2012 Arnold - Prejudging photos

[njflex]

Agreed.  And, Pakulski absolutely destroyed Wolf with regard to lower leg comparisons.  Wolf had to be thinking, "Scheisse! Get me away from Herr Pakulski!"

injury or not wolfs calves are really bad considering how great his quads are,,,look tiny .

[RRKore]

Pakulski looks good in some poses, odd in others.

Pak needs overall back thickness but his traps are particularly woeful.  With a better back, I think Pak wins this thing.  
Unlike a lot of folks here, I can't overlook Wolf's complete lack of calves.  They look worse than the worst bodypart of any of the top 5, imo.

[willie mosconi]

Bodybuilding has really gone downhill. None of these guys would have placed in the top 10 during the 1990s

[wild willie]

Bodybuilding has really gone downhill. None of these guys would have placed in the top 10 during the 1990s

X2......Dex is the only guy up there who represents pleasing shape.

[BiGHer]

A lot of Branch hate on this thread, damn.  Did any of you guys watch the pre-judging or just looking at these photos.

Branch, IMO, won this contest.  Had the best condition by far.  Has a lot more dense muscle than Evan.  Especially in thickness front to back.  Legs are the best out there, obviously.  Structurally, Branch is the worst of the three and Wolf is the best.  Evan has the most overall potential, because to me, that dude could still carry another 20 lbs of lean muscle.  Still has work to do though and you gotta remember, Jay, Phil, and Kai are all not there at the Arnold.

Wolf is 2nd.  Continues to improve.  His back has improved (thank you Dennis James) and his lats aren't a glaring weekness.  Again, speaking structurally, he's the best out there.

Evan in 3rd.  He moved up from last year and made some sound improvements.  He's not winning the O this year and he's not winning the Arnold so for all you thinking this was gonna be Evans year, just be patient.  He may very well be Mr. O one day, but it's not happening in 2012.  Note: I like Evan and think he is a great bodybuilder, but he still has more time to put in.  

Ben Pakulski in 4th - I don't know if they'll give this spot to him, but that's how I saw it.  Dexter was off and Ben looked in great condition.  He needs to work on his back and also how he poses when he is facing the curtain.  He just doesn't look comfortable hitting a RLS or RDB.  Legs are a close 2nd to Branch's on that stage.  Upper body still needs to come up, but you can tell he made a lot of progress.

Dexter in 5th - I think this spot should go to Beyeke really, but I don't see them placing Dex out of the Top 5.  It's becoming more and more clear at every show though that Dexter is only getting older.  He's had an amazing career, but I think it's time he hangs up the trunks.  I hate seeing guys who get past their prime and then don't know when to let it go.  This will be the case with Jay in 2012 as well.  Dexter is never going to win an Arnold or Mr. O again.  Nor will Jay... I think it's best they step down and leave the sport while still at the highest end of it as opposed to waiting till they drop out of the top 10 placings to do so.

Interesting... I called the top 5 perfectly about 5 minutes after pre-judging...

Please Note: Metabolic told me I was delusional for some of the statements I made... Now knowing that I was dead on, I really can see how delusional I must be.  

[BiGHer]

i really don't get this evan hype shit

i understand it when it comes from the palumbo, PJay braun crowd who hope to be hangers on,  i understand it when it comes from the all American white hopers-   but i dont think this guy has what it takes- not this year, not next year, etc.

He has the palumbo look, just like his best friend PJay

I wouldn't say all this.  You're comparin Evan to PJ Braun... that's not fair.  PJ can't place top 5 on a National Level stage let alone the Arnold.  Evan is in a different realm than he is. 

[mesmorph78]

X2......Dex is the only guy up there who represents pleasing shape.

he should have won
when i looked at the pics he had the best phsique

[j_mtl]

just my 2 cents on this.....

even thouugh i like branch, well he looked like crap!
dennis or evan should have won the contest.... easily
ben should have been a solid 3rdish
beyeke was smoother than a babies behind
Correa reminds me of paco bautista.... very odd shape...not pleasing to the eye


All in all a very crappy show.... bbing is all about politics, but hey take for what is worth....ALL ENTERTAINMENT!!!

[Jaime]

Interesting... I called the top 5 perfectly about 5 minutes after pre-judging...

Please Note: Metabolic told me I was delusional for some of the statements I made... Now knowing that I was dead on, I really can see how delusional I must be.  

You think like a bodybuilding judge, Congratz....

[ARNIE1947]

Wtf happened to Gustavo B.?  Is he sick or something?   

[ARNIE1947]

[OptimusPrime1980]

comparing pics from different shows can be very decieving..... not the same light.... etc etc..
but he does look way smaller... deflated....
my guess is, he fucked up diuretics BIG time.....
makes you look smooth , and deflates the muscles as well... so you look twice as bad as normal......
his gut seemed less though.... lol.... 

[BiGHer]

comparing pics from different shows can be very decieving..... not the same light.... etc etc..
but he does look way smaller... deflated....
my guess is, he fucked up diuretics BIG time.....
makes you look smooth , and deflates the muscles as well... so you look twice as bad as normal......
his gut seemed less though.... lol.... 

I agree optimus, but you gotta consider the guys age here too.  Hasn't competed in a few years either.  I don't you're ever going to see this guy at the level he once was.

[Archer77]

Looks like Gustavo cut out everything but the bare minimum this time around..  No insulin or HGH, just straight test.

[wes]

I agree optimus, but you gotta consider the guys age here too.  Hasn't competed in a few years either.  I don't you're ever going to see this guy at the level he once was.

^THIS^

He`s more than likely done.

[OptimusPrime1980]

I agree optimus, but you gotta consider the guys age here too.  Hasn't competed in a few years either.  I don't you're ever going to see this guy at the level he once was.

dunno bro...
how old is Badell....?? not that old i think....
and lots of bb peak at 40.... or even over....
i think he fucked up big time.....
but yeah probably some stage rust as well.... lol...

[tbombz]

comparing pics from different shows can be very decieving..... not the same light.... etc etc..
but he does look way smaller... deflated....
my guess is, he fucked up diuretics BIG time.....
makes you look smooth , and deflates the muscles as well... so you look twice as bad as normal......
his gut seemed less though.... lol.... 

pretty sure gustavo thought muscle memory would allow him to get back up to his previous size without using as much drugs as he previously did. he looks like he stayed away from insulin completely and only used mild doses of GH, if any at all. his physique actually looked awesome, phenomenal yesterday.. just holding water and not big enough to be compared to the top guys.. as far as aesthetics go though he was #1 or 2

[bigmc]

the two comparisons of gustavo are with and without insulin

see how much tighter his waist is but his muscles have lost their pop

[OptimusPrime1980]

the two comparisons of gustavo are with and without insulin

see how much tighter his waist is but his muscles have lost their pop

yes i think he used less slin... but none at all at that level would be silly to even consider...LOL
hgh , they all use the same doses more or less.... the all you can get your hands on doses... 

he fucked up diuretics... i am sure of that....
fuck that up and 2 things happen..... the liquid IN the muscles gets eliminated, so the muscles lose their pop... fulness.....
and water under the skins stays..... so you actually look smooth.....
so that makes a bb smaller AND smooth..... resulting in a disaster....
i think he went for a tight and streamlined package.... with less slin..... and just fucked up diuretics.....
if he hadn't he probably would have looked very good.. because his waistline looked a lot better.....

[tbombz]

sometimes guys just dont want to use tha much drugs. gustavo took 2 or 3 years off completely. i dont think he was planning on coming back. he has a wife and a family. he placed top 3 at the mr. olympia twice. i think he felt pretty damn content with his success in bodybuilding and didnt care to use tons of drugs anymore. for whatever reason he got his motivation back, but i dont think it came along with the old willingess to inject as much as his body could tolerate.  he has a very nice look right now. its a throwback to a previous era. hed have done very well at the olympias of the 1980's.

[Papper]

Beyeke easily the best structure and proportions. Just needs to be sharper in the future, hes smooth here.

Wolf looks great his back has improved!

Great detail in evans bdb

[240 is Back]

gustavo looks like a totally different person.

[Archer77]

sometimes guys just dont want to use tha much drugs. gustavo took 2 or 3 years off completely. i dont think he was planning on coming back. he has a wife and a family. he placed top 3 at the mr. olympia twice. i think he felt pretty damn content with his success in bodybuilding and didnt care to use tons of drugs anymore. for whatever reason he got his motivation back, but i dont think it came along with the old willingess to inject as much as his body could tolerate.  he has a very nice look right now. its a throwback to a previous era. hed have done very well at the olympias of the 1980's.

This was my point as well.  He does look like he isn't using the everything but the kitchen sink regiment and he looks better for it. Goes to show that using all that shit doesn't necessarily mean a better physique.  Sad part is the guy was top three but now barely a whisper about him anywhere.

[njflex]

This was my point as well.  He does look like he isn't using the everything but the kitchen sink regiment and he looks better for it. Goes to show that using all that shit doesn't necessarily mean a better physique.  Sad part is the guy was top three but now barely a whisper about him anywhere.

his leg mass was most glaring ,but like everyone said he looked pretty good considering.look at his face is the most obvious change he looks younger in the face than other pics,looks healthy lol .

[Archer77]

his leg mass was most glaring ,but like everyone said he looked pretty good considering.look at his face is the most obvious change he looks younger in the face than other pics,looks healthy lol .

I concede you this point.  His legs are noticeably smaller.