Dennis James believes the Men’s Open has steered away from sharper conditioning. In a YouTube video from May 21, 2026, he argued that today’s bodybuilders aren’t as conditioned as those in the 90s. He emphasized that athletes in his era dieted harder and trained more often.
To succeed in the Men’s Open today, athletes are tasked with presenting a balanced combination of size and conditioning. Samson Dauda, one of the sport’s biggest stars, struggled with this challenge at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
While he entered the event as the reigning champion, he ultimately fell to fourth place. His pursuit of better conditioning backfired, and he lacked the size needed against shorter, stockier contenders, including Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan. Having watched the event live, James is assessing whether athletes boast the same level of detail he witnessed while competing.
Dennis James Says Today’s Bodybuilders Aren’t Conditioned Like the 90s: ‘We Dieted Harder, We Suffered’
In the video, James spoke about why athletes seem less conditioned today compared to his era.
“I went through this. I did it myself, and I trained people after I was done with the career, so I know the difference between what we used to do, not all of them, but most of them do today. Not all, but most.”
According to James, bodybuilders in the 2000s suffered more, whether it was two-a-days or extra cardio.
“We trained, sometimes twice a day. We did cardio two times. We dieted harder. We suffered. I don’t see this. I don’t see the suffering that we used to see on every single competitor that’s going to the Olympia.”
He used Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay to illustrate his point, highlighting that he had to push the Egyptian native in training to win the Mr. Olympia.
“Ramy is the best example. He was the biggest guy that you’d ever seen, and everybody thought, of course, if you look like this, you have to be stronger than everybody. You probably are, but you don’t take advantage of it.”
“The training was different. I pushed him. I pushed him to a point where I felt he had never been there. He’d never been to this point. You train to basically the point where you are done after the workout, there’s nothing else you want to do but sleep.”
Above all else, James chalked up a lack of suffering as the reason why bodybuilders aren’t as conditioned today.
“I think it’s the suffering. When I see these guys go to the meeting or Meet the Olympians, I want to see some faces where they look like they about to die. Where is it? The press conference, that was our indication, we go out there in suits. You don’t know what we look like, but you see the face, oh, he’s in shape,” shared Dennis James.
Industry experts have been adamant that conditioning could dictate who wins the Mr. Olympia next. Judge Terrick El Guindy recently urged Hadi Choopan to improve his conditioning and leg balance to dethrone two-time champ Derek Lunsford.
Size and conditioning remain non-negotiable criteria in the Men’s Open. Dennis James hopes to see more focus on conditioning in the future as the sport continues to grow.
