Yeah... it would SUCK to have calves like this.

he's probably 5'2 and therefore... not a threat.

big belly.

Ron is the man, his message board practicaly revolutionized the industry.  Many, MANY props to our humble mod/leader/overlord. 

"I'm sooooo starting to worry top name pros."

I just thought of that.  Poor Chris "woulda shoulda coulda" Cormier.

You didn't know??

In light of tonight i'd say it COULD include, in no order;
Ronnie
Jay
Dex
Warren
Gustavo
Gunter
Possibilities include:
Vic- even though he appears to be going downhill and his waist is ever expanding.
Melvin- He needs to fill out and keep tonight's conditioning
Darrem- homeboy needs to hold up a sign to get the judges attention
Markus- Needs to regain his size while not regaining the gut.
Lee-  If he had come in looking like he did 3 days out of the iron man... damn.
Alves- If he nailed his conditioning.

Dennis James- he needs to get conditioned and drop the gut

Dorian managed to make a career out of it and he didn't kill himself while getting incredibly dry.  Its the guys who try to do last minute stuff (mustafa) or are just wildly irresponsible with their health and drug use (momo, munzer) that get hurt in the "not so long" run

He suffers the old fashioned way and doesn't drink water for days as opposed to letting lasix do all the work.  Dorian did the same thing and it equals a super shredded, grainy look. Shawn and Kev used to do it too.  Not to say that all the aforementioned athletes didn't use some form of diurhetic (sp?), but they didn't rely on it as heavily as others did.
Plus, branch trains very heavy and started on the basics... especially the squat.

He's now won two shows, placed 8th in his first Olympia and had a 2nd place at the arnold beating two guys in the top five from last years olympia.  I say yes, he is and that he is now a definite top 6 threat at the O.

He's the only one in the top four with no distention AT ALL.

oh, my bad.

and is it just me or is melvin wildly overrated???  I think he looks good, but his shape and structure aren't that great and he looks really narrow lately.

I never said he looked odd, i said he looked older than his years.

Yeah, he does look a bit older than his age, but if he had a full head of hair (i started going bald at 15 and know from the copious amounts of alcohol i was able to buy thereafter that being bald makes you look a LOT older) and wasn't so ridiculously shredded, he wouldn't look like that.  In a recent  MD (the olympia one i think) they have pics of him where's he's near contest ready and not so "drawn in" in the face and looks a lot better.  A couple girls who where at my house said that with the beanie/skullcap on he looked like that lame irishman... umm, collin farrel.

I personaly think that Warren's physique wouldn't have looked out of place in the 90's with flex, chris, ronnie, nasser, etc... He might not have been winning shows, but he doesn't have the Slin/GH look that everyone else has today.

I think if branch got any sharper he's be entering momo/munzer zone.  he's already about as conditioned as any living bodybuilder has ever been.

If those pics are indicative of poor symmetry then what do you say about the symmetry of gustavo, vic and dex??

Find me pics where victor looks better that aren't from the back.


THICK!


Now, there are only two poses from the rear, and yes branch's BACK isn't that great yet, but his legs sure are from the rear and he's peeled regardless.  
Front Double Biceps- Branch
Front Lat spread- Dex
Side Chest- Branch
Side Tri- Branch
Ab and Thigh- Branch
Rear Lat spread- Dex
Rear Double Bi- Vic
Most Muscular- Tossup, but probably vic or dex
Conditioning- Branch
Symmetry- Branch
Lack of stomach distention- Branch
Best appearance ever- Branch.
Not their best ever- vic, dex (looking small and collapsing) and gustavo.

His only flaw is that his back doesn't look great yet when he's not fully posed.  His ab and thigh is the best out there, his side tri is the best out there, his conditioning is the best out there, his legs are the best out there, his chest in the best out there,his abs and serratus are the best out there.  His overall balance might be the best out there as well.  And i also want to add that he's the only guy in the top 4 who doesn't suffer from stomach distention.  THAT- is something to look at if you are a judge.  he fits the new mandate to a "T".

watching levrone pose reminds me i don't think very highly of jay cutler.  When levrone posed, thigns happened, muscles popped and jumped.  When cutler poses, NOTHING HAPPENS!

This guy is the new chris cormier, a career of "what if(s)." What a shame.

I would like to also point out that flex's pics make everyone look as how flex/the ifbb wants them to look.   Its the same story here as the olympia.  Remember how shitty ronnie looked in the flexonline pics and then when other sites posted pics everyone kinda rubbed their respective heads and thought to themselves, " hmmmm..."  If you're looking for accurate pics (if there is such a thing) don't go to flexonline.

Post of the year (comedy-wise at least)