The 1990’s saw some of the greatest physiques in the history of bodybuilding. The 2000’s brought in even more genetic freaks with the dominance of Coleman and the consistency of Cutler. Now, Phil Heath sits high atop the mountain as the greatest bodybuilder in the world. But, like all things, change will come and the mighty will inevitably fall. What direction will bodybuilding take as the new generation of bodybuilders takes the lead in the IFBB? Will we see a return of the classic physique? Will mass monsters rule the day? Or will a young gun surprise everyone and contend with Heath for his crown? Follow along as I break down the hottest prospects in the IFBB, who looks to have the best chance for success this season and who can make a run at Phil’s title.
The Return of the Classic Bodybuilder
Nobody has a more classic and complete physique than Cedric McMillan. At 6’1’’ and 270lb, he resembles the black version of Arnold Schwarzenegger—but with much bigger and fuller legs. Where Cedric can improve is consistency. You really never know which Cedric is going to come on stage. At the 2012 New York Pro he looked incredible; he was hard, full, and dry. And then a few weeks ago in Columbus he pulled an amateur move by not wearing enough tan and posing oil. Combine that with not coming in dry enough and you end up in 6th place instead of cruising to his first major championship. I wonder how focused Cedric is on being an elite IFBB pro. How important is it to him? Does he eat, breath, and sleep it the way Jay, Phil, Kai, and Branch do? Like all professional sports, what separates the good from the great is from the neck up. Once Cedric decides he wants to be great everyone else should move out of his way. The other elephant in the room is Cedric’s gyno. It’s not the worst we’ve seen on stage by any measure, but with him now vying for Arnold and Olympia titles it’s valid to be nitpicky at this point in his career.
The hottest name in the IFBB last year wasn’t Branch Warren or Phil Heath; it was Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden. Shawn came out like gangbusters and surprised everyone with 4 pro wins and a stunning 3rd place at the Mr. Olympia. Shawn epitomizes the phrase “classic bodybuilder.” He’s not a huge guy that’s going to overpower anyone on stage, but at 235lb his muscles pop the way a 250lb bodybuilders look. His coach, Chris Aceto, uses the term “cartoonish” to describe Phil Heath and to me, Rhoden brings the same “wow” factor. Rhoden really has done no wrong since working with Aceto and removing his abdominal hernia that distracted from all of his front poses. For Shawn to really take a step at challenging Phil Heath for the Olympia crown he’ll need to add 10-15lb of quality stage weight in order to leap frog Kai Greene and be Phil’s top opponent.
When I think of throwback bodybuilders, or in this case, classical bodybuilders, I can’t help but think of Juan Morel. He reminds me so much of Kevin Levrone in the sense that Kevin looked pretty rough in the off season only to wow everyone when he would step on stage. Juan does the same thing. He’ll post pictures on his Twitter and he looks like a typical huge guy you’d see at the gym, impressive, but not a future elite IFBB bodybuilder. Then Juan announces his plans for competition and as each week passes he morphs into one of the most awesome bodybuilders in the world. If Juan can continue to patiently add more size to his frame without sacrificing his lines all while mastering his already impressive ability to peak for a contest, I could easily see Juan be the favorite to win any show he enters this year and even place very high if he chooses to compete at the Olympia.
Mass Monsters
Here’s the trouble with the mass monsters, of which I have three on my list: they’re all missing body parts. I’m fairly convinced, outside of the obvious dysmorphia that mass monsters have, they become mass monsters because they intend on bringing up weak body parts. The problem is, the body doesn’t work like that. The same way some women wish they could magically wave on wand on their saddle bags and they disappear, mass monsters can’t target a weak chest or calves, eat a bunch of calories, and inject a bunch of drugs and whip up some new muscle in places it never wanted to grow before; it doesn’t work like that.
Dennis Dennis Dennis…Wolf. The poor guy has been criticized over and over on having terrible calves and a weak lower back with high lat insertions. Outside of a miracle to human genetics Dennis will never be able to correct his deficiencies. He took off the Arnold Classic after two consecutive runner-up finishes with, my guess, to improve his “weak” areas for a huge showing at the 2013 Mr. Olympia. I’m not saying Wolf can’t shock bodybuilding and look different, but don’t expect magical calves to appear or anything that resembles a Dorian-esque back, because it isn’t going to happen. Instead of worrying about his weak parts he needs to figure out the formula for not flattening out over the course of a show. That would make an immediate impact on his placing. I’d like to see Dennis accept who he is and reign supreme by mopping up on the competition at the Europa shows and compete 5 or 6 times a year and build his legacy that way. Some guys just have their eyes set on too high of a prize.
Evan Centopani is another one I fear will try to expand his physique way past its limits to try to improve on his undersized chest. Evan is a real enigma; nobody looks more poised to dominate a stage than Centopani about 2 to 3 weeks out from any show he enters and then fans are left shaking their heads trying to figure out why he didn’t place higher. Now that he’s working with Chris Aceto instead of prepping himself, maybe we’ll see Evan compete at 100% of his potential – weak chest or not. I think Evan, unlike Wolf, can actually bring up his chest. He is so triceps and deltoid dominate that eventually the mass can accumulate whereas Wolf’s is genetic. Evan still needs more stage time and I think could really benefit by competing a few times a season before settling into the “Olympia or bust” mindset.
Ben Pakulski is a real mutant amongst men. Unlike the mass monsters listed above, Ben is actually the freakiest of them all. You see, Dennis and Evan are lacking little details on their already near flawless physiques. Ben on the other hand has major room for improvements on his back, chest, and arms. For a guy who competes in the 270’s, if he were to somehow complete his package we could be talking about a 300+ pound mega monster. Pakulski places very high in competition for his overall mass, superb conditioning, and aggressive stage presence. Once he actually rounds out his body with the other parts he will reinvent the phrase ‘Mass Monster.’ But can he fill himself out? We know that the guy is one of the most cerebral bodybuilders on the circuit so to think he isn’t ransacking the University of Tampa Sports Science Lab run by Dr. Jacob Wilson for a cure to his problem, you have something else coming. The guy has figured out how to pack on slabs of concrete mass to high legs yet when it comes to his back the same principals don’t apply. With Ben needing so many body parts to legitimately challenge for the Olympia his run to the top will likely be further down the line than his contemporaries.
The Rising Star
Nobody on my prospect list has more potential and combines both a classic physique with healthy serving of mass monster than Steve Kuclo. Once Kuclo matures into his body he will carry the torch for the IFBB for 10+ years. Steve still has a long way to go before reaching his potential, but at just 27 years old he’s got time on his side. For those who have stood next to the guy, you know he’s an absolute freak of nature. He’s every bit of 290 pounds and lean in the off season. Steve can still improve his chest, perfect his conditioning so it becomes consistent, and gain more stage experience before he’s a complete bodybuilder.
Kuclo has a touch of Cedric McMillan in him in that you don’t know which Steve is going to show up on contest day, but if he’s the peaked Steve, he can be overpowering. Also, like Cedric, Steve can have flare ups of gyno that can become noticeable at times. The two also hold down full time jobs which to me, although very responsible of them, seem counterproductive in a sport that rewards the ‘all or nothing’ mentality. I would like to see Kuclo compete at least 3 times in 2013. Let the IFBB judges warm up to his physique and he can also master his stage presence. It’s conceivable to think that in another two years we’ll be seeing Kuclo vie for Top 3 at the Mr. Olympia.
2013 and Beyond
Before the new crop of talent takes full control of the IFBB there’s still plenty of room on the stage for our current crop of superstars. We still have the return of Jay Culter and Victor Martinez. The Blade Dexter Jackson is on an absolute tear this season. Branch Warren will be back after taking time off before his return to the Olympia stage in September. And we can’t forget about the epic One-Two punch that was last year’s Olympia Final between Phil Heath and Kai Greene. As great as these guys are I fully expect one of my Hottest Prospects to upset the apple cart and shake up the placing’s as the 2013 season unfolds.
Until next week you can follow me on Twitter @MattMeinrod or online at www.MattMeinrod.com
