FFEATURESEATURES
86 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019 July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 87The GODS of SHRED The GODS of SHREDIn the early decades of bodybuilding, the celebrated ideals were shape, BY RON HARRIS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY PER BERNALsymmetry and of
course, size. As I oft en say, the name of our sport is body the athletes, fans or judges put much of a priori on. The main reason is that until much later, there wasn’t enough knowledge about how to lose suffi cient amounts of body fat to display crisp, clear muscle separations and striations. Diets tended to include plenty of red meat and whole building. Condition wasn’t something
eggs along with heavy cream in rudimentary protein shakes, and cardio of any kind was unheard of. Thus, muscles were covered under a thin veil of fat and water even at the highest levels of competition. There were rare exceptions, which were punished rather than rewarded. The most
notable example was Vince “The Iron Guru” Gironda, who was scored dead last in events like the Mr. USA in the 1950s for showing “too many ugly veins.” The standard up until the 1970s was to be lean enough to show abs and a hint of muscle separation in areas like the chest, back, delts and legs. The 1970s is when body fat fi nally began to show a downward trend, and muscle defi nition
steadily improved. The fi nal three years of that decade witnessed the Mr. Olympia reign of Frank Zane, who was half the size of Arnold yet showed cuts and details The Austrian Oak and other past champions never had. The stage was set for an entirely new outlook on physiques. It would no longer be good enough merely to be big and have nice shape. Now you would also have to be
able to clearly see each muscle group distinctly. Eventually, bodybuilders routinely took to the stage with body fat in the low single-digit percentages, and “condition” became a common term. Here are the men who would take condition to new levels— the Gods of Shred!Inthe early decades of bodybuilding, the celebrated ideals were shaBY RON HARRIS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY PER BERNALpe, symmetry and ofmuscular, which is why everyone from UFC fi ghters at weigh-ins to fi rst graders will throw up a half-assed front double biceps pose to communicate power and Arms are the one body part most people associate with being strong and BY RON HARRIS
confi dence. Arms also happen to be the muscle group you can show off most oft en due to the way we as human beings in 2019 dress most of the time. You can’t walk tank top, which went out of fashion about 25 years ago, no one can normally check around too many places in shorts, so there go the legs. Unless you’re in a string
out your chest, shoulders, back or abs. You need to be shirtless for that. But you can almost always wear short sleeves, whether it’s a T-shirt or a polo. And once the weather heats up, short sleeves and sleeveless shirts become not only the
triceps in all their glory. And while there are still a couple of summer months left , why not work extra hard on them to make them even more glorious? This calls for a norm, but fully acceptable. This is the time of year to show off your biceps and specialization program.
July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 95Show Off Huge Arms
This Summer!
94 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019102 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019 July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 103PHOTOGRAPHY BY SALOMON URRACABY RON HARRISDe La Rosa:
The NexT ChapTeR“Victory does not always lay on a number or a trophy. Some victories are won long before the competition ever
this very stage I was broken. Broken in every way. I had lost everything seemingly overnight, and this Saturday I had it all back and then some. Not the material things, but myself! My heart, my passion, my desires, my dreams! The grind started. although I didn’t place where I had hoped, I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish. Last year on
doesn’t stop here though. We keep working. The Olympia stage will see me this year!” –posted by Jonathan De La Rosa, the day after the 2019 New York pro
Victory comes in many Formsmovies of all time was “Rocky” in One of the greatest feel-good- Sylvester Stallone played the title character of Rocky Balboa, a washed-up palooka from the mean streets of Philly who had squandered
his talent as a boxer and scraped by as a low-level enforcer/debt collector for a local mobster. Then somehow, he got his shot, a surprise invitation
to challenge the world heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed, in a special bicentennial title match on live television. Rocky rose to the occasion,
training like a man possessed, relishing this second chance at the life he was supposed to live, and managed to go the distance against
Creed. He did not beat the champ or win the title, yet there is no question he was victorious. Balboa had triumphed over his own doubts and
lack of self-esteem, as well as the legions who had counted him out and written him off.Jonathan De La Rosa was training
to win the New York Pro on May 18 in his native New York. 2018 had been the hardest year of his 35 years on this earth. Just as he was about to
start the first of four contests he would compete in from early March to late July, his wife Swann broadsided him with her intentions to divorce him. As
any loving husband in this situation would be, De La Rosa was stunned
and devastated. Ejected from his own home and relegated to the corner of his parents’ basement, Jon struggled to figure out what path to take next. He decided to make a clean break and move to Florida, away from his family and friends— all
except one critical friend. Seven-time 212 Olympia champion Flex Lewis invited him not only to come train at his private facility, The Dragon’s Lair, but to become his training partner. Not long after, Jonathan began working under the coaching
guidance of the man who took Flex from an unknown regional junior champion to the greatest 212 bodybuilder of all time, Neil “Yoda” Hill. Jonathan retooled his training and nutrition approach and took to his contest prep with a renewed energy
and purpose.extremely competitive, as it usually is. 2015 winner and recent Arnold Classic South America champion Juan Morel The New York Pro turned out to be
had decided to hang on to his diet for five more weeks after Brazil, due to popular demand of his legions of local fans in New York. Another New York
heavy hitter, Akim Williams, had been competing since the Arnold Classic at the start of March, but he too could not resist battling it out for his devoted
hometown fans and supporters. Yet another big and bad New Yorker, Justin Rodriguez, was in the fight. The lineup was packed with further top-notch
talent in the form of Europeans James Hollingshead, Milan Sadek and Tim Budesheim. Jonathan was ready to take on anyone, including his good
friend Juan. He displayed his trademark blend of full, round muscle bellies, ideal structure and shape, and cuts to spare. Admittedly, he could have been
harder from the front, but it was still a tremendous improvement over his look at the 2018 shows.In the end, Jonathan placed fourth. It
wasn’t what he had trained for or hoped to score, but he put it all into perspective. Considering the downward spiral his life had been tumbling down just last year,
De La Rosa was a winner that night. The best part was that he understood this and relished just how far he had come from the last time he had stood on that
stage. Here is how he put it shortly after the contest was over.
68 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019 July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 69
Franklin Is Switching MPD Star Logan
to Classic PhysiqueLogan’s Run!
inception drew the interest of athletes in other divisions who found it more appealing and decided to cross over. From open bodybuilding, we’ve seen successful transitions from Chris Bumstead, Regan Grimes and Henri-From the time the Classic Physique division made its debut in 2016, its
Pierre Ano. Even more men from the 212 division found a new home in Classic, most notably two-time Olympia champion Breon Ansley as well as Khaled Chikhaoui, and most recently Alex Cambronero (Danny Hester and Terrence Ruffin turned pro as bodybuilders, but never competed as
pros until Classic came along). Those switching from the Men’s Physique division (MPD) have had mixed success. Arash Rahbar has done extremelywell in Classic, while Sadik Hadzovic did well for a couple of seasons in Classic Physique but decided to put the board shorts back on this past spring. The next MPD pro to make the move to Classic is 28-year-old Texan Logan Franklin. I’m sure I’m not the only one who saw this
coming. Last August, I watched him beat out a stage full of 39 MPD pros to win the Tampa Pro, yet all I kept thinking was, “this guy is a little too big for Men’s Physique. I bet he would do pretty well in Classic.” Logan had been thinking the same thing for quite some time already at
that point, and now he’s prepping for the Tampa Pro again, but for the Classic Physique title.
PHOTOGRAPHy By JASOn ELLISBy ROn HARRIS78 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019 July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 79BY RON HARRIS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY PER BERNALisn’t the weight coming off? Why are your abs still just a blurry suggestion of abs in the bedroom What the hell? You’ve been dieting for a while now, and the results are lackluster at best. Why
mirror at 6:00 p.m. when the light is hitt ing you just right, like that Egyptian tomb scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? You think you’re doing everything right, but I’m here to be the dick that tells you no, you’re not. I have compiled seven very common blunders that prevent people from
losing body fat. You are doing at least one of these, or maybe even all seven. Take a look and s ee what needs to be fi xed, and you will be well on your way to a ripped-up, alpha physique!VOL.56,
NUMBER 7,
JULY 201912 MD musculardevelopment.com July 201978 7 REASONS YOU’RE
NOT GETTING RIPPED!
By Ron Harris86 THE GODS OF SHRED
By Ron Harris94 SUN’S OUT, GUNS OUT!
Show Off Huge Arms This Summer!
By Ron Harris102 DE LA ROSA: THE NEXT CHAPTER
By Ron Harris68 LOGAN’S RUN!
MPD Star Logan Franklin
Is Switching to Classic
Physique
By Ron Harris