Post by 1705total on Feb 13, 2007 21:09:55 GMT -5
Battle for the Olympia XI 2006 edition.
A Mitsuru Okabe production.
There have been a total of 11 BFTO’s since Mits starting filming them in 1996. These documentary films have undergone many changes of the years. The first several videos were approximately 2 hours in length, and showed various athletes preparing for the upcoming Olympia. Most segments ranged from 10 to 15 minutes in length and highlighted a bodypart workout. Over the years Mits has included back stage footage, hotel room footage, and of course the athletes showing off their houses and cars. Many other video companies have copied Mits format, but none have come close to the depth or quality his videos display. Unquestionably Mits dvd’s are the best on the market. Ronnie Coleman has appeared in 10 of the 11 episodes of this long running, and much anticipated video series (he did not appear in the 2001 version).
This years edition is a 3 disc set, that contains over 6 hours of footage.
The following is a short description of each segment.
Disc One
• Ronnie Coleman. Chest and Triceps, along with abs and posing. Ronnie performs flat dumbbell presses, incline dumbbell presses, and decline dumbbell presses. He then performs skull crushers, over head cable extensions, and dumbbell kick backs. For abs he does crunches and hanging leg raises. Then he poses. A few notables about this segment. At the beginning we see Ronnie having some difficulty in pulling up his neoprene sleeves. His arms are just too big! Also the dumbbells he uses go up to 160-180, and he goes as heavy on all pressing exercises. When he does the over head triceps extensions he hooks two cables (which are side by side) together to perform this exercise, and uses the entire stack for both side. Clearly, as we have all come to know, Ronnie is from another planet. When Mits ask Ronnie if he will be bigger this year, Ronnie reply’s “oh yeah, last year I was small” (
-if I could only be that small). Another notable is that at 300 lbs Ronnie looks great, and the muscle imbalance we saw on the Olympia stage was not present at 4 weeks out. He also heavily wrapped his left elbow.
• Johnnie Jackson. Shoulders and triceps, with some posing. Johnnie does the following lifts: Machine presses, Dumbbell presses, side laterals, upright rows, rear cable crossovers, tricep pushdowns, and dumbbell kickbacks. He then goes into some mandatory posing. This is the biggest, and most conditioned we have seen from Johnnie on film. His crab shot is a sight to see. ROUND. Is the word that comes to mind. Nothing really special about the workout, just that Johnnie looks good.
• Branch Warren-Arms and posing. Branch does the following lifts: cable curls, dumbbell curls, machine preacher curls, cable pushdowns, Machine extensions, and rope pushdowns, then poses. Unlike every other segment, there is no talking, with the exception of a few words of encouragement to his training partners. Branch’s workout is fast paced and very intense. The first glimpse of Branch is watching him walk across the gym floor. He is huge. He looks a good 20 lbs heavier then last year and just as conditioned. He is freaky looking. He trains very intense. Branch has to be the hardest training pro on the scene today. Forget Ronnie, forget Jay, and anyone else, Branch is the hardest training bodybuilder. In the early 80’s we had Platz, in the late 80’s it was Gaspari, then in the 90’s it was Yates, now its Branch. He trains like everyone should train. Super harcore, super intense. He should give lessons to the other pros. Nuff said.
• Victor Martinez-Back and posing. Victor does the following exercise: Lat pulldowns, incline dumbbell rows, t-bar rows. First we are introduced to Bev’s powerhouse gym. This gym is the perfect combination of hardcore and mainstream. It doesn’t cater to one group, but rather to all groups. From spinning classes to ,mixed martial arts. From fitness equipment to harcore bodybuilding. The first thing I noticed about Victor were his lats! When he was doing pulldowns I was amazed at house his lats looked like wings spreading and contracting, spreading and contracting. An awesome sight. The other thing I noticed (which Victor should be commended for) is his obvious love for his recently deceased mother. He talks about her strength and how much it gave him the strength to carry on, and how he is dedicating this contest to her. Victor should commended for expressing his love her in such a heart felt way. The workout also proves how hard he does work. He is not as face paced as some others, but the intensity is there. His posing displays a physique that is as thick and big as last years, with the cuts and striations of someone who is ready. One scene has him resting on a bar and his triceps look insane.
• Bill Willmore-Chest and posing. Bill performs the following exercises, Incline smith machine, Hammer presses, flys, and cable crossovers. I was impressed that Bill so close to contest went as heavy as he did. Nothing super human, but heavy none the less. Add the drop sets in and you learn this guys is serious. Bill looks great too. Ripped and almost ready for the show. The improvements to legs are noticeable. At first Bill talks about his prep being no different for the Olympia then any other show, but when asked about being in the O, he can’t hind his enthusiasm. I knew Bill back in the day when he was competing as a teen, and every time he has seen me, he always asks how I and my family are doing. He is a class act and gentlemen.
• Vince Taylor-Back and Calves. Vince performs some STRANGE back exercises. Basically all his back exercises are variations using hammer strength equipment. He talks about feeling the muscle and that’s what spawns growth. You really have to watch it on your own to understand what I am talking about. Vince looks awesome too. He looks 35, not 50! He then trains those truly awesome calves. WOW! Vince then drives to another gym () to practice his posing. Not the mandatory’s but his routine. Lets just say no one competing today moves more fluid then Vince!
• Dexter Jackson-Chest and posing. Dexter performs Bench presses, flat flys, incline bench presses (on the smith machine) and then poses. In all the videos I have ever seen of Dexter, he always lifts heavy and basic. I think of him as the modern day Kevin Leverone. Big delts, and arms, with awesome conditioning. He trains heavy, basic, and intense. Not to mention how good he looks. Some may think this next comment is bogus, but I truly believe Dexter is the most underated pro competing today.
A Mitsuru Okabe production.
There have been a total of 11 BFTO’s since Mits starting filming them in 1996. These documentary films have undergone many changes of the years. The first several videos were approximately 2 hours in length, and showed various athletes preparing for the upcoming Olympia. Most segments ranged from 10 to 15 minutes in length and highlighted a bodypart workout. Over the years Mits has included back stage footage, hotel room footage, and of course the athletes showing off their houses and cars. Many other video companies have copied Mits format, but none have come close to the depth or quality his videos display. Unquestionably Mits dvd’s are the best on the market. Ronnie Coleman has appeared in 10 of the 11 episodes of this long running, and much anticipated video series (he did not appear in the 2001 version).
This years edition is a 3 disc set, that contains over 6 hours of footage.
The following is a short description of each segment.
Disc One
• Ronnie Coleman. Chest and Triceps, along with abs and posing. Ronnie performs flat dumbbell presses, incline dumbbell presses, and decline dumbbell presses. He then performs skull crushers, over head cable extensions, and dumbbell kick backs. For abs he does crunches and hanging leg raises. Then he poses. A few notables about this segment. At the beginning we see Ronnie having some difficulty in pulling up his neoprene sleeves. His arms are just too big! Also the dumbbells he uses go up to 160-180, and he goes as heavy on all pressing exercises. When he does the over head triceps extensions he hooks two cables (which are side by side) together to perform this exercise, and uses the entire stack for both side. Clearly, as we have all come to know, Ronnie is from another planet. When Mits ask Ronnie if he will be bigger this year, Ronnie reply’s “oh yeah, last year I was small” (
-if I could only be that small). Another notable is that at 300 lbs Ronnie looks great, and the muscle imbalance we saw on the Olympia stage was not present at 4 weeks out. He also heavily wrapped his left elbow. • Johnnie Jackson. Shoulders and triceps, with some posing. Johnnie does the following lifts: Machine presses, Dumbbell presses, side laterals, upright rows, rear cable crossovers, tricep pushdowns, and dumbbell kickbacks. He then goes into some mandatory posing. This is the biggest, and most conditioned we have seen from Johnnie on film. His crab shot is a sight to see. ROUND. Is the word that comes to mind. Nothing really special about the workout, just that Johnnie looks good.
• Branch Warren-Arms and posing. Branch does the following lifts: cable curls, dumbbell curls, machine preacher curls, cable pushdowns, Machine extensions, and rope pushdowns, then poses. Unlike every other segment, there is no talking, with the exception of a few words of encouragement to his training partners. Branch’s workout is fast paced and very intense. The first glimpse of Branch is watching him walk across the gym floor. He is huge. He looks a good 20 lbs heavier then last year and just as conditioned. He is freaky looking. He trains very intense. Branch has to be the hardest training pro on the scene today. Forget Ronnie, forget Jay, and anyone else, Branch is the hardest training bodybuilder. In the early 80’s we had Platz, in the late 80’s it was Gaspari, then in the 90’s it was Yates, now its Branch. He trains like everyone should train. Super harcore, super intense. He should give lessons to the other pros. Nuff said.
• Victor Martinez-Back and posing. Victor does the following exercise: Lat pulldowns, incline dumbbell rows, t-bar rows. First we are introduced to Bev’s powerhouse gym. This gym is the perfect combination of hardcore and mainstream. It doesn’t cater to one group, but rather to all groups. From spinning classes to ,mixed martial arts. From fitness equipment to harcore bodybuilding. The first thing I noticed about Victor were his lats! When he was doing pulldowns I was amazed at house his lats looked like wings spreading and contracting, spreading and contracting. An awesome sight. The other thing I noticed (which Victor should be commended for) is his obvious love for his recently deceased mother. He talks about her strength and how much it gave him the strength to carry on, and how he is dedicating this contest to her. Victor should commended for expressing his love her in such a heart felt way. The workout also proves how hard he does work. He is not as face paced as some others, but the intensity is there. His posing displays a physique that is as thick and big as last years, with the cuts and striations of someone who is ready. One scene has him resting on a bar and his triceps look insane.
• Bill Willmore-Chest and posing. Bill performs the following exercises, Incline smith machine, Hammer presses, flys, and cable crossovers. I was impressed that Bill so close to contest went as heavy as he did. Nothing super human, but heavy none the less. Add the drop sets in and you learn this guys is serious. Bill looks great too. Ripped and almost ready for the show. The improvements to legs are noticeable. At first Bill talks about his prep being no different for the Olympia then any other show, but when asked about being in the O, he can’t hind his enthusiasm. I knew Bill back in the day when he was competing as a teen, and every time he has seen me, he always asks how I and my family are doing. He is a class act and gentlemen.
• Vince Taylor-Back and Calves. Vince performs some STRANGE back exercises. Basically all his back exercises are variations using hammer strength equipment. He talks about feeling the muscle and that’s what spawns growth. You really have to watch it on your own to understand what I am talking about. Vince looks awesome too. He looks 35, not 50! He then trains those truly awesome calves. WOW! Vince then drives to another gym (
) to practice his posing. Not the mandatory’s but his routine. Lets just say no one competing today moves more fluid then Vince!• Dexter Jackson-Chest and posing. Dexter performs Bench presses, flat flys, incline bench presses (on the smith machine) and then poses. In all the videos I have ever seen of Dexter, he always lifts heavy and basic. I think of him as the modern day Kevin Leverone. Big delts, and arms, with awesome conditioning. He trains heavy, basic, and intense. Not to mention how good he looks. Some may think this next comment is bogus, but I truly believe Dexter is the most underated pro competing today.