Flex pro rundown.

Fouad Abiad: Fouad is making his way back to the stage after a lengthy and productive offseason. Obvious improvements to his back and thighs during that the offseason will be seen onstage. Whats so good about Fouad is that he can carry a lot of good, conditioned muscle. He has a great structure to pull off power poses such as a most muscular, but is shapely enough to pull off more artistic poses. Teaming up with Hany has helped immensely as Hany is ridiculous taskmaster that demands a lot from his clients. One thing Fouad needs to watch for is keeping his waist tight. Hopefully his arms have filled out a bit more also.


Grigori Atoyan: Winner of his pro-card at the 2009 USA's in the super heavyweight class. This man carries a lot of muscle. On the unfortunate side, he's not very conditioned. Even though he netted a 6th place at the 2010 Europa Pro show in Dallas last year, that field was not as strong as this field. He will need to come in his BEST condition to date to even have a hope of qualifying for the Olympia here. Grigori has pretty even development across the board with no glaring weakspots. Unless he comes in condition, he wont make any noise.


Robert Belisle: Our second Canadian competitor is a 202 competitor and with the field of big boys that are competing, I'm afraid he'll get lost in the lineup. He has great condition though, but jumping from a 10th place finish in the 202's in 2009 to the open class in 2011 may not bode well for him.


Evan Centopani: Throwing his hat into the show is the winner of the 2009 New York Pro and MD athlete. From the videos that have been posted, he appears to have made big improvements to his chest and arms which was also apparent in the 2 week out picture that was posted in his gym. I still would like to know if he made width and thickness improvements to his back and if he has filled out his legs a bit more. I do believe that taking prep into his own hands will help him more than hinder him.


Stan Efferding: "Worlds Strongest Bodybuilder" winner will have his work cut out for him. He carries a lot of mass up top, but the same can's be said for his lower body. He loses a bit when he turns around because his just aren't even with his upper body. He's also a pretty blocky bodybuilder. I don't see him getting a qualifying spot here, but you never know.


Wendell Floyd: Another 202 competitor throwing his hat into the open ring. He looks good, but he's just small, and in the front lat spread, his wast is a bit on the thick side. Another competitor, much like Robert Belisle who should concentrate on making a splash in the 202 class before moving up to an open class where they will be out weighed and out muscled.



Dan Hill: Ok, the good is that he has an INCREDIBLE frame that can carry a LOT of muscle. The bad is that he doen't carry the muscle nor does he display the conditioning to compliment such a frame. In his back double bicep he still has a way to go and his side chest has a LONG way to go. You can see the potential in his side tricep, front lat spread and front double bicep. Other than that, he's out his league here. He has to get big and thicker all over if he hopes to do anything at this level.


Dexter Jackson: Former Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic winner is no stranger to competing out here as he won the now defunct Ironman pro. What is not to say about this guy. He is pretty complete from head to toe and has density that just comes from years of being in the sport and killer genetics. If he can come in sharper than he did at the Olympia, then the show is his. Even though he is giving up pounds, this is Dexter Jackson and a tight, dense and hard Dexter puts this field to bed.

Ben Pakulski: Pak Man is coming hard. After taking more time off after the NY Pro last year, it can be pretty well speculated that he is coming in guns blazing. Just like Fouad he is a Rambod disciple and like I said before, Hany doe's not play when it comes to prep. The obvious with Ben is that he's bottom heavy and his upper body, while great, could use more filling out around the chest area along with a bit more back width. He's like Grigori in that he has no real weaknesses. A solid competitor that doesn't have to travel far as he is living and training in Cali.

Ben White: Ben White has what it takes to upset a lot of applecarts in the sport. He just comes in way to small for his frame. He's a big man, and while I am a fan of being in condition, you also have to have the mass to go along with it. I feel like been gives up too much muscle while dieting and instead of coming in full, he comes in tight, sharp and just flat. Could he win this show? Absolutely, but only if he nails the right combo of size and condition.

Dennis Wolf:The Wolfman is roaring on all cylinders! Bottom line is that he has to contend with Evan and Dex for the top spot. Me personally, I think he needs bigger hamstrings as they seem to disappear from the side and i hope he improves the presentation of his side chest. A thick and wide back are among the weapons he has in his arsenal and a long torso than can hold even more muscle. I would like to see him tighter though.

Now this is a GREAT lineup and an excellent way to kick off the pro season that a lot of us have been waiting for. If I were a betting man (and I'm not so don't ask) I'd say the final placings go like this

1: Dex
2: Evan
3: Dennis
4: Fouad
5: Pak Man
6: Ben White

Now 1-3 can go a myriad of ways, but I think 4th-6th is pretty solid.

Well, thnaks for letting me ramble and giving out my picks (awaiting nasty grams in his private message inbox declaring "Hey man, why you got me that placing?!")