Steve Cook critiques the current state of Men’s Physique.
Steve Cook is a breakout star of the fitness world. One of the first competitors involved in the Men’s Physique division back when it was first introduced – he became a symbol for what the Men’s Physique division should look like. He also broke through the niche of bodybuilding into the mainstream. Now considered more of a fitness personality and influencer, Steve’s latest breakthrough is staring as a trainer in the newly revived Biggest Loser series on USA. In our latest GI Exclusive interview clip, Steve Cook shares his opinion on the current state of Men’s Physique.
Men’s Physique is now a major division that brings in hundreds of athletes and even more fans across the globe to watch the competitions. Focusing more on a “beach body” look, the physiques are overall smaller when compared to Men’s Open. But the focus on aesthetic, conditioning, and proportions are all extremely important. But much like any division, as the years move along the sport evolves and change. Men’s Open keeps bringing in bigger sized freaks decade after decade – to the point where a new Classic Physique division was introduced to the NPC/IFBB for those who missed the Golden Era of bodybuilding physiques. Has Men’s Physique gone under the same transformation? Are the physique getting bigger?
Steve Cook seems to think so. He’s made his opinion clear in the past that he would prefer Men’s Physique to have height and weight limitations much like Classic Physique in order to preserve the “beach body” look that came with the division’s origins. Steve even states that he believes if you take the top five Men’s Physique competitors at the Olympia and put them in front of judges at the NPC Nationals, they would be told that their physiques are too big.
While Steve still has tremendous respect for the physiques in the division currently – he’s pointing out a huge shift in what happens once you earn a pro card and need to get an edge over the competition. It’s only natural for an athlete to try and gain slightly more size to stand out against the best of the best – and the judges are consistently rewarding that tactic. It’s not only happening in the Men’s Physique division but in fact in all divisions as they age.
Is this ultimately a problem? Steve Cook ends it all off with a positive message – if you are personally happy with your physique then that’s the most important thing. You can check out our GI Exclusive interview with Steve above.
