If you watched the webcast of the 2009 IFBB Mr. Olympia contest (or followed the results on any of the many websites covering it), you probably noticed Jay Cutler return to the stage with a lifetime best conditioning, and at a very light body weight to boot. He wasn’t the mass monster of years past. In 2003 or 2004, he would have been lucky to grab 6th place with a physique like that. However, in 2009 he won the Sandow trophy with this new level of shape – not size. Even though he still had a certain level of blockiness unavoidable because of his frame, he still managed to win the whole show. It wasn’t only Jay. Look at Branch Warren, Phil Heath, Kai Greene, and Dexter Jackson. They rounded out the top 5, and they were all smaller but leaner this years. Perennial favorites such as Markus Ruhl, Dennis Wolf, and Victor Martinez showed up carrying more muscle, to be sure – but they were soft in comparison. What is the lesson to be learned here? It would appear the IFBB “belly rule”, a mandate instituted five years ago, has finally come to fruition. The top contenders who showed up as mass monsters finished out of the big money. Those who came to the stage diced walked out with trophies.

How does this affect you as an amateur bodybuilder looking to one day reach the upper amateur or even professional ranks? Well, if you’ve ever flirted with the thought of “all out mass”, it might not be in your best interest to do so. In the past, judges looked past the huge midsections and awarded trophies (and prize monies!) based upon overall muscle levels. Those days are gone. Your bodybuilding efforts have to reflect these changes.

Your training should reflect that of a man seeking to be the tightest, most developed and compact physique onstage. Of course you should train using heavy compound movements. However, you should never limit yourself to this powerlifting style of training. Instead, you will need to integrate lighter, pumping movements as well. Your diet should consist of small, lean foods which are easily digested. Everybody enjoys a huge steak or pork chop dinner from time to time. However, binging like that on a nightly basis will leave your midsection stretched and distended. Year-round abdominal training is going to be required of you. Take a peek at the Friday night pre-judging pictures of Jay Cutler – his abdominals fleshed out like those of a lightweight. And he won the show as a result.

You should never model your entire bodybuilding philosophy and all of your efforts around the outcome of a single professional show. Most people reading this article will never step foot on a pro show. However, you can place yourself in a position better suited to winning more shows at your current level by developing the type of physique which is now being heralded as tops by those at the very zenith of the sport of bodybuilding.

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