Big Ramy, Hunter LaBrada and Nick Walker are getting a lot of attention as the Olympia approaches. And it should be. The competition between these three and probably a few more will be the same as before.
These three bodybuilders seem to be the guys buzzing about social media’s potential for this year’s Olympics. That doesn’t mean no one else is being talked about. It’s just that these three people get more attention than the other children in the row. I think this is normal for the season. Everyone heading to the Olympics comes out with their imaginary chair.
Regardless of the order in which you describe them, one thing is clear: Big Ramy, Hunter LaBrada and Nick Walker are more qualified guys than any other 30-something. For many enthusiasts, these three names just jump off the page.
I’m sure there are arguments up and down that Brandon Curry should be the 2019 Mr. Olympia; or William Bonac, as I’ve said on numerous podcasts, is 100% lethal; or Hasan Mostafa, a highly controversial second-place finisher at this year’s Tampa Pro at age 51, and has all the tools in the box to bag Sandow. The same goes for Akim Williams, who beat him.
And let’s not forget Derek Lunsford, one of the most advanced bodybuilders ever. However, as good as these guys are, at best, Nick or Hunter can step in if they step out a bit. But they are not in the title. If these guys don’t even make the top 10, it’s too late. If their names are not revealed at the first challenge, the arena will explode. And not in a good way.
However, the Olympian gods have something up their sleeves, and this year is no different, as these men all have their flaws. Which is nothing new. But for some reason, this year some people are focusing on the quirks that each of these guys brings with them, especially Big Ramy.
Are we picking nits here, or are we talking about potentially scoring issues? Sure, there are other competitors who could win the show that may have less issues/flaws, but as mentioned before, these three guys create the biggest hype with less visible talk of who might win. may not be.
Let’s start with the obvious: Big Ramy
The reigning Mr. He causes panic not because of who he is, but because of his unique circumstances. It appears that the Greater Rami has a golf ball-sized divot on the distal side of each outer quadrate sweep, with the right side appearing stiffer than the left. Now this is not new. He had them last year and the year before that. However, they are a bit more prominent today than in the past. There can be no other reason than that he is thinner now. Or maybe something else?
It’s the “something else” that’s gotten so much attention that those little dimples have become the subject of not only an amazing number of IG posts, but entire podcasts! Whatever they are, they are proof of what makes social media so bad.
Because all you need is your typical anti-steroid crusader unleashing a barrage of false negativity whose reason to get his inexplicably high following on drugs is so stupid it’s painful to read. The entire peanut gallery of self-respecting experts is hardly consistent about how “drugs are ruining the sport.” This is despite the fact that not only are they still watching, but we gave them Physique and Classic Physique to test their longing for a time when bodybuilders took less drugs – no drugs to bother you, just less. , supposedly.
The sequence is as bad as it is awesome. Without an iota of background knowledge, eyewitnesses, or evidence, suddenly the public discourse changes its tone, and a meaningless blurb becomes empirical evidence that drugs are (again) ruining sports.
According to the “experts”, Rami’s quad divots are either scar tissue or a sign of nerve damage from his continuous injections into the quad. By pointing out that his drug use was excessive, not because they actually knew him and knew what he was taking, but because he had divots on his quad!
Now, I’m not sure what’s more troubling here: the sheer stupidity of such a thing, or the number of people who consume it as an energy drink and make themselves angry enough to blame it. Mr. Olympia along with his quads for ruining the sport. This is what happens if you don’t limit your kids’ online sessions at an early age.
According to Big Ramy’s trainer, Dennis James, who was in Dubai with Big Ramy, an MRI of his quads was done and the results showed no scar tissue, no necrosis. There was nothing to suggest that the needles had anything to do with it. In addition, there was no evidence of rupture or fracture. What Dennis explained sounded like a small area of muscle belly where a group of muscle fibers stick together, causing an “adhesion” that can restrict blood supply to the area, resulting in a divot.
In another podcast, Big Ramy’s nutrition coach Chad Nichols pointed out that Ramy’s quads have always been a problem. When she started working with him, the first thing she did was extensive deep tissue and scraping to break up adhesions and increase blood flow. So Big Ramy’s trainer and his diet coach both agree, based on solid evidence and first-hand knowledge, that drugs and injections have nothing to do with it; there are no tears or other damage and the problem is noted as resolved.
Now, for the big question, does it matter? To answer this I must bring up the other two gentlemen in the title. Does Hunter LaBrada’s tear residue matter? What about the tortuous veins on Nick Walker’s calves? Are any of these gentlemen affected by their placement? No. That’s like saying the value of my motorcycle is affected by a one square millimeter stone chip on the front fender. Would we ever prefer a stone chip? Of course, but everyone has a stone chip. So the idea of perfection is ridiculous. Punishing someone for incompleteness is worse.
With that argument squashed forever, I think I see a reason why social media is so consumed with these three guys. Aside from the usual love and hate stuff that rages along with any interesting and passionate rivalry, this year is almost like a time capsule unfolding before our eyes.
There was once a time when an almost exact combination of champions collided on the Olympic stage. In 1987, the top three bodybuilders in the world were Lee Haney, Rich Gaspari and Lee LaBrada. An incredibly impressive, undefeated, mountain of a man, Haney entered his eight-year Olympic reign with little more than the current Rami the Great.
At the time, Gaspari was a relative newcomer and the youngest Olympic competitor in history. He was a densely striated block of muscle that belied his youth and stunned the world two years ago when he came out of nowhere and finished third in his first Olympic attempt and then second to Haney. Watching Gaspari next to Haney in ’86, ’87 and ’88, and Walker next to Rami today, the evolution is unmistakable. Walker is a modern-day Gaspari and poses the same threat to Rami the Great as Gaspari did to Hane. Maybe even more. Not only is Walker as conditioned as Gaspari, he is just MASSIVE.
This leaves us with the Creator and the emulator – Lee LaBrada and his son Hunter. This is most rare in our world; It looks like a comet that flies by every 12,000 years. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best story of the entire weekend. Aside from his insane bulk and condition, this is a big reason why people are talking about Hunter. Of the almost eight billion people on the planet, history has allowed only one person, a former Olympian, to watch his son compete in the Olympics. The only other father/son Olympia lineage belongs to junior and senior Sergio Oliva. Unfortunately, Senior never got to see Junior compete. Lee is the only person on earth ever to have such an alignment of stars. And he should be proud. His son is just as much of a threat to Sandow now as he was in the past.
I was not in Gothenburg, Sweden for the 87th Olympics. I did not see Haney, Gasparini and LaBrada on stage in person. But from what I’ve seen over the years, if this year brings us Big Ramy, Nick Walker and Hunter Labrada on the podium, it’s going to be like seeing the nightmare of ’87. LaBrada or Walker could have shut down Big Ramy. dominance? I don’t think it’s possible, but it’s certainly not impossible. If that happens, or if LaBrada beats Walker, or vice versa, it won’t be because of flawlessness.
Do I predict these three will take the podium when the curtain falls on December 18th? I don’t have to. As the hours tick by and the time draws nearer, social media will continue to raise the temperature. I hope the discourse fits more positive clauses than three-year-old four divots. Unfortunately, with social media and human nature the way they are, I don’t hold out much hope. The show will be forced to talk.