by Craig Titus
2013 Olympia Review…
I realize its been several months since Phil Heath won his third Sandow at the 2013 Olympia but just recently read the December Flex Magazine with it’s 200 pages of Olympia coverage. Keep in mind my opinions are solely based on the photos displayed in Flex and will be presented to you with a total disregard for being politically correct. That said. Ronnie Coleman is still the undisputed all time absolute greatest Mr. Olympia in the history of the IFBB… that much is truly clear and in my opinion cannot be argued. As beautiful a physique Phil Heath displayed, Coleman’s size, shape and conditioning has still not been challenged, and remains to be unprecedented…
But then again it’s 2013 so lets gift credit where credits due. According to the photo’s in Flex, Phil “the Gift” Heath possesses a physique with no weakness’s. His muscle separation and insertion points gives him the illusion of weigh-ins much more then his recorded 250lbs from top to bottom Phil Heath is perfect in every sense of the word applied to bodybuilding. Perfect in his muscularity, perfect in his conditioning, his symmetry is just that perfect. I suspect just the 9,000 fans in attendance at this years Olympia, I too am very much impressed with heath, at the same time I do sincerely believe he can beaten, and Kai Greene will do just that in 2014 providing he maintains his size and cuts off that ridiculous looking and, totally distracting piece of hair that resembles a dirty sock from the back of his head! If my suspicious are correct, and I’m convinced they are, he’s been told to come in tighter drop a few pounds and present a more conditioned package. I couldn’t disagree more! Fact is, Kai’s 25lbs of muscle is just the edge he’ll need to take away the Olympia crown from Phil Heath, Kai Greene’s conditioning was slightly off but his size is extremely impressive and only needs to make a few adjustments to win next years Olympia. I would tell Greene to remove that absurd looking hair from the back of his head and chin, do everything humanly possible to sign a team Weider contract, and most importantly do not come in one single pound lighter at the 2014 Olympia…rather train another year maintaining your current mass and present a more conditioned 275lbs package. Ultimately, it will be Greene’s superior and freakish mass that de-thrones Phil Heath. That brings me to a very puzzling and questionable third place? Phil Heath “The Gift”…and now you have Dennis “A Gift” Wolf because that’s precisely what he received in taking third place…”A Gift.” Its almost as if Wolf was the token “white boy” in the top5 to keep the fans happy. The only pose in my opinion where Dennis is even remotely comparable to Heath and Greene is his front lat Spread…period. It’s true Dennis’s conditioning was nearly perfect but his torso is so unusually long and irregular that is throws off any hope of having the required symmetry to be placing top three in the Olympia. Not to mention his non existent calves and the lack of striations in his gutes all of which the top 6 possess. No, I see the placings much different…my pick for third place would’ve been Dexter “The Blade” Jackson. Who in reality was placed in fifth. I realize Dennis Wolf has done a tremendous job in bringing up his lagging body parts but I just can’t seem to get past high lats, elongating waist line and dismal calves placing him slightly out of the top three. Dennis Wolfe in my eyes was fifth. That brings me to the forth place pick, Shawn Rhoden. Rhoden clearly has a handle on his contest preparation training. Shawn’s condition was excellent from head to toe with a brilliant dry and grainy look. His physique is simply beautiful! Rhoden’s definitely a bodybuilder to catch and with a few more pounds of muscle in his back, he’ll be a force to battle with at any show he decides to compete in. From looking at the photos I can see how the judges could be a little uncertain comparing Dexter Jackson and Shawn Rhoden coming in at forth. Being edged out slightly by “The Blade: due to Dexter’s consistent and superior ability to be hard, full and complete, making him a anomaly in regard to his contest prep. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Dexter should’ve placed third because he’s consistent, I’m stating Jackson’s physique is simply better then both Rhoden and Wolfe in every regard. Keep in mind, my opinion of Dexter is very much biased…I happen to be a huge Dexter Jackson Fan. Now let’s talk about my buddy Jay Cutler…I recently wrote an open letter to jay explaining how I thought his last minute pre-contest adjustments were simply to extreme…after seeing the photo’s in Flex Magazine, I am 100% convinced my suspicions are absolutely correct. Cutler has no business stepping on stage anything less then 270lbs! Jay’s recorded 250lbs awarded him a depleted, flat and noticeably much smaller physique, literally leaving the skin on his lower back and glutes wrinkled from the lack of fullness in the muscle. When leaving that Cutler was using contest guru Ched Nichols to prepare for the Olympia, my first thought was Jay would present a massive 275lb grainy and extraordinarily conditioned package. In reality, Nichols radical use of diuretics and insulin assisted carb loading phase, did nothing more then destroy Jay’s body! My Stance has not changed one bit since seeing photo’s of Jay in Flex magazine my advice to Cutler is the same, it is unwavering forget future battles on the Olympia stage, those days are never, but your days of crushing the competition are not! Like I’ve already stated, fill your extremely depleted muscle back out and get back to your freaky, top-tier and tremendously massive physique of past! Simply get into shape and maintain the condition you obtain when your two weeks out from a show. At that point, walk on stage at every scheduled 2014 IFBB competition and collect your prize money racking up IFFB wins! Jay Cutler’s physique, two weeks out from any show, void the use of diuretics is for lack of a better team “Bananas”! I’ve seen Cutler many times while living in Vegas weeks prior to a show…it’s almost unbelievable and just doesn’t seem human! Other then Phil Heath and Kia Greene who no doubt will be battling at the Olympia for Years to come, there are no other competitors that Jay Cutler can not smash on stage…providing he leaving the diuretics alone. Jay will only be limited in the accumulation of prize money and IFBB wins by his desire to compete or lack there of. Two other athletes’ I would like to discuss before concluding my 2013 Olympia Preview is Branch Warren and Mamdouh Elssbiay. Branch Warren’s physique is far better then one present at the Olympia. Like Cutler, he looked depleted and tired. Both Branch and Jay are in the same ball pack in regard to age leading me to believe, extreme contest prep adjustments simply do not work when a bodybuilder reaches advanced maturity, It looks as if Branch used diuretics in the last days leading up to the show leaving him a mere shadow of himself. The same advice given to Cutler holds true to Branch. I’ve seen Branch many times weeks out from a competition…void the use of diuretics, Warren is a freakin Beast!! Lastly. It’s looks as though some contest guru generous advised Mamdouh Elssbiay to shed a few pounds and come in more detailed for the Olympia. Wrong!! By doing so, and it appears Elssbiay did, he lost the totally impressive Humungous physique he possessed while winning the New York Pro Show. Mamdouh simply needs to practice the exact contest preparation and training methods he used prior to NY and he will without a shadow of doubt place top 5 in 2014. And for the record, he’s been training not more then three years to have the amount of muscle he posses. I read in Muscular Development Mamdouh in NY Stop It!! Really? Quit it Already! Yeah, he may have trained three years to prepare for the NYPS…but he was lifting weights long before he decided to compete!!
Now, I would like to conclude this Olympia review with a few thoughts…imaging for one moment, especially if you’re a man, or even a woman who happens to be attracted to other women, what’s going on in the minds of those appointed to judge the IFBB Pro Bikini competition? Good Lord have mercy! I cannot help but laugh aloud at the idea of Pro Bikini being a part of the bodybuilding world. I would how the women’s physique, fitness, figure, and bodybuilding competitor feel about a girl arching her ass out towards the judges receiving $20,000.00 for top sport? I know one thing for sure…women’s physique, fitness, figure and bodybuilding is all about training and muscle…Bikini is all about …well I’ll leave that up to you and your level of honesty. Last but not least, I am very upset the IFBB did not include “Pro West T-shirt” and “Fat Ass” divisions at this years Olympia.
If you have a question for Craig Titus please send an email via our contact form.
Craig Michael Titus was born in Wyandotte, Michigan on Jan 14, 1967. The eldest of Michael and Sandra Titus’ three children. In high school, Craig wrestled for his school team at 132lbs. After graduation, decided to put on some muscle via weight training. When Craig graduated from high school he was 5’6″ and 140lbs. By the age of 21, he was 5’9″ and 185lbs. Once he started weight training and seeing results, he was hooked. Craig’s first bodybuilding show was the 1988 Houston Bodybuilding Championships in which he won the Men’s Open middleweight class and the overall title.
Competitive Record
2002 Mr. Olympia – 11th
2002 Night of Champions XIV – 5th
2002 Southwest Pro – 7th
2001 British Grand Prix – 9th
2001 Mr. Olympia – 12th
2001 Arnold Classic – 6th
2001 SAN FRANCISCO GRAND PRIX – 2nd
2001 IRONMAN PRO INVITATIONAL – 5th
2000 Toronto Pro – 1st
2000 Arnold Classic – 10th
2000 Night of Champions – 11th
2000 Ironman Pro Invitational – 8th
1996 NPC USA Championships — 1st Heavyweight and Overall
1995 NPC USA Championships — 2nd Heavyweight
1994 NPC National Championships — 2nd Heavyweight
1994 NPC USA Championships — 2nd Heavyweight
1993 NPC USA Championships — 4th Heavyweight
1991 NPC Ironman/Ironmaiden — Overall
1990 NPC Tournament of Champions — 3rd Heavyweight
1990 NPC Western Cup — Overall
1989 NPC Houston Bodybuilding Championships — Overall
