Urs Kalecinski left for the USA to participate in the 2023 Olympia on October 4, 2023. But before that, he teamed up with veteran bodybuilder Markus Ruhl for a training session and form check.
Urs Kalecinski is a German Professional bodybuilder that competes in the Classic Physique division of the IFBB Pro League. His rise through the rank was almost meteoric as he surprised the bodybuilding community with a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Olympia debut. Kalecinski has since won the 2022 Boston Pro and the 2022 Kuwait Classic Pro. He also has podium finishes at the 2022 and the 2023 Arnold Classic on his name.
At the 2022 Olympia, ‘Miracle Bear’ defeated the likes of Breon Ansley and Terrence Ruffin to secure a third-place finish. He was confident to bring home the 2023 Arnold Classic Physique. However, a severe case of food poisoning forced the German bodybuilder to be hospitalized a few days before the event. In spite of this, Kalecinski managed to pull off second standing behind the winner Ramon Rocha Queiroz.
Although defeating Chris Bumstead is the ultimate goal for Kalecinski, he is excited for a showdown against Queiroz as the Brazilian has beaten him three times so far. Urs Kalecinski has made 2023 Olympia the singular focus of his life over the last few months and his physique has started to look like a world beater’s in recent updates.
Urs Kalecinski and Markus Ruhl go through a push day workout
Four weeks out of the 2023 Olympia, Kalecinski teamed up with veteran bodybuilder Markus Ruhl for a chest and shoulders workout. Popularly known as ‘German Nightmare’, Markus Ruhl is one of the most famous bodybuilders to come out of Germany.
The mass monster primarily competed in the 2000s era of bodybuilding. Although he never won the coveted Mr. Olympia trophy, Ruhl was one of the main attractions on the stage due to his massive size. His well-defined and huge pecs were one of the most impressive aspects of his physique.
This chest and shoulder workout marked the final training season of Urs Kalecinski in Germany before he flew off to the USA to compete at the 2023 Olympia. He trained chest and shoulders with Markus Ruhl and received final feedback on his physique from the veteran bodybuilder.
So without further delay, let’s take a look at this training session and see how Markus Ruhl feels about Kalecinski’s physique.
Hammer Strength Incline Chest Press
Kalecinski and Ruhl started the workout with chest press on the Hammer Strength machine. The movement pattern on the plate-loaded piece of equipment was at an incline angle to work the upper pecs / clavicular head of the pectoral muscles. After annihilating a few sets of the exercise, the duo moved on to the next exercise.
Machine Decline Chest Press
Ruhl next guided Kalecinski through decline chest press on a selectorized machine to shift the focus on lower pecs. They took their turns at the machine and pushed each other through heavy sets. After finishing a few working sets, the training partners concluded the exercise with a double drop set.
Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raises
After targeting the pectoral muscles with machine exercises, Kalecinski and Ruhl worked on the lateral delts with dumbbells. Seated variation of dumbbell lateral raises reduces the need for core muscles to stabilize the upper body. This helps focus more on the target muscles – lateral / medial deltoids. The German bodybuilders executed some heavy sets of seated dumbbell lateral raises and advanced over to the next exercise in the line.
Pec Deck Flyes
Kalecinski next performed this isolation exercise under Markus Ruhl’s watchful eye. One of the most potent movements for pectoral muscle activation, pec deck flye is a must include movement for building adduction strength in the upper body. Kalecinski performed a couple of heavy sets of this movement and took to the final exercise of the session.
One Arm Cable Lateral Raises
Kalecinski and Ruhl next tackled the cable lateral raises to add last bit of stimulus to the lateral delts and called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout consisted of following exercises:
- Hammer Strength Incline Chest Press – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
- Machine Decline Chest Press – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 1 double drop set
- Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps
- Pec Deck Flyes – 2 sets to failure
- One Arm Cable Lateral Raises – 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps per arm
NOTE: The number of sets and reps mentioned above are based on the visual observation of the video. Actual numbers may be different
Urs Kalecinki shows off ripped physique update
After finishing the push day workout, Kaleicnski showed his massively improved physique to get a feedback from Markus Ruhl. His fuller pecs, massive arms and quads stand out as the most noticeable part of the physique. But the improvement Kalecinski has made in his back is the single biggest achievement in his journey.
Kalecinski’s side and thick back is a far cry from the unimpressive look it possessed during the early going of his career. Additionally, his glutes have been developed remarkably with striations and muscle definition. Unfortunately, the posing trunks design for Classic Physique will probably not do justice to this part of the physique.
Markus Ruhl was absolutely blown away by Urs Kalecinski’s physique and said:
“I’m laughing my head off. I can’t imagine anyone having a perfect body. Yes, maybe one has a little more muscle. But perfection? Beauty, full of volume, hardness, balance… There’s nothing more!”
Kalecinski responded:
“We checked the form with Markus. I saw a few highlights. I picked up some final advice; last tweaks, last instructions and qualitative opinion before leaving for the USA tomorrow.”
Urs Kalecinski looks primed to bring home the 2023 Classic Physique Olympia title. But will the progress he has achieved so far be enough for him to beat Chris Bumstead and Ramon Rocha Queiroz? Let us know in the comments!
Watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Urs Kalecinski’s personal YouTube channel:
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Published: 18 October, 2023 | 9:17 AM EDT
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