Tag: Mohamed El Emam
Did Mohamed El Emam Compete In Too Many Bodybuilding Shows In 2021?
[embedded content]
Mohamed El Emam reflects back on his 2021 season and examines how doing six shows in a year hurt his chances more than helped.
Mohamed El Emam had quite the active bodybuilding season in 2021. He competed in six shows over the course of the year. This included some major shows such as the New York Pro and the Arnold Classic. He did consistently well, often placing in the top five for each competition. Yet he was never able to land that first place victory. In our latest GI Exclusive, Mohamed El Emam looks back on how competing in six shows might have hurt his chances for victory more than helped him.
Mohamed El Emam had an incredible drive to qualify and compete in the Mr. Olympia 2021. his drive was so fierce that he ended up coming in six competitions throughout the year. Ultimately, he did not compete at the Olympia competition. What was most frustrating is that El Emam’s physique is extremely promising and earned him a top five spot in nearly every competition of 2021. Still, the Mr. Olympia alluded him.
Looking back, Mohamed El Emam believes that he ultimately competed in too many shows. This left him less time for recovery and growth. It also gave him less time to reflect and adjust his methods properly for real change. The end result was a powerful physique but not necessarily the best one on stage. He stayed in the top five just enough times to keep hype and attention on him – but could not rise up for a victory.
This vicious cycle not only kept the fans hyped for each next competition – it kept Mohamed El Emam hyped as well. He was so close to earning the victory each time that he continued to jump back into the fray – believing that the very next one would be his shot.
In pro bodybuilding, competing in this many competitions is rare. While it does sometimes happen, there’s a reason why the top bodybuilding pros only compete twice – and often times only once – per year. Consider Big Ramy, the current Mr. Olympia champion. He has the ability to focus all year on one goal. One competition. Whereas someone like Mohamed El Emam has shorter term goals for each new competition he competed in. This splits up his focus.
Of course, the Mr. Olympia champion has the luxury of only competing once a year. He does not need to qualify, nor does he need to worry about prize money due to the heavy pay out of winning the previous year. Not to mention sponsorship opportunities that open up when you are the best in the world. Other rising bodybuilders don’t have that same luxury.
Looking back, Mohamed El Emam states that he probably should have started slowing down after the New York Pro. Given himself more time to adjust, grow, recover, and focus on something like the Arnold Classic. Ultimately, El Emam placed seventh at the Arnold Classic 2021. This was one of the few times he landed outside of the top five. This might be due to burnout from the previous five competitions. Although, it could also be due to a higher caliber lineup at the second biggest show of the year.
In either case, Mohamed El Emam has now learned his lesson and intends to slow things down. Sadly, he was also forced into slowing things down after a car accident in November put him into the hospital. While he is alive and well – he had stated he would be unable to compete for at least six months. An unexpected turn for sure and one that will certainly set him back.
But perhaps after recovery and a new found outlook on his bodybuilding plans and prep – he will return a new version of the Mohamed El Emam fans grew to love. It may not be in 2022 (we’ll see), but perhaps in 2023 El Emam will rise up with a new physique that places him as a threat in the Arnold Classic or Mr. Olympia. Only time will tell.
You can watch Mohamed El Emam’s full comments about his jam-packed year of competing by watching our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
Mohamed El Emam Injured In Car Accident, Will Not Compete For At Least 6 Months
Mohamed El Emam is stable after being involved in a car accident – but will not be able to train or compete for some time.
Pro bodybuilder Mohamed El Emam has been injured in a car accident in St. Petersburg Russia. He did not suffer life threatening injuries but has claimed he will not be able to train or compete for at least six months. The news was announced via his Instagram on Friday, November 11, 2021.
Mohamed El Emam is a Men’s Open pro bodybuilder who has been rising through the ranks over the past three years. Most recently he had competed in the KO Pro Egypt competition and placed fourth. He also competed at the Arnold Classic 2021 and placed 7th. He is a bodybuilder with a promising physique that has been garnering hype from fans as he’s progressed through the sport.
Unfortunately, now it seems his progress has to be put on hold. According to a recent post from his Instagram, he was involved in some sort of car accident. Though he keeps the details vague – he confirms that the event was not life threatening. However, he has sustained enough injury to prevent him from training.
Below is a translated excerpt from his Instagram post:
“I had a car accident in the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia! It is difficult to get back to training now, given that I have had an injury, and it will also be difficult to participate in tournaments in the coming period; pray for me for a speedy recovery… It is very difficult for me to return to the gym now; also performances at competitions I think not more than half a year, many injuries.”
Before competing in the Arnold Classic 2021 earlier this year, Generation Iron had the opportunity to sit down with Mohamed El Emam for a video interview. We discussed his bodybuilding origins, his training tactics, and what he planned for the future of his career.
[embedded content]
Unfortunately, this accident will most definitively change his future plans for the time being. We do not know specifically at this moment what kind of injuries he has sustained – so it is not clear if any of these injuries can lead to permanent damage affecting his pro bodybuilding career.
Based on Mohamed El Emam’s Instagram post, he remains hopeful. He claims to have had “many injuries” but also expects to be able to start training and competing after six months. If this is true, this might simply be a small bump in the road in comparison to the bigger picture of his bodybuilding career.
The entire staff here at Generation Iron wishes Mohamed El Emam a speedy recovery. Generation Iron will also provide updates to this story and El Emam’s recovery progress as more information becomes available.
Mohamed El Emam: Ronnie Coleman’s Best Package Would Easily Win Olympia Today
[embedded content]
Mohamed El Emam believes no bodybuilder currently competing would be able to beat Ronnie Coleman at his best.
Whenever we have a chance to interview a pro bodybuilder for our GI Exclusives, we always ask them for their picks of the best bodybuilders of all time. Each person’s list can reveal some insight into their own goals and careers. At the same time, there is also often a commonality between each list. Certain competitors so impressive that they can’t be ignored. Ronnie Coleman is one of those athletes. For Mohamed El Emam, Ronnie is the absolute best of all time. He goes a step further by claiming that no modern bodybuilder today could defeat Ronnie in his prime. In our latest GI Exclusive, Mohamed El Emam claims Ronnie Coleman would easily win the Mr. Olympia today – including against current champ Big Ramy.
It’s no secret that Ronnie Coleman has the reputation as one of the sport’s best bodybuilders. That’s for good reason. Ronnie solidified the mass monster era and displayed a package so massive and so conditioned – that it seemed almost inhuman. To this day, few have been able to match that kind of shocking physique. It’s for this reason that Mohamed El Emam believes Ronnie is the single greatest bodybuilder of all time.
In fact, Mohamed El Emam believes that Ronnie Coleman’s physique is so impressive – that he would easily win the Mr. Olympia today if he were magically in his prime. That’s an example of how legendary Ronnie’s physique has become in bodybuilding. Some believe he has yet to be matched.
Big Ramy, our current and now two time Mr. Olympia champion, has often been compared to Ronnie Coleman. They both bring mass monster size (even compared to an entire division now packed with mass monsters). Both Ronnie and Big Ramy are unnaturally huge compared to the competition. In recent years, Ramy has also gotten his conditioning under control to look even closer to Ronnie’s impressive package during his prime years.
That being said, Mohamed El Emam cannot but Big Ramy on his list of best bodybuilders just yet. It’s only been a short while that Ramy has been champion – and it remains to be seen if he could maintain the conditioning needed to reign in the long term. El Emam believes that in five more years we can look back and more accurately evaluate Big Ramy.
Even still, Mohamed El Emam is very clear in his statement that Ronnie Coleman could “easily win the Mr. Olympia today.” That includes Big Ramy. So despite Ramy often being compared to Ronnie – El Emam still doesn’t quite put Ramy in the same category. In a way, that’s a major factor that’s been missing from the sport the past few years – a new mind blowing step forward in the form of a competitor.
In some ways, this makes for more exciting competitions. We’ve had more Mr. Olympia champions in the past four years than usual. Big Ramy just earned his repeat victory but before that each year brought us new champions including Shawn Rhoden, Brandon Curry, and most recently Big Ramy. There’s been no knockout champion. Even Ramy’s 2021 physique was a slight notch down from 2020. There were those who thought Brandon Curry would rise for revenge and reclaim his title. That didn’t happen – but the fact that it was close showcases how there is no “Ronnie Coleman level” monsters on the stage currently.
You can watch Mohamed El Emam break down his adoration for Ronnie Coleman in more detail (plus his other top bodybuilder picks) in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Mohamed El Emam: Big Ramy Will Be Even Better At Olympia 2021
[embedded content]
Mohamed El Emam answers: Can Big Ramy win again at Olympia 2021?
With less than a week to go before the Olympia 2021, we will soon see if returning champion Big Ramy can retain his title. Ramy has been known for inconsistency in his conditioning from year to year (at least in his past showings over the past decade). Will he be able to remain consistent and show an even more improved physique on stage this weekend? Rising competitor Mohamed El Emam seems to think so. In our latest GI Exclusive, Mohamed El Emam explains why he thinks Big Ramy will appear even better at Olympia 2021.
Mohamed El Emam has been a rising athlete on the pro bodybuilding stage this past year. He battled it out in a number of competitions to earn Olympia qualification. Unfortunately, he fell short – but not for a lack of impressive physique. The competition was fierce and despite some top 5 placings, it wasn’t enough to earn a spot in this weekend’s Olympia.
That’s why during our recent conversation with Mohamed, we asked him as an observer, if he thought Big Ramy can win again. Mohamed El Emam does believe that Big Ramy can pull off a repeat win. The reason he thinks this – is that he believes Big Ramy will have an even better physique than the previous year.
It’s common knowledge among pro bodybuilding fans that judges have a laser focus on the returning champion for Mr. Olympia. It’s not enough for the champion to bring the same winning physique. The judges expect to see an improved physique. This is the challenge an Olympia champion must face. What if they’ve hit a plateau – no matter how perfect? An equal quality physique might get slightly overlooked compared to a hungry competitor that made some incredible progress.
Mohamed El Emam believes that Big Ramy has made that kind of progress. He’s strictly judging based off of physique update photos and video that Ramy has been posting in recent months. From what he can tell – Ramy has not only widened his back and increased his arm size – he’s also tapered in his waist. Of course, physique update photos can be misleading. What’s most important is that Ramy times his peak perfectly with the Olympia weekend.
This is where the excitement comes in. Even the most perfect athlete can run into problems if their timing is even slightly off. When fans watch the pre-judging on Friday night, they’re also aware the competitors have a full 24 hours to try and make adjustments before finals. That 24 hour period is crucial and makes the finals a truly electric event. Some have improved, some have faded. For example, Phil Heath was often known as “Mr. Saturday Night” due to surprising improvements he would make between pre-judging and finals.
Mohamed El Emam has a point though. It’s clear that Big Ramy was the superior physique in 2020. If no other competitor can close that gap and Ramy improves himself – the odds of him coming in off peak this weekend seems unlikely. Ramy’s sheer size gives him an incredible advantage.
You can watch Mohamed El Emam break down his Big Ramy predictions in more detail by watching our GI Exclusive interview segment above!
INTERVIEW: Inside Mohamed El Emam’s Contest Prep Plan To Dominate At The Arnold Classic 2021
[embedded content]
Mohamed El Emam breaks down his training and diet plan to compete in the Arnold Classic 2021 more on point than ever before.
Mohamed El Emam is a pro bodybuilder who has building a lot of hype in 2021. This is in part due to the large swath of US bodybuilding events he competed in this year. He took part in the California Pro, Indy Pro, and New York Pro – and placed in the top five for each one. Now he’s set to face off against the best in the world at the Arnold Classic 2021 this weekend. In our latest GI Exclusive, Mohamed El Emam details how he’s changed his contest prep to bring his best ever package to the Arnold Classic 2021 stage.
Mohamed El Emam participated in a sort of bodybuilding marathon during the 2021 season. He battled in multiple bodybuilding events nearly back to back. His goal was to earn himself Olympia qualification. But even more important than that – he wanted to get as much experience competing in the states before the Arnold Classic 2021.
El Emam is an Egyptian bodybuilder who resides in Russia. He’s been improving his physique and rising in popularity throughout the past few years. In 2021, he decided to go into overdrive and really leave an impression. It worked. We connected with Mohamed El Emam over a video call to discuss his 2021 season and his contest prep lading up to this weekend’s Arnold Classic.
During our conversation, Mohamed El Emam details his methodology behind competing in so many shows. He wanted to come to the states and get as much experience as possible. He’s taken what he’s learned from the California Pro, Indy Pro, and New York Pro to tweak his contest prep and bring an upgraded physique to the Arnold Classic.
By competing in the New York Pro, for example, he’s already pitted himself against Nick Walker – one of the most anticipated athletes set to compete at the Arnold Classic. Having stood on stage next to Walker, El Emam can now know what he’s going into this weekend. This is just one example of how he’s been mentally and physically preparing.
Mohamed El Emam has also changed up his coach. He’s now working with Milos Sarcev in order to push his training and diet tactics out of his comfort zone and up to new levels. During our conversation – El Emam goes into detail about specific muscle groups that he he has been targeting as well as an overall focus on improved conditioning. He’s saying all of the right things and has been doing everything within his power to improve from what we’ve seen earlier in the bodybuilding season.
Of course, by competing in so many shows earlier in the year – El Emam runs the risk of burning out and missing his physique timing on the Arnold Classic stage. That’s a risk he seems willing to take. El Emam has taken the safe path before. It’s led to slow but consistent progress. Now he wants to boost into champion status. That takes extra risk for the bigger reward. We can’t wait to see what he has in store this weekend.
You can watch Mohamed El Emam break down his full Arnold Classic 2021 prep in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
California Pro Preview: Who Will Secure a Spot at the 2021 Olympia?
Who will claim victory at the California Pro?
The California Pro is upon us and will future some up and coming bodybuilders as well as the return of competitors who have been away from the scene for a bit. The talent pool for this show is pretty strong and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will secure victory. For whoever comes out on top, the Olympia stage will be waiting for them.
Without further ado, let’s delve into the list of top contenders to make a run at victory.
Hassan Mostafa
Recently placing third at the 2021 New York Pro, Hassan Mostafa is coming in with something to prove at the California Pro. For Mostafa conditioning will be the name of the game for this show. He missed a great opportunity at the NY Pro, but if he can dial in his conditioning for this weekend’s show he has a chance of coming out on top. He faces some stiff competition however so not only will he have to make sure his conditioning is on point, but his posing routine as well.
Patrick Moore
Like so many others 2020 was not a great year for Patrick Moore. While he possessed the kind of potential that could make him a Olympia champ some day, his underwhelming performances at the 2020 Arnold Classic, NY Pro, and Cali Pro forced Moore to go back to the drawing board. His extended off season saw him removing his tattoos and packing on a considerable amount of muscle. 2020 is certainly the past and Patrick Moore looks ready to make an impression in 2021. He’ll have to contend with Hassan Mostafa to ensure victory, but if he’s able to keep his lines while maintaining his current size, things look bright for Moore.
Fred “Biggie” Smalls
It’s been three years since Fred “Biggie” Smalls has stepped on a competitive bodybuilding stage. The veteran bodybuilder has not competed since the 2018 Indy Pro where he placed ninth. While victory for Smalls is a long shot, it’s not completely out of the question. After all, three years is a long time and that could have boosted his gains. Smalls is one of the most unique and entertaining posers in the game today, another factor to consider against this line up. Either way, Smalls will certainly need to bring his absolute best if he hopes to redeem himself.
Mohamed El Emam
After coming in second place at the Indy Pro, Mohamed El Emam definitely had some momentum heading into the NY Pro. Unfortunately, El Emam would end up at fifth place at the show. That said, he does have the goods to contend for top three at this show. With Patrick Moore stepping on the competitive stage for the first time this year, he’s an unknown quantity, one that El Emam hopes to overcome. That statement is doubly true for Fred Smalls. Mohamed El Emam could be the dark horse at this show, but he certainly has quite the mountain to climb.
Who do you think wins at the 2021 California Pro?
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.