My Olympia wager!

[mayor of bodybuilding]

Did you see his latest back shot?????????????

Yes but won't touch Derek's back. Just my opinion. Bottom line an excellent Olympia coming up!

[lifepulse]

There's no doubt Samson's back is improving with each showing. Last year, his rear lat became a fairly strong shot. I feel his rear double is still lagging a ton, and that's where he's going to have a really hard time standing next to Derek. His lat attachments seem to be undersized for his frame. Not sure how much he can improve it, given the attachments, but this will be his fight over time (along with achieving grainy conditioning).


I'd love to see a tall guy (Samson) win the whole thing. He has some outstanding strengths.

[bigmikecox]

There's no doubt Samson's back is improving with each showing. Last year, his rear lat became a fairly strong shot. I feel his rear double is still lagging a ton, and that's where he's going to have a really hard time standing next to Derek. His lat attachments seem to be undersized for his frame. Not sure how much he can improve it, given the attachments, but this will be his fight over time (along with achieving grainy conditioning).


I'd love to see a tall guy (Samson) win the whole thing. He has some outstanding strengths.

If Andrew Jacked came in and won, I would not be shocked, but Derek is young and improving. Imagine him once he gets some more years under his belt and gets that mature look

[mayor of bodybuilding]

If Andrew Jacked came in and won, I would not be shocked, but Derek is young and improving. Imagine him once he gets some more years under his belt and gets that mature look

Andrew is such a freak of nature! The exciting part is unlike in the past the Olympia title is up for grabs!

[lifepulse]

If Andrew Jacked came in and won, I would not be shocked, but Derek is young and improving. Imagine him once he gets some more years under his belt and gets that mature look

Each of the standouts right now has certain assets that the others do not. Derek is a megafreak all around, with his shape and taper plus conditioning from the back that nobody else has. Andrew kinda has the same thing from the front, abs and pecs like we've never seen, looks like he was glued together like a Transformer in a lab. Walker has arms and density through forearm/arm/delts that is otherworldly and makes for some crazy shots, but looks weak in other shots. Hadi and Samson -- probably have the least "holy crap freak" aspects, but also probably have the best overall balance and lack of weaknesses, so are maybe the most complete.


Super hard to judge because each guy is kinda' dominant in certain areas, or in certain poses, but not in others -- Andrew is a world-beater from the front but thin from the side -- Nick is a world-beater from the side but weak from the front -- Samson is strong from the front and side but weak from the back -- Derek is a world-beater from the back but has weaknesses from the front. Super weird and hard to judge, but again, Derek has the most "wow" with the least weaknesses (along with Hadi, I see Derek and Hadi as basically the same person, lol), with Samson following those two.

[GeorgeUK]

Yes but won't touch Derek's back. Just my opinion. Bottom line an excellent Olympia coming up!

Derek's quads... : /

[lifepulse]

Samson's back is more weak than Derek's quads are IMO. Might change if Samson comes in shredded, but that also might make his back so thin that it really sets him back more -- so, very difficult to predict this one. Derek, despite not having the best quad shape, still has adductors that are so big and bloofy, his legs don't look undersized from the front, they're just not dense and pretty and striated like Hadi's.

[Bestia]

Derek's quads... : /

I've seen Derek's quads look good in the off-season. When he diets he loses the fullness. It also doesn't help with the horse riding stance doing most of his front poses

[lifepulse]

I've seen Derek's quads look good in the off-season. When he diets he loses the fullness. It also doesn't help with the horse riding stance doing most of his front poses

I think he loses that fullness because he gets more conditioned than everybody else, including Hadi (at least through the posterior). Hadi purposely came in "big and full" last year, and his whole backside was soft because of it. Yes his quads are denser and more detailed, not sure if that's a time thing, a genetics thing, a training thing (Hadi seems to train a LOT heavier than Derek does) -- but if Hadi comes in peeled this year, it will be interesting to see his quads next to Derek's.

[Bestia]

Hadis heavy, free weight training is noticeable in the full thick muscle it produces. While he does hacks and presses, he does squats and fronts and deads regularly and with serious conviction!

[GeorgeUK]

Hadi/Derek are short

[Bestia]

Hadi/Derek are short

This reads hilarious to me! Simple. Unavoidable. Only an issue though if the taller man is equally impressive..

Qualifiers = 1) I'm short -5"8 and 2) I thought Franco beat Arnold in 75 so I may be overly focused on the shorter guy in general.

In my mind it is 2 clear cut short guy contenders (Hadi and Derek) and 2 clear cut tall guy contenders (Samson and Andrew). Then there are 2 wild cards in Nick and Krizo that I don't believe will win an Olympia but I think will be fan favorites for most of their careers

[GeorgeUK]

This reads hilarious to me! Simple. Unavoidable. Only an issue though if the taller man is equally impressive..

Qualifiers = 1) I'm short -5"8 and 2) I thought Franco beat Arnold in 75 so I may be overly focused on the shorter guy in general.

In my mind it is 2 clear cut short guy contenders (Hadi and Derek) and 2 clear cut tall guy contenders (Samson and Andrew). Then there are 2 wild cards in Nick and Krizo that I don't believe will win an Olympia but I think will be fan favorites for most of their careers

Andrew isn't a contender. He was made to look slender.
I'm 5ft 8 also, but Hadi and Derek are way shorter than that.The only reason I'm pointing stuff out is to illustrate that there are many variables to consider. As a judge the sheer size and structure of someone is definitely something that has impact.