Australia’s Lee Priest has turned into a knowledgeable bodybuilding source since his days of competition. In a recent RxMuscle YouTube video, Priest urged removing ‘useless’ divisions in bodybuilding and picked Arnold Schwarzenegger to defeat Chris Bumstead in a fantasy matchup.
Lee Priest made a name for himself with impressive muscle mass, size, and conditioning in the Men’s Open division in the 90s. He participated in six Mr. Olympia events and went up against the likes of six-time champion Dorian Yates and eight-time winner Ronnie Coleman. Besides his insane arms, Priest was celebrated for his longevity having spent more than 15 years competing in the IFBB Pro League. He took to the sidelines after winning the 2013 NABBA Mr. Universe in his final showing.
Earlier this year, Priest called for removing the Men’s 212 division and redistributing the prize money in the Open category. He argued the worthy 212 competitors would be able to hold their own in the Open, as proven by two-time 212 Olympia winner Shaun Clarida, and former 212 Olympia champions Kamal Elgargni and Derek Lunsford.
Priest maintains a healthy lifestyle and trains daily post-retirement. Following the return of the Masters Olympia after more than a decade, there was speculation about whether Priest would make a comeback at the event. However, he dismissed the possibility due to his chest atrophy.
The 50-year-old provided fans with some of his best tips on how to maximize preacher curls for building bigger biceps and getting a strong pump three months ago. He detailed the different equipment and variations to use along with the ideal rep range.
Lee Priest criticized the eligibility criteria of the 2023 Masters Olympia two months ago. He suggested raising the age limit to 50+ instead of the current 40 and over and also adding the condition of being away from competition for at least two to three years.
Priest called for a friendly showdown with bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler after the 2023 Masters Olympia last month. He suggested hosting a ‘Golden Era’ seminar and going up against the four-time Mr. Olympia in a guest-posing appearance for the fans.
Lee Priest urges removing ‘useless’ divisions
In a recent YouTube video, Lee Priest called for eliminating several bodybuilding divisions. He believes in keeping only the Open and Fitness categories and none of the others.
“As I sit here pondering the sport of bodybuilding and I watch these Pro shows, these people standing on stage like pot plants, don’t know their names,” said Priest. “Back in our day, the old guy’s going back there, you knew everyone’s name. Every Pro show was top quality guys minus Mr. Olympia. Now everyone gets a trophy bulls***. Bodybuilding, this is how it should be. Only Open bodybuilding, open for the women, and fitness. Physique, Bikini, Wellness, go to your model girl pageants at Hawaiian Tropics because you’re f**king useless. But if we don’t have these classes, where do they compete?
“In the amateurs, stay there with your weight classes because you’re not good enough to be a Pro. That’s why you’re not making it anywhere because even as a Pro you suck. Just go back to being an amateur. 212 out the window. If you’re not good enough to be a good bodybuilder, you can’t make it. That’s just life people. That’s reality. Life’s hard. You suck. You shouldn’t be a Pro.”
Priest backed Nick Walker & Chris Bumstead as the most marketable bodybuilders
Lee Priest extended his support for Nick Walker and Chris Bumstead as the most marketable bodybuilders in the sport.
“In bodybuilding, I’d probably have to go around Nick Walker. In the sport, you’d probably go with Chris Bumstead because of the following. He’s marketable both to bodybuilders and the guys who don’t want to get that big because they can’t because they suck.
“What I’m saying is Bumstead is marketable but then if we just went bodybuilding, probably Nick because he’s young, marketable, good-looking, and stuff like that.”
He backed Samson Dauda as his favorite to win the 2023 Mr. Olympia.
“Samson. I think he’s got a nice combination of size and shape and he’s getting that freaky look. He has a nice balance overall so I’ll go Samson.”
Reigning four-time Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead ruffled some feathers when he declared he would defeat legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in a hypothetical matchup three months ago. Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout pushed back on Bumstead’s claim a week later.
Priest picks Arnold Schwarzenegger over Bumstead
Priest shared his thoughts on a fantasy showdown between Schwarzenegger and Bumstead, picking the seven-time Mr. Olympia to win.
“Arnold wins. Chris is good but Arnold just seemed to flow better. Chris has got great chest, nothing against Arnold’s chest and yeah, he didn’t have the best legs but they worked for him and in 74 he looked great. The arms, the twisting shots, it would be close but I’d give it to Arnold still.”
Lee Priest voiced the idea of taking on Kai Greene in an Olympia-style superhero showdown three weeks ago. He suggested donning superhero attire and performing skits with ‘The Predator’ on stage at a bodybuilding show.
Priest opened up on his diet philosophy while getting ready for competitions weeks ago. He revealed he would start dieting a minimum of 16 weeks before an event and get in top form four weeks out from a contest.
Priest’s latest take on removing some bodybuilding divisions may not be well received by the competitors but some believe it would shine a brighter light on Open talent.
You can watch the full video below.
RELATED: Lee Priest Reveals Changes in Training & Diet from His 20s to 50s
Published: 30 June, 2023 | 12:19 AM EDT
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My personal unprofessional opinion about Schwarzenegger’s body building career is his back and thighs were underdeveloped, and he never had great abs. Also, two of his Sandows he did not deserve to win. 1972 and 1980.