Rich Gaspari has an idea on how to make Men’s Physique less criticized… and it has nothing to do with board shorts.
During our latest interview with Rich Gaspari, he openly admitted to not watching the Men’s Physique Olympia 2020. His reason was just simply lack of excitement and interest. This criticism is somewhat common among old school and Men’s Open bodybuilders. But is there any way to win over their respect? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Rich Gaspari examines what the Men’s Physique division should change to gain favor with the critics.
First thing’s first, there’s no denying that the Men’s Physique division is extremely popular as a whole. It has a massive amount of competitors and often brings in a large audience. It’s a division that is thriving and not going anywhere anytime soon.
That being said, it is often the subject of criticism in viral headlines. This criticism often comes from old school bodybuilders or the Men’s Open division. Even fans of the Golden Era or Men’s Open seem to use Men’s Physique as a punching bag.
Of course, the criticism doesn’t matter much as the division as a whole continues to succeed. But respect can be a powerful trait that many athletes want and deserve. Men’s Physique competitors are hard working and skilled athletes. They don’t want to hear negative criticism – especially from other athletes.
That’s why we followed up with Rich Gaspari when he mentioned that he didn’t watch the Men’s Physique Olympia this past year. He claimed to find more excitement in other divisions. Why does Men’s Physique bring in less respect from him?
So we decided to ask, what can the Men’s Physique division change in order to win over the respect of guys like Rich Gaspari? In his response, Gaspari had an idea. And surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the board shorts. Instead, he thought it had everything to do with the core of how Men’s Physique competitions work.
The Men’s Physique division doesn’t have traditional poses. Instead, their poses are more a natural standing position. The key goal of Men’s Physique is to showcase a stellar physique and conditioning in a natural state. No front double biceps or most muscular poses. While the athletes do tighten up and flex slightly in their natural pose – they cannot hide any weakness with a good angle on a mandatory pose.
Rich Gaspari respects that in theory. He understands how much harder it is to be a Men’s Physique athlete without being able to use angles to hide weaknesses like other divisions often do. Instead, a Men’s Physique athletes needs to bear it all out. They have to solely rely on the power of their physique.
And while Gaspari finds this impressive, he doesn’t find it exciting. He believes that allowing traditional mandatory poses similar to Men’s Open will make for a better competition. It brings drama and excitement to the stage. Rich Gaspari doesn’t have lack of respect for the athletes. Instead, he simply has lack of excitement for the competitions themselves.
This kind of change will likely not happen. The specific posing routine for Men’s Physique is a huge part of what makes the division unique. And while there is often criticism from some certain loud fans or athletes – the reality is that the division is not struggling at all. There’s no need to change it just because of a loud minority – no matter how many headlines they may get.
You can watch Rich Gaspari’s comments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
