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tom, and his shoulders and arms looked incredibly soft. And blocky…Jay is so wide-waisted and blocky that you could stick a handle on him, open him up and put the milk in. People were saying he should win because he still had the most mass, a fact I don’t even agree with. But even if he did, then why wasn’t Markus Ruhl ever Mr. Olympia? Markus carried more mass than Jay and had a smaller waist. The thing that really puzzled me is why Jay wasn’t in shape. He only had one show to get ready for and had an entire year to do it.
Guys like Silvio and Toney did something like a half- dozen shows this year and they still showed up in condi- tion. Jay lives right there in Las Vegas, so it’s not like he could blame a long flight for screwing him up and making him hold water or something. Speaking of water, the commentators also made a big deal about how Jay lost 12 pounds between Friday and Saturday nights and looked so much better. If you’ve properly prepared for a contest, there is no reason on earth you would need to drop that much water. Furthermore, the only way to accomplish that is by using diuretics, which are on the IFBB’s banned substance list. I think Jay simply got really lazy this year. He knew Ronnie would-
n’t be competing, so he figured he would be the only huge guy up there and winning a third time would be no sweat. He even made some remarks earlier this year about how he only needed to be at 90 percent to win, which was a pretty arrogant thing to say about the toughest bodybuilding contest in the world. You never heard Ronnie say he didn’t have to be his best to keep winning, and he was a much more dominant champion than Jay could have ever hoped to be. If any of this comes across as a personal attack, it isn’t. I have nothing against Jay as a person. The fact is that he did not show up looking like Mr. Olympia, and he paid the price. If anything, he was very lucky to be given second place as myself and many others didn’t even feel he deserved to be in the top five this year.
3. Phil Heath
I was really surprised at how good Phil Heath looked. His condition was probably the very best in the show, and he has some amazing body parts like his arms and shoulders. For a black guy, his calves are pretty great,
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too. Phil had a lot of hype to live up to, and I think he did a good job. He was working hard during the judging and putting tons of effort into each pose. Will he be Mr. Olympia, like a lot of people seem to think he is destined to be? Who knows? They said that about Flex, Kevin, Shawn and a few other guys who were certainly good enough to win that title. He does look a bit narrow in some poses, but so did Flex Wheeler. I thought it was very close between Phil and Dexter this time, and Phil is still a young guy who gets better every time you see him. As we all know, Dexter is just about maxed out. So I doubt Dexter will be able to hold this kid off next time.
4. Dennis Wolf
I knew from his sunken face at the press conference that Dennis was in awesome shape. It’s a look you hard- ly ever see anymore. And he was pretty ripped, but something must have gone wrong toward the end of his prep, as he was totally flat. He still looked good, but clearly he missed a hell of a chance to win the Olympia. With his shape and mass and his small waist, Dennis could have blown Dexter and Phil away had be been
fuller and with the deeper muscle separations that would have come along with that. I knew it was all over for Wolf when he wasn’t in the first callout. But Dennis is still a relatively new guy and is probably still figuring all this stuff out. I wouldn’t mind seeing him win an Olympia or two down the road.
5. Toney Freeman
This was probably the best I have ever seen Toney. He definitely deserved to be in the top five and could proba- bly have been as high as third. He’s done a great job of filling out that tall-ass frame of his and was shredded to the bone. It’s funny about Toney. When he’s off, like he was last year at the Olympia, he doesn’t impress me at all. But when he’s on, it’s a whole other physique. I still think he needs bigger arms, and his calves would lead me to wonder if there is even a calf machine at the gym he trains at. And if I can make a critique about his pos- ing routine, it’s to please cut out all the hip gyrations. Apparently, Toney used to be an exotic dancer in his
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younger years. X-Man, if the audience wanted to see a man dance around like a stripper, Las Vegas has outfits like Chippendales or Thunder From Down Under. Call me old-fashioned, but I think you’re just supposed to pose in a bodybuilding contest, not dance or grind your hips like you’re fucking some invisible girl onstage.
6. Melvin Anthony
It may have been late September, but Christmas defi- nitely arrived early for Marvelous Melvin. Sixth place for him was the biggest gift of the show after Jay’s sec- ond place. Melvin just didn’t ‘bring it.’ In fact, he must have left ‘it’ back home in California. He was off, plain and simple, and as usual it was worst in his glutes and hams. And yes, I know he’s an amazing poser. But I guess I am going to have to be the asshole who points this out. If you saw the movie “Zoolander,” Ben Stiller’s male supermodel had all these “looks,” or facial expres- sions, with names like Magnum and Blue Steel. But they were really all the same exact look. Well, Melvin keeps changing the music he uses but…it’s the same routine every time! He starts out slow, then he does some
break-dance popping and locking crap, then he leans way back like he’s doing the limbo. Sure, it’s cool…the first 50 times you see it. I can only dream of being able to pose like Melvin of course, but if I could, I think I would at least try to mix it up every couple years.
7. Silvio Samuel
You have to hand it to Silvio. The guy did nine shows last season and was in shape at every single one. This year he “only” competed five times, but the only other guy who was his equal with condition at this year’s Olympia was probably Heath. Silvio has great lines and nice, round muscle bellies. His back could be better, but I still thought he deserved better than seventh. How Melvin beat him is as big of a mystery to me as where those stray socks disappear to in the dryer. We’ll never know. I said I was only going to talk about the physiques, but I did want to add that Silvio is a real gentleman and very down to earth from the times I have met him.
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8. Dennis James
Dennis has been around a long time. This was the eighth time he’s competed in the Mr. Olympia, and sometimes I wonder if the judges just get sick of seeing him after awhile. I’m glad he finally stopped playing the size game, because for a while there, it looked like he was about to give birth to triplets. He has slimmed down and his shape is a lot better now that his waist is under control, but Dennis still could have been tighter. I know he used to have good muscle separation way back when he got his pro card, but after that he blew up with bulk and we never saw it again. I don’t know if he can get that back, but if he does he could be in the top five again.
9. Mohammad El Moussawi
It was good to see some new blood up in this year’s top 10, including Heath and Moe. This guy had a really good physique, but he was tighter earlier this season at the Iron Man and the Arnold. I don’t know if he thought he had to be bigger for the Olympia, but Moe should
always bring that crazy-shredded look if he wants to do well. I could be wrong, but I don’t think his frame can hold a lot more mass than it already has unless he wants to get a pregnant belly. So instead of trying to blow up and destroy his physique, I hope Moe just adds a little bit in the right areas and focuses on coming in as hard as possible. But all in all, not bad for a Kiwi (New Zealander).
10. Gustavo Badell
What the fuck happened to this guy? For two years in a row he was top three in the Mr. Olympia and winning that retarded challenge round over everyone, including Ronnie. Since then, he has done downhill fast. His legs have shrunk, and he can’t seem to get that condition like he used to. He looked better this time than I’ve seen him in a while, but his back was still pretty soft and his legs look like he just doesn’t train them hard anymore. I don’t know if Gustavo will ever be able to look as good as he did a few years ago (he did win a pro show as recently as February of 2006), or if his body has just had it. Sometimes, whether it’s related to all the heavy training, drugs or whatever, a man’s body just stops responding the way it used to. Look at Ronnie, and now Jay. The body just gets beat up. For Badell’s sake, I hope it’s not over for him quite yet. If he does somehow man- age to rally and get his look back that he had in 2004 and 2005, they should make him a saint…because it would be a fucking miracle!