Chad Nicholls says Big Ramy is much improved heading into the 2023 Arnold Classic.
Prep and nutrition coach Chad Nicholls spoke on what went wrong for Big Ramy at the 2022 Olympia and how he hopes to fix things for the Arnold Classic. One of the pillars for Big Ramy’s success, Nicholls holds nothing back in his assessment of the Olympia and gives his insights into the issues as well as what they plan to do to rectify the situation.
Prepping for a bodybuilding show has its major hurdles. It isn’t as simple as lifting the weights building, the muscle and stepping on stage to collect your prize. Prepping for a show to look your absolute best is like a science experiment. Get one thing wrong, and it could end up throwing off the entire package. This is, perhaps what went awry with two-time Mr. Olympia Big Ramy at the 2022 show.
Heading into the 2022 Olympia, Big Ramy was the undeniable favorite. Fast forward and what we saw was a Ramy we weren’t used to seeing. His physique was off and it ended up costing him his reigning Mr. Olympia status.
What Went Wrong
Looking to uncover and understand what went wrong Chad Nicholls, prep and nutrition coach for Big Ramy, had to go back to the drawing board. In a recent interview Nicholls spoke on what went wrong for Ramy at the 2022 Olympia.
“Here’s the thing, I haven’t even really talked about, you know, what happened at the Olympia.
“Everything that possibly could have went wrong, and I mean everything, went wrong. I mean we had a disaster with his posing, we changed that around, that was a disaster. He was late kinda coming in, you know, where I wanted him so we’re playing catch up the whole week.
“When we were thinking about the Arnold, obviously we got some things that we need to correct, that we need to work on. A lot of the things, obviously, everybody knows the leg issues, the back issues, triceps issues.”
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So it appears that heading into the 2022 Olympia Big Ramy was facing a host of issues. It appears that the approach they had taken in the past proved to be less than adequate at this past year’s Olympia.
“We needed to kinda get back, you know, to the drawing board, so that’s what we did. We went back, we kinda scrapped everything that we had done before because honestly even some of the things that worked in past years, 2020 and 2021 didn’t work this year, because the body has changed. We’re dealing with some injuries and some issues.”
Heading Into the Arnold Classic
According to Chad Nicholls these drawbacks have potential solutions and will be addressed for the 2023 Arnold Classic.
“Where he’s at right now, he’s had the stem cells done, obviously that’s not something that’s going to be one hundred percent by the Arnold. But there will be some key areas that it’s noticeable in. So, I think the back is improved, maybe twenty percent, I think it’s back to where it probably was in 2020. Tricep about the same. So I think those things are a little bit improved from this last year at the Olympia.
“The big difference will be the legs. So everybody saw that he had the little divots and indentions in the legs, those are completely gone. The lines are completely deep and lined up all the way to the hip, so that will be a big note, a noticeable change in how he looks.”
Chad Nicholls also remarked on the size of Big Ramy heading into the 2023 Arnold Classic. According to Nicholls, Big Ramy is tipping the scales at 310lbs.
“He will without a doubt be bigger than he’s been ever since I’ve been training him, for sure.
“And he looks better, because actually his waist is basically the same size as it was, just everything else is more exaggerated.”
It sounds like Big Ramy and his team are making all the necessary changes to have the former reigning Olympia champion in tiptop condition. With little time before the 2023 Arnold Classic, we’ll soon see if Chad Nicholls’ assessment is accurate.
To see the full interview click here.
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
