2016 Chicago pro review
After a 2 week break we’ve had another pro contest and boy was it a great one! The Chicago pro was absolutely stacked with talent in all classes but we will primarily focus on the muscle menzz as we always do, specifically the bodybuilders of the 212 and the Open class. The windy city hosted yet another great event and the Wings of strength promoters seem to take the quality up a notch every year, making the Chicago pro one of the more prestigious events of the decade! That being said, in my opinion it is sad that bodybuilders aren’t allowed to pose individually at the prejudging anymore just to save time for other classes, the individual posing has been a crucial part of judging for decades! I am definitely not a fan of this new trend, hopefully it will just remain in the lower level competitions. Now that I got that out of the way let’s focus on the athletes and what they brought, some were a huge disappointment and some were a pleasant surprise, let’s see how they stacked up against each other!
Open
1st – Dallas McCarver
To nobody’s surprise Dallas has absolutely sweeped this show since the minute he walked out. He literally made others look like 212 competitors with his hellish proportions, sporting a massive 6’+ wide frame with a waist of a figure competitor. His arms, delts and legs must already be some of the biggest and best in the sport, absolutely riddled with detailed round muscle everywhere. While we’ve seen him sharper before, Dallas has definitely done more than enough to be the winner here. Only thing he needs now is time to bring his back up to match his insane legs and arms. At only 25 years old we can’t really ask much more can we. He’ll be at the Olympia and I’m predicting him to be top 6, sounds far fetched but I think he can do it! Congrats on the second win!
2nd – Michael Lockett
The genetic phenom himself lands in yet another second place finish, funny because he placed the same at this show last year as well. Mike has made crazy improvements since then but it wasn’t enough to snatch the top spot here, still lacking size and detail from the back as well as having symmetry issues especially in his quads. If he keeps improving like he has the last few years I can see him placing first unless he bumps into a guy like Dallas again! His conditioning was good but he definitely wasn’t razor sharp, and that’s something he’ll need if he wants to move up.
3rd – Brandon Curry
Can’t say I was expecting this! Brandon definitely took criticism from his last contest to heart (the ASC South Africa), put in the work and the result is pretty spectacular, bringing a package we haven’t seen from him for a few years now! He was fuller, tighter and rounder, combine that with his crazy symmetry and shape and you’ve got yourself a great bodybuilder. As much as I’ve trashed him the last time I have to give praise now, right? He definitely needs to be a few percentages tighter if he wants to be a top pro like he used to be and he’ll need some more overall size and thickness but this is a step in the right direction, I’d even dare to say he should have placed second here, being a much better balanced bodybuilder than Lockett.
4th – Johnnie Jackson
Yet another surprise at this contest, just when you think he’s finished he comes back with style! After suffering from lung cancer this year and looking off at the Arnold Classic Ohio, JOJ seems to be healthy and back on track landing another top 5 finish in his long career. The veteran brought a smaller, streamlined package and it worked. His symmetry was much improved and he looked pretty sharp proving once again that size and fullness isn’t everything. We all know his glaring weakness, namely his legs, but if he keeps bringing it like this or better I can’t see him out of top 5 in the right line ups, which is more than you can ask for at his age and milage in my opinion. All of that being said I think this was a big gift for him, with many athletes behind him sporting a better physique which you’d think would equate for a lower placing but I guess everything is possible in this sport!
5th – Sasan Herati
We have a British rookie here! After winning the UKBFF finals in 2015 he has chosen this show to be his first and the freak brought it to a very respectable fifth place! Sasan doesn’t have pretty round muscle bellies but he brought pretty good size and conditioning to the table, sporting a popping “fresh“ look. To place higher I believe he’ll need to work on his overall size and thickness while trying to retain the best lines possible but for now this a pretty good pro physique, and I have to say that he could have placed above both JOJ and Lockett and nobody would have complained, he had much better balance than both. Hopefully once he pays his dues (ugh, I hate this shit) the judges will place him higher.
6th – Akim Williams
Freak. Absolute fucking freak. There’s no other word to describe this guy, packing an insane amount of thick muscle on his frame, he looks like a comic book character. Actually you know what, there is another word to describe him… off! Yet again Akim brought more muscle and improved his weak points but he just can’t seem to find the right formula and finally nail it like he should! He could have challenged Dallas for the win here because he had enough muscle to do so instead he got beat by guys that shouldn’t have beat him just because he wasn’t in shape. Hopefully he’ll dig deep and get it right and get what’s deservingly his… a first place trophy.
7th – Andrew Hudson
Nice to see my South African buddy moving on up! After placing 10th at the Arnold South Africa, Andrew got back to work and is slowly working his way up to smaller digit placings. It seems that his arm injury from last year was a big setback since his upper body wasn’t as full as usual yet again here but his tall frame, lines, sheer size and huge legs carried him well in this line up. Other than his upper body he’ll need to work more on the conditioning aspect, knowing his potential I think he’s more than capable of creating a crazy physique!
8th – Fred Smalls
While Fred improved since the last time we saw him, it still wasn’t enough to threaten the top spots at this show BUT I think he got overlooked here. He could have placed a bit higher here but not by that much because he still lacks that much needed sharpness, as well as thickness in his posterior chain. His problem is his shorter frame as well, he gives up a bit of size and in a lineup like this he got lost in the mix!
P.S. I am definitely not a fan of his dancing routines, carry on carry on!
9th – Rafael Jaramillo
Damn, Rafael brought a very good package here, absolutely riddled with detail. He brought his legs up but he still needs to more muscle everywhere, especially in the legs. Unfortunately this show was too deep for Rafael so his placing is definitely understandable but if he keeps improving like he has since he turned pro at the USA’s 3 years ago I think he could become a top 5 competitor in the right line ups.
10th – Paulo Almeida
Paulo “The freak“ rounds up our top 10 here and that’s a very sad statement to make, knowing how much potential this guy has and how freaky he is. The knock on him is usual, conditioning, conditioning and yet again conditioning. He also needs another off season to bring his back up and man, once he pulls it all together watch out! From what I know he switched coaches not too long ago, hopefully that does the trick for this Canadian behemoth.
*photo credit Muscular Development and Chris Nicoll
The post appeared first on Project Bodybuilding.