by Christian Duque
If you’ve been active on social media over the course of the last couple of days you couldn’t help but notice 2x Mr. Olympia Big Ramy’s first physique update since losing the Olympia to The Persian Wolf Hadi Choopan in 2022. The champ didn’t compete at the 2023 Olympia – won by Derek Lunsford – but many are hoping he’ll make a comeback in 2024. That said, The Egyptian Phenom did compete at the 2023 Arnold Classic where he looked better but remained at that 5th place spot (this time against arguably less quality guys than the Olympia).
After that showing in Columbus, I think the champ was an important crossroads in his career. Did he keep pushing himself to the 2023 Olympia and hopefully recover little by little – or – push the stop button and focus 100% on figuring out what was wrong. As we all know the champion focused on the latter as opposed to the former, and in my opinion, and that was the right move. The reality of the matter is, he could not give himself a fighting chance given the elite level of competition to make the necessary improvements as well as figure out what was wrong while still competing actively. I was never a fan of him competing so quickly afterwards in Columbus but it is what it is. I think that move was more based on pride than anything else, and it became abundantly clear he had had a lapse in judgement.
The good thing about being a past Mr. Olympia is that he does not need to qualify ever again. If he wants to compete, all he has to do is get on stage and that’s that. I think that affords him a tremendous amount of breathing room when it comes to preparing for his next Olympia, as opposed to having to put his body through the stress and turmoil of finding a pro qualifier, preparing for that show, and then winning it to only then prep all over again for the Olympia. Although this is what every other guy has to do, as a previous champion, he’s afforded the ability to skip that whole process and for a guy going through what he is going through, that is a godsend.
With his first physique update, I can notice that he has put on a good amount of size and is carrying good proportions. He seems to be balanced, but then again, this is very much an off-season photo. What I do like is that he’s not using any goon lighting and he’s not using any other special effects. This is important because it gives the viewer a good assessment of where the competitor is at the current moment. A lot of people cannot post this way, because they are too insecure and would prefer to obscure their current condition in order to save face.
On the flipside, Ramy has never been known for putting up many updates, and in years past he has often pulled psychological tricks. What I mean by that is that he is known for posting updates that are not necessarily very up-to-date in hopes of tricking the competition. Looking at this update I can tell it’s pretty new, and that he is actively trying to build from where he left off. The question is, will this be enough or is this simply something to break the silence?
I feel that what we may be seeing here is simply the champ letting the fans know that all is well but I don’t know that he is actively trying to regain the title. I don’t think that he is in a place right now where that is feasible plus the next Olympia isn’t practically until another year. To be in Olympia shape now would be absurd. Therefore there’s a lot that can be said about this update, but there’s also a lot of questions that will remain unanswered.
The last thing that I want to do is throw rain on this. I want there to be more updates. I would like to see some training footage, maybe some nutritional stuff, I would love to hear the champ do interviews and more. I think anytime that we have content from Ramy it’s a great thing. His English is getting a lot better and he’s got a knack for being funny even when he doesn’t mean to be. He’s got real personality and I think the fans would love to see more of it. This is a guy who was always a fan favorite, went through a period where he was the perennial underdog, and then came into his own when he was on top. Many of us expected him to have a long run at the top, but now that it seems he won’t, he. can totally still reinvent himself.
The cool thing about being a Mr. Olympia is that it doesn’t matter if you won once or eight times you will always be a Mr. Olympia. Big Ramy will always be one of the best bodybuilders that ever lived and he will always command a lion’s share of the fans. His physique was next level and still could be again. Whether or not he can win the title back really isn’t the point. Is it possible? Absolutely.
I think the sport is in a very unusual place. I mean let’s face it, the last two champions have been from the 212. Not only is that unheard of but it’s not where the sport would have been according to anyone in the past. No one would have ever anticipated that the lighter division would command the open division. Guys like Ramy and Brandon could easily win again, and set the division back on track. Now let me be clear here I am not saying that the division has gone off the deep end. I’m just saying that this is not typically where open bodybuilding would be. The only reason that the smaller guys won is because the bigger guys were off. Whether that was because of conditioning or injuries. It will be very interesting to see what happens when a guy like Brandon or Ramy or Nick Walker comes in at 100% and reclaims the title.
Like I said, it’s possible for Ramy’s to be the champion again, but even if he’s not, if he’s able to compete at the elite level, placing in the top five in competitive spots, and remain active on the pro circuit, then he can write his own ticket. He will always command huge lines at expos, he will always have guest posing gigs lined up, and the fans will never be able to get enough. The trick for him is to stay consistent and not disappear. He has a track record where that happens and people are left wondering where the guy is at. This even happened while he was the champion. A guy like Ramy needs to stay active in bodybuilding, and if he can do that, he will be very very successful.
What do you think the future holds for The Egyptian Phenom?
