earlier plus aesthetics. The bodybuilder must posses "classic lines", as stated by the IFBB guidelines. Yet, since the early 90's, the decisions have been going more for mass/muscularity/size instead of aesthetics and/or "total package".

Just take a look at the top pro bodybuilders and you'll probably have a hard time picking a hand full which have it all. Dexter Jackson and Chris Cormier are fine examples of having the total package.

I find it funny that the IFBB put out some memo to everyone stating how this year aesthetics was going to be at the top of the judging list. But, come October 14-16, we get pretty much the same results we've been getting since 2001. Hopefully, the memo will start getting some serious attention because it will really help the sport.

NOTE: I understand it is MUCH easier to say this then it is to DO it. All I have is respect for bodybuilders and love for bodybuilding. I say what I think will help improve the most under-appreciated sport.

PowerWeight.com Blog!

I decided to start a blog for PowerWeight.com which will have my personal unbiased opinion on current bodybuilding related situations, politics, products, etc.

I am still trying to get a decent community up and running on PowerWeight.com, so if you haven't checked it out, please do so! You just might find it to be a fit for you.

Thanks and check back soon!