The Classic Physique division in the IFBB Pro League has never been more exciting as competitors aim to knock Chris Bumstead off his Olympia throne. In a recent IFBB AMA YouTube video, Wesley Vissers discussed his plan to bring the golden era back to Mr. Olympia with refined posing and modern conditioning.
“I want to be the only one who can pose like the guys back then, especially Arnold because to me, many people might disagree, but to me, that is Classic bodybuilding. That’s what a true Classic bodybuilder is.”
Heading into the 2024 bodybuilding season, Wesley Vissers was flying under the radar, having placed seventh at the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest. The Dutch standout entered the recent Arnold Classic Ohio as a dark horse and shocked the world when he found himself vying for gold against former champion Ramon Queiroz. In the end, Vissers pulled off the victory in a close-fought battle.
His success in North America gave fans a glimpse into what was to come next. Two weeks later, Vissers won the 2024 Arnold Classic UK competition, setting himself up as a favorite for the next Mr. Olympia. With considerable momentum and a physique that screams golden era, Vissers is now crafting his game plan for defeating the reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia superpower Chris Bumstead.
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Wesley Vissers Wants to Represent the ‘Golden Era’ With Physique & Posing at 2024 Mr. Olympia
Counting the days until the 2024 Mr. Olympia Classic Physique prejudging, Vissers is carefully monitoring his weight so that he can effectively diet down for the marquee show.
“I always have a timer on my phone to tell me how much time is left. So, we literally have 205 days left until the Classic Physique prejudging at the Olympia. So, I know exactly okay, I can go up to this body weight, and when I reach a certain body weight and then I see how many days I have left. Okay, now, I have to drop down because otherwise, I can’t maintain that weight loss per week because otherwise, I will have to lose too quickly.”
Milos Sarcev likened Vissers to Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s twin, though added that his posing would benefit from more finesse.
“You’re looking in the mirror, right? Everybody knows he pulled that [compared you to Lou Ferrigno] to contradict himself. You are like Arnold’s twin. I compared your pictures and I said this on a podcast, you do perfect side double biceps like Arnold and all the poses.
But there is still this little finesse that Arnold has over you. Just a little bit, those angles, a little bit of wrist positions and stuff like that,” said Milos Sarcev.
Vissers admits Schwarzenegger was a master poser and that he has carefully watched ‘The Austrian Oak’s’ routines of the past to develop his skills as a modern competitor.
“Especially in the transitions, you know, people don’t realize this until you practice it yourself but Arnold was such a master in posing. His transitions and the exact way to hit that pose, it’s way more difficult than you think. There’s levels to this. Okay, I personally can do his posing but like you say, there’s still that last 10 percent left of perfection and that takes the most time.”
“I played his videos in slow motion on YouTube to see how is he going from the front double biceps to the three quarter back double biceps, which moves is he making simultaneously to get it to that position? And I’m not a natural poser. I used to be horrible at posing, a stiff robot. It took me a long time to practice to get to this level.”
As for his 2024 Mr. Olympia goals, Vissers made it clear he intends to represent a true Classic bodybuilder from the golden era, but with modern conditioning.
“And to get to a level beyond, that’s my goal for the Olympia. It’s not just the physique. It’s Classic Physique. I want to represent a true Classic bodybuilder from the golden era with modern conditioning, shape, and proportions.
You can’t hack it anymore with poor conditioning or smaller legs. You gotta have that physique.”
Vissers isn’t downplaying the importance of his posing routine on the Mr. Olympia stage. He plans to bring good music, tempo, effective transitions, and some unique poses.
“I’ve always said my goal is to do my posing routine at the Olympia and that you could only do it for the top five. So, now, I probably now will do the routine. This, I really want to give a show to the people. Like a combination of the good music, perfect tempo, and transitions but also some unique poses that really fit my physique.”
In light of Wesley Vissers’ pair of victories in Ohio and Birmingham, fans believe he could serve as Bumstead’s greatest threat on the Mr. Olympia stage. Standing at six feet and two inches, Vissers would have the stature necessary to stand next to ‘Cbum’ without appearing undersized. With enough conditioning, Vissers could find himself contending for gold in October.
Considering that Chris Bumstead is eying retirement in the next two years, fans are curious if Wesley Vissers can pull off the unthinkable. The 2024 Mr. Olympia competition will return to Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate its 60th anniversary from October 10-13.
RELATED: Tyler Manion Explains Why Wesley Vissers Defeated Ramon Queiroz at 2024 Arnold Classic Pose By Pose
Watch the full video from the IFBB AMA YouTube channel below:
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