Poll - Would it even be possible for Levrone to make a comeback?

[smblkolds]

I don't think he has anything to prove. Especially to us. He's done it.

[sikboy]

I agree with this. Several of my favourite pro's, I am dissapointed to see the way they train in the gym. Wolf for example, i love the guy but his dvd training sucks. He uses machines for everything and goes about 4 reps from failure on most things. Everybody talks about his lack of back thickness or whatever, but his training routine looks like this;

pulldowns
more pulldowns
underhand cable rows
more cable rows
stupid lat pulldown

Again, jay looks like a robot in the gym, just going though the motions..Victor, Dexter etc, **** they all don't train hard on their dvd's.

This is why I love ronnie and Ruhl's vids....they're beasts compared to this ****!

Ronnie/Ruhl and Dorains DVD's were awesome, cant go wrong with those fellas.

[Iron Monster]

Yeah but I doubt Serge took as much as Levrone or some of the other guys around that time or now, its a different ballgame.

Also, Serge is a genetic freak, and he stayed in shape year round and trained for hours a day with an almost cardiovascular routine. Its really hard to compare.

I dont credit his genetics for staying so healthy I credit his training style, which consists of extremly light weight. So its easier on the body. And im betting Serge took a LOT. Your talking about a man who ate 800 grams of protein a day. The old timers did everything in excess. May not have had the same compounds, but what they did have they ate like candy.

[RippedGuitarist]

I dont credit his genetics for staying so healthy I credit his training style, which consists of extremly light weight. So its easier on the body. And im betting Serge took a LOT. Your talking about a man who ate 800 grams of protein a day. The old timers did everything in excess. May not have had the same compounds, but what they did have they ate like candy.

Well I don't doubt that he didn't take a lot. I just don't think its as much as what the guys take now, that's all I was saying. I do think his health does have a lot to do with his routine though too.

[Iron Monster]

I agree with this. Several of my favourite pro's, I am dissapointed to see the way they train in the gym. Wolf for example, i love the guy but his dvd training sucks. He uses machines for everything and goes about 4 reps from failure on most things. Everybody talks about his lack of back thickness or whatever, but his training routine looks like this;

pulldowns
more pulldowns
underhand cable rows
more cable rows
stupid lat pulldown

Again, jay looks like a robot in the gym, just going though the motions..Victor, Dexter etc, **** they all don't train hard on their dvd's.

This is why I love ronnie and Ruhl's vids....they're beasts compared to this ****!

That doesnt mean theres no intensity there. My workouts are more intense then anyone elses i've seen in my gym. But they dont look that way, because I dont grunt, I dont scream, I dont let the plates and stacks slam. But this is because its how I work out. I am so focused its like im not there. To watch me workout would be boring, but it does not mean that im not being intense, or that im not going until failure. Just because it doesnt look like they are going to failure doesnt mean that they arent. Remember, failure means the last set you can do with perfect form, not the last set you can do period, by using sloppy form.

[DiamondDelts]

I had the pleasure of talking to Kevin once. He told me that when he trains that's all he focuses on is his training. He doesn't deal with his music or practice with his band, he doesn't attend social events, surf on the net, go out on dates or get involved in relationships. All of his time is dedicated to eating, training, posing, resting, etc. He focus his mind on what he needs to do and block out any and all distractions.

If Kevin wanted to make a come back I have confidence that he can do so very successfully. But he doesn't. He wants to live life. He wants to do all the things he rejected during all those years of prepping.

He earned it.

Superb post. If only the less cognitive members here could fully understand that last sentence in your post. This foolish comeback talk would be laid to rest where it belongs.

[bongd]

Pfft, you obviously don't know what hard training is. Kevin didn't train hard and neither did any of the other pros that i've seen. In fact the only pro i've seen who trains really hard is Ruhl, the rest of them just treat it like a walk in the park, they don't take their sets to failure or even near-failure.

LMFAO. And you train harder than the pro's right? Training is only a very small equation. Diet is another huge component that you wouldn't even be able to fathom. You need to stimulate the muscle, not punish it and completely destroy it. Pros understand this and that's part of the reason why they have copious amounts of it.

Until you share your amazing contest pictures with sheaths of muscle, please shut up.

[naturalgut]

With his genetics and work ethic, he could come back, but to what end? He's already won more titles than almost any other Pro, and the only reason (other than 'to prove that he can still do it,' 'for the fans' or 'for the love of the sport') would be to win the Olympia. He could do damage in the 202, but to win the Olympia would be improbable given his current size, age and the quality of the top five.

[jjdrum06]

With his genetics and work ethic, he could come back, but to what end? He's already won more titles than almost any other Pro, and the only reason (other than 'to prove that he can still do it,' 'for the fans' or 'for the love of the sport') would be to win the Olympia. He could do damage in the 202, but to win the Olympia would be improbable given his current size, age and the quality of the top five.

i agree 100 percent.

[Uz]

Pfft, you obviously don't know what hard training is. Kevin didn't train hard and neither did any of the other pros that i've seen. In fact the only pro i've seen who trains really hard is Ruhl, the rest of them just treat it like a walk in the park, they don't take their sets to failure or even near-failure.

Says the guy who thinks he can armbar a gorilla.

Originally Posted by magnabolt:
I think a BJJ practictioner could probably beat the ****er though. When the gorilla goes to strike you, surely you could get them in an armbar to render their limbs ineffectual. A gorilla wouldn't know WTF to do if you got them in an armbar. Next you take him down, pull an Americana on him then while you have the mount you could quickly pull out the knife and stab the ****er before he could do anything else.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108333201

[DiamondDelts]

Says the guy who thinks he can armbar a gorilla.



http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108333201

Lol. Please tell me he was joking.

[goddessamazon]

Says the guy who thinks he can armbar a gorilla.



http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108333201

WHAT THE??????


Oh nevermind. That came from the misc section.


Carry on!

[Uz]

Lol. Please tell me he was joking.

Nope he was dead serious, it's pure gold, lol...

First of all, retard, the animal in question is a gorilla, not a chimpanzee. Incase your infantile excuse for a brain has yet to comprehend this, the gorilla and the chimpanzee are not the same animal.

And even so, 7 times the strength of a human is alot of different from 15 times the strength of a human, as a previous poster was trying to argue.

From http://www.honoluluzoo.org/chimpanzee.htm (on chimpanzees):
"They also eat many different types of insects, however termites are the most nutritionally important.....Birds are occasionally eaten. Mammals such as monkeys, pigs and antelope are also eaten, particularly by males"

As you can see, chimpanzee's actually consume protein-rich foods, unlike gorillas. Therefore it would be understandable that the chimp has the strength equivalent to 7 men. Gorillas however, eat ****in leaves and vegetation and you're telling me they are as strong as 15 MEN WHO PROBABLY WEIGH 180 LBS EACH AND PROBABLY EACH CONSUME 90 GRAMS OF PROTEIN PER DAY? It is physically not possible.

I have completely dismantled all of your fallacious claims with my scientifically plausible arguments, with the aid of facts. Nobody has posted anything that even comes close to disproving my argument. I would have expected more of the misc.

[DiamondDelts]

Bogus information from that ****hole known as the misc. Why am I not surprised.

[Uz]

Bogus information from that ****hole known as the misc. Why am I not surprised.

lol

[Northman69]

somone please ban me, this IFBB pro section is almost the Misc section ..

[wlf.vik83]

Levrone is my hero. My favorite BB of all time. I would have loved to see him make a comeback.

But the video clearly shows that the man is not interested anymore. This is the only reason why he will not make a comeback.

If he wants to comeback and has a burning desire.. he will do it.

But, i did not see that in the video. He is through with BB. He is not coming back.

[Captain Sagara]

Those of you who were sooooooooo horrified over that video probably tried to commit suicide during your youth when you found out that Santa Clause wasn't real.




Yeah I said it!

He's not real????

[magnabolt]

LMFAO. And you train harder than the pro's right?

Yes, and so do 90% of the gym rats I have come across.

Training is only a very small equation. Diet is another huge component that you wouldn't even be able to fathom.

What exactly is so hard to fathom about it?

You need to stimulate the muscle, not punish it and completely destroy it. Pros understand this and that's part of the reason why they have copious amounts of it.

This is a half-truth. The statement is true, but it's only true for pro bodybuilders, not Joe Average. Pros are able to train the way they do and get the results they do, quite simply, because of their drug and supplement regime. Superior genetics are another factor of significant importance, but we'll focus on the drug issue for the time being.

Steroids are the training wheels of bodybuilding. They allow one to "cheat" their training and still get the results that would normally only be gotten by training correctly. They do this by widening the "optimal training zone" - the level of training volume and intensity that will best stimulate muscle growth. Your ability to stay in the optimal training zone is directly proportional to your ability to recover and grow from that training.

This is why the optimal training zone varies from individual to individual. For a bodybuilder with a poor diet and inadequate rest, the optimal training zone will be so narrow as to be virtually non-existant; no matter what kind of training they do, their results will only be negative. For a bodybuilder with optimal nutrition and sufficient rest, their optimal training zone is what we'll call the "standard." Quality supplementation can widen the optimal training zone very slightly. That is, it allows one to train "on the edge," or train in a way that would normally constitute slight overtraining, which allows them to better stimulate muscle growth and get better results. Similarly, they allow the same person to train in a way that would normally constitute slight undertraining - training with a level of intensity that would normally be insufficient to stimulate muscle growth, yet still fosters muscle growth.

Drugs such as anabolic steroids serve the bodybuilder by greatly exaggerating the optimal training zone - boosting the body's recovery ability to the point that allows them to undertrain or overtrain and still get the results they are looking for (provided that their nutrition and rest are adequate, of course).

My point in all of this is that, with the drug and supplementation regime of pro bodybuilders (as well as favourable genetics), their optimal training zone is so much wider than the drug free individual that virtually anything they do in the gym is going to give them great results.

When you watch an IFBB pro training, you are watching a guy on training wheels - a guy who knows what he's doing is going to give him results, even though he is "cheating" his training. That's why it appears that they are not training hard, or giving it their all - because they are not. They don't need to. The pro bodybuilders simply do what works for them in the gym - but what works for them does NOT work for the genetically average, drug free individual. They can either push themselves to the limit and train "on the edge" to stimulate additional muscle growth and get even better results, or they can take it slightly easy by undertraining and STILL get great results. Why bust your arse in the gym when you don't need to?

My original point stands. Kevin Levrone did not get where he is today because he worked his arse off in the gym. He got where he is because of an excellent diet, drug and supplementation regime, combined with the gift of highly favourable genetics, and probably a bunch of other stuff which is irrelevant to this discussion (ie supportive family, belief in god, blah blah blah). Yes he did his dues in the gym, but I doubt his work ethic was vastly superior to 1000's of other bodybuilders out there who are not and will NEVER be elite. I am not criticizing Kevin Levrone, or any other pro bodybuilder for that matter, I am criticizing the people who aggrandize them by trying to perpetuate the falsehood that they built their physiques all through hard training, and that Joe Average could do the same if he wanted to.

Kevin Levrone is a genetically gifted individual who made the most of what he was given, which cannot be said for most people on this planet.

Until you share your amazing contest pictures with sheaths of muscle, please shut up.

I can't share my amazing contest pictures because I don't have any. Nor do I have "sheaths of muscle" to share with you; I don't bodybuild anymore. I can share with you, however, the very obvious fact that most IFBB pros do not exactly train with a level of intensity that would leave onlookers in awe.

[Duckenheimer]

just keeping it real when i say every single ifbb 202 bodybuilder will have to have better symmetry, proportion, muscle bellies, less distention, tie ins, trees tapers and taberknackles than any MR olympia winner.

[jjdrum06]

I agree with this. Several of my favourite pro's, I am dissapointed to see the way they train in the gym. Wolf for example, i love the guy but his dvd training sucks. He uses machines for everything and goes about 4 reps from failure on most things. Everybody talks about his lack of back thickness or whatever, but his training routine looks like this;

pulldowns
more pulldowns
underhand cable rows
more cable rows
stupid lat pulldown

Again, jay looks like a robot in the gym, just going though the motions..Victor, Dexter etc, **** they all don't train hard on their dvd's.

This is why I love ronnie and Ruhl's vids....they're beasts compared to this ****!

this is because most pro's stick to the philosophy - "train smarter, not harder." training insanely hard isnt necessarily the best approach. its just cool to watch sometimes

[Curtiz]

This is why i hate this forum sometimes.

"oh because hes a pro it means...."

It doesn't mean ****.

Ill admit that they are dedicated and strong minded to get to where they are at, but you forget what the other 50% of the body is steroids plus genetics.

I have no doubt in my mind that natural gym rats train harder.

[battousai216]

Says the guy who thinks he can armbar a gorilla.



http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108333201

Nope he was dead serious, it's pure gold, lol...

wow...just wow

Yes, and so do 90% of the gym rats I have come across.




What exactly is so hard to fathom about it?




This is a half-truth. The statement is true, but it's only true for pro bodybuilders, not Joe Average. Pros are able to train the way they do and get the results they do, quite simply, because of their drug and supplement regime. Superior genetics are another factor of significant importance, but we'll focus on the drug issue for the time being.

Steroids are the training wheels of bodybuilding. They allow one to "cheat" their training and still get the results that would normally only be gotten by training correctly. They do this by widening the "optimal training zone" - the level of training volume and intensity that will best stimulate muscle growth. Your ability to stay in the optimal training zone is directly proportional to your ability to recover and grow from that training.

This is why the optimal training zone varies from individual to individual. For a bodybuilder with a poor diet and inadequate rest, the optimal training zone will be so narrow as to be virtually non-existant; no matter what kind of training they do, their results will only be negative. For a bodybuilder with optimal nutrition and sufficient rest, their optimal training zone is what we'll call the "standard." Quality supplementation can widen the optimal training zone very slightly. That is, it allows one to train "on the edge," or train in a way that would normally constitute slight overtraining, which allows them to better stimulate muscle growth and get better results. Similarly, they allow the same person to train in a way that would normally constitute slight undertraining - training with a level of intensity that would normally be insufficient to stimulate muscle growth, yet still fosters muscle growth.

Drugs such as anabolic steroids serve the bodybuilder by greatly exaggerating the optimal training zone - boosting the body's recovery ability to the point that allows them to undertrain or overtrain and still get the results they are looking for (provided that their nutrition and rest are adequate, of course).

My point in all of this is that, with the drug and supplementation regime of pro bodybuilders (as well as favourable genetics), their optimal training zone is so much wider than the drug free individual that virtually anything they do in the gym is going to give them great results.

When you watch an IFBB pro training, you are watching a guy on training wheels - a guy who knows what he's doing is going to give him results, even though he is "cheating" his training. That's why it appears that they are not training hard, or giving it their all - because they are not. They don't need to. The pro bodybuilders simply do what works for them in the gym - but what works for them does NOT work for the genetically average, drug free individual. They can either push themselves to the limit and train "on the edge" to stimulate additional muscle growth and get even better results, or they can take it slightly easy by undertraining and STILL get great results. Why bust your arse in the gym when you don't need to?

My original point stands. Kevin Levrone did not get where he is today because he worked his arse off in the gym. He got where he is because of an excellent diet, drug and supplementation regime, combined with the gift of highly favourable genetics, and probably a bunch of other stuff which is irrelevant to this discussion (ie supportive family, belief in god, blah blah blah). Yes he did his dues in the gym, but I doubt his work ethic was vastly superior to 1000's of other bodybuilders out there who are not and will NEVER be elite. I am not criticizing Kevin Levrone, or any other pro bodybuilder for that matter, I am criticizing the people who aggrandize them by trying to perpetuate the falsehood that they built their physiques all through hard training, and that Joe Average could do the same if he wanted to.

Kevin Levrone is a genetically gifted individual who made the most of what he was given, which cannot be said for most people on this planet.




I can't share my amazing contest pictures because I don't have any. Nor do I have "sheaths of muscle" to share with you; I don't bodybuild anymore. I can share with you, however, the very obvious fact that most IFBB pros do not exactly train with a level of intensity that would leave onlookers in awe.

ok, i didn't read all that but im just gonna say most people expect more from steroids then they could get IMO. I Know several people who have taken roids and don't have **** to show for it because they didn't train and/or eat right.

[Alfz]

I agree with this. Several of my favourite pro's, I am dissapointed to see the way they train in the gym. Wolf for example, i love the guy but his dvd training sucks. He uses machines for everything and goes about 4 reps from failure on most things. Everybody talks about his lack of back thickness or whatever, but his training routine looks like this;

pulldowns
more pulldowns
underhand cable rows
more cable rows
stupid lat pulldown

Again, jay looks like a robot in the gym, just going though the motions..Victor, Dexter etc, **** they all don't train hard on their dvd's.

This is why I love ronnie and Ruhl's vids....they're beasts compared to this ****!

Maybe because they don't change their routines just for a shoot/video?

(imo) Some pros add some exercises they usually don't do but is impressive during a shoot.

Then again, Jay might not be the most hardcore person around. But if he's done all these boring exercises to where he got to, hell i would do those too.

[DiamondDelts]

Ronnie f u c k e d up nerves in back

Rhul torn pec

Dorian torn bicep

See a trend here?

[siersy]

look at his legs its like he doesnt even have skin on insane conditioning