Exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel is back to analyze the workout tendencies of another high-profile IFBB Pro. On February 21, 2025, he critiqued the training of Classic Physique star Urs Kalecinski, offering insight into his form and execution on back and chest day.
Dr. Mike Israetel is a competitive bodybuilder and former professor of exercise science. He packages complex fitness topics into easy-to-understand YouTube videos. He boasts a remarkable following, to the tune of over 3.31 million subscribers.
Whether he’s critiquing the training systems of bodybuilding legends like Phil Heath and Jay Cutler, or simply offering solutions for helping individuals meet their New Year’s resolutions, Dr. Israetel’s content is packed with value.
“Today the person that is important is from the countries of Europe and his name is Urs, which I think means bear,” says Dr. Israetel. “He is a top physique competitor Classic man, and he’s going to do some training.”
Exercise Scientist Critiques the Training of Classic Physique Standout Urs Kalecinski
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First, he looked at how Kalecinski trained chest alongside Sam Sulek and was impressed by his intensity as well as his utilization of lengthened partials.
“That was an excellent set, great control, control on the concentric, big push, big resistance on the eccentric, full range of motion for a deep stretch every time, and excellent spotting by Sam, helping Urs just with that top little part just as much as he needs to keep pushing. Lastly, he did some lengthened partials.”
Moving along, Dr. Israetel examined Kalecinski’s approach to back training, complimenting his control on the eccentric portion of the pullover machine.
“Look at the control on the eccentric, he didn’t just bust back down. Total control on all the way down, and look at how far he’s reaching back… folks, Urs is a jacked dude. His back is enormous, his delts are enormous, his chest is enormous, and his traps are huge.
He doesn’t have a whole lot of room back there but on sheer weight and sheer practice, he’s able to pull super super far on that position. The more you pull the lats apart, and the more force they have to generate to come back at that lengthened position, the more growth you get.”
He looked at Kalecinski’s form and execution while performing on the low row machine.
“These are low rows. Some people really like them to connect to the lower kind of outer part of their lats. People swear by it. I’m not going to yuck anyone’s yum. I personally hate this exercise. I feel dick doing it except for my shoulders.”
Dr. Israetel gave Kalecinski a rating at the end of his video.
“I rate Urs as ze perfect German male out of 10. Any way Urs, you’re the man and everyone follow Urs he’s kind of really really good at this shit. I predict great things for the rest of his career,” he states.
Overall, Dr. Mike Israetel was blown away by Urs Kalecinski’s detailed approach to training, which supports why the German sensation has been such a dominant force on the Olympia stage. ‘The Miracle Bear’ continues to improve in the IFBB Pro League, having taken third place in his last Olympia outing.
It will be interesting to see if Kalecinski can move up on the Mr. Olympia stage in 2025 in light of Chris Bumstead’s retirement. Dr. Israetel believes he has the potential to make a huge jump in the sport moving forward.
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