{"id":9726,"date":"2023-01-06T21:59:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T22:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/?p=9726"},"modified":"2023-01-06T23:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T23:09:48","slug":"former-mr-olympia-samir-bannout-believes-contest-qualification-should-be-more-selective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/everything-else\/former-mr-olympia-samir-bannout-believes-contest-qualification-should-be-more-selective\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout Believes Contest Qualification Should Be More Selective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To close the 2022 calendar year, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) revealed the standards for the 2023 Olympia qualification process. The contest&#8217;s next iteration will occur sometime in November 2023 in Orlando, FL. Before that competitive moment arrives, a former Mr. Olympia (1983) champion, Samir Bannout, recently discussed what he feels are issues concerning bodybuilding&#8217;s main event. <\/p>\n<p>During a Jan. 3, 2023, episode of <em>The Muscle Maturity Podcast<\/em>, Bannout broke down his current thoughts on bodybuilding as a sport and where he feels the flagship Mr. Olympia must evolve. Among the more notable bullet points was the former fitness titan stressing that <strong>the qualification process for the contest should be more rigid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Robby Robinson Right? Samson Beat Walker, Worst Olympia Yet? | The Muscle Maturity Podcast EP. 27\" width=\"950\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hB2tf8E0_4c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"is-layout-constrained wp-block-group is-style-call-out-bm-icon\">\n<p><em><strong>More from Breaking Muscle:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/overhead-press-variations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"184937\">8 Overhead Press Variations for Stronger Shoulders<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/renegade-row\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"184938\">How to Do the Renegade Row for Conditioning and Core Strength<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Perhaps the most significant change to the IFBB&#8217;s Olympia qualification system in 2023 was that<strong> there would no longer be a points system<\/strong>. Only the top-five finishers in the 2022 Mr. Olympia, the top three athletes in <a href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/2022-olympia-saturday-finals-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"184939\">every other 2022 Olympia division<\/a>, and the respective contest winners of every IFBB Pro League competition in 2023 will qualify for November&#8217;s festivities in Florida. <\/p>\n<p>In a spanning discussion, this is a change that Bannout welcomed and said doesn&#8217;t go far enough. The 2022 Mr. Olympia stage held a field of 30 competitors vying for the title, which was too vast a field in Bannout&#8217;s experienced opinion.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>&#8220;The Olympia should never be more than 20 contestants. Never. That should be the limit. The cream of the crop should get on that stage,&#8221; Bannout said. &#8220;If you don\u2019t make the top ten, it\u2019s over. I think the top five should qualify again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Regarding prize money, the Men&#8217;s Open category, with <a data-lasso-id=\"184940\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/hadi-choopan-wins-2022-mr-olympia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">champion Hadi Choopan<\/a>, eclipsed every other participating Olympia division <a data-lasso-id=\"184941\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/2022-mr-olympia-award-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by far in the 2022 edition of the Olympia<\/a>. This is a discrepancy Bannout doesn&#8217;t appreciate. <a data-lasso-id=\"184942\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/arnold-schwarzenegger-classic-physique-replace-mr-olympia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Like Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a>, Bannout believes the Classic Physique division deserves more respect. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cA guy like <a data-lasso-id=\"184943\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/chris-bumstead-wins-2022-classic-physique-olympia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris Bumstead<\/a>, honestly, he was the most conditioned and the most professional at the Olympia weekend, and his check was $50,000.&#8221; Bannout started. &#8220;And the third-place winner (in the Men\u2019s Open) took home $100,000. How [expletive] do you explain that?\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As for improving the Olympia&#8217;s general presentation, Bannout noted he thinks the contest&#8217;s organizers should be making more of an earnest effort to highlight <a data-lasso-id=\"184944\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/legendary-bodybuilder-ronnie-coleman-calf-raises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">past victors<\/a>. To this former Olympia champion, his suggested plan is to continue building the sport&#8217;s mystique while catering to loyal spectators by honoring Olympia winners from previous years. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cIt [would be] really cool every decade, at least or every 5-6 years, bring all the Mr. Olympias on stage for just two minutes,&#8221; Bannout proposed. &#8220;And that\u2019s gonna bring a more happy atmosphere and celebration. Like Arnold does [at the Arnold Classic contest], he brings all the former Arnold Classic champions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"sbi-embed-wrap\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media sbi-embed\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CdymI9ePhyc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:500px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CdymI9ePhyc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CdymI9ePhyc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Samir Bannout (@officialsamirbannout)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"is-layout-constrained wp-block-group is-style-call-out-bm-icon\">\n<p><em><strong>More from Breaking Muscle:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/kettlebell-deadlift\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"184945\">How to Do the Kettlebell Deadlift for Lower Body Size and Strength<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/dumbbell-pullover\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"184946\">How to Do the Dumbbell Pullover for Upper Body Muscle and Mobility<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Whether the IFBB and the Olympia&#8217;s organizers will take Bannout&#8217;s suggestions and apply them in the future remains to be seen. For now, he&#8217;s just the latest legend of the sport who seems to want better for those athletes that have come after him. <\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image: @officialsamirbannout on Instagram<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/samir-bannout-mr-olympia-qualification\/\">Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout Believes Contest Qualification Should Be More Selective<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\">Breaking Muscle<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To close the 2022 calendar year, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) revealed the standards for the 2023 Olympia qualification process. The contest\u2019s next iteration will occur sometime in November 2023 in Orlando, FL. Before that competitive moment arrives, a former Mr. Olympia (1983) champion, Samir Bannout, recently discussed what he feels are issues concerning bodybuilding\u2019s&#8230;<br \/>\nThe post Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout Believes Contest Qualification Should Be More Selective appeared first on Breaking Muscle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[20,1,21,22,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9727,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726\/revisions\/9727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}