Over 35 at the Mr. O: Professor M's first pro show!

[mharrislove]

202 first callout: Jose, Flex, Correa, Dugdale, Henry, and English!

[A-Train]

Henry's a DC guy so I'm in his corner for this one, MHL. Looks like you're having a good time and you have a nice haul from the expo on Day 1. The online commentary seemed to indicate Dexter was getting harder as the prejudging went on (you knwo what I mean) and his conditioning was spot on. Jay looked amazing though based on what I saw. Branch is a freak and my guy but I don't think he has the aesthetic component like Dex, Heath, and now Cutler bring to the table.

Looking forward to the finals report......

[mharrislove]

Stan, Gee, Devis, and Dim in 3rd group; Stan's in shape, Gee is fading, and Dim looks sharp - need a comparison with the 2nd group

Tricky and Jason added to 1st group (minus Henry and English)

David Henry, individual routine


Early impressions: another dog fight between Henry and English - both are ready (and huge)! Henry is sharper than his earlier contest appearances

Correa is very sharp, but Jose is holding water

Flex is in much better condition than his previous show; the callouts suggest that he has not closed the gap with the top two

Devis impressed when standing alone - good condition and color, crazy thigh cuts; I like the more traditional routine he's doing - it's not so manic ... Oops, spoke too soon...music change followed by jerky movements

English is up now; tells the other 202 competitors to get ready to get schooled in "English 101!". He is big...very big; probably not as razor sharp from the back as in the NY show

It's Henry's turn...chest striations from hell, decent quad fullness, thick, thick back; his conditioning in the legs from the rear may be off a tad (like with English); he's calling himself the "bad guy" during the routine; he's visibly motivated - he really wants this one

Flex's routine is more subdued than Henry's or English's, but his shakin' those huge quads before nailing the poses. And truth be told, he is sharper than those other guys from the rear. Without the over-dieting of his last outing, Flex's improvements in arm mass were apparent, but he can't match the front runners in width and thickness. At least, not yet.

[mharrislove]

I train alone. I'm not whining, I'm just sayin'. Training alone allows for a lot of flexibility, but one is often able to push harder when there is a trustworthy spotter on hand.

My first training partner from Detroit (starting in 1982), Tony, was in town to attend the show, so I was just as excited about training together as I was to see Mr. O get crowned this year. We agreed to cut our Expo exploits short, make the journey to the Gold's Gym on Flamingo Road and get to work...

I have been training for about 10 months since my return from layoff purgatory. My goal has been to match my best shape (strength and conditioning) after 12 solid months of gym time. One of the concrete goals was to handle 120 lb DBs for flat chest presses again by November. However, I was reunited with my gym partner, so today was the day to test the limits. Here's what happened:


Arriving at the east Las Vegas Gold's Gym. This was a great place to challenge ourselves. The staff is dedicated, the members are down to earth, and people are there to handle their business. We'll be back...




I am not a naturally strong bench presser, so I give a lot of effort to attaining respectable numbers in my pressing movements. After walking the gym to figure out where stuff is and warming up, we got started. I hit the flat bench and climbed up the DB rack using 95 lbs, then 105 lbs, and finally the attempt at 120 lbs. Having a spotter made a world of difference coming out of the hole; I got in a few good reps and let 'em crash down to the floor. I couldn't believe that the November goal was reached in September!




After a short break to spot Tony. We headed to the Hammer decline chest press. I just set a PR on this thing about 2 weeks ago, but that was with it as the lead off chest exercise. It was stupid to try to hit that PR again after the DB work, but I was riding a wave, so I just kept going...

Warm up set for 10...




After the working set for 5...my depth was dicey due to the heavy DB work, but it got done (photo was after the lift, because Tony was taking the video footage too)



We'll get in another meal and then get ready for the evening show at the Orleans Arena. This has been a great trip. We have seen some truly great athletes battle each other in competition, and we have aspired to be great in our own small way by pushing our limits as athletes. Tony and I will not be Olympians, but we can and will improve on what we have. This is what the bodybuilding ethos is all about.

[2nd_chance]

Hey MHL congrats on reaching your goal early! Sweet.

[mharrislove]

202 Showdown final 5: Flex, Henry, Dugdale, English, and Correa

Figure final results: 6th, Stern; 5th, Fry; 4th, Richardson; 3rd, French; 2nd, Gina (damn...); 1st, Lee (she did look great as well)

[mharrislove]

202 finals:

5th, Flex (say what???)
4th, Dugdale
3rd, Correa (crowd says "boo!!!")
2nd, Henry (crowd is NOT happy)
1st, English! (wow...)

[mharrislove]

Mr. O top ten:

Branch
Hide
Kai
Jay
Vic
Toney
Rockel (finally!)
Mo (What? Over Silvo? No way...)
Heath
Dex

10th: Mo
9th: Hide
8th: Toney (moderate booing)
7th: Rockel (wow!)

Sh*t just got real... Comp time...

Move Branch next to Dex!

Dex and Jay in the center...Jay eggs on the crowd

Posedown!

Kai next to Jay, back shots

Jay jumps off of the stage! The others chase him and continue the posedown...

Heath goes after Dex; Jay is alone doing victory laps and hitting MM shots in the far corner of the stage. The Las Vegas home crowd has him energized

Branch goes after Heath on back shots(?!!) Jay gestures (graciously) to Dex for one more comparison shot; the posedown is over

6th: Vic (crowd mostly agrees)
5th: Heath (crowd boos)
4th: Kai! (wow...Branch moves up)
3rd: Dex!!!! (brain just imploded...)
2nd: Branch...
1st: Jaaaaaayyyyy ("Jay Cutler, Jay Cutler, Jay Cutler!!!", Bob yells)

Lights flash, confetti falls, explosions sound, an unbelievable show...

[A-Train]

Both of my guys finish second! Awesome showing for Branch. And Iowa Whooped PSU 21-10. Good ngiht for the Train! MHL your taining partner is big boy! Looks like you guys had a good time at Golds and used the weekend's motivation to your advantage. Start planning for C-bus in March.

[Fiend_73]

Wow, who saw Branch ever taking 2nd place at a Mr. O before this?
Props to Jay for making the changes, a damn good Olympia.

and thank-you OP, great thread and pics!

[Fiend_73]

bump

[mharrislove]

Originally Posted by 2nd_chance

Hey MHL congrats on reaching your goal early! Sweet.

Thank you, my friend. My chest is sore as hell today, but it was worth it. The weekend activities just reaffirm that returning to the gym is one of the best things I could have ever done.

Originally Posted by A-Train

Both of my guys finish second! Awesome showing for Branch. And Iowa Whooped PSU 21-10. Good ngiht for the Train! MHL your taining partner is big boy! Looks like you guys had a good time at Golds and used the weekend's motivation to your advantage. Start planning for C-bus in March.

Hey, congratulations on the Iowa game! I'm definitely giving the Arnold Classic some thought after attending this show...I just hope I can make it work!

Originally Posted by Fiend_73

Wow, who saw Branch ever taking 2nd place at a Mr. O before this? Props to Jay for making the changes, a damn good Olympia.

and thank-you OP, great thread and pics!

You know, I kept saying to myself that "Branch looks pretty good", but my brain would not allow me to consider that the judges would ever place him as high as second. When they moved him next to Dex, I thought that signaled consideration of a move from 4th to 3rd. Shows you what I know... Anyway, the crowd here had no trouble with the placing!

I'll try to put up the last of my pics by this evening.

[mharrislove]

Highlights from the seminar:

Jay Cutler has opened the door to return to the Mr. O stage in 2010.

A surprise appearance was made by Melvin Anthony who stated that he had himself placed as high as 7th, and that there's no way that Mo beat him in the show.

An emotional Kevin English had to regain his composure several times as he conveyed how important the 202 win was to him, and he highlighted his sense of urgency due to the limited time that he has left to compete.

Iris Kyle has serious dedication: she was crowned the Ms. O champ for a 6th time this weekend and she has worked out at least twice in Vegas since her win ("oh honey, 24 Fitness just loves me...")! Iris also had some interesting things to say about Linda Murray. You may recall that Iris was very aggressive in vocally campaigning for the Ms. O title after a few 2nd place finishes. She revealed that she "cleared the air" with Linda regarding what was said and that she owes Linda a lot regarding her career. Moreover, Iris revealed that she plans to compete for another 5 to 6 years and would like to break Linda's Ms. O victory record.

David Henry made it clear that he did not agree with the 202 decision, and that a real champion wins their title "at least twice." So, he will be back to battle next year.

Phil Heath shared the story of him refusing to accompany EMS for admission to the hospital after experiencing severe GI problems on the eve of the contest. He admitted being "pissed off" about getting 5th place, but said that he "deserved it" and would work hard to come back and "re-establish" his career.

Based on both of their comments, Dexter Jackson and Phil Heath are on a collision course to meet at the next Arnold Classic! Dex also repeated that he never claimed to be the best bodybuilder in the world, but was good enough to step up to the plate because "Jay hadn't been in shape over the past 5 years..." He backtracked a little bit and called Jay a great champion, but called Branch Warren's placement over him "a slap in the face."

The enigmatic Kai Greene was elusive about his upcoming competition plans and would not publicly commit to doing the Arnold next year - despite multiple attempts by Bob to extract the information!


The seminar panel



Talkin' 202 with David Henry



Flex greeting fans



Phil Heath



Meeting your 2009 Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler!

[Old-Time-Lifter]

Awesome pics!!! Looks like a great trip!! I'm jealous!

[the3dwizard]

Op, I freaked after reading your thread and looking at my pics. I think I took one of you. Isn't that you in the lower left?!!

[Old-Time-Lifter]

WOW............ small world!

[Ctrainer]

Rep!!

[mharrislove]

Originally Posted by the3dwizard

Op, I freaked after reading your thread and looking at my pics. I think I took one of you. Isn't that you in the lower left?!!

I can't believe it... Yeah, that's me trying to maximize my take at the Expo! The camera seems to add about 20 lbs to that bag...I didn't realize it was so huge. Thanks again for sharing the pic!

[mharrislove]

Originally Posted by Old-Time-Lifter

Awesome pics!!! Looks like a great trip!! I'm jealous!

Originally Posted by Ctrainer

Rep!!

Thanks, guys! Here are the last batch of the photos from the weekend:


202 Top 5!



Victor Konovalov



Correa's BDB



Former training partner about to unleash a beat down against the Met-Rx "Punch-O-Meter"



Brandon Curry



Jay greeting a fan at the seminar



A bathroom, with a healthy sense of humor, at the Las Vegas Hilton

[mharrislove]

Originally Posted by DaddyR

Oh man! Awesome! Please please please keep posting your thoughts and pics etc.! I came SO CLOSE to going myself for the first time this year, and then a seminar that I had to attend for work came up and I wasn't able to do it. I am so bumming right about now, but hearing your experiences is just so cool! Please do keep sharing!

Originally Posted by Tifflex

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

No problem...this was a great way to document my first pro show experience...

Originally Posted by Old_Swole

I watched the webcast last night but I think your behind the scene pictures are just as entertaining. Once again thanks for taking time to share with us. So will you be driving a new car home due to huge winnings at the Black Jack table???

Thanks a lot! But no Black Jack winnings for me...I don't gamble. Not that I could after coughing up the funds for the tickets and hotel!

[Venumb]

Excellent pics and stories..thanks for sharing! repped.