Sergio Oliva Jr. Responds To Recent Criticism Surrounding Open Bodybuilding

Sergio Oliva Jr. recently made comments about some negativity around Open Bodybuilding.

There has been plenty of criticism surrounding Open Bodybuilding in recent months. This comes after a recent string of deaths and major competitions such as the Arnold Classic and Olympia. Many old-school bodybuilders have been critical of today’s sport, including Robby Robinson, Lee Haney, and Samir Bannout. Recently, Sergio Oliva Jr. responded to criticism and came to the defense of today’s Open Bodybuilding.

Oliva Jr. recently finished third at the 2021 Legion Sports Fest. Following the competition, Oliva Jr. took to Instagram to defend the sport and acknowledge the hard work and dedication that it takes to get to the top.

“The ig pages that constantly bash open bodybuilding won’t post these kinds of pics. They’ll run to post shiesty ass click bate posts to start drama and get traction to their pages only talking about who lost to who rather than how aesthetically pleasing that lineup was on Sunday. How much promise and potential was in the top 6 with so many up and coming future stars.”

Sergio Oliva Jr. has turned into one of the best posers in bodybuilding. He is the son of Sergio Oliva, a three-time Olympia champion who had many battles with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Because of this, Oliva Jr. has been around the sport for many years and has seen plenty of changes.

 

This generation of Open Bodybuilding is based on size and conditioning. This has caused an uproar because of the preparation that athletes go through and the dangers of some tactics. This has even caused Schwarzenegger to make a statement himself on how to improve the division.

“With all the talk about open bodybuilding shape being dead and this and that I didn’t see anyone you wouldn’t want to look like and Older bodybuilders who talk shit about our generation don’t watch every show (I get it) but then talk about what isn’t around anymore or what’s dead. I will say this the coverage for content from @legionsportsfest was a lil weak. Unless they are about to come out with a ton of footage there really isn’t a lot of the actual stage stuff.
But anyone who was there or watched the live stream know it was so crazy at the end. So loud such a fight but at the same time spewing with comradely. We even had guys yelling from the back rooting us on.”

Sergio Oliva Jr. continued his intense response via Instagram by calling out some of the veterans for their lack of knowledge about today’s sport.

“But someone better tell @garystrydomofficial and @robbyrobinsonofficial and @officialsamirbannout and allllll of the other veteran bodybuilders that don’t contribute to any open athlete currently with training and mentoring ultimately which would make a difference yet rather sit on the side lines and complain that, bodybuilding isn’t just the top 3 at the Olympia. You don’t agree with that decision, fine. But quit with this exaggeration that the whole bodybuilding class doesn’t exhibit any old skl qualities that it started with. The problem is, all that stuff doesn’t get views and likes at the end of the day by the majority and it goes unseen. Like moments like this. #BodybuildingIsntDeadJustYourPerspectiveOfItIs

Sergio Oliva Jr. will not be the only athlete to come out and support bodybuilding and the positive news surrounding the sport. This has turned into a storyline where there are two clear sides to take and neither seems like it is going to budge.

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Greg Patuto
Greg has covered the four major sports for six years and has been featured on sites such as Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, SB Nation, NJ.com, and FanSided. Now, he is transitioning into the world of bodybuilding and strength sports.