Are Shape and Symmetry Important Anymore?

When I watched the 2006 Montreal Pro Classic last fall, it was pretty clear after the prejudging who should win – Germany’s Dennis Wolf, whom we featured on our cover this month. However, while Wolf should have won that competition, it was also pretty clear from the judges’ callouts during prejudging that morning that he would not take home a first-place trophy later that night. As a matter of fact, at the end of it all he landed in fifth place, which is really a slap in the face, given that he was the most "complete" bodybuilder on the stage that day. I’m not the only one who thinks that way – many others who attended the show also voiced their support for Wolf.

Now, the first thing that will jump to mind is some sort of foul play, since bodybuilding is a subjectively judged sport that has been besieged with controversial judging decisions for decades, particularly at the pro level. But, in this case, I don’t think it’s that at all. I think the reason is simpler and far less sinister.

I think it has to do with the fact that judges today are fixated on the competitors’ size and place less importance on other key elements such as shape and symmetry. As a result, today the biggest guy usually wins, no matter how ugly or grotesque he might look, or how unbalanced his physique might be.

But that’s not to say Wolf is small – the guy is about 5’11" and at least 250 pounds. He’s bigger and more muscular than Arnold Schwarzenegger could ever hope to be. Furthermore, he’s got wider shoulders and a smaller waist than more than ninety percent of the pros competing today. He possesses an outstanding combination of size, shape, symmetry, and muscularity – as I said, he’s a complete bodybuilder.

But 250 pounds doesn’t seem to be impressive enough for the pro ranks anymore. Today, 5’6" competitors weigh as much as Wolf, and competitors who are Wolf’s height are weighing upwards of 300 pounds! Like I said, size not only matters – size seems to be the only thing that matters.

However, being that big isn’t necessarily a good thing, and I certainly hope that Wolf doesn’t decide to follow the same path so many other pros have taken – namely, size at the expense of everything else. That’s because these same guys who follow that path usually end up with waists as wide as their shoulders and bellies that make them look like they are impersonating Santa Claus. If they put on 40 pounds in their quest to get more massive, 20 pounds of it is usually in their midsection. Just look at the Mr. Olympia competitors that arrive in Las Vegas to compete each year; more than half of them have bellies bigger than the out-of-shape beer guzzlers pulling the handles on the slot machines. Isn’t it obvious something’s wrong? Of course it is.

Think about it, bodybuilders with beer bellies – it’s ridiculous, but it’s been going on for over a decade and it’s about time for it to stop. Let’s make things like shape and symmetry count again, and maybe next time a guy like Wolf will win.

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.