Matt Jansen Answers: Did Big Ramy Cement Mr. Olympia As A Size Game?
Matt Jansen believes that Big Ramy further cemented Mr. Olympia as a battle of size… but there’s one wild card catch.
Matt Jansen is the trainer who has been working with Nick Walker during his rising success. Walker has been compared to Dorian Yates and his size is being praised as he continues to improve and prepare for the Mr. Olympia. With Big Ramy’s win in 2020, it seems he is further raising the bar when it comes to muscle mass. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, we ask Matt Jansen if Big Ramy has cemented Olympia as a game of size – and how that may help Nick Walker’s future.
During our conversation with Matt Jansen, we asked him how he first got into bodybuilding and coaching. What brought him to the place he is today – now known as an iconic modern coach responsible for fantastic physiques? Jansen goes into detail about his past as a bodybuilder and how his entire world was changed when he started focusing on a new training strategy that included a bigger focus on rest.
This change of pace opened Matt Jansen’s mind towards the power of coaching and training knowledge. He later then became mentored under Neil Hill – which began his path towards becoming the coach and trainer he is today. He’s now coaching one of the most threatening up-and-comers in the pro league – Nick Walker.
Nick Walker is a bodybuilder who brings unprecedented amounts of mass for his age. Still in his 20s, he already looks like a mass monster who had been training well into his 30s or 40s. Of course, he still has improvements to go – but he already has become highlighted as a big contender in the sport.
That’s why we also asked Matt Jansen about Big Ramy’s win at the Mr. Olympia 2020. Ramy represents true mass monster size unseen since Ronnie Coleman. While he has struggled to match the same kind of sharp conditioning that made Ronnie Coleman one of a kind – Ramy pulled it together for a truly rewarding physique last year.
Does Big Ramy’s win finally put the nail in the coffin when it comes to size? Has the Mr. Olympia proper become a battle for the most shockingly massive bodybuilder with good conditioning?
Matt Jansen believes so – and also jokingly admits that this will help Nick Walker’s future at the Mr. Olympia. If judges will all be pairing up competitors against Big Ramy in the center – having mass monster size will be of huge importance.
But Matt Jansen does also admit that the mass monster battle is not 100% set in stone. There is one wild card that can change the way judges lean – whether it be this Mr. Olympia or down the line. Matt Jansen believes that Shawn Rhoden presents a smaller but immensely aesthetic physique that can still overcome the likes of Big Ramy. Of course, Rhoden is not able to compete as of Mr. Olympia 2021.
If Shawn Rhoden were able to compete – Matt Jansen believes it can skew the Olympia lineup to favor both aesthetic and mass monster equally. Shawn Rhoden won the Mr. Olympia before against many mass monsters larger than him. He has the talent to do it again.
Alas, we don’t know when or if that will ever happen at this point. So for now it seems mass monster size will dominate as Big Ramy returns as the Olympia champion. Of course, the joy of competitive sports is that anything can happen. Nothing is set in stone – but for now Matt Jansen is feeling good about Nick Walker’s future pairing up against the likes of Big Ramy.
You can watch Matt Jansen speak in detail about his coaching origins, Big Ramy, and the Mr. Olympia in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
