The Romano Factor

If we're talking about the women, then you can absolutely say yes. One subtle indication might be the fact there is no longer a Ms. Olympia contest; proof, a jacked girl might reckon, that she'd be wasting her time trying to look like Iris Kyle. Women's physique is clearly a reboot - women's bodybuilding 2.0.

Insofar as it is, I see a difficult paradox brewing. Dana Linn Bailey and Juliana Malacarne are both the Olympian ideal for physique. However, the downstream contests lately seem to be rewarding women who are definitely leaning more toward bodybuilder. Now that there's an obvious push to rid the world of female bodybuilders, those who wish to still compete are entering physique contests and often placing over women who entered physique because they were too big for figure. 

A lot rests in the judges hands moving forward. I believe that there is going to be a period of adjustment while Women's Physique absorbs whatever disenfranchised bodybuilders it can. Be that as it inevitably may, as long as the Malacarne/Bailey physiques continue to reign supreme it will force the previous bodybuilders to continue to tone it down rather than push it the other way. Either way, as l said, in the case of the women, physique is definitely the new bodybuilding. The next question one might ponder is if the men can experience the same fate?

During his post Arnold Classic interview with Bob Cicherillo, Arnold Schwarzenegger stated quite emphatically that the male bodybuilder physiques, in vogue today, not only no longer look beautiful nor athletic, but they are also not physiques desirable by the masses. There seems to be a shift, according to Arnold, that guys interested in bodybuilding are not looking at today's bodybuilder and marveling at his physique's beauty and want to look like that himself. Blocky, unsymmetrical, and with his stomach sticking out, their physiques “look like  bottle.” With such harsh commentary by our industry's leading icon, it might make you question if men's bodybuilding is sizing itself out of the game, or, at the very least, at another pivotal point in its evolution.

After several 90's bodybuilders either died or ended up in the hospital from diuretic misuse, there was all kinds of mad commentary to put on the breaks. There was even an attempt to drug test for diuretics. What ended up happening was that the gurus had to step up their game and figure out how to better ply their craft. And, guess what? Bodybuilders use diuretics today more than ever, with few, if any, mishaps. The motivator for using diuretics correctly was indeed powerful – death. But, lets say the edict comes down to stick as pin in those guts. What's the motivator then? …Another kind of death: Men's Physique.

The thing about being up in first place is that you have to use your mirrors more than the guys behind you. If you're a big bloated pro bodybuilder, that image getting bigger in your mirror is what we formerly joked about, “men's bikini.”  Otherwise known as the fastest growing division in the NPC – I'm sure the same can be said nationally about Canada. Just to give you an idea, Men's physique has been a Nationals event since 2011. In 2014, during it's 4th ever competition, men's physique passed men's bodybuilding in number of competitors. That's not growth, thats a nuclear explosion.

The guys seem to be growing too, this year's Mr. O's Physique is notably bigger than than the earlier versions.  But their guts are smaller than ever. Hmmmm...... lets see, broad shoulders a small waist, a physique that looks healthy and athletic, desirable to own and attainable. Seems just what Arnold is looking for. While it would seem far fetched that Men's bodybuilding would go the way of the women, I can remember standing in Madison Square Garden among a sell out crowd of screaming fans for the Ms. Olympia - the only event on the card. I would never have thought a couple of decades later it would be gone.

To see exactly what John is talking about, check out our IFBB photo galleries here!