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Home » Bodybuilding

Milos Sarcev Criticizes Vacuums in Bodybuilding: ‘It Doesn’t Show the Muscle, It Hides It’

"This is really Mr. eight mandatory poses, not really Mr. Olympia," Sarcev gave his honest assessment of posing in bodybuilding.

Written by Doug Murray

Published on12 October, 2023 | 11:42 AM EDT

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Milo Talks Vacuums And Judging

Milo Talks Vacuums And Judging - Image credit @hadi_choopan Instagram @IFBBAma Youtube

Milos Sarcev is back to analyze the current state of judging and posing in bodybuilding. In an IFBB AMA YouTube video published on October 11, 2023, Sarcev discussed coaching biases, judging, and whether vacuums should be used for the abdominal and thigh pose. 

Since the 2023 Arnold Classic wrapped up in March, there has been considerable chatter online and among the bodybuilding community about the direction of judging. These discussions ignited after Samson Dauda (trained by Milos Sarcev) narrowly surpassed Nick Walker on the scorecards in Columbus, Ohio. 

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A post shared by Arnold Sports Festival presented by KSM-66 (@arnoldsports)

After the event, athletes’ rep Bob Cicherillo backed up the judges’ decision. Even though “The Mutant” displayed more conditioning and muscle hardness, Cicherillo emphasized that “The Nigerian Lion” pulled off the W thanks to better symmetry, proportions, posing, shape, and stage presence. 

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With 2023 Olympia approaching next month, many in the sport, including Milos Sarcev, wonder how the event will be scored and whether or not vacuums will play a significant role on the sport’s greatest stage — which is a practice that aims to make competitors’ waists look smaller with more V-taper.

Milos Sarcev Talks Coaching Biases, Posing & The Challenges of Judging 

Boasting 40 years of experience, Sarcev says he’s learned that bodybuilding is judged on more than just conditioning. 

“Sometimes I’m criticizing judges and sometimes I’m defending them, let’s make that clear, sometimes I don’t agree and I’m not an expert, I’m not a judge. I’m a bodybuilder for 40 years. I look at bodybuilding through my eyes and how I would like them to judge. But throughout the years I’ve learned to look for much more and filter everything. 
 
It’s not just a conditioning contest, for example, I know that you love condition so condition might be very up high on your priority list when you get there but at a professional level when those bodybuilders are so close to each other right? Then you look for the size, you look for the shape, you look for conditioning, you look for hardness, and muscle density, and maturity, and polishment, and tie-ins, and striations, separation, presentation, there is so much more to it.” 
Sarcev emphasized the importance of experiencing live shows for accurate judging, citing Tyler Manion and Steve Weinberger as prime examples.
 
“I didn’t know much about Tyler’s opinions before but the more I listen to him… they’re all aligned as Jim [Manion] would think and Jim was an unbelievable judge. He would tell you… look at what Steve Weinberger does, 20 people shows up on the stage, he glances one minute maybe, and he already has a clear idea of who the top six is.” 
 
“He has that kind of eye and he’s usually spot-on right off the bat,” added Sarcev. 
Given the distractions and demands of judging, Sarcev admits it’s a challenging job. 
 
“There’s so many things that can distract. People that have deeper separation from afar they can appear so much more ripped but then when you come closer you see that deep separation is still covered in so much lard around. 
 
Here’s the most important thing: somebody is mentioning now, ‘Oh maybe now the trend is changing. Maybe now they are looking for more aesthetic physiques.’ Look, when Dorian was winning, I disagreed with it. I was like ‘No way.’ He doesn’t have a better physique than Kevin Levrone, than Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Chris Cormier – that was my statement. 
 
But then when you really look pose by pose, then he’s losing. Then I look, he damn didn’t lose this one. The side triceps, shit he doesn’t have arms like all these guys, but in that side triceps pose that arm looked phenomenal and everything else was perfectly balanced. Shit, that’s what judges also go for. So it can be a freaky physique,” Milos Sarcev shared. 
 
Overall, Sarcev contends that Mr. Olympia has become a contest of who is able to hit the eight mandatory poses best. 
 
“To angle yourself you don’t show your ties. So, when I was debating with Bob Cicherillo, I told him this is really Mr. eight mandatory poses, not really Mr. Olympia. Because I think the free posing routine when you add so many other poses now you’re not training just eight mandatories, now you show another eight or God knows how many you have. Like whoa, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sergio Olvia, Frank Zane, they are known for poses other than mandatories.” 

Sarcev Calls Out Vacuums 

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A post shared by Derek Lunsford (@dereklunsford_)

According to “The Mind,” vacuum poses “hide the muscles” and he believes they add nothing to the abdominals and thigh pose. 

“Ab and thighs, you can do all three ways. Now, vacuum doesn’t show the muscle, it hides the muscle. I hate it. Yes, it looks good for some people, but it’s called abdominals and thighs. How do you show abdominals when you are vacuuming it? I disagree with that. That is an intercostal serratus shot, not an abdominal shot.
Before wrapping up, Sarcev took aim at bodybuilders who stay in contest shape but refuse to compete: 
 
“Should men be muscular or fat or skinny? There’s no question every man should want to be muscular, not at the level of bodybuilding but, you know whatever. There’s not even a question.
 
But now for bodybuilders, especially Pro bodybuilders, for you to say I just like to train and I like to be jacked but I don’t want to be contest-ready, bullshit! There’s no better feeling you know when every fiber moves when you breathe when you turn. Everything is happening. I mean, that’s what we train for.” 
Aside from his latest YouTube commitment, Sarcev has been inundated with work before 2023 Mr. Olympia. He will see to it that Samson Dauda, Regan Grimes, and Behrooz Tabani bring their absolute best packages possible to the sport’s most celebrated showcase of the year. 
 
With the Mr. Olympia contest coming up in three weeks, it will be fascinating to see if the competitors rely on vacuum poses for their abs and thigh shots. 
 
RELATED: Samson Dauda Talks Progress w/ Milos Sarcev for 2023 Mr. Olympia: ‘Back Has Improved Leaps & Bounds Already

You can watch the full video from the IFBB AMA YouTube channel below: 


If you have any questions about this news, please feel free to contact Doug by leaving a comment below.

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Doug Murray

Doug Murray

Doug Murray is a News Editor for Fitness Volt with a focus on strength sports, including bodybuilding and powerlifting. His experience covering diverse sports, including MMA, for publications like Sportskeeda and CagesidePress informs his in-depth reporting.

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