Brandon Hendrickson certainly doesn’t agree with the negative criticism thrown at Men’s Physique from Men’s Open legends in the sport.
Over the past decade or so, there has been a sort of “battle” happening between Men’s Open and Men’s Physique bodybuilding. Perhaps it’s just overblown by big names making statements, perhaps it’s not. But the key attribute of this rivalry comes in the form of Men’s Open bodybuilders negatively criticizing Men’s Physique. Specifically, they criticize the board shorts that cover Men’s Physique athlete’s legs. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Brandon Hendrickson reacts to this criticism against Men’s Physique. His advice to the critics, wait until you see his physique this year.
While it might be slightly over-exaggerated due to social media and comments on the internet, there has been a public rivalry of sorts happening between Men’s Open and Men’s Physique bodybuilding. For some, the harsh words back and forth have been taken to heart. It wasn’t that long ago that Jeremy Buendia took to Instagram to blast Men’s Open competitors for consistently insulting Men’s Physique.
At its worst, these insults can be seen as disrespect for the hard work put in by Men’s Physique athletes. At its best, it’s a playful rivalry between two divisions that live within the same sport.
The topic has grown in such popularity that even legendary bodybuilders have chimed in about it. Some stating that they don’t understand Men’s Physique – mostly criticizing the lack of legs shown. The traditional board shorts Men’s Physique athletes wear, they argue, covers the upper legs and allows athletes to skip training legs.
Brandon Hendrickson is here to debunk this myth. While there will always be athletes that try to skip steps and not train legs, this doesn’t mean that people taking the sport seriously should be disrespected. Just like there are less talented Men’s Open bodybuilders, there are Men’s Physique athletes that don’t always make the cut as well. What’s important is to judge the division based on the best in the category. It showcases the ultimate potential that the division can reach.
When we asked Brandon Hendrickson what he thought of legends criticizing his division, he became very passionate. He wasn’t angry but he made it clear that the criticism is unwarranted. “It bothers me that they haven’t seen me yet. Because if they have seen me they wouldn’t say anything like that.”
Those are confident words that continue to showcase just how ready he is to dominate at the Olympia 2020 later this year. But Hendrickson does continue to explain in more detail just what bothers him about the negative criticism. He continued:
“If you really pay attention and you watch. Guys like me, like Jeremy, like Chase Savoie guys who train their legs and give respect to the entire physique… we’re not just upper bodybuilders.”
Brandon Hendrickson’s main argument is that you can tell when a Men’s Physique athlete has trained their legs. Men’s Open competitors are so stuck on the board shorts but in reality the judges and the fans can see the difference between well developed legs vs weak legs even with the shorts worn.
For Brandon Hendrickson, he will always respect the history of what came before Men’s Physique. There would be no Men’s Physique without Men’s Open bodybuilding. While Hendrickson can’t speak for other athletes directly, he personally makes it his mission to perfect every inch of his physique. He believes many of the top athletes do the same. What Hendrickson hopes for, is that old school legends in the sport don’t let a few weaker competitors represent the whole division. Or worse, let the very idea of board shorts automatically discount the hard work these athletes do.
You can watch Brandon Hendrickson’s full comments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
