Jay Cutler’s Advice To Hadi Choopan For 2023 Mr. Olympia: “Waist Has to Stay Small”

All eyes are on the reigning Mr. Olympia champion Hadi Choopan as he prepares to defend his title. The Men’s Open is stacked to the nines with tremendous talent, putting a huge target on Choopan’s back this year. Recently, bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler shared during an interview what he believes Hadi Choopan needs to bring to become a two-time Olympia champion. 

Since moving from the 212 division to the Men’s Open, Hadi Choopan has been ruthlessly climbing through the ranks proving himself to be a formidable competitor. After finishing in the top four at the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Mr. Olympias, 2022 was the year fans saw Hadi Choopan dethrone the former two-time Olympia champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay who slipped to fifth place. 

Following his Olympia win, Hadi Choopan earned himself a hero’s welcome upon his return to Iran after making his country proud. His win made history as he was the first Iranian to claim the title and after the triumph, he dedicated the victory to the women and children of his native country. 

Although Hadi Choopan was celebrating having finally earned the Mr. Olympia title, criticism about his conditioning began circulating. Veteran Rich Gaspari thought he lacked back development and argued that modern bodybuilders weren’t displaying dry conditioning. 

This year, Choopan has been focused on improving his form by hitting the gym and working out with his coach Hany Rambod to come in even stronger than last year. His diligent efforts have paid off, as evidenced by his ripped physique in the lead-up to the Olympia. However, will this be sufficient to maintain his reign?

Jay Cutler Gives Hadi Choopan Advice On How To Maintain The Mr. Olympia Title

Now that the 2023 Mr. Olympia is just days away, many are wondering if Hadi will pull off the win or if his fellow rivals such as Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, and Samson Dauda will have what it takes to be the next Olympia Champion. 

Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler gave his opinion on what Hadi Choopan needs to do in order to maintain his spot in the ranks. 

“Well, you just have to repeat. His whole thing is he wants to be sharper from the back side because you know the guy who positioned himself into second last year was Lunsford. He’s so dominant from the back. It was kinda like a front-back show last year. Hadi just had more shocks. I felt the door was left open for Hadi to land in that position” Jay Cutler said.

Jay Cutler shares how “The Persian Wolf” managed to defeat Ramy after the Egyptian “left the door open.” 

“Ramy, we all sat here weeks out, I don’t know anyone that didn’t think that after seeing the pictures of Ramy six weeks out or whatever it was didn’t think he was going to be the champion and he fell to fifth. Brandon came in a little too full, I mean he was a returning, I mean he had been second before he had won.

He kinda left the door open and then everything fell in between. Walker was there to pick up some pieces and move up. Obviously, Derek coming in, being a smaller stature guy was able to nail conditioning and out-condition guys and have that roundness to be able to be pushing Hadi and Hadi finally broke through. I mean Hadi had been knocking on that door for years.”

Next, Cutler analyzed what Choopan would have to achieve to leave Florida as champ. 

“I think he needs to be a little sharper from behind and carry the same size because I felt like he came in a little bigger but in that size advantage, he sacrificed a little of the crisp conditioning that they are going to be looking for when he turns around. Can the front match the back? Looking at back shots a lot of details Dave.”

Cutler emphasizes that the biggest mistake that Hadi Choopan could make is prioritizing size. 

“Coming in bigger, which we all did. I say this, I’m gonna beat till it’s, until everyone understands. We all wanted to be bigger, and bigger is not better. He is limited because of the height and the width. I don’t know if it is all about refinement but the problem is that you have, I don’t know if it’s twelve months, eleven months, ten months whatever it is between shows.

That time is a lot of time to pack on two or three or four or five pounds or ten pounds of muscle because you think ‘Oh I got this guy coming’ and when you look at proportioned guys like Derek and then you look at Nick Walker who’s just monstrous and you have someone like Samson who’s coming on as a real threat this year that seems to be growing from show to show, man how can you not? You try to say ‘Okay if I can just get my arms bigger but keep my waist smaller’ that’s the hardest part. The waist has to stay small and unfortunately, that’s impossible to do as you get bigger.”

With so many bodybuilding veterans extending their support for Derek Lunsford, Choopan has the chance to shock the world again. As history has shown us, when Hadi brings the perfect balance of mass, symmetry, and conditioning, he’s near-unstoppable. 

Fans can catch all the action unfolding on stage at the 2023 Mr. Olympia set to take place just days from now on November 2-5 in Orlando, Florida. The competitors are revved up and the physiques are bigger than ever before. It is sure to be an exciting night as bodybuilding favorites battle it out to prove who is the best of the best. 

RELATED: Milos Sarcev Talks 2023 Olympia Chances of Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, Hadi Choopan & Samson Dauda

To watch Jay Cutler’s full interview click the link below:

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