Jose Raymond shares his thoughts on how Men’s 212 changed since his retirement.
As pro bodybuilding evolves, new divisions continue develop within the sport. Over the past five years we’ve seen the introduction of the Classic Physique division and the Wellness division. But with so many growing options within the sport – are certain divisions starting to fall behind. We asked that very question to Jose Raymond about the Men’s 212 division. Having retired and stepped away from the stage – does he think Men’s 212 has grown or declined in recent years? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Jose Raymond shares his critique on the current state of Men’s 212 bodybuilding.
The Men’s 212 bodybuilding landscape has changed significantly since Jose Raymond last competed on stage. The reigning champion, Flex Lewis, no longer dominates due to his retirement from the division. A new generation of Men’s 212 bodybuilders have risen up to reshape the depth fo the division. But has it changed for better or for worse?
We asked Jose Raymond to share his thoughts on the current crop of Men’s 212 athletes. Is the division as strong as when he was competing? Overall, Jose has great confidence in the Men’s 212 competitors currently active. His only disappointment is a small crop of extremely talented bodybuilders who can’t seem to show up on point the day of a show.
Jose Raymond explains that there are quite a few Men’s 212 bodybuilders who have physiques he absolutely loves. But when they actually show up on stage, they don’t hit the same mark from their progress pictures just a few days prior. Jose points out one particular bodybuilder as a key example of this – Derek Lunsford.
“There are some guys that I absolutely love their physiques but are disappointing when it comes to show day,” Jose Raymond states in our interview. He continues:
“Obviously, Derek Lunsford comes to mind because he’s arguably got one of the greatest physiques in the world. But he’s not nailing it on show day. That’s a little disappointing because man is his physique incredible.”
Being on point for the very day of a bodybuilding competition is one of the most challenging aspects of professional bodybuilding. While most of the hard physical work goes into training and dieting every single day – timing your dialed in physique for show day is a small but extremely important part of the sport.
The final week before a competition, or “Hell Week” as it’s often called, is an extremely challenging time period for pro bodybuilders. One small wrong move can completely throw off a physique – ruining an entire year’s worth of work.
So it seems that Jose Raymond sees extreme potential in many Men’s 212 bodybuilders. He’s just waiting for some of those fantastic physiques to be on point for the day of a competition. That shows a division that’s not dying but in fact about to explode into a new era of legends.
You can watch Jose Raymond go into full detail about his critique of Men’s 212 in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
