Can Hadi Choopan win back the Mr. Olympia title? This question was posed in a recent episode of Prime Time Muscle on Dec. 26, 2025. Terrick El Guindy and Chris Cormier discussed what could prevent him from becoming a two-time champion.
Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford squared off for gold at the 2025 Mr. Olympia. By the slimmest of margins, Lunsford secured the victory. He became only the second bodybuilder since Jay Cutler to win the Olympia title back after losing it onstage.
The results have been heavily debated since Lunsford’s win. Thus far, Lee Priest and Shawn Ray have both suggested that Choopan could have gotten the nod. Having taken runner-up at the Olympia for the past three years, El Guindy and Cormier broke down what lies ahead for Choopan.
Terrick El Guindy Says Overdeveloped Leg and Condition Could Hurt Hadi Choopan at 2026 Olympia
In the video, Cormier pointed out that Choopan trains too heavily. He believes “The Persian Wolf’ could find more success onstage with a new training strategy.
“It’s got to be the training. I think he goes too heavy for a lack of better terms,” said Cormier. “You don’t know when you have a good muscle connection when you have six or seven plates on the squat. That’s not where you have a good connection.”
“As far as a bodybuilding competition, you got to bring more than that. You keep knocking your hand on the same door over and over again, but you’re not getting through that door, you got to do something different. I think that’s going to be his training. I think he’s got to change his training.”
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El Guindy highlighted that for Choopan to beat Lunsford at the Mr. Olympia, he’ll need to improve his underdeveloped leg and nail his conditioning on both days.
“Consistency. You can’t just show your best on Saturday, especially if you’re really close to guys like Derek, Samson. You got to knock it out of the park on Friday and Saturday. Come in with great conditioning on both days,” said El Guindy.
“The second thing is one leg is overdeveloped. I understand right arm is bigger than the left arm, but if it’s noticeable, then it’s a problem.”
Cormier circled back to Choopan’s training, urging him to focus more on connection than the amount of weight being used.
“With Hadi, at his age, it’s going to have to become you can’t do the same thing you’re doing at 25. You can’t be lifting those type of weights.
Now, you’re closer to the age of 38-40 in that area, you got to do things different. You got to be more connected. You got to use that intensity aspect and not the brute strength I can lift every weight in the gym type of mentality. You gotta change it up,” said Cormier.
Hadi Choopan won’t be sitting out for a year before the next Olympia. He has thrown his name into the stacked 2026 Arnold Classic Ohio and UK shows. Nick Walker will seek redemption in Columbus. In addition, Choopan will have to take out Andrew Jacked and Martin Fitzwater.
El Guindy and Cormier believe Choopan has a legitimate path back to the Mr. Olympia title. They insist that balanced legs and conditioning could be the only obstacles standing in his way.
RELATED: Derek Lunsford Says If All Are ‘100%,’ He and Hadi Choopan Edge Out Andrew Jacked and Samson Dauda
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