Phil Heath’s reign atop the bodybuilding world was never in danger—not this time, not after he locked in his rear double biceps. And yet this Mr. Olympia was, from top to near the bottom, one of the strongest of all time. Numerous competitors were at their peak, leading to a furious free-for-all for the remaining top 10 slots. It’s September of 2016. Let’s journey to Las Vegas for the 52nd Mr. Olympia.
YOU MAD, BRO?
Let’s talk about boredom. Let’s talk about the who-gives-a-crap malaise that can cloud a long reign of domination—Lee Haney pummeling another middleweight during his eight years on top, Sergio Oliva (in ’68) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (in ’71) living so large no one else dared to show up, Ronnie Coleman at three bills, too much to touch. And now we have Phil Heath, and legions of bodybuilding fans are yawning. They weren’t when it was Heath versus Jay Cutler or Kai Greene versus Heath, but now that the Gift’s not dueling with his mentor or his fierce-and-oh-so-bitter rival who’s going to make this interesting?
I put the boredom question to Heath two days before Friday’s first callout. “I think what happens is people deep down know that I’m better, and they think it’s boring, so then they want to root for another guy,” Mr. O answered. “But if it’s boring for them then I plan on bringing some excitement, because I definitely know that I have new muscle. I know people come to the Mr. Olympia to see the unbelievable. It’s like, although it’s a Ferrari, we’re tired of Ferraris. We want to see some concept car we’ve never seen before. Yes, this is great, but we wanted to be wowed.”
Bereft of a close challenger, we’ve turned to virtual posedowns and conjectures about how he would’ve faired against other lineups. I didn’t bring this up, perhaps because I’ve been a perpetrator. He did. “I’m just here trying to be the best I can be, and I think sometimes it takes the joy out of it to be compared to all these theories of what could be or what would be. This is what is. This is my reality. I’m here and I’m winning now.” He is indeed, although a lot of bodybuilding fans wish he’d lose. “I get it. People want to cheer for the underdog,” he said. “People want a close contest.” Those people were going to be disappointed, yet again, because it’s Phil Heath’s job to disappoint them. But they did see a fleet of phenomenal Ferraris, more than usual, and they were even wowed by some concept cars.
COMPETITOR NO. 9
Roelly Winklaar is a concept car. This year he pushed his dimensions to another level. He was already the owner of the world’s hugest arms and delts, but now his back width wows, too. The pieces don’t all fit together. His belly can distend. His rear double biceps is still overwhelmed by his arms and delts. And his quads need more width and separation to stay in line with his ludicrous upper half. But you gotta be what you gotta be, and going gargantuan is Winklaar’s best strategy.
COMPETITOR NO. 14
Last year, Mamdouh Elssbiay caused a sensation when he stepped on the scales at the athletes meeting and 316 appeared. Still, he was fifth in that Olympia, proving size isn’t everything. I argued that he had more than enough mass, and he’d have to dial in a lot more cuts to claim a Sandow trophy. This year, he brought a much different look to the stage. His weight was still listed at a lofty 290, but he looked to be 10 pounds under that by Saturday. Big Ramy had lost some of his wow factor, mostly because we’d seen his wheels and back broader before. But he had to decide: Do you want to just wow or do you want to win? He appeared a bit flat on Friday, but much sharper on Saturday. This somewhat-less-big Big Ramy with greater detailing and a superior flow is a concept car that should go into production.
COMPETITOR NO. 15
If bodybuilding was judged on who is best maximizing their potential, William Bonac would be Mr. O. Though standing only a generous 5’7” with narrow clavicles, he crammed 232 pounds of meat on his skeleton and stripped away any evidence of fat or water. One can nitpick. He’d benefit from fuller pecs and hamstrings. But in regards to muscle quality and conditioning, Bonac’s physique was superb. “It’s a big improvement compared to last year, so I’m really happy with it,” he said after finishing just three points out of fourth place (the closest call in the contest).
COMPETITOR NO. 16
Shawn Rhoden’s legs have long been his strength. This time his wheels seemed deflated. That’s the bad news. The good news is he’d brought up his previously weak back. The result was better balance, even if he’d lost some of the punch he had when the focus was mostly on his quads and abs. The perpetually cool Rhoden has an X-shape that could potentially x-out Heath, but he’ll need some of that concept car freakiness to get there.
COMPETITOR NO. 17
The Blade was a little dull this time. From the front Dexter Jackson’s legs lacked separation. His abs and thighs pose was all abs with precious few thigh lines. His side shots, however, were superb. With his feathered outer quads, his side chest pose was the best in the contest. This disparity in compulsory poses, with guys looking much better in some than others made sorting out the top spots (but not the winner) a chore for the judges.
COMPETITOR NO. 18
The biggest bodybuilding story of 2016 was the comeback of the legendary Kevin Levrone after 13 years off stages and at the age of 52. At the press conference the day before the contest, he peeled off his sweat suit jacket to reveal his trademark curvaceous delts and arms. From the front, his upper half looked like a slightly smaller version of him in the ’90s. He exceeded my modest expectations as he traded impromptu poses with Cedric McMillan and Josh Lenartowicz, though his back was less impressive, and, crucially, we didn’t see his legs.
A day later, as he strode to center stage to run through his poses, Levrone was propelled via legs that looked almost ordinary. His 50-something knees had not cooperated with squatting and leg pressing prodigious poundages. Although he was destined to not place for the first time in a career of 63 pro contests (only once before had he even missed the posedown), the crowd roared. On Saturday, if you squinted just enough as he struck his trademark shots to Creed’s “Who’s Got My Back?” you could imagine it was 20 years ago and he was in his prime and contending for the Sandow. But then we were all a lot younger then.
COMPETITOR NO. 19
“Obviously, a lot of people in this show have great quad development, and I didn’t think mine was lacking size. I just felt like I was lacking the density and the maturity. And, now that I’m 36, I needed to take advantage of these maturity years,” Phil Heath said backstage on Saturday when it was clear he was going to win. “So we really used different types of rep ranges, lots of eccentric movements, lots of holds, and a lot of recovery through dynamic stretching. I actually started researching different types of stretching techniques, and I realized I was so bound up that I wasn’t able to grow.
“Glute work was really important this year. A lot of times I’d avoid the glute machines, because they’re usually dominated by bikini competitors, but I realized if I got stronger glutes I could do better squats, so I could actually have a denser look from behind at a higher weight. Normally, to get striated glutes I have to drop weight and really kill myself on the cardio. I didn’t have to do that this time, because I was doing more leg training.”
The reigning Mr. O hit legs twice weekly in 2016, the only body part he doubled up on, and—including quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves—with as many as 25 exercises. As a result, his lower body was noticeably fuller. As for his weight, he said, “Last year I was 241 and still beat people on size. This time I was 246, and that was better. That five pound difference gave me that 3-D look that I’m known for.”
FIRST CALLOUT
Roelly Winklaar, William Bonac, Dexter Jackson, Phil Heath, Shawn Rhodan, Mamdouh Elssbiay. With top-six perennials Dennis Wolf and Branch Warren absent from the contest, their two emptied spaces were filled by the most predictable candidates: Winklaar (seventh last year) and Bonac (eighth last year). In pose after pose, it was clear Bonac would make the greatest leap. It was also a fait accompli that no one was going to challenge Heath.
NEW TOP CONTENDER
In the end, after Dexter Jackson lumbered off disappointed and only Phil Heath and Shawn Rhoden remained at center stage, there wasn’t much suspense to emcee Bob Cicherillo’s victory call. A wide gulf lay between first and second while second through fourth were bunched together. “Honestly, second through fourth changed a lot tonight, and it was very close,” head judge Steve Weinberger told me. “You could’ve mixed any of those guys up, and you could argue it all day long.”
“It’s a great feeling, a step in the right direction,” Rhoden said backstage with his silver medal and $150,000 check. “I didn’t feel as if the competition was as stiff as the end result says, but you just have to continue to move forward. I wish I’d had a callout with just me and Phil, pose for pose, but at the end of the day I’m thankful that I moved up.”
Rhoden will be 42 at next year’s Olympia, while Jackson will be two months shy of 48. In sharp contrast, Ellsbiay will be turning 33—the prime age for a bodybuilder. Heath, the 13th Mr. O, thinks Ramy is destined to be the 14th, though Heath only foresees this happening after he retires with 10 Sandows. “He’s starting to become his own person, and find his own path,” Heath said. “It’s not about just being bigger, it’s about being better.” On Saturday, Weinberger averred, “Ramy came back looking unbelievable tonight. He was really on, and he was very dangerous.” Having finally figured out how to dial it in and now that he’s more focused on wins than wows, Big Ramy is the new top contender. [Heath won his final Olympia in 2017, the late Shawn Rhoden won in 2018, Brandon Curry (who didn’t even place in the top 15 this year) won in 2019, and then Big Ramy won the next two years.]
CHASING ARNOLD
Phil Heath’s greatest competitors, however, are the legends who preceded him. With six Sandows, he’s now tied with Dorian Yates. All year long, every time he toiled in Armbrust Pro Gym in suburban Denver, the Shadow was staring down at him from a larger-than-life photo. “No matter where I am in the gym, I turn around and there’s Dorian, and it’s that shot, that [photographer] Kevin Horton shot of him hitting the side triceps with his black socks on.” Reaching the Yates’ level motivated Heath’s Olympia quest. Now just Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman, with eight Olympias each, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, with seven, stand between him and the record.
The Gift nearly choked up when I told him backstage during Saturday’s show that Arnold was in the front row with Franco Columbu. “Arnold is actually in my office in the gym. I see him every day, too. I love Arnold. He’s Arnold, man. He’s the reason why we bodybuild, not just because of how he looked, but his swagger was just unparalleled. To know that he’s here, I’m going to be very emotional if I win, because that means a lot. I need that nod from him. Because I’m already Mr. Olympia, but I want to be in that fraternity. It’s like you got three, that’s cool, but the cool kids are over here. Now that I’ve got six, I’m with Dorian. But if I get to Arnold…” he shook his head as he imagined reaching such a celestial height. “That’s what’s going to motivate me for seven, all year, to be up there with Arnold.”
2016 MR. OLYMPIA RESULTS
Sept. 17-18, 2016 / Orleans Arena / Las Vegas, Nevada
1. Phil Heath ($400,000)
2. Shawn Rhoden ($150,000)
3. Dexter Jackson ($100,000)
4. Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay ($55,000)
5. William Bonac ($45,000)
6. Roelly Winklaar ($35,000)
7. Cedric McMillan ($25,000)
8. Dallas McCarver ($20,000)
9. Josh Lenartowicz ($19,000)
10. Justin Compton ($16,000)
11. Victor Martinez ($4000)
12. Nathan DeAsha ($4000)
13. Steve Kuclo ($4000)
14. Ben Pakulksi ($4000)
15. Akim Williams ($4000)
The following competitors did not place and are listed here alphabetically.
Brandon Curry ($2000)
Kevin Levrone ($2000)
Michael Lockett ($2000)
Lukas Osladil ($2000)
2016 MR. OLYMPIA SCORECARD
This article originally appeared in the December 2016 Flex magazine in a slightly different form under the title “Sixth Sandow.”
