The Future of Bodybuilding
Take a look at the sport of bodybuilding today and think for a moment how much has changed over the past ten or even twenty years. If how the sport evolved continues, where does that take the sport down the road? What is the future of bodybuilding?
Are we predicting the next generation of bodybuilders to hit the stage in the 300-pound range with veiny abs, twenty-six plus inch arms, and upper 300’s (pushing 400 pounds) in the off-season? It might be heading in that direction.
The Evolution of Muscle in Bodybuilding
Back in the day symmetry and aesthetics were what we watched on stage. The days of the tiny waist and amazing V-taper. Nowadays, everything is bigger—arms, chest, legs, backs, and unfortunately even midsections. With the advent of smarter training, better nutrition, and a little chemistry, what we see on the bodybuilding stage today could have been something out of a circus act in the 90’s. Bodybuilders of today are larger than life. If you want to feel like you’ve never worked out in your life, go stand next to one of them. Are mass freaks still going to be the future of bodybuilding?
It all started with Arnold. He truly build the future of bodybuilding and put it on his shoulders. When Arnold entered the sport he changed everything.
His physique, his confidence, his cockiness, his mass, it all changed the game. Then came guys like Yates, Wheeler, Ray, Levrone—followed up by some guy named Ronnie Coleman who further took bodybuilding to the next level and changed it forever. While the bodybuilders of the 90’s were built with slabs of muscle, when Big Ronnie Coleman walked on stage after turning pro, the judging seemed to really shift in the direction of freaky mass monsters.
Look at the competitors of today now—Phil Heath, Kai Greene, and Mamdouh Elssbiay. Mamdouh Elssbiay? Who the hell is that you ask? You might know him by the name, Big Ramy. All of whom are built like a brick shithouse. Who will take things to the next level once this era passes? Look no further than a competitor who’s only 24—Cody Montgomery. This beast has a bright future ahead of him if he continues to add muscle to his frame.
Another young up and comer is 25-year-old Dallas McCarver along with 28-year-old Justin Compton who could both be the future of bodybuilding. Alongside other up and comers, the future of the sport looks promising. Plenty of fresh blood hitting the weight in hopes of one day taking home the Sandow that all competitors dream of. If these youngsters keep training as if they were looking to place first at every show, there’s no reason they couldn’t be standing on stage and be holding their very own Sandow.
Flip Flop Judging Could Change the Future of Bodybuilding
It goes without saying that there has been some controversy over the years on what the IFBB judges are looking for on stage. One show they are rewarding the guy who came in totally shredded with striated glutes and feathered quads. Then the very next show they would reward the guy who came in the biggest even though they were sporting a bubble gut as if they were giving birth to a baby any day. Slowly you could see a complete changeover in the direction of the sport. This could negatively affect the future of bodybuilding.
The judges were awarding more and more of the mass freaks that took the stage. A great example of this was Ronnie Coleman. Now let’s not get it twisted, Ronnie Coleman could very well be the best bodybuilder of all time as it stands right now—winning eight straight Mr. Olympia titles in a row which is no easy feat and nothing to do with luck. At the time, he was the future of bodybuilding and lived up to the hype.
So what if I were to tell you that there was someone who is on the verge of breaking the IFBB record for the most wins in a career (26) currently held by The King, Ronnie Coleman? A man who in my opinion doesn’t really get mentioned or much respect going into the Olympia. We are used to hearing about Kai Greene, Phil Heath, Big Ramy, and other mass freaks. But what about Dexter Jackson? Dexter is one win away from being the all-time leader with the most wins in IFBB history—27. Is it possible that Dexter can take this prestigious award from Ronnie and still not be in the same sentence as Big Ron? As sad as it may seem, it appears so.
If you had a crystal ball, what would the future of bodybuilding look like in your eyes?
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