2008 Olympia Blog

What would you be doing if you were only a few days away from being on stage as one of top competitors at the Olympia?

Well, if you are Dennis James, you would be hanging out with your buddy, show promoter Jon Lindsay, at the Tournament of Champions in Anaheim, California on Saturday!

Actually, Dennis is here in town getting in some training with Milos Sarcev at his Koloseum Gym. He looks like he is happy about his contest prep so far. The Tournament of Champions is an IFBB Pro Figure qualifier and the top three competitors will be going to the Olympia. I will let you know what happens soon!

I have said it before, fitness is really fun and my favorite of the competitions to photograph. Sitting up close and trying to capture these routines is a real challenge. It seems like the athletes move across the stage and into the air faster than a fighter jet.

These women are athletes beyond any others in almost any sport. They are not only superbly conditioned in figure but also accomplished in strength, gymnastics and dance. One of the fitness pros we will see at the Olympia is Heidi Fletcher. At only 4 ft, 10 inches tall, Heidi turned in a fabulous performance as seen here earlier this year at the Arnold in Columbus Ohio.

These individual photos of the competitors only a few days or a couple of weeks out are great.

But remember that things can really start to change when you stand them up against each other on stage. To paraphrase, when asked why a specific competitor came in fourth in a competition when he looked so good, Bob Cicherillo said “because three other guys looked better”.

Ruuuhhhhl.

The name that haunts the olympia stage, when he comes out, the noise is so immense, it sounds like a sea of boo’s, when really, it’s his huge legions of fans!

This year, he looks better than every pre-contest, looks to have yet again added mass, and his waist looks a little trimmer as well!

Pic - 17th September:

Again, this guy never ceases to amaze me.

Last year, he came to the olympia, looked awesome, and got in the top 10, wuality result for him, now, this year, he caused shock in the bodybuilding world when he was grainy as ever, now pre-olympia, that hasn’t changed.

The pre-show pics have got him looking grainy, huge, and with a small waist, carrying some water, but it will go I’m sure.

10 days out!

Check out these Jay Cutler photos, 15 days out!  What do you think?

Hey everyone, just thought I’d keep you all updated about how everyone is in regards to contest-preparation, so here we go!!

Branch Warren, 5 Weeks Out

Melvin Anthony - August 4th

Ronnie Coleman (clothed) - Sept 9th

Jay Cutler - 2 Months Out

Dennis James - 3 weeks out

Gonna be a great O!

Hey everyone, at the moment, I’m gonna run through my top 5, it was a hard choice to make really, this year anyone could be challenging for any place, anyways, I’ll run through my choices, and then why.

1. Ronnie Coleman
2. Jay Cutler
3. Dexter Jackson
4. Victor Martinez
5. Branch Warren

Firstly, Ronnie, this guy has been streets ahead of everyone in past years, however it is coming to a close, his torn tricep has started some symmetry issues, and his waist is detracting more and more from his physique. However, his muscular development and muscular maturity is still packs ahead of the rest. His conditioning also is never far from perfect, always grainy and never very soft at all. His small weaknesses such as small calves and some small symmetry issues dont tend to be enough to detract from his sheerly amazing physique, and it will show in his placings.

Jay, a former youngster who came from nowhere to shock the Olympia crowd, he is no longer a youngster, and has now developed into one of the best bodybuilders of all time. He has gone through a progression in the past few years and you will notice from pictures that his lats have increased enormously, so much so that he can now compete with Ronnie there, not to mention his delts, that are starting to even rival the monster Ruhl’s! Again, he is very reliable in terms of conditioning, and is the most dedicated bodybuilder out there, expect him to come in looking insane. Jay’s only weakness last year was his blockiness, something I think he will overcome, jay is confident, and rightfully so.

Dexter Jackson, ah, good ol’ Dex, he continues to come in year after year looking identical, however, he is lucky that the physique he does have is good enough for at least top 3 material, his conditioning is always immaculate and his waistline is possibly the slimmest around. He has full muscle bellies, generally large clavicles and continues to have one of the most aesthetic physiques around.

Victor Martinez, here we have it, the future of bodybuilding, the widest clavicles and one of the smallest waist, I think that his 5th place position last year was a good result to get him into the front-line of bodybuilding, and he will slowly progress to the top from here. He has small weaknesses, like his somewhat high calves, and his conditioning can sometimes slip, but apart from that, everything is top notch!

Branch Warren, fresh off a good pre-olympia season he has alot of momentum and will continue to carry it, and it will show in his placings! This man has the conditioning of a prime Dorian Yates, huge legs, huge shoulders, well, huge everything, apart from his waist, which compared to the other mass monsters, is tiny, a pick for the future.