Well, the Olympia competition and expo for 2012 has [now] come and gone. This past weekend was jam-packed with lots of top-notch athletes. Some of the bodybuilders have been at this show for a while now with a few others making their first appearance.  Specific to the Mr. Olympia competition, Phil “The Gift” Heath still reigned supreme. After two nights of judging, he edged Kai Greene to retain the title he first earned last year! Heath was very impressive as expected, but I must say that I was still Kai Greene really gave him a run for his money! I guess a little competition doesn’t hurt, huh?

Photo taken by Flex Magazine… all rights reserved

To Be The Man…

… you have to beat the man! While Kai rocked the stage with solid definition and overall muscle thickness, it was not enough in the eyes of the judges to overtake the current king of bodybuilding, Phil Heath. It would be nice to see Phil have a few more challengers as he tries to march towards many more titles. Luckily, for the fans of bodybuilding, it appears that he has great competition coming straight for him. Kai continues to challenge him for top honors, and new challengers are stepping into the mix. Shawn “Flexatron” Rhodes, who took third place, certainly appears to have what it takes to improve for many years to come. Of course, we cannot forget Dexter “The Blade” Jackson [who took fourth], Branch Warren [who took a disappointing fifth], Dennis Wolf [who took a disappointing sixth], and Toney “X-Man” Freeman [who took seventh].

The Surprises

Overall, the show was great, but there were a few surprises – both good and bad. First, Shawn Rhodes came into the show in top form, but he is basically a rookie by most accounts. In the past, there have been some younger competitors who arguably could have been placed higher at Mr Olympia if not for potential judging bias, etc. [In the eyes of many fans] For some judges, some competitors had to work harder and put their time in to earn their stripes, while giving the benefit of the doubt [and podium placements] to some veteran competitors who could otherwise be viewed less worth of the placement in the final standings. Of course, this is all arguable, but Flexatron came in looking great, and [thankfully] he was awarded accordingly. Kudos to the judges! Second, Branch Warren did not place in the top three. After having to sit out last year’s event due to injury and winning this year’s Arnold Classic! Certainly, he is not happy with the fifth place finish, and I’m sure few people expected him to rank at number five.  Lastly, Dennis Wolf appears to get no respect, or at least that is what some experts and fans proclaim. To many people’s surprise, he dropped all the way down to sixth place. Some find that he seems to fade a bit during the longer, multi-day shows. I’ll leave you to ponder that one!

Question Marks!

This was one of the few years that Jay Cutler did not compete. He had surgery earlier this year and was extra busy with the business side of things. But, he said that he will be back in 2013. So, if he comes back to compete, where will Jay fall in the mix of things? Can he compete for the top spot again? Also, with Branch Warren still coming back from surgery 13 or 14 months ago, how will he do with more [training and] recovery time? I guess we will just have to wait and watch as 2013 unfolds. I know one thing that is for sure – I will do my best to get to Las Vegas to see the results next time! It’s bound to be EPIC! So, are you pleased with the rankings at this year’s Mr. Olympia? Did the judges get it right? And how do you see the near future unfolding as new challengers step up and veterans refine their physiques?

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• Mr Olympia – Changing of the Guard

This past weekend marked what many bodybuilding experts contend is the changing of the guard. In essence, the four time champion, Jay Cutler, passed the torch to good friend, Phil “The Gift” Heath. For those who might not know, every fall (typically in September) the biggest and best bodybuilders from around the world (who qualified) come together in Vegas for the mecca of all bodybuilding competitions, Mr. Olympia. This is a unique 2-day competition that is the SuperBowl or World Series for bodybuilders! For so many bodybuilders, it is the ultimate prize. With Phil Heath winning the title for the first time this year, he becomes only the 13th bodybuilder to ever have earned the title, so, as you can see, this achievement is quite impressive. Congratulations to “The Gift” on the dominating Olympia win!

4-time Mr O Jay Cutler (left) and new Mr O Phil Heath (right) battle it out in the 2011 callouts

Getting back to this past weekend, I must say that Phil “The Gift” Heath was in amazing condition. In what many considered a flashback to the days of symmetry and Flex Wheeler in lieu of just pure mass, Phil Heath brought the complete package to the stage and truly won over both the judges and the fans!  Look at the video embedded below and tell me that his physique is not impressive. Certainly, many will conclude that such a body is not built naturally, and others will remind us that some people are just genetically gifted, but, no matter what, it takes a lot of effort to get to looking like Phil Heath. After taking second in 2010 in what some considered should have been a victory for “The Gift,” he went back to the drawing board and drew up a masterpiece for 2011! It truly appears that the torch has been passed from Cutler, but Jay has yet to announce retirement nor said he would not be back to battle in 2012’s Olympia, so anything is possible. On the other hand, this could very well be the beginning of another Mr Olympia Dynasty. Hopefully, I will be able to be in attendance to see it all unfold in fall of 2012 ~ who wants to take the trip to Vegas with me? Until then, watch this masterful posing performance and grow speechless at his top notch physique.

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• Phil Heath Reigns Supreme… Again