Lee Priest still keeps tabs on the sport as a retired IFBB Pro. In his latest endeavor, he discussed why the 1990s bodybuilding era was more exciting than today, and called out judges for ignoring calf development.
Lee Priest was an Open class bodybuilder in the IFBB Pro League, dominating on prestigious stages with muscle volume, proportions, and conditioning. He tested himself and found success competing against fellow 1990s stars like Shawn Ray, Flex Wheeler, and Ronnie Coleman.
Although Lee Priest can appreciate what social media has done for aspiring athletes aiming to make their mark in bodybuilding, he contends that the sport doesn’t garner the same enthusiasm that was on display approximately 20 years ago.
Lee Priest Says 90’s Bodybuilding ‘Probably Better Than Today,’ Explains Why Judges Should Score Calves
Priest believes athlete participation and contests were better in the 90s compared to nowadays.
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“There’s always those things with were the 90s better this and that. You can look at it and say yeah the 90s were probably better as far as shows go and more guys doing more shows and sometimes the conditioning could have been better at a lot of these shows because back then we didn’t have social media, we couldn’t make money from YouTube. Somebody like Sam back in that day would not make any money just being Sam.”
In addition, Priest contends that judges have overlooked calves, which he argues is just as important of a body part as biceps or triceps.
“If I was a judge I’d tell all the guys to go work on their fucking calves. I don’t understand it. I’ve seen guys get second who are complete and the guy that wins has no calves. To me, I’m like how can you say calves don’t matter, they are a body part.”
“If you’re missing calves to me it’s an actual body part, if someone is missing biceps, triceps, or something else, you wouldn’t give them first place so why is there this thing about we’ll overlook the calves. I don’t get it. That’s an actual muscle group how can you overlook it?”
He brings up that Bikini athletes were marked down years ago when they didn’t have breast implants, thus, men should also suffer the same consequences if they lack calf development, or they should also be encouraged to get implants.
“Sometimes genetically people can’t build them. The thing is if you go and get implants you get marked down but yet there can be girls I’ve seen back in the day when I was engaged to Adel and a lot of girls didn’t have breast implants, they were told if they had breast implants they would place higher. So, why cna’t they say to guys if you had calves you’d win?”
While glute definition is a tell-tale sign of if someone is truly in shape, Priest doesn’t believe they need to be striated to win bodybuilding contests.
“I had them maybe when I won the Universe, to me it’s like as long as your glutes are hard they got a square look they are not jiggly, you’re pretty much in shape. You’re in shape. But I think too much is put on the emphasis [of striated glutes] shows are won from the back, really? There’s two back shots, rear double bicep and lat spread.”
Lastly, Priest took issue with athletes today who rely on their coaches instead of coming to decisions alone.
“Tonio, it’s like Tonio, I know he’s talked to the family being in Brazil but after that show he should have been like I’m going straight to Detroit and his coach would be like okay let’s do it. Then his coach could be like let’s do that show it’s only a week later this is what we got to do. This is an eating plan for the week, that’s what it should have been, him dictating it to the coach.”
“Hany has all the good people, the Pro Creator, has he taken someone from amateur level that’s a nobody and made them to a Mr. Olympia. A lot of these guys get people when they [have already made it]. I haven’t seen them take someone out of the egg, hatch the egg and make them this big Pro. They seem to pick and choose,” said Lee Priest.
Aside from Priest, IFBB head judge Steve Weinberger also touched on how bodybuilding has changed over the years. He believes the sport has ‘evolved back to where it was in the 90s,’ arguing that at least 10 top-tier Open class talents currently compete.
Always candid, Lee Priest continues to serve the bodybuilding community in retirement. He can respect how social media has changed the sport but believes contests used to feature more talent from the Men’s Open division.
RELATED: Lee Priest Discusses His 1,017-Rep Leg Press Set in Prime of His Career for $200 Bet
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